St. Patrick's Day

Before the National Aquarium and our evening in Annapolis there was St. Patrick's Day. It was a quiet, but eventful Pat's day this year. The girls made a fun craft...

...see the clovers in the window.

On St. Patrick's day the leprechauns came and left a few treats...

...lucky charms, rainbow baskets filled with golden chocolate coins, and they even turned our milk GREEN!

Also, on St. Patrick's day we bought a new car. Well, new to us. A 2009 Honda Civic. Jim is not provided with a work car here so we had to get him a commuter car. Also, we were going to have to get a second care eventually so, now was a good time. Jim seems to like buying cars on holidays. He has also bought a car on Halloween.

On Saturday, March 24th we wanted to go check out the Cherry Blossoms in Downtown DC but the weather had other ideas for us, it was raining. Instead, we went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The aquarium was a bit pricey to get into but it was quite a sight. Look...an indoor waterfall...

...and a great view (even with the rain)...

Unfortunately, Jim got a bit sick at the aquarium so, our visit was cut a bit short but, of what we saw, the girls thoroughly enjoyed!

There was even an indoor rain forest!

We also saw a lot of different fish, sharks, dolphins, and jelly fish.

This aquarium was a lot different than the Shark Reef that the girls were used to!

Annapolis

On the evening of Sunday, March 18th we headed over to Annapolis. We walked around for a bit...

...and then we found a restaurant for dinner. When it was time to get dinner the girls were very hungry so we had to make a quick choice. We ended up at a place that was good but really expensive. Next time we are going to have to try out a dive I was told about, Chick and Ruth's Delly (http://www.chickandruths.com/).

After dinner we just had to stop at an ice cream shop we passed by!

I can't wait to go back to Annapolis during the day when there is more time to explore.

First Weekend In Maryland

We wasted no time getting involved with activities and adventures in Maryland!

Before we left Las Vegas I signed Abby up for soccer in Maryland and on our first Friday we had her first class.

Notice who is lurking...Kera! She VERY much wanted to join the class too. As soon as I can I will be signing her up for soccer!

On Friday afternoon we received the call that we had been waiting for...our Vegas house was rented!! To celebrate we headed out for dinner and DESSERT.

Getting a renter was a huge relief for us. Housing is being paid for us in Maryland but, it is so nice that we will not have to worry about our mortgage in Vegas. Hopefully this will mean that we will be able to save some money on this trip. Now we just hope that the renters treat our house and neighbors nicely!

On Saturday we took the train into the District to go to the Natural History Museum.

The museum was great! There is never enough time to see everything but what we did see we enjoyed. Abby's favorite part was the butterfly exhibit.

There were about 300 butterflies flying around in a flower filled tent. Abby very badly wanted  a butterfly to land on her but unfortunately, no luck.

After the museum it was back to the train to head home.

It was a nice day but we learned one significant lesson. We are driving in from now on. The train is a great idea but it took us about an hour each way.  The travel time really limited the amount of time that we got to spend at the museum.

It was a fun weekend and we look forward to many more weekends of new experiences!

Las Vegas to Maryland, Part 4...WE MADE IT!

We did not make it very far on Saturday. We had it in our minds to make it to Pittsburgh but we only made it to Akron, OH a measly 394 miles.

We were very tired of driving!

There was nothing special about this leg the trip. The only thing of note is that we again had a hard time finding a hotel that would allow the pets. We ended up in a hotel that had an indoor swim area and our room was right by the VERY chlorinated pool. We got used to the smell but it took awhile.

On Sunday, we made it to Columbia Maryland (346 miles)!

When we got to town we had to find one more hotel. One hotel was asking for a $150 non-refundable deposit for the pets, CRAZY! We ended up in a very nice but expensive hotel.

On Monday morning we picked up the keys to the townhouse and got to see the place for the first time. The townhouse is 1,280 square feet...a bit smaller than we are used to and there are quite a few maintenance issues but, we will make it work.

Let the unpacking begin! A BIG thank you to Uncle Andy for coming over and helping us unload the truck!

Las Vegas to Maryland, Part 3

It was great to be in Naperville again! There was so much that I wanted to do but only so much time. Plus, Jim was sick so, he spent a lot of time in the hotel room rather than revisiting some of our old stomping grounds. We still managed to have a good time though.

We got into town on the night of Wednesday, February 29th...a night earlier than we were expecting. I was so happy that we got in early because we were able to see Joanne! Joanne was leaving town the next morning and we were all disappointed about potentially not seeing each other. As soon as we checked in to the hotel we headed to Joanne's for dinner. Joanne is always so much fun to hangout with and we miss her very much!

On Thursday, while Jim rested in the hotel room I took Abby and Kera to storytime in downtown Naperville. It was fun to be back at our old library!

Abby could not get enough of these large plastic animals. She had more fun with the animals than she did at storytime!

After storytime we headed to Starbucks for a treat. I am very surprised that we didn't run into any of our old friends but, it was so nice to be with the girls.

After Starbucks we went and picked up Jim and headed to lunch at Potbelly's, YUM! How I have missed their meatball sandwiches!!

Thursday night we got to see our dear friend Manuela. Unfortunately, Frank was out of down but Manuela had us over for a great meal and even better company.

