The City of Brotherly Love: Philadelphia, PA

Kyle and I decided that we wanted to spend the first several years of our marriage living where neither of us had lived before, the kind of adventure that would bond us together as a new couple. During the same time, Kyle parents were making preparations to serve an eighteen month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This process includes submitting an application and then receiving a "mission call" with an assignment to labor anywhere in the world. Kyle and I joked that they would get called to Connecticut, simply because they had given us some loving guff about our decision to leave. Well, Elder and Sister Wilson were called to serve in the Philadelphia, PA mission...and are currently living three hours away! We laughed about how it all turned out and have simply loved having them so close.

Kyle and I drove to PA to visit them about ten days after their arrival. We stayed in their cute missionary apartment and then we drove with them to Philadelphia the next day. They had been invited to join with other senior missionaries (what we call the retired couples who serve missions for the church) for a tour of the new Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple construction site and invited us to come along. The four of us took advantage of our time in the city to also visit many of the incredible historical sites found in Philadelphia.

Liberty Bell Center
You can't go to Philly and not see the Liberty Bell!

Christ Church Burial Ground and Benjamin Franklin's Grave
There is a small charge to enter, so we gawked from the street.

I love Franklin's epitaph.

Elder and Sister Wilson in front of the United States Mint (obviously ;)).

Independence Hall Tour

Every time I visit this room inside Independence Hall, I sense its sacredness.
The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were signed here.

Kyle with his parents at Christ Church.
Fifteen signers of the Declaration of Independence attended here. 

Kyle posing at the end of Elfreth's Alley (he'll be so glad that I posted this picture ;)).
This is the oldest residential street in the country, built in 1702.

Sonny's Famous Steaks did not let us down! 

Although I'm not much of beef girl, I did love the experience of a
Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich...in Philly!

Philadelphia City Hall
We went crazy over the beautiful architecture of this place!

Love Park
I've never been here before, and I didn't realize
how small the Love statue is.

We couldn't park to get out to see the statue, so this is my attempt
to prove we were at Love Park. ;)

Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple Construction Site

We met in a construction-trailer-turned-Visitors-Center for an hour of stories about
how the temple construction is progressing and already blessing lives.
It was so fun to meet the other senior missionaries from around the country.