Family camp out!

This past weekend, we went on our first family camp out at Little Bennett Regional Park in Boyds, Maryland. It was quite an adventure, and we had a good time, despite the fact that we're camping novices. The girls loved the fact that our tent was so close to the playground -- it was the central meeting place for all the kids in our camping area and the girls got to meet everybody. Nora even invited a few of her new friends over to play cards at our picnic table on Sunday morning. On Saturday, we went on a short hike and ended up at the nature center where we decorated bug boxes (for catching lightning bugs later on). Then Daddy and Nora went off on a longer, adventurous geocaching hike while Mommy attempted to get Caroline to nap in the tent (to no avail). Then it was dinnertime - grilled hot dogs, zucchini and squash, and roasted corn in the cob (wrapped in foil and stuck right in the fire...mmm!), followed by s'mores. Then back to the nature center for root beer floats and an outdoor movie. Then the girls went down for the night in the tent while Marg and Mike sat in the dark and talked (since we burned out out lantern after failing to read the directions closely enough). Memories to last a lifetime, for sure. We're looking forward to more family camp outs in the future (and will make sure Caroline naps before we leave the next time!)

Happy Easter!

It's a bright, beautiful spring day here in Maryland and Nora and Caroline had a great Easter morning. The Easter bunny left them baskets full of candy and hidden easter eggs in the living room, and they had pretty dresses from Grandma and Grandpa to wear to 9:30 Mass, to hear Daddy sing with the choir. Lots of love and many blessings to all of our family and friends!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween weekend...on Friday, Nora got to show off her homemade flower fairy costume at her preschool's Halloween parade. On Saturday, we went to a fantastic Halloween party at Janet's house, where Nora and Caroline got to see their old buddies Leila, Aden and Max, and finished the night by trick or treating here in Derwood. Caroline was a ballerina princess, wearing one of her favorite dress up outfits from our dress up collection. Our neighbors were so excited to see the girls, and gave them very generous helpings of candy. Our next door neighbor Susan even had little gift bags set aside for them - how thoughtful. So even though we missed out on a full night of trick or treating, the girls came home with pumpkins full of candy. We finished the weekend by having a fun family get together with the Duba family today. The kids have such a good time together...the grown ups were actually able to sit down and have a semi-decent conversation during dinner while the kids entertained themselves. What a change from just a year ago!

Caroline turns 2!

We had a quiet family birthday celebration for Caroline last Saturday night. Caroline is now officially two, although if you ask her, she will - with a mischievous twinkle in her eye - insist that she is 3, or perhaps even 4. The evening featured a dinner of pot roast and noodles (Caroline was, predictably, most excited about the "NOOH DUHLS!") and homemade chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Although Caroline was not very enthusiastic when we turned the lights off and presented her with her cupcake all aflame, her big sister was more than willing to lend a hand and helped her blow out the candle (no surprise there!). The highlight of the evening was when Caroline received her new Mickey Mouse umbrella from Mommy, Daddy and Nora. She was thrilled, and insisted on sitting under it while she finished her cupcake (Nora joined in the fun as well) and cried when we made her put it away for the night! Thank you everyone for the happy birthday wishes and making her day so special for all of us!

The Adventures of Nora and Caroline Sawyer

We spent a beautiful morning and early afternoon at the Harvest Festival just up the road at the Muncaster Agricultural Farm Park. Nora and Caroline got to participate in potato sack and pumpkin rolling races, whitewashed a picket fence, washed some laundry on an old fashioned washboard, went on a hay ride and went digging for potatoes in a field behind the old farmhouse (which we put into our beef stew for dinner tonight). Except for the fact that Caroline skipped her nap, it was a perfect day!

Butterfly girls

Nora and Caroline are taking a ballet/tap class together once a week at a dance studio near our house, and it is both wonderful and hysterical. The girls absolutely love it, and it's hard to tell what they love best...is it the energetic teacher with great taste in music? Is it getting to dress up in leotards and ballet and tap shoes? Is it the room-sized mirror they stare into for 45 min.? Or could it be the pink butterfly wings they get to strap on and prance around in? And I don't know who enjoys it more -- them or me, who gets to watch the whole spectacle. The highlight of class this past Tuesday was when Caroline, in the middle of an upbeat jazzy number that the rest of the kids were rhythmically running to, plopped down on the dance floor to inspect the taps at the bottom of each of her shoes, oblivious to all the activity around her. I wish I had been able to get a picture or video, but my reflexes were too slow.

We just had a fun couple of days with Omi, who arrived Monday night loaded with delicious food from New York. Omi had fun playing with the girls, and enjoyed seeing Nora's classroom when she dropped her off at school the day I had a job interview (which probably won't materialize into anything, but was good to go to nonetheless). We continue to enjoy the piano, and I'm grateful that her highness, Miss Caroline, allowed me to play something other than "The Starlight Waltz" and the William Tell overture today (she usually protests by screaming, pulling my hands off the piano and saying "No, Mommy. Play horsey song!" or "No, Mommy. Play dance song!").

Here are pictures from dance class, reading DVD jackets in the family room (Nora's idea), playing in the parked minivan while eating Italian cookies, and Nora's first driving lesson.

Signs of autumn

Autumn is in the air! On a windy, chilly day last week, we took the Metro into the city to visit the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum, and I had fun pointing out the Washington Monument and Capitol Building to the girls (not that they really cared...is it possible for an almost-four-year-old to be rolling her eyes at her mother already?!). That was followed by a very rainy day, which we turned into fun by putting on our raincoats and boots and playing in giant puddles on the driveway. This week was a week for real old fashioned autumn activities -- apple picking with our friend Dawn and her son Everett on Monday, and going to a cider-making/hayride activity at our local farm park on Wednesday with Ayris and her boys Aden and baby Max. Oma & Opa's piano arrived Tuesday night after making the long trek down from Aunt Irene's Manhattan apartment. Even though the piano is in desperate need of a tuning, the girls are loving it. We've all been playing it every day. I can't imagine how great it will be once the piano tuner comes on Monday. Nora's enjoyed her first full week of preschool (MWF pm). She's told me that the best part of preschool is making new friends. :-) Caroline kind of wishes she could go to school too, but I suspect that she would have a hard time of it. