Winterthur Gardens!!!

 Summer is rapidly coming to a close, so we are trying to pack in some last minute summer fun!!  We decided to check out theWinterthur Gardens that we have been hearing so much about.  These gardens, as well as the amazing mansion on the grounds, were owned by one of the Dupont brothers.  They made ALOT of money in the early 1900's manufacturing gun powder!!

This was one of the most beautiful, unique old trees.  Henry Dupont loved nature and gardens and spent alot of time and money selecting and planting nearly all the trees, bushes and flowers in his gardens which are over 1000 acres!!

 There was also a darling little Enchanted garden for the kids!!  Here are Jane and Beckham in the fairy circle. When they stepped inside of it, it filled with this magical cloud!!! :)

 The kids loved it!!

 Jane found a darling little fairy table and chairs.

 The fairy cottage was my favorite part of the Enchanted gardens.  It was so ornate and cute!!

 Jane and Beckham are sitting in the fairy thrones...

 Here is the little fireplace inside the cottage :)

 Here is a view of the outside. So darling!!

 Beckham found his favorite thing in every garden we visit...a water pump!

 This little witched hut is made out of a hollowed out tree!! 

 There was a cool upside down tree and in this little window which was carved into the tree, there was a tiny fairy room :)

 Here is another view of the amazing fairy cottage with a wishing well outside it!!

 Here are the kids in a large bird's nest.

 This labyrinth was surprisingly long!!

 The kids had so much fun in this sweet Enchanted garden.  They ran, they jumped, they laughed, they played.  Watching my kids have fun is my favorite thing to do!!

 A stone face in the ground...neat!!

 Of course, we also explored as many of the other areas of the garden as we could!!

 This is a picture of what used to be the pool when the Duponts lived there.  Isn't it beautiful?!

 A waterfall...

 Before we took a tour of the house, the kids were able to enjoy a please touch museum!!  The kids said this was their favorite part of the day!!  They were able to dress in colonial clothes and play in a colonial kitchen and dining room, cook with iron cookware and pretend food and play with old wooden toys!!!  They had a blast...and I was served one heck of a feast :)

 Here is the dining room we saw in the mansion.  this home is 9 stories tall and has 145 rooms...all fully decorated!!  We saw 15 rooms and they were amazing!! Henry Dupont was a collector of antiques, china and unique furniture from all over the world.  It was truly an amazing home!!

 This room was decorated in all Chinese furniture.  The wallpaper was from china and had ornate paintings of life in china.  It was beautiful!!

 The spiral staircase!!

Well, another wonderful day for the books!! Happy end of summer all :)

East Coast Adventures!!

 We have had so many wonderful new experiences while here in the East.  Here are just a few more... It rains here on the East coast a lot more than I am used to.  This was the lake we had outside our window during one particularly rainy day...

 To stay entertained, we crafted!!

 We discovered a gorgeous, old town called Odessa, when we went on a double date with some friends!!  I am telling you, this is the most gorgeous little street I have ever seen.  I wish I had gotten a picture of it :( At least I got a picture of our new favorite restaurant on the street, Cantwell Tavern.  It is built inside of a very old hotel!! The food is amazing and the atmosphere is the prettiest!!! Love it!!

 When there is no rain here...it is HOT and HUMID.  So, we have done a lot of swimming this summer. At the free little pool on base and just at home!

 My kids could do this for hours!!

 One weekend, we set off to find something fun to do and ended up having such a great day.  Ryan took us to a yummy creamery where we got delicious ice cream!!

 It just so happened that there was a bluegrass festival going on at the creamery as well!! It was truly amazing experience to hear all these great musicians come together and just play even though they had never played together before!!  They sounded so great!!

 One man even let Jane and Beckham play his mandolin with the group as they played!!

 Then we went on a walk through some beautiful Pennsylvania woods!!  It was hot, but we had a great little adventure!!

 It as a beautiful little walk...I simply refuse to call it a hike even though they touted it as that.  Not according to this Utah gal!! :)

I cannot believe summer is almost over and Jane will start KINDERGARTEN in just over a week :( boo hoo!!  It has gone by way too fast.  But, at least I can say that we made the best of it and had another amazing summer!!

Summa Time Fun and Goodbyes!!

 Exploring Delaware and the surrounding states with the family has been so much fun for us. One weekend we took a drive to Ocean City. The beaches there were beautiful!!  The kids had so much fun playing in the crystal clear waves.

 Cutest kids in the world right there!!!!

 Very sandy feet = A FUN day!!

 These kids love their daddy!! Ryan was super sweet and played in the water with the kids, getting wet and sandy and uncomfortable in the process :)

 Fourth of July for us was a little lonely this year.  It was our first Fourth of July without family.  Last year Bryan and Wendy hung out with us and every year before that, we spent the Fourth home in Utah.  Luckily, we found some wonderful friends from our ward to spend the day with!!! Jane loved watching the Dover parade with her girlfriends :)

 After the parade we walked around and explored all the activities and food booths they had set up.  We got ice cream and a funnel cake!! Not the healthiest day ever...but it was delicious!!

 The "first state" does not disappoint with the fireworks!!!

 We had to say Goodbye to the last remaining family that we have on the East coast with us!!  I was so sad to see this sweet family leave, but they are embarking on a great new chapter in their lives and I will always remember the wonderful times we were able to spend with them here on the East coast.

 These cousins LOVE eachother!!

 We went on a walk, played on some parks and ate lunch at a delicious Mexican restaurant!!!  It was a bittersweet day :(

We have been having a fabulous summer so far!!!  We have had so many wonderful adventures together :)
Matthew, Courtney, Charlotte, Edward, Henry and William- we will miss you!!!! Good luck in Cali :)