August Recap (So Far....)

August is half over. Summer is reaching its finale. How did that HAPPEN?

The kids spent another fun week at Baltimore Yacht Club. They camped out on the boat with one brave and wonderful Grandma for Week on the Island.
Daniel spent a lot of QT with his monster trucks.

 Daniel got to participate in his first WOTI auction. Members donate treasures from their garages, etc for other members to buy.

 Daniel had his eye on a fire truck/tow truck combo. Luckily we had an in with one of the auctioneers and this item jumped to the head of the roster. It was pretty close to bed time after all.

The bidding was fast and furious but Daniel came out on top.

Mom and Kacy took a quick girls trip to Rhode Island. We crashed the Young/Walsh annual vacation in Narragansett. The weather was just as spectacular as the company.

The house had great views of a bird sanctuary, and the beach beyond.

We enjoyed linguini with fresh clams for dinner one night, with a side of just-off-the-boat swordfish.

We of course had to get some Del's before we headed out of town. (Or ice cream for the under 8 crowd).

Boots and GranDan were in town for the week to help with kid duty. We took a drive down to Annapolis for brunch with the Gorman/Wolfe clan on Sunday.

It's been a busy few weeks. No signs of stopping any time soon. Stay tuned!

Daniel Turns 4

It's hard to believe but Daniel turned 4 on Saturday.
We had cake at home that night to celebrate.

Big boy and his birthday candle.

He even had a special shirt (from Barcelona) for the big day.

Sunday, we celebrated with some friends. Gia was a big help blowing out the candle.

Popsicles, sunshine and friends. A good summer Sunday.

Happy birthday to our buddy. We love him to the moon and back.

Mom's Adventure to Canada

Work brought an opportunity for mom to head north (really, really far north) to visit Newfoundland.
It was a great trip to the land where fish is cod, and cod is god.

It was a beautiful place to visit and learn more about.

We were welcomed to Signal Hill by the traditional Tattoo.

Cabot Tower on Signal Hill.

Dinner in the fishing village of Quidi Vidi in St. John's, at the amazing Mallard Cottage.

Lovely village and lovely people.

Wildlife of course abounded. Saw no moose, but did get to spend some time with a true Newfoundlander. They are as big as you think. Also did some whale watching. This lovely humpback knew we were on a time schedule and showed us her tail just as we needed to head back to shore. Right up our alley.

A walk from the hotel to the top of Signal Hill in St. John's was great exercise and the reward was awesome views.

After four great, jam-packed days in St. John's, a smaller group were invited to visit the one-year-old Fogo Island Inn. Billed as a hotel "on an island off an island", it's as remote and rustic as it is charming.

No detail is overlooked. Everything in the hotel is either made on island, or only purchased from traditional Canadian trading partners. Read: Nothing is made in China. The room features a view that can't be described. That white speck in the window? A growler. A small but still awe-inspiring for a newbie iceberg. Apparently this winter was an epic year for icebergs, due to the very cold conditions. It's rare for them to still be around in July. Glad they stuck around for me.

We hiked up to the top of Brimstone Head.

All in all a great trip though it was quiet and not the same doing it without Dave and the kiddos. Next time....

Back to kid activities this weekend. July is almost over. What?!?

Staycation Weekend

With gorgeous weather in the forecast and a perfectly good boat sitting empty while Grandma and Grandpa cruise the Mediterranean, we headed to BYC for a good old staycation this weekend.

But first, before the good weather could arrive, there were storms. And one culminated with a pretty cool double rainbow.

Just hanging out on the hill Saturday evening.

Heading back to the boat for dinner al fresco.

Good times all around.