academy of natural sciences

This afternoon we had no school (insert daughters doing cartwheels here) so we hit up the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Now, I would never tell you to play hooky. But if you ever have a random day off, go into Philly and hit the museums when they’re not crowded. Even if you’ve been somewhere twenty times, it is incredible to have it practically to yourselves.

The dinosaurs were awesome of course.

Except when they tried to eat Ellie and Grace…

Then we headed up to our favorite place… the Outside In! We met some new friends. Ellie was watching this cute bird play in the water – and it splashed her right in the face! Hilarious!

We got to pet a legless lizard, a box turtle, this swimming turtle I forget the name of…
and THIS GUY:

Can you believe how brave Grace is??

I was brave enough to touch it with one finger, but if that thing had climbed up my arm, I would have probably shattered glass with the high pitch of my scream! (I am NOT a bug person!! I prefer my wildlife cute and furry, thanks.)

We had so much fun – what an amazing day! The Academy of Natural Sciences remains one of our favorite outings in Philly!

Check out the girls’ blog – they wrote about our visit as well!

disclosure: we received a complimentary admission from visitphilly.com. all opinions are our own.


philadelphia flower show

Today the kids and I bopped into the city (literally – MMMbop was definitely played at one point) for an event at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for a sneak peek at the 2012 Philadelphia Flower Show. We have gone to the flower show several years now, and it is always a treat. Despite my definitely not being a gardener, I do love flowers.

We arrived and my kids immediately got inspired and started making signs to advertise the flower show. Ellie’s was greeting people at the door:
We watched a sneak preview of the show this year, and the kids were enthralled. They were all asking, “When can we go there?” “Are we going there this year?” “Mom, please can we go?” I don’t blame them. The show looks even more incredible than previous years. Watch this and tell me it doesn’t look amazing:

One thing I appreciate as a parent is how family friendly the Philadelphia Flower Show is. They are partnering with Sprout to bring families some truly unique experiences – kids can meet characters from The Lorax, do crafts, see puppet shows, play with toys, see live performances of their favorite Sprout shows – and more in the totally free Family Lounge.  And for an additional charge, kids can meet their favorite Sprout characters in the Sprout Snack! How cool is that? Honestly, if my kids had this much fun at the preview, they’re gong to love the show!

Check out the PHS Family Fun Pack tickets, which includes tickets for the whole family and a one-year family membership to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society!

disclosure: we received a gift bag as a thank you for attending this event. as always, all opinions are our own.

day in philly

We went into Philly on Friday and started the day in one of my favorite places, Reading Terminal Market, for breakfast at the Dutch Eating Place. Best breakfast in Philly.

If you’ve ever had a hankering for a pancake the size of your head, this is the place to go.  Seriously – out of control yummy pancakes, french toast and bacon the way it was meant to be – thick, crispy and in abundance.

We wandered around finding all sorts of amazing culinary wonders. Reading Terminal Market is a cook’s paradise. Or a eater’s paradise. If you can’t find it here, it probably doesn’t exist. And discover things you didn’t know existed. Like Bacon Salt. Oh yes, BACON SALT. *cue angels singing*

And hit the Christmas train! Colin could have stood here all day.

Then we headed over to Macy’s for the Holiday Light Show, then took the kids to Chinatown. Grace is in love with China and keeps asking to go there. Since we are a little short on vacation time, we did the next best thing ;-)
The kids were fascinated by it – we’ll need to come back when we can spend more time – and we’re not stuffed full of pancakes!

What did you do for New Years?

wordless wednesday: christmas in philly

(and what do my kids get excited about seeing? a starbucks!)

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ten things to do in philly with young children

1. The Philadelphia Zoo: Kids of all ages love animals, right? The Philly Zoo is not too big and TONS for kids to do and see. Did you know that The Philadelphia Zoo was the first zoo in America? And they were the first to open a special zoo just for children?   The Children’s Zoo [...]

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playing tourist in our own city

  Does this conversation sound familiar?"What do you want to do this weekend?" "I don't know…." This weekend, on a whim, we decided to go to see the Liberty Bell. Despite us living so close, we've never brought the kids there. And Ellie learned about the Liberty Bell in school, so she was super excited! [...]

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wordless wednesday: baby’s first cheesesteak

   Yup! He's a Philly boy!!

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i love philly

Ellie running up the art museum steps (a la Rocky) Reading Terminal Market Getting cultured at the Rodin Museum. Have you ever taken children to an art museum? Or, specifically, a 4-year-old and a 3-year-old? We used to be members and went often. Loved the art museum. Walking around in the quiet, holding hands, whispering [...]

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