On Friday Jim was still not feeling good so, he spent most of the day relaxing in the hotel. Meanwhile, Abby, Kera, and I went to our old playgroup. I helped to start this playgroup when Abby was born and it is still going strong. It was amazing to see the ladies again...and their little ones. I have very much missed spending time with this group of women. It was great to see how the kids have grown and to meet so many new kidos that have come along.

After the playgroup I dropped Abby back off to the hotel for a nap and Kera and I went to go see my Great Aunt Kay. Kay is 94 and I had to go see her! It was a short visit but it was great to see her! On my way in I ran into my cousin Jim (Joanne's son) it was nice to have him with me during my visit. He very much helped the flow of conversation!

Friday night was a night that I was very much looking forward to! A night over at the Trelo's, our old neighbors.  I wish I had some pictures of our evening but we were having too much fun to take any photos. Not only were we able to see the whole Trelo clan but we were also able to see many of our other old neighbors...Michelle and Carl, Marty and John, and Debbie and Jim. Thank you so much John and Karen for having us over!

Saturday morning it was back on the road...only 722 miles to our destination!

Las Vegas to Maryland, Part 2

We finally left Las Vegas around 4:30 for our 2,431 mile road trip to Maryland. Jim was in the uhaul with Chewy and I was in the car with Abby, Kera, and Billy.

Unfortunately, the first night we didn't get very far. After the day we had we only logged 236 miles to Beaver, UT. I don't know about you, but I find it extremely funny that there is a Beaver, UT. We found out the very first night that finding hotel rooms that would allow pets was not going to be easy. We had to try 2 hotels in Beaver and this struggle continued throughout our trip.

The girls enjoyed staying in the hotel and Abby loved being in a big bed.

The next morning, bright and early we were back on the road. Jim was hoping to log 400 miles a day so we had some catching up to do. On the second day of driving we actually made it all the way to Henderson, CO. Henderson is just outside of Denver...540 miles.

Ok, so we had a few issues with this leg of the trip. One, the new DVD player is not functioning properly...it kept on sticking and making a loud screeching sound. This is NOT good for kids on a long distance road trip.

Second, the weather. Jim kept on tyring to convince me to take the southern route to Maryland but I insisted on taking the northern route because I wanted to go through Chicago. Before we left for our road trip I checked the weather many times. Weather.com told me that Colorado was supposed to get snow but not until Tuesday evening and since we thought we would be out of CO by then we thought we were in the clear...well...the snow came early. The whole time we were in CO we were trying to stay in front of the snow storm. Luckily when we woke-up in Henderson , CO on Tuesday morning we didn't find any snow but the ski reports saw about 17 inches...that was close.

Chewy waiting for our hotel room in Henderson, CO

Good night Abby...in our CO hotel.

On Tuesday we made it 473 miles to Lincoln, NE.

Ok, so, we had issues with this leg of the trip too. First, the DVD player didn't work at all on this day. But, I am very proud to say Abby and Kera were VERY good girls. They were very understanding and didn't complain too much. They entertained themselves with their toys and books.

Second, weather. This time it was a bit scary! Nebraska had tornadoes. this was one of the earliest tornadoes to touch down in MANY years. At one point I was on the phone with my mom and I had to quickly get off the phone with her. The rain was coming down so hard that it was extremely hard to see. I had to move to the far right lane to try and follow the white line. I also had to turn on my flashers and hope that no one would run into me. When we stopped to eat we were all a bit frazzled.

On this trip we really managed to minimize our stops to bathroom breaks (which usually included a gas fuel up) and one meal (we always stayed at a hotel that had a continental breakfast). I was completely impressed with how the girls managed this schedule but...this intense schedule did have some fall backs. When the girls got out of the car they were a bit, ok very, crazy! This is no surprise because in their normal day they are non-stop motion and being cooped up in the car is not much fun. Unfortunately, when we did stop it was usually in a restaurant and that made for a fun/crazy/stressful eating environment. Lincoln was no exception to this. I am sure Applebee's was happy when we paid our bill and walked out the door.

In Lincoln we also had to find a target to return our new DVD player. It was completely non functional and needed to be replaced. I was not going to drive another day with out the girls being able to watch movies.

On Wednesday we drove 521 miles to our old stomping grounds, Naperville.

We stayed in Naperville until Saturday morning...a very nice break from the drive. I will talk more about our time in Naperville in my next post but...there is still a story to be told about our drive from Lincoln, NE to Naperville , IL.

We were cruising along in Iowa when I spotted a police car. As soon as I passed him he turned on his car and began to move, I instantly knew he was after me. I had been traveling in the left lane and I was speeding...I was trying to keep up with Jim who, at the time, was attempting to pass several large semi trucks. I moved over to the right lane as soon as I could to try and blend in but, it was no luck. A few minutes later the police car had its lights on and he was pulling me over. Jim and I had walkie talkies so I tried to clue him in on what was happening. When the police man appeared at my window I had my drivers lisence and proof of insurance in hand. Before he could say anything I told him that I was speeding. He giggled. He then noticed the girls sleeping in the back and all of our things. Through our brief conversation he learned that I was following my husband (he asked if he was in the uhaul, yes), we were moving to Maryland. I got off with a warning, thank goodness.

Now, for some well deserved visiting in Naperville!