He's Baaaack!

Craig was at the airport as scheduled. We picked him up and whisked him away to the house. Everyone is happy and relieved.

Tomorrow, we will start our vacation touring the Midwest and Craig's stompin' grounds, as well as the Great Lakes, Canada and Niagra Falls. We'll be back in a couple of weeks. Ciao!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Love Ya Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the day! We pick Craig up from Dulles at about 10:30. I can't believe it!

Beach Bound Part II

Here are a few shots of the kids at the beach in Wildwood, NJ. All of the guys were great this year, remembering to account for the current and come back up to me before going in for another ride on the waves. Owen occupied his time by collecting every dead jellyfish in sight that had washed up on the beach when he wasn't boogie boarding. The stench was memorable.


We spent our last day at Morey's Pier in Wildwood central, riding rides and then hitting the water park which was well-worth the wait - it was soooooo hot! Evan said, "This was one of the most fun days ever!". High praise from my discerning child.

Owen has his target in sight.

Finn on the rampage

Beach Bound

Happy August, everyone! Recently, we went to Sandy Point State Park right next to the Bay Bridge/Chesapeake Bay too cool off. It was a nice uncrowded day, but the sand felt like we were in the desert! On another note, Owen fell on a neighbor's steps and has a huge gaping gash across his knee and a loose chunk of skin in a semi-circle. It looked stitches worthy, but he pleaded to me not to take him to the ER. It is very funny because it's the same knee I gashed at 7 years old and I pleaded the same thing to my mom. My loose flap of skin was bigger though. Oh well, skin heals. Bad thing is that we haven't been going to the pool even though it's like 100 degrees today because I want the wound to close as much as possible before we go to the Jersey Shore for a few days (tomorrow to be exact) to stay at Aunt Kate and Uncle Tim's beach shack which they rent all summer, every summer. The kids are very excited to go and went to bed without the usual fuss because we are leaving very early tomorrow. All they want to do is boogie board - Sandy Point was NOT boogie board territory.

I think I'll have one more post before Craig is stateside. Until then, stay cool!

Quick Update

Owen came in sixth place overall in backstroke out of 18 or so kids. The ribbon he received is HUGE and decorative. He loves it.

Craig is scheduled to arrive in the US of A on August 9th. Keep your fingers crossed!

Divisionals and Fireworks

We are finished with summer swimming. Evan won his backstroke heat. Owen came in second in his backstroke and fourth in his freestyle heats. He also single-handedly swam his team into third place in the 100 relay. They were somewhat behind but Owen gave it his all! I am not sure about their overall places in their individual events as it was a yucky day today and we did not go to the pool.

Saturday evening, we celebrated the end of swimming at Oregon Ridge with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and fireworks. It was a summer outdoor concert featuring theme songs from popular movies and TV shows. The kids enjoyed it and recognized many of the tunes (Simpsons, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Copeland).

The McCarters and Henriksons go to Washington

Our wonderful friends, Sue, Hannah and Sophia Henrikson came to visit Maryland from Seattle, Washington for my birthday and to visit lots of friends. Sue, my good friend, Jane, and I had a grown-up girls' weekend at the beach in Wildwood, NJ last weekend. We all slept in and enjoyed visiting Cape May, NJ sans children.

On Tuesday, July 24th, we took the Metro to DC to see the White House and to visit the Natural History Museum.

Sophia and Owen waiting for the train

A McCarter menagerie

It was a great visit and we are trying to plan a trip to Seattle to see our Aunt Vic and the Henriksons.