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Library fun, critters, and a final Philly train ride

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

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 […]

Science and Sesame Place

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

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

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

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”

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. […]

Philly summer begins! Settling in, trains, and dinosaurs

We’re in Philadelphia for 8 weeks this summer! I know it’s going to fly by. Indeed, a week has already gone. But it was a bit of a settling in week, and our au pair took the traveling opportunity to take a vacation and MJ spent the week in NYC for work, so I was […]

Lego, cherries, a railroad museum, room-sharing, and a boat ride

On May the 4th we stopped by a Lego store. It was a total coincidence, aside from wearings Star Wars gear, we didn’t really do anything to “celebrate” Star Wars day. The Lego store was though, they had paper R2-D2 hats! Naturally, we had to go in. I walked out with an R2-D2, and a […]

Solo time at baseball and RSA 2024

I’ve always known I was an introvert, but my need for alone time to recharge was always a rather casual thing. Sure, I’d miss some parties and maybe I don’t go out as much as other people, but that’s OK. Having kids has changed that. I get very little time to myself, and ultimately it […]