2 weeks, 1 hurricane and countless memories!
Category: Travel
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Florida…. Pre-Covid
I’ve been delinquent with our blog and attempting to get back to it!
Here is our last trip to Florida and plane ride for God only know how long. The pictures remind me of fun, warm and simpler times…..
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Last Legs of our Christmas Road Trip!
After Christmas in Middletown we headed to DC for lunch with Preethi and Shiwali! It was quick (and sadly no pictures) but always great to reconnect with old friends…especially with the whole family in tow!
From DC we headed to Fallston, MD for the night to check out the Barba’s beautiful new house. The Sullivans even joined us for a festive Christmas celebration!
And from Fallston we headed back down to Baltimore for the night to visit the Harrells. The kids had a blast at the aquarium, eating pizza, playing skee-ball and having another sleep over with buddies!
And after a week of festivities, that’s a wrap for Christmas 2019! It was a lot of moving but a ton a fun.
How did we manage it all you might be asking….. well, I did have a little help from my good friend Bailey in the morning! 😉
2020 here we come!
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Christmas 2019!
So much excitement, so much happiness, so much chaos!
Sitting in the ‘present chair’ 
Checking out his new Paw Patrol vehicles 
A new robot! 
Classy 
Testing out his new dinosaur light up shoes! 
Obsessed. 
A new crane truck that makes noise! 
He got the Sea Patroller!
After a few sugar highs, more gifts and some naps, we headed down to Carol Creek with the whole crew to view the boat lights. Our motley Christmas crew in their pjs and hat!
Trying to get Teddy to stay in the picture 
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Our Christmas Highway Trip
We put a lot of miles on over the last week visiting folks for the holidays! But despite all the ‘highway time’, it was a great and a beautiful reminder of how lucky we are to have such a wonderful community of friends and family in our lives! ?❤️
Before we could leave, we had to make sure Santa knew how to find us in Maryland. So the boys and Andy drew a map of course!
First stop, the Fear family farm! We had a great time visiting with everyone and getting to see their beautiful property! Plus the boys were in heaven getting to ride on the tractor, ATVs and being able to see the animals! The excitement in their eyes was awesome!
Thank you Jimmy, Grace, Kaitlyn & Abby for having us! Next time we need a group photo!
Next stop, Grandma and Grandpa’s in Middletown! Grandma and Grandpa arranged for everyone to go swimming on the first day. The kids had a BLAST and the parents were happy to see them use up all that energy. On the way home from the pool we stopped off at Carole Creek in Frederick to see the boat lights on the canal. My boys love to look at ‘pretty lights’ during the Christmas season so this was a hit!
And then it was Christmas Eve! We took the kids to the park in the morning to run off some of their excitement. But before we could leave, Charlotte helped Andrew finish is school work. 🙂
We also may or may not have stopped for lunch (and Margaritas) on the way back to Grandma’s!
Christmas Eve festivities; including a visit from Santa!
Consulting his ‘Naughty & Nice List’ 
Kids Table! 
Too much eggnog!?
Off to bed kiddos, Santa comes tonight!
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By George, we had a great time!
After a few special days on the farm, we continued north to Lake George, NY for more family R&R!
We stayed at a tiny, laid back, 1940’s resort on Plum Point, a few miles outside of the Lake George Village. A few years ago the hotel owners converted the actual boathouse into a small apartment for guests, aka our home for the next few nights.
It was awesome! Two bedrooms, living room and kitchen just floating on the lake. The views were absolutely stunning! It’s the definition of ‘lake views’ and ‘water front’.
The boys quickly became obsessed with the Minne Ha Ha, an old paddle boat that would make the rounds by our boathouse a few times a day. ‘More whistle, pease!’
