philly

JD and I love to sightsee with our kids.  We love to explore.  But the reality is that we have a large family and a family our size requires a lot of logistics -- including two hotel rooms depending on the hotel.

Plan A was to go to Philly with just James.

Plan B was to take Payton and Avery with us to do some sightseeing (hopefully some of which would be educational even if they didn't know it).

Plan C was to take all the kids.  Brooks and Jackson enjoy traveling and sightseeing too, but we would definitely need to take my mom with us because expecting Brooks and Jackson to sit through hours of doctors' appointments is just unrealistic.  Avery barely survived it!  Oye.

My mom was willing and we were set...

...until we started hunting for hotel rooms that were convenient to Shriner's and the sites of Philadelphia.

$250-$300 per night.

Ouch.

Two rooms, two nights.

Do the math.

Not happening.

So I called Shriner's and they gave me a great hotel recommendation.

An historic hotel on the campus of Temple University.  With a 'Shriner's' rate of just $115 per night.  Bingo!

The catch?

They only had one room left for one of our nights there.

There was no way we could all fit in one room, so we went back to Plan B.  My mom, being the ever easy-going and flexible Gramma she is, was more than happy to come with us or stay and keep some or all of our older kids.  Brooks and Jackson were thrilled to stay at Gramma and Papa's, so off to Philly we went!

Here are some photos of our sightseeing excursion, including a double decker bus tour.  We chose the upper deck because it was a beautiful summer evening.  The weather was sublime.

Avery catching a ride with City Hall in the background.

Max Brenner's was Payton's favorite part of Philly.  Go figure.  

The girl's got her mama's sweet tooth for chocolate.  

Man, does he love his sisters.

And, boy, do they love him.  

Love this gaze.

Omigoodness...and this one.  Love his chin on his arm.

This mural is a tile mosaic.  Notice how enormous it is.  Amazing.

Up close.

Independence Park.

Our 'little' girls (who aren't staying little!) in front of the Liberty Bell.

This is what James thought of the Liberty Bell.  :)

William Penn (who founded Philadelphia) statue on the top of City Hall.

The most famous Philadelphian who never lived.  Rocky.  

The stairs Rocky climbed (the Philadelphia Museum of Art).

A great visit!  We were able to take care of some 'business' with James, but also have some fun too.  And that's how we like to do things!