Roger's Adventures

Oct 11, 2012

Amish Country

On the first day of Labor Day weekend we headed to Lancaster County Pennsylvania, Amish country.

Our first stop was the town of Lancaster. In Lancaster we stopped for a bit of tourist information and then we noticed a great indoor market...

The market reminded me a lot of an indoor Pike Place. I wish we had more time to explore it but it was an imposable place with the girls; it was very close quarters and packed full of people.

At the tourist information we found out about an old train that would take us through some of the Amish farmlands, we headed straight there. We are so glad that we did. The girls really enjoyed the train and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Another cool thing about the train was that it was coal run!

After we got off the train we did some driving as we searched for a place to eat. The meal that we found was beyond mediocre but, again, the scenery was stunning.

One thing that we were shocked to learn was how big of a cash crop tobacco was for the Amish. We saw tobacco drying in almost every barn we came across.

After lunch we went on search for covered bridges...we succeeded!

We hope the girls had a good time, we sure did.

Oct 3, 2012

Happy Birthday Auntie Remy!

On September 1st was Auntie Remy's birthday! Here is Abby and Kera's message to their Auntie...

Sisters & Friends

As Kera gets older her and Abby have started to play a lot more together. Of course, they have their fights but, I love it when I walk into the room and they are playing together like friends. Here is one of those moments...reading time on the couch.

Until Next Time

When we first arrived in Maryland we were very lucky to have our friends the Hughes' living about 20 minutes away from us. We first met the Hughes in Chicago before either of us had kids (we both now have 2). After Chicago they moved to Maryland and we moved to Vegas. Now we moved to Maryland and they are lucky enough to finally be headed home to Boston. Thank you Chris, Stacy, Emma, and Jack for another round of good times and hopefully we will be seeing you in the future.

Kera and Jack. As you can see Kera loves Jack but, Jack...not so sure.

Emma and Abby, one last play date...for now.

Count Down to the 1st Day of School!

We were talking-up school so much to Abby over the last several months that she was REALLY starting to get excited. She would continually ask when she was going to start school so, to help her see how long she had until the first day of school...we made an old fashion paper chain.

Now, Abby can count down the days until school!

A Weekend We Wish We Could Redo

The weekend of August 18th and 19th was full of calamities!

On Saturday we headed out for what we thought was going to be a nice bike ride on the Crescent Capital Bike Trail. We parked in Bethesda and set out on the trail towards DC. Unfortunately, Kera had woken up VERY early that morning and by mid-morning she was a whinny mess. We were going to ride around DC a bit but by the time we got to the edge of Georgetown it was time to turn around.

On the ride back to the car Kera took a few cat naps but was still not a happy girl. The only time she was not crying was when I was holding her hand which means...I was riding one handed. It was a beautiful day which meant it was busy day on the trail and it had rained the night before so, it was wet in spots. I took my eyes off the trail for just a moment and when I looked up Jim was breaking and I was about to hit him so; I slammed on my break. Remember, I was riding one handed so I slammed on one break on a wet spot and Kera and I took a tumble, SCARY! Jim had Abby on the back of his bike s,o he was not instantly able to jump off of his bike to help us. Fortunately, I took the brunt of the fall but Kera of course was scarred and her poor hand was scrapped up.

Thankfully some nice people stopped to help us and we were able to stop Kera's bleeding hand very quickly. I was more shaken up than she was. After a few min of walking we were back on our bikes and headed to the car. Luckily we made it back to the car without getting a parking ticket, our meter had just run out.

Unfortunately, Sunday was not much better. When we looked at the forecast on Sunday morning and there was rain in the forecast but not until the afternoon so, we decided to go to the National Zoo. The day stated out good; we saw a very playful elephant...

...and a shy jaguar.

But then the sky opened and it started to pour...not just rain, POUR. We took cover for a bit...

..but, after waiting over 10 min we had to make a run for the car. By the time we got to the car we were drenched! So very drenched that I was not going to let the girls sit in their wet clothes all the way home (about 40 min.). So...I stripped them down.

At least there were snacks!

Better luck next weekend!

Oct 2, 2012

OBX

Ok, I have NEVER been this far behind so...let the marathon blogging begin.

On Sunday, August 5th we packed-up the car and headed to Outer Banks, North Carolina (OBX). We were headed there to meet-up with Jim's parents, and Pittsburgh family. Not only were we going there for a family reunion but, we were also going to memorialize Jim's Aunt Maggie who passed away last October.

We had a very smooth drive down but, Jim and I were nervous. When we went to Ocean City in June Abby would not step foot on the beach and we were just hoping that we would not have the same result in OBX.

When we first arrived we headed over to Uncle Joe's and Aunt Monna's place. We tried to keep the girls out of the pool but we lost. What kid can resist a pool with other kids in it? Next it was time to get settled into our house. After a dinner out at Jolly Roger, Jim and Abby went to the grocery store and Gwen, Regis, Kera, and I headed down to the beach (Abby was still a bit too scared to join us). It was a beautiful night for a walk and Kera LOVED it!

The next morning we were all up bright and early...

...the goal for the day...get Abby on the beach! Jim had a great idea to buy kites and then hope that Abby would want to fly it bad enough that she would come out on the beach. After a VERY long search we found the kite shop. We were now proud owners of a monkey and a mermaid kite. Now, time for the beach? Abby was still very adament about not going to the beach so, we headed to the closest thing, a pier...over the beach. The girls had fun on the pier...

...but, even when Abby was on the pier she was saying that she didn't want to go to the beach. I had to tell her. "Abby, we are at the beach." Next, we headed down to the sands edge and tried Operation Kites.!" Kera was instantly into the kites...

...Abby, not so much...

but, as the minutes passed she became more and more brave. One moment I was flying the kite and the next Abby was by my side wanting to fly it too, success! By the time we were leaving the beach
that morning Abby said, "I think I want to come back later with Grandma and Grandpa".

On Tuesday the 7th it was Gwen and Regis' 13th wedding anniversary and we had a great day. In the morning we ALL went to the beach. When we got there Abby was still a bit unsure...

...but by the end, we were all in the water!

After a day the beach it was off for a full day of visiting the Rogers clan, we headed back to our place to make a lasagna anniversary dinner. Happy anniversary Gwen and Regis!

Unfortunately, the weather was not good to us on our trip, we had a lot of rain but, we still managed to stay busy. On Wednesday we headed to the local aquarium.

After the aquarium the rain had stopped enough for a walk on the beach. Look who is in the water!!

After the beach Abby and Kera stayed with their grandparents and Jim and I headed out for some kid free time.

After dinner we went and visited some of the family! It is nice to have us all together in the same place!

On Thurdsay we finally had a sunny day which was perfect because this was the day that we were going to be remembering our dear Maggie. OBX was one of her favorite places.