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Then I’d join the children for breakfast at our own special table,

where we could look through this arch

into the ballroom and the fire started on chilly mornings.

After schooling, I’d grab a novel and a mug of hot cider and read on this porch

while they traversed the land,

discovering all sorts of special spaces made just for curious children.

Maybe I’d grab my journal and settle into this seat, 

and look up into this.

Maybe I’d invite a friend for tea and chatting here,

and we’d spend our quiet time taking in this view.

On rainy days, I’d encourage the children to explore the wood-lined room under the stairs

while I ran my hands over the smooth wood of the parlor.

If I lived in the Castle, life would be magical for us all.

We took our time, seeing most every exhibit, having fun touching everything. (And praying we didn’t pick up some virus or the Swine flu!)

We tested the brakes

before we rode on the real steam engine.

We spent plenty of time in the Heart wing.

Here we are making our way through the walk-through heart.

Chuck found out he has

of blood in his body. Interesting.

Brooke has always wanted to be a doctor. She decided to practice a little open heart surgery in preparation  for her future career.

Where else will you get to sit on a bone bench?

Or crawl through a blood vessel?

We made sure to get plenty of exercise to keep our hearts beating strong.

In the space wing we made and tested moon rovers

and watched a really cool movie in the plantarium all about the sun. Perfect preparation for our upcoming solar system study.

We had a BOO-last at the Liquid Scare show. Here the children are all molecules in a solid, packed tight together, being quite still.

I forgot to take photos of our faces at age 70, as seen through an age progression machine. That’s probably better left unphotographed, anyway

I do highly recommend the Institute for lots of science fun.

She and her husband are missionaries with CLC Publications just outside Philly. She invited me to visit with my family, and I couldn’t resist the offer.

We started our visit with a tour of the U.S. Mint–no photos allowed there. We learned all about how coins are made and actually watched the process happening live. How cool!

Friday night we toured the CLC publishing house. What fun to physically see the Editors’ offices and the old print room–and everything in-between. I asked to see the infamous ”slush pile,” but these days it’s more of an electronic thing.

We spent Saturday in downtown Philly strolling the same cobblestones great men in history walked.

The  line was very long to see the Liberty Bell, so we took our photo with the display at the Visitor’s Center instead, opting to come back on a weekday to see the actual bell.

We spent the majority of the day in the Franklin Institute science museum. (I’ll add another post with those photos soon.)

Sunday we worshiped with our friends and toured the Castle. The castle was my favorite place in Philly.

We had a fantastic time with new friends, in a new place. I hope we can get back there again next autumn.

Poor little Junior Sparks had been struggling to breathe all day. I assured them it would be just fine to put him right into fresh new tap water. I’d done it my whole life. He’d be just fine and he’d be able to breathe.

The next morning, Brooke told me Junior Sparks was sleeping. Oh no. To tell the truth or a story that would buy me time to get a replacement? It didn’t matter what I said–the look on my face was honest. No poker face here.

An apology and acknowledgement that yes, there just might be a pink fish out there somewhere, was enough to quell the tears. Now I know.  No fresh tap water for Junior Sparks Junior.

and were dangling our feet over the edge of the pier when we heard ”plop” and a squeal.

Then we saw it.

The shoe.

Floating away.

Completely out of reach.

[Lone Ranger music]

Then our rescuers rode up the canal.

And one happy little girl went back to collecting leaves.

Brad:

Brian:

Brooke:

(Like these crazy pumpkin storybook characters)

(And these wild slides)

(These fun bikes)

(And these colorful climbing tires)

This year we went with friends, which is always a good way to go.

Brian found a gazillion feathers for his collection.

The kids loved the upgraded hay maze.

I, the claustrophobe I am, loved the new platform above the maze where I could keep an eye on the little ones while still breathing calmly.

Of course no visit to Webers is complete without a trip to the pumpkin shack.

Webers, we wait with baited breath until next October.