8.30.13 ~ Nora (and the rest of the kids) at the Zoo

We went to the Baltimore Zoo and it was the best time I have ever had at any zoo anywhere. And it's all because of Nora. It was her first time going to a zoo. But more importantly, she has always shown a strong love for animals. She has always loved Bailey and Maggie, my in-laws' dogs. She loved when Lynda's cat had kittens. She loves to look at caterpillars, squirrels, birds, and bugs of any kind, and she loves to watch Animal Planet's Too Cute.

So, while we had three other wonderful children with us at the zoo - for me it was mostly about Nora because she had the best reaction to everything she saw. Nora, Liam, and I were there with Jason's mom and dad and Sydney and Ryan. The big kids were always up ahead with Nana while I lagged behind with Nora having to peel her away from every single exhibit to move on to the next. She loved the birds and turtles as much as the elephants and giraffes. She really did not discriminate; Except for the monkeys who stood out as a clear favorite. That is, until we came to the farm animal section where you can pet and brush goats. We spent about 45 minutes with the goats. Nora talked to them, petted them, brushed them, patted them, followed them, and tried to feed them (which was against the rules). It was an explosion of cuteness. I took 700,000 pictures and will post most of them below. Because the cuteness needs to be shared with the world.

 

And Carol and I made Ron take three kids on the carousel. It was like childcare hazing.

8.30.13 New York Friends

We've done a great of job making the most of summer and my month off in Baltimore. We've been busy, but not too busy. We've had lazy days and adventurous outings. And I have been diligently checking a few things per week off my long before-I-start-work to do list. But the best part is that we have seen a lot of our NY peeps down here in MD!

Lynda, Simon, Miriam, and Rachel came to visit us. Our apartment is significantly bigger than our last one, but it was still a squeeze to have seven people under this roof. The kids all slept in Liam and Nora's room. Simon slept on an air mattress under Liam's lofted bed and Miriam in a pack and play. It was adventurous around bedtime - but overall went not worse than expected. And despite the squeeze, it was an absolute delight to have them here for a couple days. We went to Port Discovery (a children's museum), explored main street, and scooted and biked outside. Most of my pictures are from Port Discovery. We totally failed to get a group shot with all the kids. Boo.

My friend Beth, her fiance Casey, and their puppy Bean also came for a visit from NYC. Again - total photography fail. I have zero pictures from that day. But that doesn't mean I don't adore Beth. Because I do.

Then, Shannon, Mike, and their sweet, perfect Samantha came over. Also down from NYC, they were in town to visit family. But we got them for a whole morning and lunch and this time I sucked less and actually got my camera out. This is my favorite picture from the day -- there's a lot of mother daughter love right there:

And this pretty much sums up Mike. And Shannon. And Sam's expression is perfect:

Theeeeen, we took a day trip to Washington DC to meet up with Liam's dear little New York friend, Annabelle and her mom, Silke. With them, we walked around the Mall and visited the Air and Space Museum. I took the kids down there on the MARC train as part of my commuting experimentation. On the way back we got lost, missed two trains, and then boarded the local instead of express train. So, I learned a lot about what not to do.

 

8.18.13 ~ Germany 2013

Opa Hans turned 90 this year, so I met my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Germany for the big celebration. Jason couldn't come and it was too expensive and difficult for me to take the kids, so I was flying solo. I missed them all, but I also had a wonderful time. Opa is much spunkier than most other 90 year olds. And our family is so spread out that it's really exciting when we all meet up somewhere. So, we all ate and drank ourselves silly for a few days to celebrate Opa and our togetherness. It was fun. Here are some pictures to prove it:

 

Of course we also spent some very quality time with the Benz's. We had less time with them because of the whole birthday extravaganza. But the togetherness was just as good. I love all of these people so much. It's always sad to say goodbye and fly back to the States.