Jersey Week and Valley Forge

We said goodbye to dear friends of ours recently. The Wilkins family moved west to Oklahoma; we miss them so much already! (We hope to visit with them the next time we are in TX.) Before they left for OK and we left for NJ, we got together for some play time.
Nice face, Elizabeth! ;)



On the day we left for NJ, we ladies joined the Heit's and the Turman's for some fun at the Rio. The kids had a great time--I loved this picture of Reed and Lizzie "riding their bikes!"

We also went to the park nearby and found some ducks along the way!




We went to New Jersey on Sept 23, intending to stay for only the weekend. The girls and I ended up staying for the week! Springer's Ice Cream in Stone Harbor, NJ needed some help with some end of the season things, since many employees went back to school.
Before Chris went back to MD, we walked the boardwalk and stopped by the Irish Festival in North Wildwood.




I loved helping out at Springer's! I scooped ice cream, washed dishes, and thoroughly enjoyed myself! I felt like I was back in high school :) It didn't really feel like work because I was surrounded by family and friends. I brought the camera and naturally, we documented as much as we could--






During the day, my mom went to Springer's to help out so the girls and I had that time to run errands for the family or to do whatever we wanted. We saw Katie play in one of her tennis matches and we saw Julia play in one of her soccer games too.
We enjoyed the very summer-like weather in the front yard.



We went to the beach to play!




We also went to 24th street park.



We even visited to the Cape May County Zoo. The zoo has great parks as well :)






When Chris came back to NJ, we ate breakfast at the Hot Spot on the boardwalk. It was AWESOME! On our way back to my parents' house, Chris spotted go-karts so he and Lizzie went for a ride. I only got two pictures because my camera died suddenly; the second picture is perfect--Lizzie had that smile on her face during the entire ride!



After a fabulous General Conference weekend, we headed back to MD for a day and a half before we once again packed our bags for another adventure away from home. Chris had some training to do up in Valley Forge, PA so we ladies joined him for the trip. While Chris was at training during the day, we kept ourselves occupied at The King of Prussia Mall and Valley Forge National Park.
Good morning from the Killion girls!

The best store in the mall was The Disney Store. Lizzie was in her element!



Cate slept during all of this but I had to put some Minnie ears on her!


We had a great day and a half exploring Valley Forge National Park because the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We loved the wide open spaces and the fall colors blanketing the area.









On Friday afternoon, we picked up Chris from the LMCO building and we headed into Philly! My mom, dad, and sister Julia drove up to the city for a day trip (Katie and Joe still had school) so we decided to meet up with them. I LOVE walking through Philly's historic sights district--Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Carpenter's Hall, etc.




We discovered a new museum with beautiful portraits and statues of early American leaders like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, etc.



Liz found herself a bonnet and a little Liberty Bell!


We made it over to Butler's Orchard this morning for Sophie's birthday party! The girls had a blast (before Cate became cranky, aka needed a nap). Happy Birthday to our dear friend Sophie!





We are happy to be home--see you next week!