Happy B-day Whit

It's my sister's birthday today. She is officially 21, I think. Just one year ago we were hanging out in New York together. She came out from April to August last year to help take care of Luke while I went back to work. Growing up, the age difference between Whitney and I seemed just too big to really think of her anything other than my baby sister. I have more memories of actually holding her and doing her hair for school than anything else. Now she is grown up. There are several things that have changed about Whitney but one thing that remains constant is her ability to love and show love. It is remarkable how many people are drawn to her. She is thoughtful, fun, outgoing, loveable, and innocent. I now love her as a sister, and friend. Happy Birthday Whitney! I hope this year is a good one!

A day in Philly

The summer is nearing,which means so is our upcoming move back to Utah. We are attempting to cram a bunch of day trips & weekend trips in before it gets hot since we plan on spending 80% of the summer at the beach and pool.This past Saturday,we managed to escape the city for a short trip to Philly. Our friends Christian and Mara Pulfer just purchased a very convenient seven seater joy ride equipped with a very handy GPS system. We were able to sit 7 very comfortably. Us, Pulfers, & Cliftons, all piled in at 9:30 am and set off. Since our only planned activity was getting cheese steaks we decided to take a very scenic route through Bucks County . Pretty country houses, lush green vegetation, and rolling hills were a nice change from grimy sidewalks and skyscrapers. We made a couple of stops and let Luke release some energy.

We rolled into Philly around 2pm, making our first stop for cheese steaks. If you haven't been to Philly for cheese steaks, we suggest you hit the cheese steak mecca. In Philly, they claim, you are either a Genos or a Pats fan. Both of these joints happen to be across the street from each other, creating some unhealthy competition. Check this out before your next trip. Pat's v. Geno's

I prefer Geno's. The meat is a bit sweeter and I love the cheese fries. Tom, and the rest of my friends, prefer Pat's. The meat is saltier, and if you add onions, & mushrooms, pretty tasty, and their fries without cheese are better. The secret though, is the cheese. Some make the mistake of ordering their steaks with a whoosy cheese like Provolone, or Swiss, but a true cheese steak lover choses cheese whiz, yes, cheese whiz. We learned our lesson the first time. Another tip, you have to order a certain way, if you don't, they send you to the back of the line.

:After our yummy meal:

:We hit the local market for more food, this time dessert!:

:Our next stop, Rocky's steps, which also happen to be a museum. Luke ran to the top and cheered in typical Rocky fashion:

:I made it too for a family picture:

:We met the Porter's there after their long bike ride from New York. What they do for friends:

:It soon rained, and everyone headed home, or at least for shelter:
 

Pics and Stoops

For Easter we had a friend take our family picture. I am now admitting that I wanted those that had not been out to see us to think that we live on a beautiful street with lovely stoops, but sadly this is her stoop, her neighborhood, not ours.

I wouldn't typically post just a picture of us for no reason, but truthfully I am trying to figure out how to use this blogsite. I am having a hard time just uploading pictures and setting the text. But you might as well tell me which one you like better. My legs look massively long in the top pic so some cropping might be needed, and in the bottom, Tom's look equally long.
I will post a pic soon of our stoop, or lack of. I am thinking of doing a post about our apartment, before and afters. Maybe then.

Some completed projects

A few shirts for myself. No side by side comparisons however. Maybe another time.
I love bright colors for the spring summer....hence my yellow sandals.

Our weekend...summarized

This weekend:

Tom babysat Luke, and he let him go crazy in the sandbox at Union Square. kinda sketchy.

I went to brunch with Katie and Mim....Sarabeth's....raspberry bread pudding that I haven't stopped salivating over.

Checking out Tom's new book at Barnes and Noble. I am a proud wife. It's the red wild book. Ask a Mexican. Check it out!

The rest of the weekend we don't have documented with photos. Saturday
night we watched a movie with friends, or at least Tom did, I spent the
2 hours working on a lesson I found out I was teaching for church last
minute, only to find out Sunday that I didn't actually have to. Sunday
afternoon Luke chatted with my parents for a 1/2 hour, or babbled, a
record for him. He paced back and forth answering every question they
fired at him. Sad that the weekend is over. Time to go back to healthy
eating, work, and no Tom .