Sunday, January 03, 2010

22/25 Posts: A Quick Trip to Philadelphia, part 1

After leaving Pearisburg, we headed home for the night, only to hit the road for another trip the next morning. We went to visit my family in Philadelphia. We didn't arrive until later in the night Sunday, but when we woke up Monday morning, Charlie came downstairs and saw lots of kids! For a little kid who hardly ever gets to see kids, and to see so many kids over the weekend, he was in paradise!

Here's Ryan, my cousin Matt's youngest, most adorable baby, and Jeremy...
Charlie, Andrea (my cousin Becca's girl) and Matt Jr. (Matt's oldest boy): all coloring, watching Baby Einstein (I think!)
I know, Charlie's not smiling... sometimes he doesn't... but he really loved being around Andrea and Matt, and especially Jeffrey! He just kept jabbering and talking all about it. He had a blast!
There's Jeffrey! Charlie was into exploring the place...
Ryan and Jeremy... in the same spot... still going at the teether giraffe!
Cutie pie!!!
My Uncle Mark and his grandson Ryan :) Sweet pic.
I think this is right after MJ gave Charlie a hug :)
So we decided to head downtown to the National Academy of Sciences. It was the perfect choice for all the ages of kids we had. There was a special exhibit about George Washington Carver, a Butterfly garden, animal exhibits, dinosaurs and a dig, etc.

On the way into the city, Charlie fell asleep. He even let me carry him while sleeping, which is completely unheard of! This kid is a fighter when it comes to sleep!
Ryan looking cute, as usual!
He's always a good sport, never saw him fuss!
Andrea and Matt, Jr.
So the animal exhibits were stuffed animals. They were really well-done! Charlie had seen animals at the zoo and the aquarium, but he'd never been able to walk on his own at those places. Here, he could stand in front of the glass and stare and chat about them all he wanted! That he did!
He's not always shy! Here he's talking to them about these animals!
While the rest of the group was ready after a few minutes, our little guy wanted to stay at many of the exhibits! Wonder if we've got a little scientist on our hands?
At the "dig" area, kids had to wear goggles and they got this special tool. I gotta be honest, I thought it was going to be one big sandbox. I was really impressed, though; it was not easy to dig into these "rocks" (more like some kind of cement). Plus, there were actually things to "DIG!"
Jeffrey helping Matt, Jr.
Becca and Charlie! (Becca is my cousin; also is Matt's sister, and Mark's daughter!)
Look at what they could dig, if they spent days doing it! I believe it's some kind of claw.
Charlie's looking for something!
Matt Jr. was just happy, happy! Here he is in front of a Polar bear!
Our little walker, going at his own pace.
In the butterfly garden! They had tons of different kinds of butterflies all over the place. I wanted one to come land on our shoulders, but :(
After this, we split into 2 groups: Those who were too puckered out to continue, and Those who were ready for Lunch! I'm always up for food, so off we went for lunch at Reading Terminal Market!

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