No Miracles in Philadelphia

Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty

I was one of the 35,000 who gathered in Independence Park on a warm Friday evening to hear the White House hopeful. The sea of people sprawled across nearly three city blocks. Unfortunately, the messiah, err, candidate, was noticeably tired at 9:00pm, the message was more partisan than I had hoped, and there weren't any mass healings. I was really wishing for that pain in my lower back to go away.

Spring Break

Boccie on the Beach

Sometimes Ben and I have to remind ourselves that we're now legitimate Philadelphians. But judging by the frequency of our Carolina jaunts--Charlotte, Charleston, Savannah, Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head just last week--we are starting to forget who we are supposed to be. The family has something to do with it, this week its was my Minnesota parents who were the reason for the trip. We joined them, and my brother Judson for a spring break stroll among some of the most beautiful streets in the old south, warm

Hilton Head

beaches, and boccie ball and shuffle board tournaments. In a blur we also ended up on stage at Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede riding a wooden horse (Ben still thinks it was a bad dream). On our way home we stopped by the new south, Charlotte, and had a fun visit with Ben's side of the family, John, Stacie, and Elise. Now its back to the real world...

Stacie, Elise and Toni

Ben's Birthday!

I took Ben to the fireman's museum for his birthday. Not exactly Barbados, but a blast nonetheless. Afterward, Grayson, our box-addict cat, enjoyed playing with Ben's gifts almost more than he did.

It's all down hill from here folks...

Through a freak accident I am teaching, sorry "precepting" (leading discussion sections), for the young boys and girls at Princeton University this spring. Next up, South Central River East Valley Community College. But before that happens, I will have had the pleasure of sharing a lecture podium with Woodrow Wilson, however fleeting.

Warm Weekend in Charlotte

On Friday, Philadelphia had its first real snow fall this winter. Instead of enjoy the snow, we thought we'd escape it. We called Ben's brother John and his wife Stacie to see if we could come down for a "less cold" weekend in Charlotte. After a two minute conversation, a 5 minute fast-pack, and another 560 miles on our odometer, we found ourselves amongst family. We were also excited to see how much our niece Elise had grown. She is now crawling and chatting up a storm in her own language.

The brothers spent time working on building projects and fires (controlled we hoped) while the girls spent time baking and shopping.

It was a great weekend, thanks John, Stacie, and Elise!

Goodbye Kata

After 3 months working as a travel nurse in Philadelphia Kata is headed back to Minnesota. Ben and I really enjoyed having her so close. Here are a few of our favorite things we did before she headed out.


The Naked Chocolate Cafe

Mani Pedis

A Full Plate Cafe

Chipotle!

Chipotle has arrived in Philly! It is so nice to have a little piece of MN here!