My Family

is beautiful.

Especially the tall guy with a beard.  

Everly Wren

GI stopped by on Ever's day three to take these beautiful photos of her.  

I fully intend to post more photos and info soon.  I'm learning to juggle with both hands now - and loving every second of it.  These last weeks have shown me how incredibly, absoutely blessed our little family is.  I'm simply soaking it all in right now - storing up every little minute of this precious time.

 I absolutely want to share all those moments with our family - especially those who can't be here right now - so I'll be back posting soon!

Baltimore Zoo - Maryland Nature and a Monsoon

The second loop of the zoo is Maryland nature.  It has a bog area, a wetlands exhibit, a cave with bats and spiders and snakes, turtles, a giant tree with a huge slide for the kids, and a farmlands area with a small petting zoo. 

It was a great way to end the trip and Owen, though content to bum a ride in the stroller for most of it, love the interactive sections - the bouncing walkways, the ducks, the chickens 

(he can make chicken noises now...after I made a fool of myself for approximately 7 minutes performing my best chicken impersonation).  

Here is one of the turtle exhibits.  I think Gina looks like an astronaut of the underground.  Anyway...I think the point is to get you up close and personal, eye level, with the turtles.  Not quite the thrill ride that I think they were going for.  Maybe if they moved the lions into this area...

What WAS thrilling is that Gina magically turned INTO a turtle.  Doesn't she look happy?  Alas...it was only temporary.

Just in case she switches again in the future - Owen got in some turtle wrangling practice.  It's similar to breaking a wild horse I hear.  Or bull riding.  He was a natural and even gave the beasty a kiss or two.

And finally - no, actually, this is a shot from the zoo here at home.  The alligators are ALWAYS escaping their enclosure.  I find this guy everywhere. 

It was a great trip - definitely worth repeating a few times a year.  The only snag was the gigantic thunderstorm (I'm talking lightening and monsoon rains for 1.5 hours straight) that left us all stranded in the women's bathroom.  So close to the gift shop but so far away.  

On the plus side it was entertaining to watch the teenage zoo employees scamper around 'trying' to stay dry in between tram drop offs.  And the hand dryer in the bathroom worked great on the stroller.  - See, there is always a bright side.

Baltimore Zoo - First stop, Africa!

The Zoo is broken up into three sections and once the tram drops you off the choices are: Polar Bears, African Adventure, or Maryland Nature.  We heard a rumor on the tram that the new baby elephant is only outside for a short period of the morning so we headed into Africa first.

We were greeted by vultures and an amazing display of dancing long-legged birds (sorry...I think I was distracting a 17-month old and didn't get their name).   A little walk down the boardwalk (perfect for corralling little people) brought us right up to these hulking dudes.

Lounging in the summer sun.  

Meanwhile, Gina had a stare down with an Ostrich.  Let's just say that she walked away while he was still unblinking.  Dominated!

The Zebras.

One of the coolest exhibits is the giraffe area.  At first we were locked on the elephants, about to pass the (seemingly) empty giraffe zone.  As we were charging down the hill we saw two staff members waiting by the boulders in the pen - one of them making a clicking noise.

Sure enough, we see the head of one gigantic giraffe appear over the hill at the far end.  It came lumbering slowly - but definitely on a mission for food.  

While the first giraffe was eating another caught wind and came on over to check out the grub.  Disappointed that it's turn hadn't come yet it wandered over to the observation area where we were standing...five feet away.  The zoo lets you pay to feed the giraffe a leafy branch - which we opted not to do - but also has a little zone for watching.  While you can't touch them it was still super close.  We watched both giraffes for quite awhile - they were just so cool.

And finally.  The elephants.  The male even trumpeted at some passing trucks.

And the baby was still out playing.  It came over to the closest area - about ten feet away - when it saw us watching.  Owen was super excited...maybe because all the women were talking in their super-high-pitched-squeaky-baby-voices.  Eh.

And wrapping up Africa, Gina rode the camel.  She's so brave.  

I was happy that all the animals (save the lions) were out and showed off for us (and there were so many others that just didn't make the blog cut).  Being from Africa (duh) I guess the heat didn't bother them as much as it does the humans.  

Tomorrow I'll wrap up the trip with the Maryland nature exhibit, Gina's startling transformation, and our dramatic exit.

The Baltimore Zoo

I was disappointed that we never got the chance to visit the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore while we lived so close.  We were preoccupied and Owen was perhaps a bit young to appreciate the animals.  But when my parents suggested the Zoo as a fun mid-way day trip I jumped at the chance.We had a great time.  

If you live close enough to drive and you have kids definitely consider it.  The zoo is the third oldest in the country but it is beautiful and modern.  There are quiet (ok...we did go on a weekday) trails winding through the forest and it seems like we were always turning the corner to find another amazing animal RIGHT THERE.   The first hour was filled with one of us exclaiming..."look at over there!"  

Owen was excited but I think the adults were the ones who had the most fun.

Here are a few shots of the day.  More will be posted during the week - my favorite is of the rhinos - so check back tomorrow.

I cropped my pasty legs out of this because, really, no one needs to see that.  Not even me.  The only party missing is Gina...who was taking the picture.  She'll appear later.  Trust me that you don't want to miss THOSE pictures.

We started off with some super friendly prairie dogs.  They were little charmers and certainly not afraid to show off for the camera.  We all watched this little one roll around to cool off in his dusty lounge for quite a bit before deciding to head to the larger game.

