2.17.2008

Visitors!

Brandon's brother Brett & his wife Shelby came to visit us during Christmas break. It was great having them here, although I felt bad that their trip coincided with my short trip to Utah, so I didn't get to hang out with them as much as I would have liked to! The good thing is that they'll be moving to DC in June...yea! It will be nice to have family back east :)

Brett & Shelby in front of City Hall

Shelby in front of the Valley Forge National Memorial Arch

We're collecting pictures of us with people in front of the Liberty Bell...this was the 6th time I've been in the six months we've lived here, and I still enjoy it! All of the history here continues to fascinate me!

1.14.2008

Our weekend in the Pocono Mountains!

We decided to take advantage of Brandon having his only week of vacation this year, so we decided to go somewhere special.

"Aruba, Jamaica...(no, too expensive and far)...ooh! I wanna take ya to the Poconos." We got there slow, and went fast!
***You need Brandon to sing it to get the full effect :)

Raymondskill Falls:

Khylo loves to hike, but dogs weren't allowed on some of the trails, so we had to carry him.

The spray from the Falls made the ground pretty icy!

Brandon liked this picture of the poor, unfortunate and uncautious stick-man.

Shohola Falls:

We spent much longer finding Shohola Falls than we spent appreciating their beauty.

Dingman's Falls:

Spectacular! We had to hike in to the trailhead, and once we got there, we found out that dogs weren't allowed on this trail either. I don't think Khylo minded!

We hiked clear to the top, it was amazing!

The Appalachian Trail:


One of the few patches of snow we found, although they got a snowstorm today.

We were amazed at how green it was. We're excited to go back in the summer...if it's this green in January, it must be amazing in June!


There were really cool mosses everywhere. This type of moss almost looked like miniature pine-trees. (double-click on the picture and you'll see what I mean!)

Brandon's New Years...

Brandon had an incredibly exciting New Years...he got to spend it at the hospital, working! Just another "perk" of being an intern--he gets to work a lot!

Chaci's New Years...

My family went up to our cabin (which they have been laboring hard to build!)

It was great to hike, relax, and spend time as a family!


Going on a walk with my Mom and Kenzi...wearing my Mom's snowpants from when she was in high school.
My brother Chaz


Taking my brother Kao knee-boarding.

1.04.2008

Our first Christmas away from home!

Christmas felt a little weird this year, for although it was our seventh Christmas together, it was our first Christmas away from home. Brandon went above and beyond to make it a special day...and it was!

We went ice-skating by the river, with a great view of the city and the Benjamin Franklin bridge.





12.09.2007

Independence ward Christmas party--to the Washington DC temple!

Our inner city ward chartered a bus to the DC temple for our Christmas party. It was great!

These are 2 of Brandon's young men--Basheer & Baseer
The bus stopped to pick up Santa on the way...



The Wissahickon-our Philly refuge!


We love to go on walks and bikerides in Fairmount park, along the Wissahickon river. Brandon found out there were climbs underneath this massive bridge (in the top left hand corner.) He did a great job, although it scares me to belay him!


Khylo likes the Wissahickon too! The leaves were INCREDIBLE!!!