Welcome to the Land of FUN!

This is actually a place I have been excited to check out since BEFORE we moved to Philadelphia. It's called the Smith Playhouse, which is an outdoor playground as well as a huge indoor house filled, top to bottom, with cool toys! Apparently it runs completely off of donations, and fortunately there are good people willing to donate. They really seem to take good care of it too, they were actually doing construction while we were there. The drive just getting there was so pretty, and the kids really enjoyed themselves.

The basement is dedicated to all things cars, they have traffic lights, signs, and tons of different cars the kids can ride.



All aboard!


One of the cool things about their outside playground was that their toys are really unique. It's not like what you would see at a normal park, which was really cool.






It looks like their plotting against me!



One of the main attractions outside was their huge wooden slide that you ride down on a burlap sack. Jayda could have played on that all day. It was really cool, and surprisingly fast! Both of the kids loved it!

Snack and drink break.

This is the actual house, it's HUGE!

The middle floor has the big kitchen and another huge train, as well as a tumbling room and a reading corner. The upstair, which I didn't get a picture of, it set up kind of like a nursery with dolls and smaller toys. The kids can't be any older then five to be in the playhouse, so there's no risk of the babies getting run over by older kids.

Brave kids!

I'm a complete wimp. I don't like anything that puts me in even remote danger. So it's fun to watch my kids do things that are kind of brave. They aren't afraid of climbing, they aren't afraid of heights, fast slides, or going down backwards! Granted, they do get their fair share of bumps and owies, but it doesn't seem to slow them down, I'm pretty proud of that!

I have to keep a constant eye on this guy. Now that he can walk, he thinks he can do everything, including climbing everything in his path. He does pretty good, but still gets a little shaky and has to be caught from time to time.

Jayda going down backwards, I guess the conventional "feet forward" method just lost it's luster!

Ready to go again!

Jayda is a horrible crowder. The minute she sees anyone else going up the slide, she'll crowd right up behind them. Yeah, she's that person, sigh.

Hello world! (And Jayda desperately trying to get through!)

And of course, when slides and swings don't do it for you, there's always the good old mud!

Pout, pout, let it all out!

So, these pictures don't grasp what I'm trying to show at all. My boy has turned into such a ham, that he would smile at the camera regardless of how upset he it. Anyway, his new thing is when he pouts he lies flat on his back, silent, with no facial expressions until he gets over it. No screaming, no throwing a fit (well, sometimes he still throws a fit), he just lays there. It's pretty funny, I don't know if I'll ever get in on camera though since he turns into a clown everytime I pull it out!




Notice Jayda being a mermaid in the background!

Displays of cuteness

Daddy and Jayda making cookies, what a good helper!

My kids are weirdly obsessed with the leaves that are falling on the ground, they love to collect them, at least I get cute pictures out of them!
Me with my constant companions!


Skyler and his phone, he can't say hello yet, but he can say "OH!"

Boo!
This isn't a very good picture, but it just goes to show how close these two are!

He really hates the swing, you'd think I'd get a clue and quit putting him in it!

Going for walks and feeding the ducks!

One of my favorite things about where we live is that we are quite literally sitting on Fairmount Park. It takes about thirty seconds to drive to the main trail, and the kids really like it, Jayda calls it the jungle. The path that you walk goes right along the river and every once and a while you'll come across a random site of history, like the first drinking fountain built in Philly, or an old outside cafe. There is also a point where you can feed a big group of hungry ducks. I have to keep a close eye on the kids though, sometimes the ducks get a little too anxious and end up snapping food right out of the kid's hands! I LOVE the park, and right now it's so pretty with all the leaves changing. Here are some pics of us with some friends. I love the one with the kids on the park bench.

One of the reasons to love it in Philly

We have a huge selection of great take-out restaurants around. Most of them consist of pizza, stromboli and "steaks" (Philly cheesesteaks). I do like the cheesesteaks, but my favorite has got to be the pizza, which, compared to places like Pizza Hut, is pretty cheap when you desperately don't want to cook. This one is half pepperoni and the other is white pizza with spinach, fresh garlic and ricotta. One guess as to who's side belongs to who!

Swamp Thing

Okay, first of all, let me just say that I know that Idaho is dryer then a bone, but I have experienced humidity before. I know what it feels like. Having said that, I don't know that I have ever experienced humidity so thick that my eyes feel like they are draining out of my head, and I am breathing in nothing but sheer condensation...until now. Fortunately, it has been pretty cool outside lately, so it's not too bad, it only gets bad when it rains. But here is just a small example to how humid it gets here.


Our calendars are curling because of the humidity. They're probably trying to pry themselves off the wall so they can get in the shower! Anyway, I thought it was pretty funny.

Side shot of our calendar in our room.