One morning we took a ‘hike’ to Shelving Rock falls. Andrew was super into hiking and exploring. He packed snacks and water in his little back pack and was blazing the trail. Meanwhile we had to bribe Teddy every 5 steps with Teddy Grahams and Goldfish. I’ll let you decide which child takes after which parent when it comes to hiking…
Uncertain about sitting on a log for pictures… 
Showing off his ‘hiking muscles’ 
On our last day we rode the Minne Ha Ha, had lunch at the Sagamore Hotel and made good on our promise (aka bribe) to visit the arcade.
A fort named for both of them….sort of. 
Being fancy at the Sagamore 
#boyhappiness 
Before heading home I was determined to get a nice, maybe Christmas card worthy, picture of the boys. Our photo shoot:
And then, they nailed it. Coming soon to a Christmas card near you!
Thanks for the memories Lake George! I’ll dream of our coffee and peaceful mornings together. Until we meet again!
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Life on the Farm
We wrapped up the summer with a little family vacation to upstate New York. First stop, the farm!
I’d come across this little farm in a few mommy blogs I read called Hull’O Farms up in the Catskills. It’s been in the Hull family for generations and about 20 years ago they transitioned from dairy farming to agri-tourism as the cost of milk continued to decline. Today Hull O’ Farms is a place for families to take a break from city life, experience farm living and simply slow down. I’m so happy I listened to the mommy blogs because I’m fairly certain everyone in my family built some really special memories those two days!
First up, pet the kittens, say hi to the bunnies and play on the tire swings for as long as we possibly can! Note: Andrew was OBSESSED with the tire swing. Teddy, not so much….
After a lovely family style meal cooked by Miss Sherry, we toasted marshmallows and sang songs around the campfire. The next morning, chores!
The boys helped feed the pigs, cows, chickens, cats and rabbits.
Next up, milk the cows and collect the chicken eggs!
Where’s Teddy during all of this? He’s waiting to the side, super skeptical of everything, questioning whether the animals will ‘eat me’ but mostly turned off burn the smell. He’s was happy most times to sit on the bench and wait for the chores to be done. Smart boy!
After a hearty farm breakfast, Farmer Frank hitched up the tractor and took us for a ride. It really was gorgeous countryside!
After the tractor ride, we went fishing in Farmer Frank’s pond. As any experienced fisherman would tell know, you need the right bait. First step, find the worms!
After naps we bought some better bait and tried our hat at fishing again. More success!
It wasn’t fancy or exotic. But I will certainly cherish our sweet farm family memories for years to come!
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Our Highway Trip to OBX
A PBJ trip to the Outter Banks! We loaded the boys into the car for a ‘highway trip’ and headed south for a week of family, beach, fun and sun!
Practicing wearing his sunglasses…
We broke up the trip with an overnight in Norfolk. They shared the same bed for 8 minutes before needing to be separated.
Beach time with family!
Trouble. 
One morning we took the boys to see the wild horses. This part of the Outter Banks is only accessible via 4×4 vehicle. The boys were most excited to see the horses. Andy was most excited to off road in the Jeep!
On our last day Grandma and Grandpa prepared a very special scavenger hunt for the kids complete with digging for buried pirate treasure on the beach. Andrew was VERY into it; so much so that the pirates have invaded Bernardsville!
More special memories in the books!
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Baa Ha Ba…
…or to those who aren’t from New England, Bar Harbor.
Old friends and new adventures in Maine this past weekend! So lucky to have the opportunity to reconnect with old friends, hike Acadia National Park, eat lobster, relax and enjoy some amazing Maine coast!
Day 1: Hiking the North and South Bubble and a trip to the summit of Mt. Cadillac
And then…
Day 2: The Beehive and Ocean Path
The Beehive Trail is an Acadia classic. It is straight vertical at points, requires iron rungs and is 12 inches wide until a drop off hundreds of feet down. I didn’t totally appreciate how dangerous it was until I was in the middle of it. But it was an adventure…that I never need to do again!
Next up- a flat walk along the coast. Much needed.
An awesome weekend of friends, ? and ?! Special thanks to Andy for encouraging me and watching the boys so it can happen! ❤️
