Thanksgiving 2017

We headed down to Charlottesville for Thanksgiving again this year. We got there late Tuesday night and stayed until Saturday. That gave us lots of time to visit with friends while we were there. I met up with Jenny, Samantha, and all of their kids for lunch on Wednesday. It's been a while since I've seen them and all of the kids are so big! They all got along really well. I helped that we ate at a restaurant with an arcade ;)

The kid crew: Lauren, Darby, Bracey, Sophie, Mary, Kaylee, and Parker in the back. 

And then I went and saw Sarah and her kids, who were in a new house in Holly Meade. Sophie and Lexi had a lot of fun playing together, and also playing sardines with Kali and Luke (what good sports those older kids are!). 

Lexi and Sophie. These two have known each other for a long time! 

We had the usual Thanksgiving crew, including Dick and Suzy. We all stayed at Mom and Dad's house. It was pretty tight, but we made it work.

Here's Nana (who turned 92 in October) showing off her new iPhone. Finally, she's made it to the modern age. Carley even signed her up for Instagram! 

Bestie cousins, Ari and Lauren. 

As we've done for the last few years, we deep fried the turkeys (2 of them). Doug was the fry master. He's perfected the rub and dropping of the turkey in hot oil. 

The Thanksgiving crew! 

The day after Thanksgiving Dave took Lauren hiking up to the top of Humpback Rock. She was a trooper and walked the whole thing herself. Here she is taking in the amazing view. 

Happy 65th Dad!

Last weekend we all went down to Clearwater, FL to celebrate dad's 65 birthday. Mom, Dad, Becky, and Ari had made a week of it, driving from Virginia with a 3 day stop in Orlando, but we had to make it quick - arriving on Friday and heading out on Sunday. It was worth it though. The weather was beautiful and we got some good pool and beach time in.

While we were there we saw 3 beach weddings. The girls were spying on one here. We all had our own opinions about which bride's dress was best. 

The girls with the birthday boy

Cousins! Mom and Becky took the three kids to the aquarium (while Dave and I enjoyed some solo pool time). 

The bathing beauties, Lauren and Ari

The sunset on Saturday night was beautiful, so we took advantage and tried to get some good shots. 

The whole fam! 

Becky and me

On Sunday morning the girls wanted to go and look for shells. There were a ton of really small ones all along the water line. 

Cousins & besties

Triple threat

OCNJ 2017

We had our annual trip to the Jersey Shore over 4th of July week. Always a fun, busy, family-filled this weekend. This year Eleanor and Lydia joined us for the week. Along with Doug, Vicki, Quinn, Carley, Mom, Dad, Becky, Ari, and Nana - it was a full house. The weather was nice for the start of the week, but got overcast and rained for the last few days, so we had to find ways to entertain ourselves.

Ari and Lauren as the "cool kids" with colored hair. These two were pretty much inseparable the whole week. 

We hit Wonderland or Playland almost every day. 

Lauren and Sophie with the boardwalk parrots. For a hefty price you can hold these birds - Nana was nice enough to indulge the kids ;)

Sandcastles! 

The dynamic quads - Sophie, Eleanor, Ari, Lauren

Beginning of Summer

We're a few good weeks into summer and have been enjoying every second of it. At the end of May we went down to Charlottesville for a visit. As always, the cousins loved spending time together.

Lauren, Ari, and Sophie strolling downtown. 

And then for Memorial Day weekend we headed to Rock Hall with the our friends John, Crystanl and their daughter Bella, and Pete, Leslie and their kids Hudson and Rose. The weather was still a little chilly, so there wasn't a lot of beach time, but everyone still had a lot of fun. 

 Below Hudson, Bella, and Lauren keeping warm with a blanket at Waterman's Crab House. And Sophie, Lauren, and Bella "fishing" off a little marsh dock.

We went back down to Rock Hall in June for a weekend with the Sharp and to check out their new power boat, which they got to make their trip to the Bahamas later this year. It was a blast. The girls jumped off the side of it for about an hour strait. 

This was the first time Lydia came to Maryland and she had a great time. The weather was warm and beautiful and we spent time at the beach and on the boat. For Father's Day we had a BBQ on the boat and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. It was perfect. 

