Solo trip to Floridelphia

The day after Ben's birthday, I gave him the special gift of some "alone time" with the boys. i.e. I left to go on a trip to visit Christina and Amy in the Pennsylvania area.

I made him some birthday peanut butter bars to soften the blow.  Isn't he such a good husband and dad to take over everything for a long weekend?

While I was gone, Ben documented the state of our boys' summer legs.  All sorts of dirt, bumps, and bruises!

I was disappointed to learn that my trip was scheduled on the day of the Kindergarten music program.  I really, really hated to miss this, because I knew how excited Ellis was about it.  This was the show where they presented all of the songs they had learned during their Kindergarten year, and I had heard him singing them around the house all year.  I love Ellis' singing voice and the fun songs he learned ("Bluebird, bluebird, come to my window . . .")

Ben snapped this picture of Ellis leading the other kids in the actions for one of the songs.  He was proud to be "chosen" for this job!

Meanwhile, I was catching up with my friend Christina!  After she picked me up from the airport, we headed straight to Grounds for Sculpture, a park in Hamilton, New Jersey.  We quickly found this sculpture that resembled both of us and our delicate conditions.  We were kind of a spectacle everywhere we went that weekend.  

I LOVED the work of Seward Johnson, which was found all over the park and museum.  He brings famous works of art to life through sculpture.  We could go inside Van Gogh's bedroom and touch everything!

This was a fun Monet brought to life.

Ezra and Mark made the visit more exciting, as they wanted to climb on and touch everything, which was at least somewhat okay at this place.  :)

Loved this "girl with a pearl earring."

And this was one of the outdoor exhibits.

It was so cool to feel like we were walking right into a Renoir painting.  Ammie quite literally did this -- can you spot her?

Last one!

One of my favorite things was seeing Christina and Mike's new home!  It is BEAUTIFUL, and Mike and his brothers created this wonderful office area next to their dining room.  I may have been a wee bit jealous.

They also built this dining table.  Amazing, right?  I took pictures to inspire my own husband.  :)

On Saturday, we had girls' day out with no kids!  We met up with our friends Lauren and Amy.  We had a lovely visit to the Barnes Foundation, where there was a huge overload of amazing art.  We all loved this installation, about which I now can't remember any details.  But isn't it stunning?

We also enjoyed an outdoor art installation in Philadelphia that was really cool and interactive.  Look at me, forgetting all the details again!  Doesn't matter, we were just having a grand time walking around Philly, talking and laughing.

We ate an amazing lunch at Max Brenner's.  Mine involved a Philly Cheese Steak on a waffle, and an ice cream bar fondue.  Very indulgent, but we had been walking around all day (and pregnant!).

It was so great to be with these ladies.  Christina is one of my best friends from BYU times (we met on our London study abroad and have been super close since then).  Amy is one of my best friends from high school.  And Lauren is a friend that I met in London on study abroad - she was in my ward but wasn't there through BYU, so she didn't know Christina, although I know I introduced them a few times.  Now, Lauren happens to live in Christina's ward and is one of her best friends currently.  Amy is in their stake, and they have some interactions.  We remembered that Amy and Lauren had actually met once before when Amy and Lauren both happened to be visiting us on the same weekend during one of our Boston internship summers!  I was happy to be the link between all of these ladies and to make them want to spend more and more time together!  We all connected so well.  Kind of makes me wish I lived in PA...

I was happy that I got to spend time with Amy and see the city she loves so much.  She and David just bought an adorable row home (above) right in the heart of Philly.  They are such cool city people, and they really love and take advantage of their city.  I am so inspired by them!

I spent Sunday with Christina and her family and had such a good time catching up.  I feel like I need several late-night conversations with that girl every year just to feel grounded.  She understands me so well, and I need her to help me figure out what I'm doing with my life.  Man, I am blessed to have such good friends!

I headed home Monday morning - departing from Trenton, the smallest airport I have ever seen!  There is ONE terminal, two total restrooms, and the tiniest baggage claim ever.  It was kind of an adventure for me!

The title of this post comes from the fact that the boys could not remember the name of the place where I went for the weekend.  I talked about going to Pennsylvania and Philadelphia.  Sam kept getting mixed up and calling it Florida ("Mom brought us this book from Florida!").  Then the night I got home, in family prayer, Henry said he was "thankful that Mom could get back from . . . Floridelphia."  He said this in all sincerity, which led to a very irreverent eruption of laughter from just about everyone.  Oh, I missed these boys and was glad to be home with them again!