Beach Trip 2011

We had a fun but short trip to the beach.  We had to come back early for Ella to start school but we squeezed in all the important things-lots of time in the pool (we are not ocean people), A trip to the actual beach, Thrashers French Fries, Grotto's pizza, counting the ubiquitous Candy Kitchens, mini golf, the boardwalk, and funnel cake.  

So nostalgic for Chris and me-we both grew up going down to this same beach all the time!  We even stayed at the timeshare my parents have had for close to THIRTY years!  I learned to swim this same pool!!  I brushed my hair in the same exact mirror with light bulbs all around it where I burned my elbow when I was a kid (and still have teh scar). And, a bunch of people have been coming this same week since I was 5 years old and recongize and remember me!  It's craziness that they cheered Ella on in trying to swim across the pool 25 years after doing the exact same thing for me!  Blows my mind.  Thankful for this strange but sweet legacy!

Chris got asked to help in the mime show on the boardwalk

Ella's first bumper car ride!

It's blurry but i still like this picture of sweet little Ady and Michelle :-)

This silly face/pose is SO Sadie.  She's becoming a little ham :-)

Peep Adventure!!!

The weekend before Easter we took advantage of really good deal on Certifikid for what we started calling our "Peep Adventure."  It was a night in an executive suite at the Gaylord National Harbor and admission to a bunch of different Peep related activities for families.  It was SO much fun to get away and we were treated like royalty by the Gaylord staff!  We even were handed gift bags with stuffed animal peep chicks, candy, a schedule of events, tickets for events and more.  Overall we had awesome family time and would love to go back for more family fun events at National Harbor!

Sadie checking out our fancy bedroom

Our first activity was gingerbread Easter Candy Houses

See the 2ft tall Peep on the top balcony?  That was one of many we found on the Peep Scavenger Hunt :-)

Sadie was fascinated by the Giant Peep!

It was pouring outside when the Easter Egg Hunt was scheduled so they did it inside.  Ella still had a blast.

Fun Mommy-daughter time on our sleepover at the hotel

Chris and Ella hid behind the curtains to watch the crazy thunder storms over the Wilson Bridge-it was a perfect spot!

Brunch the next morning was awesome.  So. Tasty. Though I must say, Sadie did NOT sleep well on our little trip away :-(  But, it was only one night so it wasn't too bad.  She was pretty happy even being somewhat sleep deprived.

I'm a sucker for topiaries :-)  So glad the rain cleared up by our second day there.

It's an impressive hotel even from outside!

It was a great trip that we'd definitely do again. 

Cows and Chips

We had a great day trip on Saturday to a Dairy Farm and then explored downtown Frederick since we were out that way. We had a great time and the only problem was Ella eating stickers in the car on the way there and throwing up on her shirt. Who knows what possessed her to eat stickers (we thought she'd outgrown such things) but I think hurling turned her off to ever doing it again. Enjoy the pics!



We got there just in time to feed the baby cows which was our main goal. Those cows were HUNGRY in a big way and kinda aggressive! We had fun though :-)

The cows were either very affectionate or desperate to lick milk off of anything they could, including each others' faces.

Ella seems to be totally cured of her fear of touching animals! I'm SO glad!

After the farm we walked around in downtown Frederick which was quaint and fun at the same time. All three of us had a blast in a specialty toy store we found and Ella had her first encounter with a jack-in-the-box which cracked us up!

We had dinner outside at a yummy Mexican restaurant and Ella got very intense about her chips and I had to get out the camera and take a video :-)

After dinner we walked around this beautiful riverwalk area at sunset and Ella plopped herself down and stared contemplatively at this fountain for a long time. I wonder what you contemplate when you're 2?

I didn't realize Chris took this picture of me pretending to be sad because Ella wouldn't come sit with me but it's so funny!

She gave in and, as you can see, I'm much happier :-) It was a great Saturday!