A couple weeks ago my sister Annette and my 12 year old nephew flew into town for a visit. We saw them over Thanksgiving, but that was at the townhouse in Philadelphia so it had been a full five years since they last came to our place in California. So much has changed! The family […]
Archive for the ‘family’ Category
Concluding summer vacation in California
August 20th, 2024 by pleia2
I’m glad to be back at home in California. Spending 8 weeks over the summer in Philadelphia was an adventure, but I love our walkable town, the support network here (small as it is), and being back where all my stuff is here in California. Being home also means I’m back to healthier routines, including […]
Library fun, critters, and a final Philly train ride
August 5th, 2024 by pleia2
Over all we had a good summer in Philadelphia, but a round of COVID, canceled Florida trip, a sunburn, and a few days of MJ coping with an injury definitely made for some challenges. I joked with a friend that “we had a phenomenal Instagram summer!” because of all the activities and fun we had […]
Bringing the boys to New York City
July 29th, 2024 by pleia2
One of the things on our list for this summer in Philadelphia was making a side trip up to New York City. I’ve always enjoyed my visits to NYC, and it’s become increasingly clear that the boys love cities, it was time to finally introduce them to one of the greatest ones! We parked in […]
Please Touch Museum and trolleys in Philadelphia
July 24th, 2024 by pleia2
Last Saturday we headed down to Philadelphia for some weekend adventures. Our first stop was finally visiting the Please Touch Museum. It’s a Philly classic in terms of children’s museums. We also discovered when making the plan to head down that it’s now located in Fairmount Park, having moved in 2008 from the location on […]
Science and Sesame Place
July 23rd, 2024 by pleia2
Last year we learned about the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) Passport Program which offers benefits across dozens of science and technology centers nationwide, including free admission. This has been particularly useful when we travel to Philadelphia, since it means there are several museums nearby that we can get into for free. A […]
Accidental Philly staycation
July 22nd, 2024 by pleia2
As I wrote in my last post, a COVID infection sweeping through our house meant we had to cancel our trip to Florida. I thought about canceling my time off at work too, but I had already shifted my schedule around at work, and I needed a vacation, so I kept it. Plus, our au […]
Summer COVID
July 9th, 2024 by pleia2
Hours after I published the last post that I concluded with a mention of our planned trip to Florida, I came down with a sore throat. The next morning I woke up with the telltale headache, and then a message from a relative we’d spent the weekend confirmed it: COVID. The rapid test I took […]
Philly summer books, swimming, and baseball
July 2nd, 2024 by pleia2
We’ve now been in Philadelphia for four weeks, and our car decided that was enough. We woke up one morning to a tire that had incredibly low pressure, and upon inspection, it had a screw in it. Oops. MJ’s friend Matti was in town, so they were able to take it over to a local […]
Father’s Day weekend “down the shore”
June 21st, 2024 by pleia2
The boys love the beach. I’ve had this little fact tucked away in my head since we brought them to their first beach in San Francisco last year, but it’s tricky in northern California. Even during the summer, it can be quite cool on the California coast, and the water is not good for swimming. […]