Philadelphia

What have I learned about Philadelphia?

I am grateful that I live in D.C.! I never thought I would see the day that Kurt and I would actually agree on this comment, but that day did come on Sunday.
We enjoyed exploring all of the heritage of downtown Philadelphia, but the ride getting to downtown made me realize that Philadelphia has seen some much better days. I was just amazed by how much of the city is in a rundown condition.
While in Philadelphia we visited the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Benjamin Franklin's Grave, and Betsy Ross' House.


It was a great experience to see the many places that has had so much impact on making our nation what it is today.

INTERCOURSE............Pennsylvania

Ha ha ha! I bet that name caught your eye!

This past weekend we took a trip up into Amish Country. I thought it would be a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the city and I was interested to learn something new: the Amish lifestyle. We ended up visiting Lancaster, Bird-In-Hand (interesting name), and Intercourse (eye catching).

Things we learned about the Amish:
1) They are very friendly and very hardworking
2) Great at baking (loved the baked sweets)
3) Have meticulously kept yards
4) Use carts and horses for their transportation (Yes, I did enjoy seeing all of the horses)
5) Live in nice houses that look just like ours (Only giveaway: cart in driveway or garage and clothes hung out on line to dry)

When we first arrived in Bird-in-Hand we stopped at a Bake Shop that was near the main road. They had so many great and tasty treats to try and Kylee loved petting and feeding the goats and chickens. (I forgot how bad goats can smell until I smelled my hand, yucky!)

We then took a buggy ride with an Amish driver to a family farm. Kylee loved watching the horses behind us that were pulling carts. It was nice to just enjoy being outside and seeing the sites. I am still grateful for my car though. (This is even coming from a horse lover like me.) I love horses and going on trailrides, but I also love traveling at 60 mph with air conditioning or a heating.

Our last stop was in Intercourse, PA at Kettle Kitchen. It's just a little village with many different shops. We loved the homemade ice cream they had there and Kurt and I gave it a try milking a cow. (It was not real though so I still can't say I have milked a cow yet.)

Puppy Jungle Gym

While I was pet-sitting this week Kylee found a new use for the dog that was at my house:

Nothing quite like trying to scale a large mound of fur and then ride it backwards.

Poor Thor. Thank you Thor for being such a good sport and putting up with the crazy antics of Kylee.

(Kylee might be embarrassed of these pictures when she gets a little older. I will have to make sure to add this to the file of "Show Future Boyfriend.")

Gettin' Down and Dirty with the Dogs

One of the perks of taking Kylee with me for my dog walks is that she is definitely not afraid of dogs. She does have her whiny moments when they knock her down and overwhelm her with kisses, but overall she seems to quite enjoy it.

It has been funny to watch her interact and play with them whenever we visit the dog park. She loves to follow them, give a pet or swat, and her favorite activity is collecting the tennis balls to throw. My least favorite activities she participates in are playing in the water bowls and playing in the dirt. (She gets a nice, long bath after playing in the dirt - aka. dog's potty)

What Do You Get When Your Husband Dresses Your Daughter?

You get an 80’s chick!

What went wrong?

1) Pants are under the bodysuit

2) Bodysuit is backwards

When Kylee came out of her room after Kurt dressed her, I could not help but bust up laughing. I will admit to adding the leg warmers and headband. I just could not resist. We even went for a walk around our block to show off our trendy look.

If You Got It, Flaunt It

Everyone always says if you got it, then flaunt it. Well, in this situation I am not so sure how I feel about that saying.

I do have to give props that this older woman can be in that great of shape to wear a bikini. But man, I really wish she would have not burned this image into my mind.

So the story of why I have this picture goes like this: At one of the locations I do my dog walks, there is a pool and I started noticing this lady always laying out by the pool. I have seen her most every day and brought my camera this week to take some pictures of the dogs I walk to place on my Walk-A-Dog Blog and just could not miss the opportunity to take a picture and post it. I wonder what this woman would think if she knew I had taken her picture and placed in on my blog. Who knows?

Yipes!

So I don’t want to play the role of a drama queen and say we almost died today, but there were about 10-15 minutes today when I could not stop shaking. I don’t know why I keep being taken by surprise how fast things can change in a matter of 30 seconds or so, but it keeps biting me in the booty.

This morning, Kylee and I were headed down into Springfield on the freeway when another car alongside us came into our lane while we were still in it. We must have been in his blind spot because he did not even think twice and there was no time to honk. I swerved left to get out of the way, but this caused my SUV to fishtail down the freeway for a ways. Thinking back on it, my defensive driving could have been the cause of more serious things happening, but it ended up being a natural reaction. The man that had come into my lane just kept on driving with no idea of what had almost occurred. Woosh! That is one situation that I am VERY GLAD turned out much better than it could of.

Thank you Heavenly Father for watching out for Kylee and I.