(Note: I'm splitting July into two parts, because we had so much fun this month that I couldn't fit it into one blog post.)
My parents came to visit! Here are the kids' faces right before Grandma and Grandpa arrived.
Neal and I picked them up at the airport in Philadelphia, and we all went out for cheesesteaks.
We visited the National Canal Museum, which is always fun and has a lot of hands-on exhibits. We also rode the canal boat, pulled by mules, and learned about the history of canals in our area.
Last time my parents came, we went tubing down the Delaware River. It was so much fun, we decided to do it again. This time turned out to be a little more exciting. The water level was much higher this year, and quite a bit faster! We still had a great time, but the current swept us right past the takeout point. We managed to frantically paddle ourselves to the side, and then had to hike back up with our inner tubes. It was a little too exciting of an ending, but we all made it.
On the evening of Independence Day, we watched the fireworks from our favorite spot: the business building at Lehigh.
We were excited to go to Bethlehem's Blueberry Festival for the first time, but it turned out to be pretty boring. There were a few interesting things, but not many, and nothing seemed very blueberry-centered. It was also very, very hot.
The Tileworks and Fonthill Castle were much more interesting. Even though I'd been to the Tileworks before, I'm still amazed by the process and the craftsmanship. I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.
None of us had toured Fonthill Castle, so it was all new. It was weird and
wonderful! Its creator, Henry Chapman Mercer, was quite eccentric! There were so many things to take pictures of, and so much detail everywhere, I couldn't ever put the camera down!
We went to an IronPigs game, which started out great, and then it started pouring rain. We all had to run under the covered areas. The game paused until the rain let up, but it started raining again and we decided to go home early. (The IronPigs ended up finishing the game, but lost anyway.)
We didn't get to spend as much time showing Mom and Dad around Philadelphia as we would have liked. The only time we had was before we took them back to the airport. At least it was enough to see some of the highlights, like Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.
Here are a few other photos from their visit. We walked along the Saucon Valley Rail Trail, watched the original 1933 King Kong (Grant was so excited - he loves old monster movies these days), and made beignets. Mom and Dad also took the kids out for a sushi lunch. Grant has never been interested in using chopsticks, until Grandpa offered to teach him how. Now he's very proud!
Saying goodbye. It's always sad, but it was so wonderful to have them come!
And here's the obligatory update on the bathrooms. There's a sink
and shower glass in the first bathroom, and now that it's usable, we've torn apart the master bathroom.
