Summer Fun

In addition to moving, we have been doing a lot of fun stuff this summer!

Before we left Philadelphia, we made sure we ate at some of our favorite places:

Tampopo, 44th Street, West Philadelphia

El Limon, Fayette Street, Conshohocken

Frankford Hall, Frankford Street, Northern Liberties

That was just the week before we left!  I think the only place we didn't get to was From the Boot in Lafayette Hill, but my cousin lives close, so we can get our visit in then.

My first outside-baby Mothers Day was really special.  Jason made me breakfast, and he gave me new running sneakers and a nice dinner out (which we haven't had a chance to take yet!).  Elliott (read: Jason) made me a Shutterfly book.  We spent the weekend with my family at Aunt Chris' and at Longwood Gardens, which I had never been to before.  So beautiful, and so big!

My special mothers day pancakes.

Elliott and his grandparents.

The next few weeks were consumed with moving and other family issues.  We started June with a visit to Mt. St. Mary's University, which is my dad's alma mater.  It was alumni weekend, and mom and dad's friends' band was playing on campus.  It is a beautiful campus, and it also houses the Our Lady of Lourdes / Mother Seton shrine.  My parents got married there, and they have the most beautiful wedding photos as a result.

Beautiful campus.  That's the dorm my dad lived in!

Elliott and Mom in front of the chapel.

Father's day was pretty quiet.  That's what the dads wanted.  We had a joint bar-be-que with both families and played wash-shoes, which is a combo of washers, horseshoes, and bean-bag toss.  I got Jason a cast-iron skillet.  :)

The next weekend, my parents, sister, and I took my aunt and cousin from California to New York City and showed them the sights.  We tried to see the Ground Zero memorial, but the tickets were sold out (they're free, but they require advance reservations to keep the crowds at bay).  It was an interesting trip (thanks to some noisy neighbors at the hotel), but we still had a lot of fun together.

Flags at the World Trade Center site.

Salad at Carmines, an amazing Italian restaurant in Midtown.

Lights at the Marquis Marriott, where we beat the heat with a beer.

Our summer has been quite busy, and it's only half done!  We have baby showers, arts fests, birthdays, and lots of pool time planned before orientation starts for grad school at the end of August.  I'm also hoping we can take a weekend beach trip to OCNJ after the season is over, maybe in mid to late September.

What fun things have you been up to this summer?

- M.