Presidents' Day

Thank you to the February babies who grew up to be presidents. I LOVE having a day off in February. This year, we decided to take a quick day trip to Philadelphia to check out some of our nation's historic sites and honor our presidents by being where the history was made. We had a blast. It's about a 2-hour drive from NYC. The more I explore, the more I love the east coast. I go to Pennsylvania frequently to visit Derek, but I'd never really spent time in Philadelphia. Philly was a beautiful city and I could definitely get used to the cheesesteaks... YUM! Here are a few pictures from our quick excursion.

Me, Josh, Libby and Valerie at the Liberty Bell

A little too chilly to go commando...

Liberty Bell

Who doesn't want to ride a buffalo???

Rocky Steps... I got 'em

Jim's for Philly Cheesesteaks... AMAZING!

Spelling Bee

We had a stake singles spelling bee for FHE last Monday night. I thought it was a really great, creative activity. Unfortunately, I got out in the first round..... DANGIT! I misspelled G-R-A-F-I-T-T-I or wait, is it G-R-A-F-F-I-T-T-I, or G-R-A-F-F-I-T-I... stupid double consonants. oh well, at least I got an apple for effort. I still remember the word I misspelled in the AZ state spelling bee when I was little. I even asked for the origin of the word because my Dad and I had been practicing the different endings of words based on origin. (Sidenote: I know that I was and probably still AM a dweeb... not a newsflash for me) The word they gave me was Austere. I asked for the origin. They said it was French. I was so excited because I remembered many of the French endings and I was CERTAIN that I'd get it right. So I spelled... O-S-T-I-E-R-E. IERE??? what in the world was I thinking. I am pretty sure I thought a little too hard for my own good. (Something I do all too frequently) And that was that. They dinged the bell and I was out. I was heartbroken. At least this go-round I got an apple to drown my sorrows!

spelling my word

Jasmine and I waiting our turn