Ice is nice

We splurged this weekend and went to the Gaylord National Resort for a mini getaway. The Frosty the Snowman ICE exhibit was pretty impressive. Most impressive was the frosty temperature of 9 degrees inside the exhibit tent. It took 30 minutes to walk through the exhibit and by then we were ready for the balmy 40 degrees outside.

 

The Gaylord Resort does a great water fountain show synchronized to Christmas tunes, a light show, and even snow!

 

Tyler was hot in this next photo. When you're hot you take off your clothes, duh.

 

The hotel's atrium is really something.

 

We were lucky to have a room with an atrium view!

 

There was a little train ride in the atrium too, because the fountain, restaurants, shops, humongous Christmas tree, and Santa were not enough.

 

Of course we had to see the man! Tyler was not exactly thrilled, but he REALLY needed to tell Santa that he wants a Lightning McQueen car. (Let's ignore the fact that he has some 10 different Lightning McQueens already.) So he sat next to Santa awkwardly and softly muttered his request. Then it was Claire's turn and she of course had no problem describing her requests in extreme detail.

 

 

Southern Cali in November

We flew to San Diego to visit my sister for Thanksgiving. It was the best idea ever! These photos were actually taken in LA, at Crystal Cove. We were in LA for just an afternoon -- sorry to friends and family there that we did not get a chance to see!

 

Halloween

Brief synopsis of October:

 

 

Basically it was awesome! Except for the week we were sick. But sadly we did not take any photos of that to share with you.

Chincoteague

Photos from our last summer trip over Labor Day weekend. Chincoteague, MD is a gem! It was a perfect long weekend getaway.

She's off to Kindergarten!

This happened.

 

 

Not to forget our little guy...this happened too:

 

(Preschool 3 days a week)

Summer Time

Summer isn't my favorite season. I mean, I know that there are fun trips and water play but no matter what, my first thoughts of summer are of the humidity and the bugs. I can't stand bugs! Here in Maryland we get bugs of epic proportions. The other day Claire and I found a Hercules beetle on our driveway. I didn't get a photo of ours, but here is what it looked like:



It was a massive insect. We get imperial moths too:



Not to mention walking stick bugs, praying mantises, hummingbird moths, and giant millipedes. It's like a zoo out here. All of these guys are a little freaky, but fascinating too and at least they don't bite me. But the mosquitos...the awful awful mosquitoes...are what typically make summer miserable for me. They are out in full force this summer as usual. The thing is, I'm finding that having my kids around helps me really appreciate all the fun summer experiences and focus less on the millions of bites that I am getting. Having kids is really cool. I look at everything a little differently because of them!

Our summer seems to be going by super fast this year too. Maybe it's because Claire will be going to Kindergarten this fall? Here we are with just four weeks remaining before she embarks on her new adventure.

And now, after that tangent about bugs (sorry, came out of nowhere) I present our summer photo round-up! We're starting off with a photo of Claire in her Princess Belle dress. She and I saw the broadway production of Beauty and the Beast, which was wonderful.

The kids had their last gymnastics class of the year. They miss it over the summer!

June's highlight was a visit from our friends, the Juliens. They trekked all the way from Austin to see our great capitol, and us. We did way too many things to put in this blog. Here is a nice photo of Claire and Maya at Sandy Point Beach though.

Tyler and Claire love the water fountain at the Baltimore inner harbor.

Claire worked on a fossil-digging kit after being inspired by a trip to the science museum.

4th of July was the best! The weather was nice and cool. We went to a local parade, at too much candy, BBQ'd and shot fireworks. The best!

Of course we've visited the goats at the Baltimore zoo.

Since it's not exactly raging hot this summer, we've only been to the community pool a handful of times so far.

Claire and Tyler love this statue at the local library. We see him weekly since the summer reading program is in full swing.

We discovered a small lake in the area (Wilde Lake) that is perfect for a short bike ride and picnicking.

A trip to Dutch Wonderland with friends was the last big adventure. There was an impressive dinosaur exhibit that we all enjoyed.

Claire and Tyler have been doing lots of horseplay this summer too.

They ride bikes and scooters every day in our cul-de-sac. But only after they have examined my bell flower plant to pop all of the flower buds.

We've tried using chopsticks this summer and the kids think it's so cool.

Brian blew out more candles this year. I am still older though.

Claire is always having luncheons and tea with animal friends.

There will be more summer photos after our trip to Rocky Mountain National Park this August. Can't wait!