Our Last Full Day with lots of fun...

Today was a full last day. We began with going to the Canfield Fair. Now this is no ordinary fair, nobody in Ohio misses the fair. They have everything from the largest pumpkin, to an old town, to tanks, the poor man's caramel apple to fun rides. Uncle Phil has an "in" with some friends of his so we got free rides and entrance fees. Altogether it was lots of fun! 

As soon as we got home from the fair we went to Aunt Jo and Uncle Dave's to help cousin Beth (who is visiting from Pennsylvania) to make curtains for her coming baby girl. We got those done in a jiffy. Soon after we were done with the curtains cousin Michelle showed up with her husband Andy, and kids Maya, and Mesa. They are from Pennsylvania also. It was really neat that we all happened to be here at the same time. We had a big family dinner tonight with everybody. It was lots of fun, with Uncle Dave telling stories about when he was younger. We had lots of fun playing with Caleb and the other kids and talking to our cousins.

Cousin Beth and Veronica

Getting ready for dinner

Dinner time!

Bill and Denise

Uncle Dave, Michelle, and Aunt Jo

Caleb "isn't he so cute?"

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The Texas longhorn named "Victoria"

One of the Ponies

Watching the Pony show

A vintage soda bike

Vic, Uncle Phil, Aunt Mariellen and Ver

The biggest pumpkin

We actually got Uncle Phil to go on a ride (the picture is ver and phil)

On another ride

Us in the back of a tank (just ask Isaac about switching buttons on a tank he is not familiar with- he will tell you a good story)

Just when we thought adventures were over...

Today we went to Canton, OH.

Yes, some of you may be asking, "Why Canton?  What is in Canton?"

While others of you will gasp in surprise, "Canton! Not the Canton."

Canton is the birthplace of football and the house of the Football Hall of Fame.

Yes, that's right folks, the one and only Pro Football Hall of Fame. It has everything from the history of football, the hall of fame room, history of every team, lots of in-game uniforms, footballs, helmets, cleats, play-calling recordings, interviews, theater showing the road to the Superbowl (it would be amazing to watch a Seahawks game on this TV), the Vince Lombardi trophy, to all the Super Bowl rings and lots more.

Yes, it's a football fan's paradise. 


Here's a few photos of just some things we got to see there.

The Entrance

The First Football and Helmet

On our way to the hall

The Museum

Yes, it's Steve Largent

Dan Marino

NFC Championship Trophy

The Seahawks showcase

AFC Championship Trophy

The Hall of Fame

Guess who is the man in the middle?

Hall of Fame

Steve Largent's football

The First Hall of Fame Gold Jacket

The Vince Lombardi Trophy

A section of a field outside the building

Pledge of Allegiance

Philadelphia - Independence Hall

Today we visited Philadelphia, the home of Independence Hall. This is where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both signed. It was incredible to see the actual room that congress met, and to see George Washington’s chair with the engraving of the sun on it. It is the only original piece of furniture that is still around. We got to see all the rooms that congress would meet in and dine in. We then went to see the Liberty Bell. To think that was the actual bell that hung in 1776! It truly felt like we were walking through history!
You can’t go to Philadelphia without having a good Philly Cheese steak! We had heard about the famous “Genos” and decided that was the place to stop for lunch. It was simple but very delicious- you can’t miss it if you ever go to Philly.

Restoring Honor 2

To catch you all up-

On Friday we visited Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. It was very interesting to see his home and learn about where he drew from for the architectural style of the house. We couldn’t take any pictures inside the house, but it was very neat to see different tools he had used when he wrote. More specific, one that would make a copy of his writings, as he wrote! There were many other unique things about the house. The grounds were beautiful! He had a vegetable garden that was 1000 ft. long- that sure inspired me to make a big garden! Here are some pictures from his house and grounds.

Yesterday we visited Baltimore. We took a tour of Fort McHenry. In the War of 1812 it was there that Francis Scott Key saw the American flag flying and wrote our Star Spangled Banner. We unrolled out a duplicate of the original flag that was flown, which was 30’ x 42’. It was enormous! We actually saw the real one at the History Smithsonian. After visiting Fort McHenry we sat around the bay area, ate lunch, and took a tour of a ship that was used to free slaves in the Civil War, The USS Constellation.