And on a recent Friday night we all cooked at the Gift of Life Family House. Here we are with the meal we prepared. We decided on Greek, which seemed doable for a group of 45. We had to scramble at the end, but we did it - and it was delicious. 

Thanksgiving 2016

We headed down to my parent's house in Virginia for Thanksgiving this year. We had the usual group of folks: Doug, Vicky, Carley (no Quinn b/c she's still on her gap year), Nana, Becky, James, and Ariana. We were also joined by Tom and Ginger this year. Dave cooked the bulk of the dinner - as he always does - and it was delicious! 

 Mom and Dad also took the opportunity to snap their Christmas Car pictures with their three grandkids

Easter 2016

This year we went to Charlottesville for Easter. We had a little break in the cold weather - enough to have an Easter egg hunt on the campus of UVa. And another one back at Mom and Dad's house. Never enough candy, right? 

Here are the girls in their Easter best on The Lawn

Almost the whole crew

Lauren Turns 3!

As is the tradition in this family, we extend birthday's for as long as possible. And Lauren's was no exception. She had an early celebration at school, before the holiday break, and then a small family party on her actual birthday, and then a larger family party in January, which was a dual celebration with Ari. I feel you can never celebrate enough.

In a Montessori classroom the birthday celebration involves the birthday child walking around a candle (which symbolizes the sun) holding the earth as many times as he or she is old. During that time the teacher talks about what has happened each year during the child's life. Here her teacher Mr. Patrick (or pronounced Mr. Pack-rich by Lauren) is describing her life so far. 

Sophie was invited to join in the celebration from her classroom next door.

And then there was the family party with Ari. Here's Mom, Brittany and the birthday girls

Preparing for "Happy Birthday" 

Thanksgiving 2015

We were down in Virginia this year for Thanksgiving. It was a big crew, as usual. Doug, Vickie, Quinn, Carley, Nana, our friends Carl, Amanda, Gianna, and Ella from North Carolina, and Aleen and Yvonne were all there.

We deep fried the turkey again this year. It think it might be the 5th or 6th year we've done that. It's always delicious. Doug was the turkey master again. I think he waits all year for this. He was out there for hours getting the oil and the turkey just right. But time worth spent because it was super tasty.

Doug lowering the turkey

The weather was amazing and we got to spend a lot of time outside. We took a few hikes and just enjoyed my parent's amazing property. It was also an opportunity to try and get a cousin picture. Alas, more failed attempts... Why they can't all smile and look at the camera at once is beyond me.

Ariana is highly skeptical of her cousins. 

Lauren has clearly had enough. 

A Week at the Beach

We just got back from the annual 4th of July week in Ocean City, NJ. It was wonderful and relaxing, as always. No surprise that Lauren was in heaven running in and out of the waves and playing in the little baby pool alongside the adults. Sophie also had a great time digging and hanging out with Quinn and Carley and their friends ("the girls"). We lucked out with great weather, except for Hurricane Arthur, which came through on Friday for a few days, and unfortunately caused the fireworks to be cancelled. Overall a great getaway!

Lauren happy as a clam - taking a break on the beach chair

Pap Pap giving Sophie some kite flying instruction

Beach-loving kids

Nana with her 3 grand babies 

Lauren rode the Carousel for the first time...

And so did Ari.

Virginia in June

We made a quick trip to Virginia last weekend. The girls got to see their cousin Ariana, and Dave and I got to enjoy some Virginia wine tasting. All in all a great trip!

Lauren doing her favorite thing - playing in water

Me with Ariana, who is 6 months, and Lauren, who is right now very into clutching (and not letting go) blankets. 

An attempt at a cousin picture. At least we got one where no one is screaming (I'm looking at you Lauren). 

Happy Easter!

We spent Easter down in Virginia again this year. On Saturday we had a BBQ with a bunch of Becky and my friends and their kids. It was madness, but a lot of fun, including a piñata that Becky and Jack made.

Sophie and Lexi

On Saturday night Ariana was baptized at an Easter service. It was a really pretty service, with the whole congregation holding candles during the beginning part of the service. Doug and Vicki are the god parents and presented Ariana at the front of the church. 

And Sunday morning there was of course an egg hunt! Here are Quinn, Carley and Sophie with their winnings... 

The three cousins!