The Zoe and Silas Show

8/16-8/17/14: We enjoyed a quick getaway this weekend with the P family to Megan's parents summer cottage. The cottage is in an adorable resort community in Westford, MA where everyone gets around by golf cart. The weather was nice so first we hung out by the pond. Later in the afternoon we headed to the heated pool. We even played some basketball before heading back to the cottage to grill steaks for dinner. Lizzie came along for the weekend, so S&Z spent some solid time bonding with her. Derek was off on Sunday so Zoe insisted that Daddy read the bedtime story once we got back home... It was a great weekend spent relaxing with friends!

7/24/14: Testing out his new headphones for the airplane ride to Minnesota. Zoe had to check it out too... ONE MORE SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7/17/14: Checking out different states on the map - we are headed to Minnesota next week and Ta-ta is going to Ohio. We are SO EXCITED for our trip!

6/20/14: We had an awesome day in DC visiting the monuments!

6/18/14: Last Wednesday morning we loaded up the car and the kids for a summer road trip. One of my best friends, Tracy, lives in MD with her family so we headed down to stay with them for a long weekend. It was going to be a 7+ hour drive so we broke down and bought a dual-DVD system for the car. It ended up being a sanity saver (especially on the way home!). We made it there in just over 7.5 hours, just in time for dinner! The 3 "big kids" were instantly BFF's - and 20-month-old Delaney had a lot of action to watch over the course of our visit! It was a long day with lots of excitement, so everyone was pretty tired at bedtime...

2/17/14:  It is is School Vacation Week here in MA so we decided to head up to Portland, Maine on President's Day. This winter has been rough and I've got the doldrums so I wanted us to do something fun as a family. Portland is just over 2 hours away so it also sounded like the perfect road trip. Shortly after we checked in to the hotel on Monday afternoon we headed to the pool. We have never stayed in a traditional hotel with the kids. They LOVED running down the long hallways to our room! After swimming we showered and got dressed up to enjoy a nice dinner out.  We ate at a cute neighborhood restaurant called The Front Room . The kids were exhausted from swimming and not napping. We took advantage of a shuttle service offered by the hotel, and enjoyed door-to-door service to and from the restaurant. Our room was a suite with a pull-out sleeper bed for the kids. They crashed as soon as we got back from dinner...

9/6/13: After a long day of traveling on Friday I arrived in Madison, SD. The rest of my family was already there and everyone had a great time catching up. From L: Uncle Ken, Uncle Bob, and Dave From L: Stephanie, Jim, Aunt Sue, and Mom I haven't seen my grandma in nearly 5 years, so getting to spend time with her was the primary goal of this trip. Two of the strongest women I know: my Great-Aunt Ann and Grandma H.

Our flight home was on Wednesday afternoon, so we had some time to pack and organize before we headed to the airport. When Sue and Bob were out on their boat on Sunday afternoon they noticed a loon's nest about 50 feet from the end of their dock. This was a must-see before we left! You can see a brown clump in the middle of this photo and that's where the nest is. The momma loon was sitting on the nest and the daddy was swimming nearby! S&Z could even see it with the binoculars!! What a cool thing to see on our last Minnesota morning! The kids did really well on our trip home.  We landed at 7:15 but we didn't get home until almost 9:00. To say we were tired is a huge understatement! What a wonderful visit with my family, to a place I miss very much!! Until next time, Minnesota...

6/27/13: The kids have a MAJOR vacation, travel-induced hangover today! Bedtime can't come soon enough!

6/26/13: Bye bye, Minnesota!