I kind of want to skip writing about our 5 days in Philadelphia because my whole, nearly-finished draft with tons of detail vanished. Even though that's exactly what google-save is supposed to avoid. But I won't skip it entirely because that wouldn't be fair to everyone we shared time with ... and we had a great time. But still - lame blogspot. Lame. Suffice it to say that the original post was hilariously witty and edge-of-your-seat interesting. Promise. And included much more gracious thank-yous than just "Thank you!" Now here's the rundown:
- We left Galveston on Wednesday the 18th at 3am to catch a flight from New Orleans -- Philadelphia and arrived at 7:30pm. Book grandparents whenever possible for travel with small children.
- Three Fawn Farm, aka Resort Young; Barb & Terry's farm an hour outside of the city is comfortable, beautiful and has countless amenities for your enjoyment: animals, a pool, a bonfire, poison ivy, real.good.food, sidewalk chalk, a broom, animal leashes, and a mist attachment for the hose. The latter 4 may have been added by a certain toddler we all hold dear.
- Seriously, the food. Mrs Barb in all her Italian-mama glory. Thank you, thank you! She went out of her way to get special things for Paul, saying, "I know he won't starve, but I want him to like it here." And, boy, did we all! Something fancy every morning for breakfast as well as delicious dinner when we weren't involved in wedding events.
- Little random outings:
See-saw with Paul
Pa Gerry & Gran Susan entertain Ada en route - Rehearsal dinner: Friday night saw Dylan and me train into town with Adeline, leaving Paul with his team of babysitters: Susan, Gerry, Barb, Terry, & Whitney. We arrived at the Four Seasons for drinks about 7, I enjoyed reconnecting with my high school buddies, and Dylan caught my attention at 9:30, asking if I knew what time it was. We only had 20 minutes before the last train, and the salads were just being served! I said g'byes, coveted their food, and we headed for the train ... and leftover Brats from the bonfire. We looked nice, though.5b. I got to nurse on a massage table of the Four Seasons. After asking where I could nurse that's not a bathroom, the concierge hemmed and hawed before his "aha" and sent me to the spa. Very nice. Adeline would book that table again. (Have I mentioned that she must lie down to eat? Weird, baby, weird.)
- Wedding Day! I started the day thinking about how I started my own wedding day and what others must have done on my wedding day before the wedding. Because while Heather was all aflutter (I'm assuming...) and getting ready, I was playing with a pig. Aaanyway. The wedding was for 5:30 at the Tyler Arboretum, we found our seats in the little white folding chairs you see in movie weddings, everyone entered, Heather looked sensational, Amanda, Jennifer, and I did our readings (from Winnie the Pooh, the Velveteen Rabbit, and The Little Prince), Heather & Connell said their vows and walked away under bubbles as husband and wife. It was lovely.
- Cocktail hour before dinner. Then Susan & Gerry intercepted Paul for us, so that he could have a normal-ish bedtime. We kept little Ada with us to party on. BUT! Before we ate and partied, and during said interception, an older man and I had the strangest conversation. Dylan was maybe 10 yards away changing Paul's diaper, I held Ada on the way to find a place to (lie down on the grass and) feed her, and he says, "Whadya havta do to make him change a diaper?" Without giving the script of the next 5 or 6 exchanges, he insulted my husband, criticized how I feed my children solid food, and judged me for taking my nursing infant around with me instead of leaving formula for a babysitter. Wait, what?? What just happened? It was so weird. The oddest is that I didn't expect it and wasn't rude or defensive in response, quite honestly. Ah well. We cleaned up nicely, so that was fun.
- Late night. I KNOW! Let's wake up early and wake the children up to visit downtown Philly. I wasn't the happiest camper at 7am on Sunday, but once we got on the train and got to see Paul so excited, things became easier. Little coffee helped, too. It was really great to walk the city again and show Susan & Gerry the parts that we know & like. I love Philadelphia.
In Elfrath's Alley - Sunday seemed to last a while because we fit so many different things in. After playing tourists, we napped, went to Mass, and then came back to ride Annie the horse! It was wonderful - for me, for Paul & Ada, and Dylan and Susan enjoyed it, too. Thank you so much, Barb & Whitney. Annie's so great, she wouldn't even trot with me at first because she knew I was all - wrong. Barb gave me a quick tip, and then we got going on a trot. I have a long way to go.
Paul & I on Annie with Mrs. Barb
Ada on Annie 
Ada on Pearl
Susan on Annie 
Dylan on Annie
And Monday was travel day. Again. Kids did just fine, but seriously - book grandparents.
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