Touring the Capitol

Friday we got to take a tour with Riley after his meetings. I wasn't super excited about the Capitol, but it was one of my favorite things of the trip. This is where the House of Representatives and the Senate meet to pass bills and we got sit in on one of the debates.
This is the painting inside the big dome. It was hand painted and the man actually fell off the scaffolding while painting. Can you imagine painting that well upside down? That is George Washington in the purple blanket thing. All the art and architecture of the building was pretty amazing.
The lines were long and we had to wait wherever we went. Elli passed the time by twirling in any open space. I love the look of the girl behind her.

Finding Stuff To Do

We are not used to these long summers having come from a year round school schedule, so I thought we should get a pool membership and go swimming almost everyday. We've gone about 3 times and each time the kids freeze! It barely gets above 80. I'm not complaining at all, but for the membership sake, I hope August warms up a little bit.
Elise, remember these? They don't call them Roller Racers anymore. Something like Sidewalk Scooter and they are still kind of expensive. We found an outdoor shopping mall with a toy store and candy factory, so the kids let me go there if we are bored. We both win.
And here's a park with old toys in it that we came across. You don't see merry-go-rounds very much anymore. I'm always the pusher.

House Pictures, finally!

Alright everyone, but mostly Mom. Here are all the pictures of the house. I didn't get the basement, but it has my sewing stuff and the toys. the pictures are a bit blurry, sorry about that. Hopefully, though, you'll be able to put the pictures together and get an idea of what it's like. The neighborhood is full of town homes squished together, but once you get inside you don't feel squished. Oh, and by the way... we moved to Macungie, Pennsylvania. Riley is attached to a reserve unit in Allentown. We should be here about 3 years.

Front Room and Entry

Here is the front door and living room. I was so excited to have a place for the piano and my clock. I feel a little bad that I like my stuff so much, but I really like my stuff!

Family Room

The previous owners had these walls painted a plum purple color that did not go with anything I had. It matched the border she had in the kitchen, but it still didn't work. That was really the only thing we had to change. And we replaced the carpet upstairs.

Kitchen and Yard

This is the eat in kitchen. I was pretty worried there wouldn't be enough room for the table, but there is plenty. We took down a border and painted. I still need to paint one of the chairs.
The deck is right off the side of the kitchen. Not a huge yard, but Riley bought an old fashioned push mower, so it seems big on grass cutting days. The neighbor keeps offering his lawn mower whenever Riley mows it.

Stairs

We made it to the top. The stairs are split in two sections with a turn.

Bedrooms

Here's Riley's and my bedroom. There's a closet and bathroom behind me. We are on the back of the house.This is Elli's side of the room.
This is Amy's side.
And Adam's. He doesn't want anything on his walls. Too bad. I'll find something. Their rooms are at the front of the house.

Bathrooms

This is the kids bathroom upstairs. It has light blue walls. The floor is tiny tiny tiles. I love the floor.This is the 1/2 bath on the main floor. The paint is green. I like it, too.

Picking Cherries at Strawberry Acres

Pennsylvania has several pick-your-own farms, so we decided to try cherries. We missed strawberries, but still get to do apples in August and peaches in September. Mmm.

We had to take a little truck ride and the farm was so neat. And the cherries were so plump and colorful. These are Empire cherries, not the black ones at the store, but they are just as sweet.

We easily could have picked more, but we spent over $30 as it was. Even Adam had fun picking. He got up on my shoulders to reach some great big ones for a second. He is heavy!

I can't decide if we should make a cheesecake or a almond cherry cake. Mmm boy!

Posing for a Picture

Amy jumped behind the Johnny Appleseed board.
Elli picked what I guess is Strawberry Shortcake. Amy didn't know which one she was behind.
Getting a ride on the bus.

Coming down the Turbo Tube

The farm had a big slide for the kids that they tried after eating a cookie from the bakery. It was a slow slide. I think maybe because they kids got their bums wet. Maybe.

"I want to do my OWN hair!"

Elli hates to have her hair done, by me. Since it's summer, I'm going to let her do it herself. When school is here, I hope it's long enough we can just braid it or put it back in a ponytail.

You can't see the bottom one very well, but each side has a tiny braid. Very pretty.

Fun at the Laundromat

We had to do our laundry from the hotel at a laundromat. I was kind of scared to go into one, but it wasn't scary at all. I think it was one of the kids' favorite things to do while we were there. We went 3 times. Luckily we were the only ones there for the most part. It was just like the movies! (just for you Heather)

Hotel Living

Riley had to start work before our house was ready to move into. We got to stay in a hotel for the 2 weeks until it was time to move in. The hotel room had a little kitchen and a hide-a-bed couch, so it wasn't too bad. And they had a full breakfast and dinner most days so it was like a little vacation for me. Sort of.
We watched a lot of TV and built a lot of forts.
The kids swam almost everyday.
And we found a dog park for Sandy and she loved it! It was good place to let her run and play with other dogs. Here she's playing with her favorite friend, Nova.

Captain Ockerman

Riley was promoted from 1st Lt. to Captain right before we moved. Here's the pinning. I'm always afraid I'm going to drop the bars or poke him with them.
Riley taking the oath.
Happy Captain. I'm a captain's wife!

One Last Trip to the Beach

The one thing we all wanted to do before we left North Carolina was to go to the beach. We wanted to go several times actually but only made it this once. Adam dug and dug and the girls mostly jumped in the water.

30th Birthday

Yes, yes. Sadly, I turned 30 this year. I don't feel like it. I wouldn't want to go back to being 20 again, though. 30 feels good. Here are a few of the cool things I got for my birthday. The apron and bird towel are from Kathy. I do love birds! Riley got me the bright red pot. I do love red! And Lenette and Riley both came up the driveway with flowers... at the same time! I do love flowers! And I'm wearing a new outfit courtesy of my mom. I do love clothes! It was a very nice birthday to turn 30 with.
At our house, picking out what kind of cake you want is always a big deal. I've always wanted to make petite fours and thought it was a good idea since they are so small and I should be able to have just a couple. But because they are so small, you can have more, right?