Mid-Summer Recap

Our old neighbors and Sophie's BFF from Greene Towne, the Marvin's, came to visit from Hawaii. We met them for a quick brunch and visit in the old neighborhood.

Claire, Sophie, Lauren, and Emma outside of our old house. The new owners painted the door black, from our beautiful purple - how could they?! 

We spent another weekend on the Chesapeake with the Townsends, this time on the boat. We sailed to Cacaway Island and anchored for the night. The weather was beautiful and the water was really warm (almost bath warm). We kayaked, swam, grilled and hung out. It was an excellent weekend.

Sophie manning her own kayak with Crystal carrying Lauren and Bella.

Lauren at the helm

The last weekend in July Dave and I rode in the Tour de Shore, a 67 mile bike ride from Philly to Atlantic City. A friend wanted us to do it with her to celebrate her 35th birthday, so we did. It was a long, long ride, but we made it (in 5.5 hours!). I was dead tired when it was done and sword I'd never do it again - but now that I'm fully recovered, I might consider it again ;)

The "team:" me, Tom, Robyn, Dave

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. 

Spring 2017 Ballet Recital

The girls had their end of year ballet recital recently. My family and the Sharps were all there and the girls both did a great job.  Here are a few shots from the dressing room before the show started.

Striking a pose

Sophie with some of her friends pre-show.

Lauren and her friend Hofsa, who also goes to Bala House Montessori with her. 

Coming to the End of First Grade

The other night Cynwyd Elementary School hosted parents for an Art Show of the kids work, all based on African Art. 

Sophie with her clay sculptures and homemade drum.

Standing below her African shield. 

And yesterday her first grade class hosted a Poetry Party where each kid stood up and read a poem they wrote. Here is Sophie's about the end of first grade

Easter 2017

Two days after we got back from the Disney Cruise it was Easter. 

The girls dying Easter eggs. They were interested for about 10 minutes, then I had to finish the eggs. They were beautiful ;)

That afternoon we spent at the Torresdale Golf Club for brunch and an Easter egg hunt. Here's our mini clan (with sun in our eyes). 

And here's the whole clan: Zoe, her boyfriend Elliot and Elliot's mom, Lydia, Dave, and Kathy. It was an absolutely beautiful day - the first of hopefully many to come in the next few weeks! 

Spring Break 2017 - Disney Cruise!

This year for Spring Break we took the girls on a Disney Cruise. We left early Monday morning for Orlando, drove an hour to Cape Canaveral, boarded the biggest ship I've ever seen, and spent 4 days cruising to the Bahamas and back. It was pretty amazing. The general theme of the week of Princesses - we all got our fill. Lauren was in dress up heaven, and although Sophie is getting a little old for princesses, she got into it on board (how can you not?).

The girls had a meet and greet with all of the princesses at the bottom of the grand stairs. Here they are with Belle. When not wearing a bathing suit Lauren was wearing her own princess dresses. Like I said, princess heaven. 

The ship made 2 stops - Nassau, where we didn't get off; and Castaway Cay, Disney's own island, where we did get off. We spent a few hours swimming in beautiful, clear water. Sophie and Dave went snorkeling and the girls got their hair braided (you can see in this picture). That morning Dave and I also did a 5K on the island while the kids hung out int he kids-only area. 

The girls also got Princess makeovers in the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique - Lauren decided to be Princess Minnie and Sophie was Princess Tiana. Here's Lauren in her Princess Minnie dress with the celebrity herself. 

And the last princess thing we did was tea with Tiana, Cinderella, and Belle. Here are the girls with Tiana. Yes, it was all a bit over the top, but we couldn't resist.