For our thirteenth Anniversary last fall, Wes and I took a trip to Philadelphia. My parents were kind enough to fly out here and take care of our kids for us. The kids had so much fun without us, they would've been fine with us staying away much longer. It was comforting to know they were in good hands!
We started out our trip by jumping in the car right after we got off the plane and driving a couple of hours west to see Gettysburg. It was definitely worth the trip! It moved me to tears at points to imagine how many people sacrificed their lives for the freedom of this country. I know I take this for granted way too often. We ended up being there on Veteran's Day, and surprisingly there were not any festivities going on for it as we visited the national cemetery. It was a good place to spend the day there in remembrance and honor of this great country.
After our historic sight seeing, we drove to Hershey and had a delectable time! I was blown away to hear about what an amazing man Milton Hershey was! Did you know that every time you buy anything Hershey's or Reese's you're helping donate to a school he set up for orphaned boys, that is still in operation, now for underprivileged children, to help them have a better education and opportunities. He and his wife weren't able to have children, so this was his way to pay it forward. He gave away his whole large fortune twice. Wow!
We got to attend the tasting lab and learn more about how chocolate is made and then make our own original kind of chocolate! It was very delicious!
After our fun time at Hershey, we drove to downtown Philadelphia. We enjoyed attending the beautiful new temple there. Its architecture went right along with the other buildings in that era; it was truly magnificent!
We also enjoyed seeing the Liberty Bell and where the Declaration of Independence was created and signed. I learned so much--I had no idea that when our forefathers signed it, they said they felt like they were signing their death warrant. They felt they were basically committing treason to the king of England and that they would be killed for creating their own country where they would be free to do as they pleased. Amazing!
The beautiful autumn colors did not disappoint! I'm so grateful for my wonderful husband, Wes, and for the wonderful husband, father, and leader he is for our family! We've grown together and learned so much over the last 13 years. Here's to many more years and forever together!!
The beginning of December was my Christmas recital! Unfortuantely I forgot to take a picture until after 4 of the students had already left, but it turned out really well! Matsen and Kelston invited their school teachers to come, and Matsen was really excited that his teacher was able to come. All of them did a fabulous job (I may be a bit biased of course)!
One Saturday, Matsen put on a sculpture exhibit for us. He's always so creative!
Stay tuned for our Christmas adventures!
9 comments:
I loved seeing all the cool pictures of your anniversary trip!
Love,
Jazlyn
Thanks for being my date to Philly.
While we were on our mission we had the privilege of going to Gettysburg every semester with our students. Each time I learned more and came to a great appreciation of what this country has gone through. It does bring you to tears.
Hey, you've actually been somewhere dad and I haven't!! It sounds like we need to put that on our bucket list. I do have to say though, that we had LOADS of fun with the kids. So glad we were able to watch them so you could have some "couple" time.
Love you:)
So glad you had so much fun on your getaway trip! I loved going there last summer, it's such a neat place with so much history! Good job with all your students, I can't believe how many you have now!
How nice to get away for your anniversary! I didn't know some of the things you mentioned about the things you saw, thanks for sharing. Looks like there's been a lot of fun things going on!
You have inspired me to take an anniversary trip. What fun!
That was a great adventure to experience for your anniversary. Congratulations! I loved seeing pictures of the new temple and would love to see more. I'll bet your parents had as much fun as the kids did while they stayed with together.
That is awesome that your parents watched your kids, so you could get away. I am so glad you had a fun anniversary.
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