Weekend with the Barrick's

Jared and the adorably pregnant Susannah drove from Nebraska to Pennsylvania to visit Jake and I! In case you didn't realize, that is 1/2 way across the country! They were with us for the weekend and they left Monday morning to continue their vacation in Washington DC. They are both Omaha natives, so they were super excited to explore the east coast!

We spent the evening on Thursday catching up since it has been almost a year since we saw them. On Friday Susannah and I went antiquing while Jake and Jared did some home improvement things. After that we all went to Bethlehem to enjoy the warmer weather. To prep for our journey to Philadelphia the next day, we watched National Treasure. We spent all day Saturday in Philly and all day Sunday in NYC. It was so fun showing them around both cities! It's kinda nice knowing my way around these cities enough to be able to show people around. I am an event planner, so naturally I made itineraries for both days, highlighted maps, made lunch reservations, ordered tickets for Independence Hall (Philly) and The Lion King on Broadway (NYC), and decided on parking locations way in advance. We didn't necessarily stick to the plan the whole time, but I definitely wanted Jared and Sus to see as much as they could!

Here is our weekend in review:

In front of Independence Hall:

 

The first and longest continually running post office in the US. It is the only post office in the US that does not fly an American flag in the front of the building because it was operating before the flag existed. The passage way on the right led to Benjamin Franklin's house and printing press. The brick walls in the tunnel are original.

The first bank of the US

The second US bank

Elfreth's Alley (below) in Philly is the nation's first residential street. These were typical homes that artisans, craftsmen, and merchants lived in. 

House for sale on Elfreth's Alley! The whole house is seriously 9' wide and going for about $600k!

Jake and I infront of Congress Hall

Liberty Bell

Jared and Sus get all the photo credit for the pictures in Philly because I didn't have my camera! I love the history in Philly and Jake and I got to see a lot of things we didn't get to see last time we were in Philly.

Now to New York City...

View of Lower Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry

Isn't he cute... :-)

Visiting the Charging Bull in the Financial District. This statue represents a bull market and is a token of optimism...

Central Park....Jake and I took a similar picture on this very rock last October when I was in the city for the very first time!

We saw The Lion King on Broadway and I love, love, LOVED it!

We are so glad you guys came out to the east coast! Hope to see you again soon and we can't wait to meet little Baby Barrick!

See ya later Omaha!

Well, Jake and I made the trek from Omaha, Nebraska to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. We are really going to miss Omaha and the wonderful friends we made there! I lived in Omaha for exactly a year (to the day!) and Jake lived there a little longer...we weren't expecting to like it so much, but I think our great friends had something to do with that! I also had a great job that I loved at Kiewit, we had the best neighbors EVER, got connected at a great church, and so much more. The Lord provided so much for us in Omaha and it was a great place to start our marriage, but we are excited for this new adventure.

Jake and I standing in front of the very first house we owned!

The whole Journey Group (our Bible Study) led by Wes and Connie. We love this group!

We tried to cram in as much time with our friends before we had to leave!

Out to dinner with Noah and Melinda

Dinner with Jared and Susannah

The Barrick's got a cute puppy named Thor...Jake loved him!

Jake sold his project Bronco. It was kinda sad...we would have loved to have been able to keep it, but it isn't the easiest thing to move and we are downsizing in PA. Not sure if we will have the garage space for it either. What will Jake's next project car be?

The drive took a total of 20 hours. Jake was already working in PA, so I packed up the car and drove 10 hours to Indiana...Jake flew into Indy and we enjoyed Memorial Day weekend with family. I was mostly worried about the cat, Alice, and how she would do in the car. The first 2 hours of the trip she made the most pathetic noises ever, wouldn't stop meow-ing, and was just stressed. She finally settled down and slept like a rock most of the trip. When Jake and I drove from Indy to PA, I took a ton of pictures of the cat in the car...I got bored!

So, for the month of June we are settling in this cute little house in Bethlehem, PA.

We didn't have AC for the first few days, we have no TV, no internet (that's why it has taken me so long to get this post up), and we are just living simply. It's a nice change of pace from what we are used to. We still don't know where we are going to settle...or where I will be working. More updates on this new adventure to come soon!

Home Improvements: The Kitchen!!

I love our updated kitchen. Jake did an amazing job ripping out cabinets and counters; building a pantry; and installing new lights, appliances, a sink, cabinet hardware, and countertops. We also ripped off the nasty wall paper and painted the walls.

Before:

After:

 Before:

After:

The three hanging lights below are in place of a row of cabinets (see the first picture above). These cabinets were blocking all of the natural light and making the kitchen closed off. Removing the cabinets has opened up our kitchen so much!

This is the breakfast nook attached to the kitchen. I love the built in china hutch!