End-of-summer adventures outside Philadelphia

Pool time is an intense endeavor when my husband, Jeff, visits his childhood home outside Philadelphia. He spent his summers in this pool, devising crazy jumps and dives—and giving his mom constant anxiety over his antics. By now she knows to look the other way; it's become my job to keep a phone handy in case he splits his head open. Even so, I love to watch him relax in his element and introduce the girls to his old stomping grounds. (Above: A girl after her dad's heart, Nora demands to "fly!")

It's hard to put my camera down when I'm in my in-laws' garden. Aren't these flowers amazing?

Our trip this year was short, so we didn't stray far from our favorite haunts, like Terrain at Styer's (a lunch date without kids!), the Philadelphia Zoo and Linvilla Orchards (below).

Last year I posted photos of our friends' farm. This year they brought us these gorgeous sunflowers and invited us to visit their chicks.

Obviously the chicks were popular with the girls. Cricket gingerly pet them (below). Nora has not yet developed the ability to be ginger, so she happily jabbed them in the eyes.

Cricket also discovered the chickens would follow her if she ran like a mad woman around their pen.

This trip was only a month ago, but we're already hankering for just one more summer weekend to "fly" in the pool and race around the farm...

Planning your next adventure? Click here for some ideas.