The City of Brotherly Love

Before I get to our next few days, I wanted to answer a question that we get asked often.

"How can Rich take so much time off work for you all to travel so much?"

Good question. 2 answers.

1. A great staff. We prayed long and hard for the staff that Rich has helping him out now. Thank you Cathy, Emily and Patricia. You guys are awesome! They handle things beautifully in the office while Rich is away.

2. Being self-employed means Rich is the boss and can take off whenever he likes. Ha-ha. Anyone who is self-employed is laughing hard right now because they know that paid vacation is non-existent and no work=no pay. Thankfully, Rich has the flexibility with his job to do a great bit of it on the road. With a cell phone, his laptop and an internet connection he can do a lot. We usually plan our week so that he has some time do what needs to be done. I'll take the little ones off to a playground while the big kids get some math done and Rich does some work. Planning is the key, however, as we often camp in remote locations with no cell towers in sight. As long as we plan appropriately, we've found that to be a really good thing every now and then.

Now, off to Philly and a whirlwind few days in the City of Brotherly Love.

Found this little fireman at Fireman's Hall. What a trooper. He's been on so many adventures and has quietly (usually) endured and even enjoyed most of them.

Tried to ring the Liberty Bell. It's still cracked.

Wandered up a cute alley. Philadelphia was known for it's "wide" streets in it's day.

(Cue Rocky theme music) "Adrienne, Adrienne!" Yes, these are the steps Rocky ran up. Thankfully, our kids were clueless as to what we were talking about.

Valley Forge. Surprise history quiz. Who won the battle at Valley Forge? Leave your answer as a comment. No fair googling the answer.

Ellen getting 'artsy' at the Franklin Institute - a fun, hands-on, interactive science museum in downtown Philadelphia.

Love this cute little picture of Rebekah in a wind tunnel.

Anna got to crawl through a giant aorta. Always a thrill for a kid. Thankfully this one had clean arteries. The clogged artery was a tight squeeze and just not as much fun.

Even found ol' Ben himself wandering the halls of his namesake science museum.

And no trip to Philadelphia would be complete without an authentic Philly Cheesesteak. (And we were advised to ask for the provolone. The street vendors might slip in Cheese Whiz if you don't ask.) I actually liked the sandwich. I'm not much of a meat lover and would much prefer a whole load of veggies covered with some provolone on that bread roll, but hey, when in Rome... And it was... kinda' good.