PA Going Away Party

Jake and I are so glad we got to have one last get together with some of friends from FUSE (sunday school group at Faith Church). The Meeker's hosted the going away party for us and we had a great time! Thanks for the pictures, Audrey and Andrea!

Elissa, Andrea, Margaret and I

Sam, Jake, Tyler, Ben, Andy and Jarrett

Cute cake and so appropriate for moving to Tennessee!

Jake wanted to reenact cutting the cake from our wedding...

With Tyler...

Dave and Elissa...friends and neighbors! Love them!

Most of the group!

Crazy boys!!

A frame with all of the states Jake and I have lived in together...Ohio, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and now Tennessee! Such a sweet gift!

Wrapping Things Up in Pennsylvania

Once we made the decision to move we immediately started packing up the house one box at a time and putting the packed boxes in the garage so they would be out of the way. Packing actually wasn't that bad! We also got rid of a lot of stuff that we didn't need.

We took a break from packing to enjoy the beautiful weather out on the lake with our friends Kim and Dave and their cute son, Logan. 

We grilled and had a delicious picnic dinner while the sun was setting over the lake.

Out with Andrea and Elissa!

We took another break from packing to be outside! Jake and Tyler golfed as Margaret and I relaxed in the golf cart!

I just found this picture! Dinner with the Meekers and the Capeharts at Youell's Oyster House in Allentown a couple months ago. This was a belated birthday dinner for Jake and Jim who both have February birthdays!

Saying goodbye to my office at Lehigh University!

Enjoying one last Saturday morning breakfast on the deck...

 

SO thankful for all of the friends who came to help us load the truck the night before we left. Don't know how we would have done it without you!!

 

Definitely going to miss these two! Love the Nelson's!

Marg and Andrea helping me clean out the fridge! Those little bottles were so great for cooking with wine!

 Alice is ready to go! I'm so glad she likes riding in the car...

Pulling out of the neighborhood! Jake drove the truck and I followed in the 4Runner.

Roman Ruins

Before Jake and I left the Lehigh Valley, we got to squeeze in one more murder mystery dinner party with some friends! The first and second murder mystery dinners were so fun, we just wanted to do one more with the group!

Dave and Elissa hosted and the theme was "Roman Ruins". Andrea ended up being the perpetrator this time. Everyone had great roman costumes (Elissa was Egyptian) and the food was delicious!

A cable guy rang the doorbell while we were trying to get a group picture, so we had him snap this photo for us. He asked if we were college kids and Elissa responded by saying, "No, we are young marrieds" (like a description of a sunday school class...it was funny).

 

 

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!