Love Park

LOVE Park, located in Philadelphia, was built in the 1960s.

Around the 1980s the park became famous for skateboarders because the way the park was designed.  With curving stairs and ledges, is perfect for the sport.  

In the early 2000s, the city banned skateboarding in LOVE park.

Even with the ban, I saw plenty of kids skateboarding the day we visited the park.

(I'm in the middle of the group, with my sunglasses on).

Normally LOVE park has gorgeous fountain behind the 'LOVE' sign, but it gets turned off when the city puts up the Christmas tree.  They were putting it up the day we were there.

~

Close to LOVE Park is a courtyard filled with HUGE game pieces. 

I don't know if this is unique to Philadelphia, but it's pretty cool!

In front of LOVE park is Philadelphia's City Hall.  On top of the building is a statue of Pennsylvania's founder, William Penn. Until 1908, this building was the tallest in Pennsylvania.

The William Penn Statue is gorgeous, but the day we were there was a cloudy, overcast day and I couldn't get a good photo of it.

Tid Bit of history:  Contrary to belief Pennsylvania was named after William Penn by King Charles II and not Penn himself.

Philadelphia Art Museum

The Art Museum in Philadelphia is impressive. It looks like a Greek Parthenon was placed at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Highway. The detail on the building is amazing!

The school that Todd teaches at hosted an exchange program with 10 girls from England.  We took the British girls and their American hosts to a day trip in Philadelphia.

The view looking from the museum into Philadelphia is breath-taking.  Especially during the fall months when the leaves are changing colors.

I had Todd take a picture of me with the Moose statue.  For many years we called our youngest son "Moose" until he rebelled at 13 years old and told us he didn't like his nickname anymore.  I still feel sentimental when I see a Moose.

For those who know the movie "Rocky", starring Sylvester Stalone.  The movie is based upon the real life of boxer, Robert "Rocky" Balboa,  A famous scene in the movie shows "Rocky" running up the Philadelphia Art Museum steps.  The statue used to be at the top of the steps. It was moved a few years ago to the bottom when some stuffy, well-to-do folks said the statue was not "art".  

Whatever.

We didn't have time to explore the museum (only to use the bathroom). 

:-D

It was cold, but beautiful day to spend in Philadelphia.

Cape May, NJ

During our vacation we spent a day in the lovely town of Cape May.   In fact, it's one of our country's oldest vacation spot.  I would recommend this gorgeous town as a top place to visit.

Cape May began as a vacation spot for people from Philadelphia in the early 1800's.  In 1878 a huge fire burned down many homes.  The homes were re-built in a victorian style.  Cape May is designated as a National Historic Landmark because of the victorian home.  The details of the homes are stunning.  My husband and I walked around the town and tried to capture the beauty in these homes.

A lot of the homes have been turned into Bed and Breakfast's, but some are still private residences.

Could you envision yourself sitting on this rocker, relaxing during a cool summer day?

I love this hammock!  

 I hope you enjoyed the lovely view of Cape May.

Ocean Waves

Brandon and his friend, Frank went swimming in the ocean.

They were having a great time playing in the waves.

The waves were rough that day and I told the boys to be careful.

Then a huge wave came crashing down!

Ut-oh!

 I think the waves won!

Footnote: The boys were fine and went back for more.

The Beach!

Our family vacation was spent in Ocean City, NJ.

We don't see our nieces and nephew as much as we would like, 

which makes our vacation special because we are with them an entire week.

The weather was perfect to be at the beach and the water wasn't cold.

 Uncle Todd dug a hole big enough to bury Tyce.

The girls were determined to find sea shells to fill their bucket.

 I'm proud to say I taught Tyce how to use the boogie board.

I had a great time at the beach!  I know the kids did too!

How can you let him play hockey?

Over the years I have been asked by parents "Why do you encourage your son to play hockey?".

When Brandon was 4 he begged his father and I to play ice hockey.  Hockey is an expensive sport, so we decided to get Brandon skating lessons first.  He loved being on the ice.  When he turned five we bought him his first pair of hockey skates.  At six he was playing on his first hockey team.  

He chose to play hockey.  We encourage him to play well.

I was even approached by a parent who sons plays football, and she wanted to know "How can you let your son play such a violent sport?"  

I do agree that hockey is way rougher than football.  Players get checked, high sticks in the face and pucks are flying.  Football you pointlessly run in to people.  =D

Bantam Level 2012

From an outsiders point of view, I can see why hockey seems like a violent sport.  But in fact, we fans all know that ice hockey is very physically demanding and yet it also requires skill and finesse, and given the fact that you’re playing on ice, there are always going to be some moments when you’re a little bit out of control. Big hits are part of what makes the game as exciting as it is.  

Midget U16 2013

Sure, hockey can cause injuries. Just like any other sport.  However, if you look at statistics almost 215,000 children are treated in the ER from football injures every year vs. the 20,000 ER visits from hockey players.  

Midget U16 2013

These days, it’s tough for parents to decide whether to enroll their children in organized sports such as hockey or football. Yes, physical safety matters. But is our collective obsession with protecting our children from harm threatens to turn out a generation of children ill-equipped to deal with their future?  It seems to me that children in modern America are growing up in a country paralyzed by complacency and fear.  

My son wrote an essay on sportsmanship for an English class that I thought was pretty amazing.  My favorite paragraph:

I learned to listen to and respect the coach. I learned to listen to the team captain. I learned how important my role was as a team captain. I learned how to skate better. I learned how to protect myself. I learned that I had to wait my turn to play. I learned that I was not the centre of the universe, but a team member. I learned how to be punctual and stick to a schedule. I learned how to be responsible for my own body and for the bodies of my team mates and opponents. I learned that it was better to obey the rules than to sit in the penalty box. I learned to be organized and responsible for my hockey equipment. I learned what sportsmanship was. Sportsmanship is a style and an attitude, and it can have a positive influence on everyone around you.

Our children need to learn the importance of teamwork, sportsmanship, toughness, and competitiveness. It good for children to learn to strive, to succeed, and most importantly, how to fail. When the time comes, let your kid play football, or hockey... or whatever, and let him decide for himself. He may break his leg or suffer a concussion, but he will be far better off for it over the course of his life than if he stays inside and plays video games.