A Quick trip to East Hampton

Chris and I made a very quick trip to East Hampton, seems like we never get enough time there. We had big plans to take the kids to the beach but it not only rained on our parade, it poured! The entire time we were there it just rained cats and dogs. Wish we could get that kind of moisture here. Despite the weather we had a terrific time. We actually were able to go out on mom and Dan's boat for a bit between showers. I was terrible and hardly took any photos at all. The one's I did take though, I love. Austin loves the boat, so much he can say boat and Grammy is working on teaching him what a boat says. Austin walked miles this past weekend, not alone but with the help of a walker that Grammy got him. He's unstoppable in that thing, even plays chase with Chris and I, laughing Austin style all the way.






























































We were able to spend some time with Leah, Ben, Patty and Michael which was wonderful to have the time to catch up. I wasn't able to go to one of Leah's yoga classes, hopefully next time. Austin was thrilled to meet Ben, the other love of Auntie Leah's life. He also got to meet Auntie Trina, my earliest childhood friend. We hadn't seen one another in a few years, but as always Trina and I picked up right from where we left off. It just felt so good to be around her and Leah, I guess because they know me better than most and well they were there when I would get grounded, be heartbroken, elated-in-love ..... you get the point. I'm thrilled to have Trina state-side again and can't wait to see her, Janine and momma-Barbara soon on their visit to see us here in Annapolis.


















































I had left Maryland a day before Chris and surprised my bro' in Brooklyn for his 30th Birthday. Once again I was so, so bad and took not a single photo. The surprise was incredible though, perfectly timed and just such a treat to be able to celebrate with him. Austin, Hannah and I pulled right in front of his house just as he and Laura were arriving back from work at the end of the day. I couldn't have done it without her help, you're awesome thanks so much Laura. Thanks for helping me make Chris' birthday so unforgettable for all of us.




That's it for now. Chris and I purchased a new car today. I'll post some pics as soon as I take some. Here's a pic of Austin car shopping with us. He was so patient the past two days and loves sitting in the front seat while Chris and I took turns test driving. We love our new car and can't wait to share the pics with you all. Thanks for checking in with us. We miss you.

Love and memories, Liz

Zippy Chicks

Just had to post these pictures of our nieces Anne and Becca. They are both pretty daring, adventurous and fiery but certainly not a bit rough around the edges. I do believe their imaginations are about the most colorful of any little girl I've ever met. They absolutely adore Austin and Hannah and well I just can't say enough great things about them. We wish we could spend more time with them. We hope there are many adventures to share in the future. Dana and Melissa took them to try out the zip lines, and as you can see they had no fear. They are the princesses of our universe!

Weekend to PA

Hello all! We had a great weekend, spent Sunday in Gettysburg PA enjoying the company of our friends at a crab feast hosted by Dave's grandparents. It was great being around such wonderful people and getting to know Dave and Heather's family. We even got to meet little Riley Walton. I was a dweeb and hardly took any pictures what-so-ever. Chris and I were both pretty busy chasing after Austin. Dave gave us the locals tour of Gettysburg and was only able to scratch the surface. I can't wait to go back and see more, take more pictures and spend some time with the Amish and Mennonite. We hope to go back in the fall during harvest, pick some apples, pumpkins enjoy the park, maybe take the bike, it'll be cool then.

I just love this area of the country. There is so much to do and see and find. We have so many friends, so much family around. We just love it. I threw in a couple of pictures I took at Quiet Waters Park today with Austin. We had a good time playing and walking the trails. The wood pictures I took are from a pirate ship sculpture near the entrance of the park. We had never explored there before so we checked it out today. Not exactly a great place for little Oz to play on but definitely interesting.

The last bit of pictures I took after we received Austin's new humidifier. I must say this is the 6th one we've bought and by far the best, blows every other out of the water. For all mommy or soon-to-be friends, you've got to get one of these. It made by Crane and if you search on Target's site, they have the best selection, you'll find bears and penguins and cats, dogs, polar bears, soccer balls, I got Austin the frog. I find they're cute for a baby's room and they're the only humidifier that got a 4 star rating, every other one had less than 3 stars. Anyway, this thing came in a box 5 times it's size. Austin had a blast playing in the box and with all the packing materials. What a goon! He's growing so fast I can't believe it.

Thanks for checking in on us. Let me know which 'wood' picture you all like the best.

Love to all, Liz, Chris, Austin & Hannah-the-wonder-dog

A Green Kind of Day

Chris and I are in the process of converting to 'green' lives and lifestyles. It's certainly something we are both passionate about and the more we know, the more changes we make the more fulfilling our daily lives become with each small accomplishment. In order to educate ourselves and expose Austin to what we believe in, we visited the National Building Museum in D.C. The 'Green House' exhibit was small, but educational and worth the visit. It's just amazing the amount of development that's been made and how easy it can be for us to help the environment. Here are a few pics from the museum. We couldn't really take many, all of the exhibits prohibited photography. We were also fortunate to see an entire exhibit of Frank Lloyd Wright's - Price Tower project. Just incredible to see all the hand drawings of (in my opinion) one of America's greatest artists. Made me think of Brett Fahrer as he starts his education in architecture at UW. I know you would have appreciated the exhibit as well. Good luck your first year Brett, I know you'll accomplish great things.

After the museum we headed over to the National Zoo to visit a few of the animals and teach Austin about animal sounds and smells. Unfortunately it was a bit warm out in the sun and the only animals stupid enough to be outside in the heat were the humans walking around the zoo. We were able to see the baby panda and mamma, what a sight to see, too sweet. We saw lots of birds, indoors, and a couple other animals. We're going to try to get back there in the fall, hopefully in the early morning when they are feeding.

We should have more pictures coming soon. We were invited to the Jones family crab bake in Gettysburg, PA over the weekend. Always a great time with that crew, so we're looking forward to it. I hope you are all doing great. Write soon, love to all.
Liz, Chris, Austin and Hannah-the-wonder-dog

Canoeing, Sailing, Rope Swings & Jumping off of bridges

Here's the last of our adventure. I would have to say, aside from visiting family, our 6 hour canoe, bridge jumping, rope swing trip was the highlight of the vacation. Lot's of laughing, singing, eardrum & knee busting (note Dave's swing pic) and a great workout all in one. Okay, better luck next time I log in. Blogger is not letting me post the rest of the pics. I'll try again later!!!