They Said So!

The kids and I went to the movies over the weekend, and encountered a sweet group of little girls who were passing out Kindness Notes. If one were to treat these like fortune cookie messages, then we can conclude that:

Jack rocks! They said it, so it must be true! Well, I for one concur with that assessment!

And truly, Ellie is indeed "epic"

And me? Well, according to these cherub sages, I "you naim are helpful." I mean, they said it so it must be true, right? Is it my NAME that is helpful? Or my ... Oh, I just don't know. But I think something about me is helpful. Yes, let's go with that. And thanks, little kiddies, for all the love!

Hello, Brownie!

Behold, a tween in her natural habitat.

But wait, what is that I see? Miss Ellie has gone brunette! So sassy!

January in Annapolis

Spent an unseasonably warm day in historic Annapolis. We had intended to make a 5-stop food tour out of it but made the rookie mistake of overeating at our first stop, with amazing crab cakes at Federal House. (We thought we’d scare the kids with oysters but we forgot who we were dealing with - they downed them with aplomb.) So we had to skip homemade ice cream at Annapolis Ice Cream Company and homemade pop tarts (rootarts) at Iron Rooster. We were able to handle some chocolates at Kilwins as we walked around downtown, and luckily our appetites rallied by the time we got to the Pennsylvania Dutch food market, where we shared some milkshakes and to-die-for soft pretzels. Wonderful January day but we need to pace ourselves better next time.


Honestly, I think oysters are gross, but I felt the kids needed a challenge.

I should have known better - these kids have eaten their way through weird food in almost 20 countries - they're not scared by itty bitty oysters. They each downed them without hesitation. Then Jack stared me down as he, in quick succession, finished off three more. Well played, young Jack, well played.

Oh my goodness were these crab cakes good.

The fudge was delicious at Kilwins, but we were pretty full from Federal House (yes, again, rookie mistake), so we just got a few chocolates - and yes, those were delicious as well.

It was a bit chilly, but come on, it's January, can we really complain about "a bit chilly" in January?

We plan to hit Chick & Ruth's Delly next time around.

As well as Annapolis Ice Cream Company. The flavors looked amazing, and it's all homemade.

Remembering Riverside

When I was 8 years old, my parents bought "Riverside," a house and 120-acre property in Nanjemoy, Maryland. (If you haven't heard of Nanjemoy, you're in good company, don't worry, I don't think anyone outside of Nanjemoy has heard of Nanjemoy.) Riverside became our weekend home, and we would go there a lot, especially during the summer months. I'm not gonna lie - sometimes I hated Riverside, because it involved a lot of chores - raking leaves, mowing, and picking up an endless supply of sticks so the mower wouldn't choke on the, well, endless supply of sticks. But there are also a ton of good memories -

swimming for hours and hours (ducking under the water when a horsefly would start circling, and trying to avoid stepping on jellyfish or crabs),

boating in our little rowboat (which was tied with a not-so-long rope to shore since our parents were afraid of us drowning),

tubing down the river to our grandparents' house (or is upriver? I dunno),

climbing the red-clay cliffs,

exploring the woods,

eating Chef Boyardee spaghetti with meatballs (don't say ewww - it was awesome!), and

playing poker and Monopoly (and yes, my siblings cheat at both) in the evenings

Well, that's coming to an end. Past 80, it's time for my parents to have a much-deserved easy lifestyle, so they've moved to a comfy little house on the golf course in Richmond, VA, and are selling Riverside. The good news is that they're selling it to the state of Maryland, which will likely use it as some kind of nature reserve or recreational area. Isn't that awesome?

Last weekend, my parents, brothers Thomas and Pete, and nephew Joseph headed down to Riverside to do the final cleanout. It's a little sad - but also good, because the folks will have a nice, comfy retirement, and Riverside will live on!

Determination

Snow days are for building snowmen. So what to do when you get a teeny tiny amount of snow? Well, you make a teeny tiny snowman, of course! Jack gets the job done!

Running With Pete

Last night we were able to join Pete and his family to attend the signing-in ceremony for his third term as supervisor on the Prince William Board of Supervisors. We were really happy for Pete - happy enough that Jack and Ellie sat through a long ceremony in dress clothes. Although we did skip the stuffy buffet food and instead met up at Popeye's for some spicy chicken sandwiches. (And yes, the hype is correct - those are some yummy sandwiches.) Congratulations, Pete!

Taking Care of Business

It's a new year, baby, and we are all about Taking Care of Business in 2020. After enjoying another family New Year's Brunch, we sat down to review our goals for the year. So here's a rundown, so we can see how we do at the end of the year.

JARED

Jared is all about the 5s this year. He's got 5 goals: (1) He's going to run a 5k, (2) he's going to lose 5 pounds, (3) he's going to pursue some professional goals (ok, that's not a 5, and it's kinda vague, but we were going strong with the 5s there for a while), (4) he's going to be more positive, and a fifth one that I can't remember, but I know it exists because he's all about the 5s, damnit.

ELLIE

Miss Ellie is going to be all about the 'firebod' this year. Yeah, I don't know what that is, either, but apparently it's about getting physically fit, or so the young people say. She's going to do some booty- and ab-burning exercises three times a week, jog once a week, work on her skateboarding skills, and get all As and Bs on her report card. She is also excited about spending more time with her family and focusing on healthy use of screens! Yeah, ok, those were my ideas - but she didn't scream or throw anything when I suggested them, so I'm taking that as an enthusiastic endorsement!

JACK

Our Jack will also be running, with the goal to to a 5k as well. He's going to be working on his skiing, getting all As and Bs in school, spending more time with his friends, and exploring his talents in music, art, and science.

LYDIA

And finally, Lydia is NOT going to be doing ANY RUNNING WHATSOEVER. She will leave that to the others as she 'runs after' her dreams! (See how I did that?) She'll be working on writing more in this-here blog, planning travel for the family, doing that firebod stuff with Ellie, establishing a more organized homework approach for the kiddies, doing a daily devotional, spending more time with friends and family, scheduling service activities for the family, and enjoying new books and new wines.

That's it!
Now ready, set, go!!
Let's take care of business!