Philly, PA!

This Sunday, we took advantage of our 2 1/2 week stay in Delaware, and drove to Philadelphia since it was a lot closer. We hopped on a double decker tour bus to see the sites throughout the historical city.

We hopped off our bus to check the Constitution Center to find that you have to pay to get in! We decided it wasn't cool enough, so we just took pictures like this one outside the Mint, then caught another bus to continue our tour!

We couldn't go to Philadelphia without trying out the famous Philly Cheesesteaks!! They were so gooood. Aaron's sandwich was packed and ended up spilling out all over. Kinda gross.. Statue of Joan of Arc, from the tour bus
Here's me again on the bus before we took off, with the trolleys in the background.

I think this was the City Hall, I don't even remember but I thought it was so pretty. We hadn't realized Philadelphia held so much of our nation's history. We saw the Rocky statue and steps, Betsy Ross' house, the LOVE state, George Washingon statues, etc.
Little did we know that the Liberty Bell was this small!!
While on our tour, we took this random picture, and without planning or realizing it, we both made this cheesy face!! Haha

Valerie's Wedding!

My sister, Valerie and Taylor got married on 08-08-08 in the Timpanogos Temple, and I was able to fly out to Utah for the sealing and festivities!! They met in the Boise ID mission, where they both served.The bridesmaids waiting outside the Temple: my youngest sister, Melanie, me, Kela (from Yakima, WA), Jamie (also from Yakima), and Sister Hendry (Valerie's mission companion). My studly brothers, James and Kent posing at the reception which they were soooo overjoyed to be at!
I spent most the time holding babies: here's 6-week old Alice, my newest sister.
My Grandpa Packard, who performed the sealing, and my Dad with Mia, waiting for Val and Taylor to come out of the Temple.Val and Taylor. Cute =)


After the wedding, while Val and Taylor were honeymooning in Maui, I took advantage of being in Utah and hit up Guru's downtown with my best friends, Jenna (engaged to my cousin, Bennett!) and Julie (expecting a boy in December!)

These were waiting for me when I got home (to Baltimore), compliments of Aaron! I guess he must have felt bed for missing out on the trip. Haha The past 2 weeks, Aaron and the team have been working in Delaware, 2 hours from Baltimore where we're currently living. Instead of driving back and forth everyday, the company got hotel rooms for all the guys, so me and Tasha went up to stay with them overnight! It's no fun being away from your husband for 2 weeks, with nothing to do! Our hotel is close by a beach, so we've gone a few times. It's been a fun and interesting slumber party with us 4: Ryan & Tasha and me & Aaron shoved into one hotel room!

Good Times in Pennsylvania!!

On Monday, me and 3 other girls went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to the popular Amish village where several of the other Apx wives had recommended we visit because of the fun shops and homemade snacks! We got a little bit of a late start, plus our GPS took us the longest route imaginable, but we made it for 2 hours of window shopping and fun sites in INTERCOURSE, PENNSYLVANIA, land of the Amish! Here's Bre and Angelia on the top, and me and Krista on the bottom of a little berry sign down the streets of the Kitchen Kettle Village, where we had some homemade ice cream.

The infamous sign of the Amish community... named this for REAL!! This is off the main road, and there's a pull-off spot for perves just like ourselves to get this awesome picture.


Just a glimpse of the Pennsylvania Dutch scenery... everything is so green and country-ish!


A real-life Amish man! They have these silly bicycle-scooter things that they wheel around on.

Me and the girls (Angela, Bre, and Krista) in front of a covered wagon inside the village of shops. There were lots of country-themed crafts and quilts and candles, and treats- it was a really fun trip!

This last Sunday, after Church, we headed to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to see the battlegrounds and take a free tour of the area. The museum and gift shop was pretty cool, and the weather was beautiful that day, but with the expansive area, we opted for an "auto tour," listening to a narrated CD in our car while we drove to each site. After about 2 hours, with another to go, I was bored out of my mind, and hadn't been feeling good that day to begin with, but I think Aaron had a good time. It really was interesting, but long. I'm glad we can say we went, but am bummed that after just 2 pictures, my camera went dead so we didn't even get pictures of the coolest sites of the battlefields.

This is inside the free museum, by some cannon. It's been really cool being out east, and being able to see all the historical sites and interesting, unique attractions of the area.

Me and Aaron recently tacked a map of Maryland onto our wall.. partially so we could be more familiar with our state, but mostly to decorate our bare walls! (We've gotten desperate!) We decided that Maryland and it's surrounding states have the best-named cities of all the world, which one day we might get around to visiting:


1. Assawoman, MD

2. Frizzleburg, MD

3. Intercourse, PA

4. Hardscrabble, DE

5. Lititz, PA