Going Back to Philly

Today was the day that we made the long trek from Arizona to Philly.  When we arrived at the airport, we learned that our flight had a one hour delay. 

Zoe protesting the delay.

After some games, snacks and hanging out with Poppa and Grandma, who generously made the trek with us, the time passed quickly and we were ready to go!

Emmy and Zoe following daddy on to the plane.

Zoe strapped in and "ready to ride the airplane!"

Zoe stayed awake the entire 5 hour flight, until 10 minutes before landing, when she decided it would be a good time for a nap.

Made it to Philly!!

Once we arrived in Philly, we met up with my sister, Stephanie, who flew all the way from San Francisco to hang out with us.  All 7 of us piled into a minivan and headed for our hotel.  After getting settled in at the hotel, we planned to meet up with the Jackley family.  Their little guy, Kellen has HLHS, like Zoe.  Like Zoe, Kellen also has an older sister, Kaylin.  The Jackleys were super generous and let us borrow their pack 'n play for Zoe to sleep in, they made custom gift baskets, perfect for a fellow heart family, filled with snacks, drinks, soap, hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial wipes, paper towels, sippy cups, syringes, dish soap, anti-bacterial spray, etc.  They also gave the girls awesome gift baskets with their own Philly Phanatic!

Kaylin and Emmy at dinner.

Yum, making S'mores.

Skipping in the rain.

Zoe, Kaylin, Kellen and Emmy.  What cuties!!

After a long day of travel, everyone is wiped out.  On Friday, Zoe has an appointment at CHOP to take part in a research study by her interventional cardiologist related to damage from cardiac catheterizations in infants younger than 6 months.  Zoe had 2 before 6 months, and the first one, at one month old, resulted in a full occlusion of her left femoral artery.  The study includes an ultrasound on her abdomen and legs then an interview and questionnaire.  We love that CHOP is always researching and developing new or improved treatments on our kiddos, so we are happy to participate in research when we can.  After completing Zoe's part in the study, we are taking the girls for a day of fun at Sesame Place.  Of course, expect to see plenty of pictures of the girls with their favorite characters.