Nicole's latest dance moves

This little girl dances anytime she hears music...

New Hope and Washington's Crossing

Last Saturday Alex and I decided to go somewhere we had never been. We chose New Hope because we've heard that it's a cute little town with a bunch of fun shops. As we were driving, I thought it was strange because things kept looking familiar to me. As soon as we came into New Hope, I exclaimed, "I've been here before!" I went with Alex's mom last year when we happened upon the town. It was never a planned destination with his mom, so I didn't remember the name of it. So much for going somewhere we had never been!

We got out and walked around on their main street. We admired the cute boutique shops, and we bought some sunglasses for Nicole (which she was so happy about).



After New Hope, we drove down to Washington's Crossing. There's a visitor's center, and a little village right next to the Delaware River that you can walk around. It was beautiful, as most of Pennsylania's small towns are.

Morris Family Adventure

My family came to visit the 2nd week in August, and it was an action packed vacation for them. It was Megan and Andrew's last week with us, so my parents and my brother, Nathan, sis-in-law, Julie, and niece, Mikka, came out to Philly. We kept busy and saw lots of fun things (some were new things for me which was nice). Nathan served his mission in Philly years ago so I think he really enjoyed being back here.

Here's a run down of the fun things we did:


Valley Forge - while we were driving around there was a really big thunderstorm moving in. We got into our cars just in time - the rain came pouring down and the lightning and was so close I honestly thought we might get hit.


Philly - we went to the U.S. Mint, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Alex took us up the Comcast Center to get an awesome view of the city


Barnes Foundation - My mom and I went to this private art institution where there is a collection of impressionist paintings - there were a ton of Renoir, Picasso, Renault, etc.


Mikka's Birthday Party - Mikka turned 3 years old while they were here, so we celebrated with Chinese food and a cake! My brother Dan happened to be in town for work so he came out for the party.


Lancaster - for some reason I didn't take any pictures of Lancaster, but couldn't help adding in this photo of the sleepy-heads in the back seat! We went to our favorite, the farmer's market in Bird-in-Hand, and then went to eat at the Good 'N Plenty restaurant (the picture is of Nicole playing peek-a-boo at the table). We stopped at a quilt shop and admired all of the amazing quilts the Amish make, and then we wandered over to the outlets.


Martin Guitar Factory - this was awesome. My dad has wanted to go to this factory for a long time, and this time we made it! You get to do a tour of the factory and they show you the whole process of making the guitars. We packed a lunch and made a day of it up in Lehigh Valley.


Crayola Factory - after the Martin Guitar Factory, my dad wanted to get some ice cream. So we found the Purple Cow Creamery which makes their own ice cream, and happens to be next door to the Crayola Factory. Alex and I took Nikki in, and Nathan and Julie took Mikka in. We only had an hour before closing, so we got in for half price. It was a lot of fun - an interactive factory for kids. There was a ton to do, and Nicole was loving it!


Longwood Gardens - my mom finally made it to Longwood Gardens. It was their last stop before flying home, and it was beautiful (as always). Nikki couldn't get enough of the children's garden and was soaking wet by the time we left! It was a really nice way to end my family's visit.

Happy Birthday to me!

My birthday was at the beginning of August, and it was such a nice day. Alex made me dinner and my very own ice cream cake! The tradition in my family is that my parents always buy an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins for birthdays. So Alex made me one out of mint oreo ice cream (my favorite) and used his cake decorating talents. I was so excited to get a HUGE container of Jelly Belly's and some tart pans. You can check out my baking blog if you want to see what I've made with them.



Megan and Andrew went with their friends to New York that weekend, and when they got back they brought me my gift - a cheesecake from Carnegie Deli. Yum! For those of you who don't know, my favorite dessert is cheesecake and Carnegie is famous for their cheesecakes. What makes them different? They have a sugar cookie type crust (though not as sweet as a cookie). Very creamy and delicious!

Chocolate World

A couple of weeks ago, we ventured to Hershey country and got our fill of chocolate world. We started with the factory tour, where Nicole was pretty excited about the singing cows. She also loved the chocolate sample we got as we were leaving the tour.


Our next stop was Hershey Park. Let me state the obvious by saying that going to an amusement park with a kid is very different than going without. Especially when you're dealing with naps. That said, we had a lot of fun! We went to the water park first, and Nicole got to play in the water with Alex.


From the water park you can see the ferris wheel and Nicole kept pointing at it the whole time we were in the water park, so that was the first ride we went on. I think she had just as much fun waiting in line as she did on the ride, but it was fun.

We went with Megan and Andrew, so we waited in line for a roller coaster with them, and timed it so that they went first and then took Nicole while we went on the ride. Nikki crashed on Alex's shoulder about a minute before we handed her off to Megan. It was pretty cute.


And before leaving the park, we had to let Nicole ride the Merry-go-round. Alex took her on the ride and said that they both felt pretty gypped about a minute into the ride when they realized that the horse Nicole was on didn't go up and down.

For all you Trekkie fans out there...

My brother, Dan, was in town last Wednesday for work, so Megan, Nicole, and I met him at the Franklin Institute for an hour before he flew out. Andrew was working so we were able to get in free and saw the Star Trek exhibit. Andrew even took a picture of us on the sky deck and had it printed out. I know you're all jealous. :)

Day Trippin' to DC

I love living on the East coast. So much to do! Alex was in Palmyra for Youth Conference last weekend, so Megan, Andrew, Nicole, and I headed down to DC for the day. We stopped in Alexandria, VA (I have fond memories of this place...blizzard, walking up and down King Street, alone on Valentine's Day...) and got some lunch at Five Guys. This was the first Five Guys I ever ate at, and it was yummy!

After lunch we headed into the Mall. Andrew's only request was to see the White House. So, we trekked to the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, White House (after seeing it, Andrew said, "I thought it would be whiter"), and the Museum of Natural History. Whew! It was a lot of walking, but it was nice to be back in DC. I love this place!