september 25-27.2008
Since Jarom gets to go on a getaway every year to the BYU game, the wives have wanted to get together, but never have been able to. So I finally decided to just start doing a one-on-one getaway with each of the girls.

So Alex and I ventured over to Philadelphia, PA, the birthplace of freedom. The signers of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were absolutely inspired men, and it’s a wonderful feeling to be where it all took place.

We’ve been to Philadelphia a few times, so we didn’t squeeze in the Liberty Bell, or Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was written and the Constitution signed, since we’ve been there before.

This trip was two fold. One, to visit the doctors I see about once a year, so they can keep up their beach house! Just kidding of course. Time for a fine tuning of this crazy body! And secondly, to relax, have fun, and enjoy time together, just the two of us!

Alex and I left on Thursday, and made our first stop, the Fibro and Fatigue clinic, thirty minutes out of the city. After that exciting visit, we drove into Philadelphia, checked into the hotel, and walked around the city to find a good place to eat. We were enjoying people watching out the very front window we were sitting near, and Alex asked me, “Mommy, what do you want to be successful in?” Oh, a teaching moment that matters, I love them when they come up! Of course, my most important goal on this earth is to raise my sweet children strong in the gospel, to be well-educated, to be strong and capable of taking care of themselves, and to love their family and be happy in life. It was a good chat, and that is what this whole weekend was about. Walking around the streets of Philadelphia is fun, so many cute shops to see. We stepped inside Macy’s, which is one of the first department stores I believe, and only occupies three of the twelve stories at this time. The man who owned this amazing building(I don’t remember his name), started the whole price tag idea. Before that, the salesman would look you up and down and decide on a price. He also started Customer Service, good job! He believed the customer was always right! And we are! In this amazing block wide and long building of a department store, is an amazing organ, and we caught a performance. It was beautiful! We headed toward the hotel, stopped in Barnes and Noble, and headed toward a comfy bed and some relax time.

Friday we slept in, which was awesome! We headed down in pj’s to breakfast at the hotel, which by the way, was a huge Marriott, lots of business people meeting and working at the crack of dawn, and here we were in pj’s. I loved every second of it, and was glad to have different responsibilities than most other adults there, not that I feel one is easier than the other, just different. We decided we weren’t ready to get ready for the day, and watched a movie and had some good laughs. We got ready, and decided to do a trolley tour of the city, where you can hop off and on at different stops, which was fabulous! The best way to see things and not have to drive or walk everywhere. Highly recommended. We saw:

The beautiful City Hall with William Penn atop. It took 13 years to get his 14 pieces to the top of the building. Absolutely beautiful, and awe inspiring. We would look at it out our hotel too, it’s gorgeous.

Our next stop was the Eastern State Penitentiary. Wow, amazing story! The brochure says: This was the world’s first true penitentiary, a prison designed to inspire penitence-or true regret in the hearts of criminals. It had running water and central heat before the White House. We listened to a tour of escapes that had happened there, and criminals were housed here for different things, from carrying a concealed weapon, to stealing a pig. Really heinous crime offenders were not sent here. Currently they do haunted evenings on the weekends before Halloween, which I think is really creepy!

The Franklin Institute Science Museum was next, and we were there for a few hours. We got to see real brains and hearts of people and animals which was interesting. Watched an amazing IMAX on Wild Oceans, and went through the “Real Pirates” exhibit they have going on there. This exhibit was developed by National Geographic and Arts and Exhibitions International. The exhibit was done really well, with true pirate artifacts and treasure that was found by a man who always dreamed of finding one after being told pirate stories when he was a young boy. It is the only one that has been discovered in American waters.

I think the best part for me, was walking the streets at night toward the hotel in the misty rain with Alex, just enjoying the beautiful evening and chatting about probably nothing. We decided to try the Melting Pot for dinner, which was a first for both of us. It was definitely yummy! She loved the sink in the bathroom, I have to admit, it’s the coolest I’ve seen. So there’s a pic of it of course! We headed back and watched the debate while chatting on her little personal handheld that daddy gave her from when we used it 10 years ago, and she takes it everywhere.

Saturday we woke up just in time for breakfast, and enjoyed another morning eating in our pj’s. Alex swam in the pool for a little bit, before we headed up to get ready. We checked out, and headed for Valley Forge. We did do this almost three years ago, but the tour was closed, and we had studied it, so we decided to go sit in the small forts and eat the hotcakes we had made, and I think it made Alex then appreciate not only what we have, but what was sacrificed for us. It was good to come back and do the full tour, and learn more about the history of our nation. Out of eight years of the Revolutionary War, Valley Forge was one of the deadliest places our men camped. It wasn’t cold enough to kill disease or bugs, so around 2,000 men died from sickness. That’s why it’s been so well documented because of so much more they had to overcome with the men dying, at least that’s what the historians said there. It’s beautiful, and you can almost imagine what it would have been like, fighting for everything. It’s amazing how much people have and still give for our freedom, and I’ll never take it for granted.

I love you Alex, you have an amazing spirit that has continually blessed our family. You can be anything you want to be in life, I only hope it is what’s truly important to our Father in Heaven, and that you are truly happy.