This is one of my favorites.  We didn't actually get to see the lions - who were indoors when we passed - but Owen probably thought this was good enough.

Cute mom.  On the tram to the 'actual' animal part.  We want the baby elephant!

There were some incredibly scenic areas.  So peaceful with the slight breeze  - it was easy to forget that we were in downtown Baltimore.

Tomorrow I'll post up the African Trek portion of our trip.  Rhinos and Giraffes(!!) and Elephants, oh my!

Weekend

Something about a good long weekend just wears me out.  

We got back late last night after celebrating the 4th with a bratwurst cook-off (Johnsonville won - Jon says so), ice cream sodas at the Jigger Shop, little cuties yelling things like "I LOVE THE BOOM-BOOMS!", the best firework seats in Ephrata (right out front of my parents house), a lots of naps.

I wish I had pictures but my battery was dead.  And I was napping.  Thankfully, I did get this fuzzy phone shot of my men during on of their siestas.

(We missed all our far away family...but DT will be happy to hear that Owen can now say Poobah and will run to find the little notebook with his caricature on it.  So sweet.)

Family Visit

The snow brought us some visitors! See...it's not all dreary!

Leslie, Taylor and DT all came for a too-short and we took advantage of the time with family to see some winter sights in DC. The icy, white background was perfect for some family shots (ummm...I'm starting to feel like a commercial but I PROMISE he doesn't pay me) and we managed to book a last minute session with GI.

Owen and Poobah

We lost Jon and DT for awhile in the museum and can not be held responsible for the results of our boredom.

My niece is so beautiful. And smart, funny, kind - just all around awesome. I'm always so glad to get to spend time with her.

The guys showing off their biceps. :)

It was a really fun trip. Thanks for flying all the way out here guys...let's do it again soon!

Birthday Party!

We had a small birthday celebration for Owen with my family about a week before his actual birthday - just right for a little one-year old. Cupcakes and tacos made it feel warm and cozy on a cold January day.

Describe (who else!) was on hand to capture some sweet moments with all the kids. We're planning on doing a big photo shoot with the whole family (once the newest arrives) and wanted to use this as a dry run for handling the logistics for a big group. This is just a handful from the afternoon but they all came out wonderfully.

Life really is this much fun.

Happy Birthday Owen!

Dear Sister

Dear Sister,

Thanks for re-gifting us with the gingerbread house we gave your kids.  What's extra nice is that you guys took the time to slather it with candy before giving it back.  

Now we have to eat it (because we all know that if you throw out a gingerbread house, somewhere, a Christmas elf loses it's wings - or something)

Thanks.  Did I say that before?  Well this time it's from the bottom of my heart.  Actually my bottom and my hips - my heart was too out of breath from all the extra work it is doing pumping an overload of sugar through my veins. 

Not to be picky or anything - but next time we give you guys something like that maybe you should think about using less of the grape twizzlers and gummy swirls and more of the spree and m&m's.  I find the gummy texture doesn't hold so well.  And I like the sprees.  

And more icing.   

But it's your house and all.

 

:)  love you.

He's done it again.

Family photoshoot #3!  

Here is a sneak peak of our session last week with the talented G.I. of Describe Photography.

More to come.  They are awesome.

I'm getting ready to commission a cool project from him - I can't wait!  But shhhhh...he doesn't know it yet!  

Bums

We love the beach!

Breakfast with a view...

Running, running, running...

Sandy castles...

Sandy Toes!

I am a beach bum so getting to spend Friday and Saturday at Sea Isle City in New Jersey was nothing but fun.  

And Owen was properly initiated with a toe wiggle in the sea.  Poor baby wasn't too keen on the cold surf.  

Thanks for the hospitality family!

Tribute Week - Highpoint 3

Slight aside:  Raining, raining, raining, raining, raining.  It's weeks like these when you wonder why our founding fathers decided to build DC on a swamp.

This week I'm writing five short tributes to endearing aspects of this quirky, charming little apartment that we've called home.  Five little things that we will miss so much.  Next week I'll do a series of things that we are so looking forward to in Baltimore - so stay tuned!

3) The Joy of Joya

Joya started off as our landlady and ended up family.  In all seriousness, she is one of the most thoughtful, generous, loving people that we have met and probably the reason I will most miss living here. 

We have formed a little tribe here: Joya, the kittens, Bijou (while she was still with us), Owen, Jon and me.  We look out for each other, have meals together, go to the store for each other, talk and laugh together.  

Joya was so excited for us when Owen was born.  She made a sign to welcome him home and had it waiting for us on the front door.  I left that sign up for three months because it made me so happy.  

Owen loves Joya.  He gives her the biggest wide-open-mouth smiles.  She, in turn, sings "hush little baby" to him and makes him laugh.  

We have absolutely adored Joya.  We've loved listening to stories of her past, we've loved sharing meals with her, we've loved meeting her family, being able to help when she's sick, seeing her everyday...we've loved being accepted as a part of her family.  We've looked out for each other and I will miss that so much.  Thinking of leaving Joya is the one thing that starts those tears dropping.  

But, as we've told her, we might be moving out, but she can't get rid of us.  We'll be back for visits.  And then we'll chat and she'll watch Owen grow and it will be like old times.

Maybe I'll even get her to teach me to knit like I've been wanting for 5 years now.