Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene hit the Eastern Seaboard this weekend. We were lucky enough not to lose power. Many of our friends were without electricity for up to 5 days after the storm! We had some downed branches in our yard, but no major damage...

Unless you count the damage the kids did to our room when we let them camp out in there during the storm.

Pick a Peck of Peaches

To celebrate the last day of summer before school starts, my friend and I took our kids peach picking. There was the train ride, the peach and nectarine picking, a picnic, a petting zoo, and two playgrounds! Having that much fun was exhausting, but totally worth it. Now, what to do with all the peaches...

The Home of the Brave

One of my favorite places in Baltimore: Fort McHenry. It has such an incredible history and an amazing view! It's so fun to share it with my kids now.

Taking a Pass on Grants Pass

Job hunting is miserable. The upside: traveling to new places! Here's our trip to Grants Pass, Ore., which we LOVED. Unfortunately, the job wasn't quite what we were looking for, so the hunt continues.


We flew into Medford on this cute little plane.

Our first stop after leaving the airport was to find the Medford temple.

The Rogue River runs through Grants Pass. Our hotel was right on the riverfront. And we went on a speedboat tour down the river that was tons of fun! (Although it took me forever to untangle my hair afterwards...) We saw a bald eagle, ospreys, and other wildlife.

There are bears all over town for the tourists. This one in front of our hotel had an interesting wardrobe.

We had a nice time, but it was nice to come home to our kids! Thanks to Gma and Gpa for taking such good care of them while we were gone.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Every summer, my husband takes Snappy to a baseball game. This time, Noodle was old enough to come along too.

They ride into town on the train...




And explore Camden Yards....




And eat lots of junk food.




Oh yes! They also watch a baseball game. Go Orioles!

Art Hour

Clearance-aisle painting project = $6
2 hours of kids completely self-entertained = priceless.

Reading Never Tasted So Good

Step 1: Place books on floor.
Step 2: Place small treat atop each book.
Step 3: Tell kids if they want the treat, they must read the book.

Result: Mom gets 20 minutes of peace and quiet.

Noodle sums it up: "This is the best game ever!!"