Beaven Raft Up Weekend

In the middle of October we went for our last sail of the season. We met 3 other boats in the Chesapeake for the annual Beaven Raft Up, named after a sailor in the ULYC. The weather was gorgeous and it was just a beautiful weekend. 

Me and the girls. 

Sophie at the helm. 

We had a fishing pole off the back of the boat on the way home and ended up catching this big Rockfish. We threw him back - after taking this glamour shot of course. 

Summer Vacations 2016

The girls have had a great summer - and it's not over yet! In June they spent a week with Dave and the Sharps on the boat in the Chesapeake. They got to swim every day and explored haunts of Dave's childhood. 

The girls jumping off the side of the boat. At the beginning of the summer Lauren wouldn't even swim in the water and by the end of the week she was jumping off the side of the boat. It was pretty amazing. 

 Roasting marshmallows on the beach. 

The girls riding along behind the boat in the dinghy.

Kayaking in one of the many coves.

And then in July the girls came with me for a week to Ocean City for the Coughlin/Rainer annual summer vacation. Fresh off the boat (ha!), the girls were expert swimmers with no fear jumping into the water. 

Nana with her granddaughters. 

Pap Pap teaching Sophie how to fly a kite. 

The Summer so Far

Unbelievably we're almost half way through the summer. We've packed it with a lot of trips and friends and tried to enjoy every last second.

Over Memorial Day weekend we headed to The Sharps' house in MD with friends John, Crystal & Bella and Pete, Leslie & Hudson.

Here's he crew picking' crabs.

And of course there was sailing. Here Sophie is helping John steer. 

The first weekend in June we headed down to DC to meet John, Crystal and Bella again. 

 

Here we are in front of the White House. This is as close as they would let us get. But we did see Obama come in on his helicopter, flanked with two others, and land on the lawn. He had just given the eulogy at Bo Biden's funeral in Delaware. 

Dave and Sophie also spent a week together on the boat sailing around Maryland with our friend Carl and his daughter Gianna.  

Sophie and Gianna. 

We've spent a lot of time down in Maryland. The Sharp's house is only a 2 hour drive from our house, and Rock Hall is a town that the whole family loves. Lots of time on and in the water, bike riding, and of course crabs! 

We have two kayaks down there, and Sophie loves to go out for a spin the bay.

The girls acting goofy on the beach.

Benson has been getting a little braver with the water. He'll wade in about chest deep - but still prefers to sleep on a towel on the beach. 

Dave and the girls. 

Aleen also came for a long weekend visit. We went to Morris Arboretum which was in full bloom and beautiful. 

Selfie

 And when we can't make it to Maryland, there's always the baby pool in the back yard. Hardly a substitute, but the girls love it anyway. 

The girls and our neighbor Maya.

And we just got back from our annual 4th of July week in Ocean City, NJ. This year the extended family was there as part of the year long celebration of Nana's 90th birthday. 

All of the July birthdays: me (36), Maithili (30), Addison (16), Mom (60), Becky (33), Graeme (33), Vicki (51). And Lauren, who would not let me put her down.

Quinn and Sophie. 

Cousins

The girls on the beach after our family picture 

Some of the crew on the beach house steps. Uncle Dick was there, so of course there were balloon hats.

Last Sail of the Summer

Over Labor Day weekend we took our last long sail and went to Corsica River for the weekend. It couldn't have been more beautiful. We anchored, jumped off the back of the boat, swam around and did some exploring. Sophie and Dave were in MD all week, and she swam every day, so by the weekend she had huge confidence in the water. 

 Benson doing what he does best on the boat... 

Summer 2014

This has been a busy summer! We were out of town most weekends, fortunately for fun trips. Sophie was in all-day camp at Greene Towne School and Lauren spent the summer with her nanny Michelle and friend Julia. Here are just a few of the things we did.

We spent a weekend in MD with our friend the Marvin's and the Spiegel's. Six kids in the house! The kids spent the days tiring themselves out so that they vegged out with a movie at night. 

Tubing in the Chesapeake (Liora, Claire, Sophie & Jeremy Spiegel)

At Sophie's request we took a Philly Bus Tour around the city. It was actually a lot of fun and we all learned a little about our city. 

The girls did some digging for treasure at Pirates and Wenches weekend in Rock Hall, MD. Here's Sophie in her best pirate gear (arrr!). 

The girls cruised around in their new princess car, compliments of Nana and Pappap, in Virginia. Sophie is the driver and Lauren rocks the passenger seat, working the radio. 

And Sophie did a lot of swimming this summer. She took lessons at camp and also got in the water a lot in MD. She's getting a lot more comfortable and will hopefully be a confident swimmer soon! 

Father's Day 2014

We spent Father's Day this year down in Maryland with the Sharps. It was a beautiful weekend, just perfect weather, and we got to spend some good time at the beach.

 The girls enjoyed time on the swing set... here they are with popsicles. What more could you want?

Pop Pop and Lauren

 

Lauren's gift to Dave (with assistance from Michelle)

And another highlight of the weekend, for Dave especially, was getting his summer car back from the dealership, complete with a beautiful new paint job. The girls also enjoyed it. 

Mother's Day Weekend

This weekend we headed down to Maryland. We spent Friday night at the Sharp's new house in Rock Hall, and then Dave had a regatta with the ULYC on Saturday in Oxford, and then we headed back to Rock Hall on Sunday for Mother's Day. It was an absolutely beautiful weekend weather-wise and so nice to just relax with family.

Dave's boat came in 2nd at the regatta and he also presented the awards that evening at a party and awards ceremony. This year Sophie was also his helper.

Clapping for an award winner

An attentive listener to an acceptance speech 

The fam

And the very best part of the weekend was my Mother's Day present - a beach cruiser bike with an attachment for Sophie! We'll keep it down at the house in MD. We rode around for a while this afternoon and it was so much fun. So looking forward to this summer!