DC/Philly/New York City trip!

Since Ashley had some interviews in DC at the end of March, I decided to join her. 

Then from there we were going to meet up with Mark, 

who was going to be lecturing for Invisalign in Philadelphia. 

Kimber and Cheri didn't want to miss out on the fun so they joined us in DC and Philly.

 After our visit in Philly, Mark had to head home and Ashley had to get back to school.

I took the train back to NYC with Kimber and Cheri, 

where I got to spend a few more days with the Crandalls.  

Phew!  Did you get all of that?!

It was a super fun trip to see all the kids on the East Coast,

which always makes it hard to get on the plane and head back west!

After taking a red-eye, Ashley and I spent the rest of the day sleeping. 

When we woke up, we felt like we were in a complete fog.  

We tried to make a plan of what we wanted to do that day
 and set out to rent some bikes so we could go on a ride.

 But one thing after another fell through and Ashley and I just had to giggle

 about our half-awake bodies and half-baked plans, which ended in a very mix-up day in DC.
Ashley and I made a promise that we would never take a red-eye again!

We did make it to dinner and that was good because we were starving by the time we woke up!

The next day, Ashley was up early and ready to go to her first interview.

Doesn't she look adorable!?

Allie came down for the day to visit.

The weather was dreary and rainy that day 

and we were afraid that we were going to completely miss out on 

seeing any of the cherry blossoms that week.

And of course, we had to wear our red, white and blue!

And take cute pics by the Capitol!

We meet up with Heather Bryant, who lives in DC, and enjoyed a yummy dinner at Vapiano.

What a fun night, catching up with her!

By the time Kimber and Cheri arrived in DC, the weather changed completely.

It went from winter conditions to spring overnight!

Just in time for our Cheri blossom to enjoy seeing the cherry blossoms.

We took a walk around Tidal Basin to get the best view of the incredible trees.

It was absolutely incredible!  
Because the weather was so rainy the day before,
I think that it kept the crowds away.

Little Cheri seems to like the cherry blossoms!

But mostly she likes the treat that Ashley gave her!

And Ash, of course!  Look at that smile!

We strolled along the Tidal Basin.

And let Cheri run and explore!

She was so happy!

And so is Grandma! 

Loved scooping up my little Cheri blossom!

Waving to some birds.

Cheri loves her mama!  And her grandma's bracelets!

What a fun day exploring DC with these cute girls!

Love that little baby bump of Kimber's!

Kimber went back to NYC but left Cheri with us to watch

because she had a big shower to host that night back in the city.

Cheri was a sweetheart and loved sitting up on my bed with her toys,

watching a show on her Ipad.

Ashley and I had so much fun showing Cheri the sites of DC!

We rented bicycles and  a trailer for Cheri a couple of times

and headed down the mall to show her all the historic places.

We didn't get very far when we stopped for a picture 

and Cheri had already fallen asleep!

We rode around the mall and then over to Georgetown for dinner one night.

It was quite an adventure.  We got lost more than once or twice.

 But Cheri was a trooper and Ashely was a good sport,

and once we made it safely home, we had a good laugh.

We all met up in Philly to visit with Allie and Justin.

Our first stop was Franklin Square to take Cheri on the carousel.

Of course, she wasn't too excited about taking a ride on a horse

and chose her mother's lap instead.

Allie and Ashley on the other hand, had way too much fun on the carousel!

We went to the King of Prussia mall the next day to shop

and stopped to let Cheri play in the kid's play area.

Cheri wasn't too sure about the play structure so Allie jumped in

and showed Cheri how fun it was and tried to coax her into joining her inside the playhouse.

And finally, she followed her inside and had fun!

But then nap time rolled around and Cheri just laid down and was ready to take a nap!

The Easter bunny came strolling by and Cheri wasn't too excited to see him!

Mark made it to Philly, where he was lecturing for Invisalign that weekend.
We walked around Philly that night and enjoyed seeing the sights 
before Ashley had to head to the airport to the airport for home.
 

The next morning, went to brunch on Saturday at Sabrina's Cafe and it was yummy!

My stuffed challah french toast was unbelievable!

We had beautiful weather that day so we went to the park 
and had a little Easter egg hunt for Cheri.

She caught on quick and was really into finding the chocolate eggs!

That girl loves her chocolate!  Just like her grandma! 

 This is got to be one of my favorite photos of Cheri and her grandpa!

We all had so much fun with Cheri and her Easter egg hunt, 
that I think we wore Cheri out!
We had a fun morning together before Mark headed to the airport.

So Mark had to fly home that afternoon, and Kimber, Cheri and I

took the train up to New York City!

By the time we got home, Cheri was totally worn out!

What a great little traveler she is!

These are just some fun pictures of Cheri back at her home in NYC.

She was jabbering and telling me a story...

and waving at me!  What a hoot!

And Cheri was busy swaddling her dolly.

On Sunday, we went on a walk to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather outside.

Love that Cheri pie!  She is the sweetest!

What a fun trip and such a sweet time spent visiting with all my East Coast kids!