Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

We did a day trip up to Harrisburg to see the state capitol and do a tour of the main building.  Owen's favorite part was seeing a group of people dressed as Santa riding bikes in front of the building.  He was talking about seeing Santa on a bike for weeks.

The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for Pennsylvania in downtown Harrisburg. It was designed by architect, Joseph Miller Huston in 1902 and completed 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative Renaissance themes throughout. The capitol houses the legislative chambers for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Harrisburg chambers for the Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania, as well as the offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. The seat of government for the state was originally in Philadelphia, then was relocated to Lancaster in 1799 and finally to Harrisburg in 1812. The current capitol, known as the Huston Capitol, is the third state capitol building to be built in Harrisburg. The first, the Hills Capitol, was destroyed in 1897 by a fire and the second, the Cobb Capitol, was left unfinished when funding was discontinued in 1899. President Theodore Roosevelt attended the building's dedication in 1906. The Pennsylvania State Capitol is often referred to as a "palace of art" because of its many sculptures, murals and stained-glass windows, most of which are Pennsylvania themed or were made by Pennsylvanians. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Starting in 1982, the restoration of the capitol has been ongoing. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.

December 2018

Most of the month was spent in Wyoming, so not many pictures. We went to see the lights at the Visitor Center and even went to one of the evening concerts. Owen and Milton did well sitting to watch but we didn't end up staying for the whole thing because there is only so much holding still that a toddler can handle. We would let Owen and Milton open a couple presents every other day before going out to Wyoming. Then Santa did an early delivery for the boys to get their best gifts. Owen got some of his Magtiles and Milton got some playdough. Milton wasn't all that into gifts as of yet, so Owen was happy to help open the presents. Milton did get a little distressed with the ripping paper and tried to put the paper back together several times.

The biggest development of this month was Milton's first word "Go". By the end of the month he has also added apple, ball, Owen, Grandma, and cheese. He will say brrr when asked if it is cold outside, wave when saying bye bye, blow a kiss, ask for more and sign for all done.

Owen is still very happy at school and loves his teachers and classmates. Christmas and Santa coming has been very exciting. He loves watching the 1960s Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman movies which we have on DVD.

Eisenhower National Historic Site - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Yet another rainy and cold Saturday we ventured up to Gettysburg to see the Eisenhower house and farm in Pennsylvania. The Eisenhower National Historic Site preserves the home and farm of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, and his wife Mamie. It is a total of 690.5 acres located just outside of Gettysburg. Purchased by then-General Eisenhower in 1950, the farm served as a weekend retreat for the President and a meeting place for world leaders, and became the Eisenhowers' home after they left the White House in 1961. Some of the more notable of Eisenhower's guests were Premier Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, President Charles de Gaulle of France, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Britain, and Governor Ronald Reagan of California. He selected that site for his home because of his adoration for the Civil War generals and the significant history of that region.

Thanksgiving 2018

We hosted Thanksgiving this year with Colton and Adrienne with their kids and George, Cindy and Jack also came up.  It was a lot of fun.  We did a little table for the boys to eat and Adrienne made them some adorable table decorations.  Damon ran the 10k for the Turkey Chase and got 63 out of 2,411. Owen did the Turkey Trot where he seemed to get what was going on, but then slowed down to a walk once all the other kids started going.  It was a very cold morning, but he had fun once he got there. All the food turned out well and fun was had by all.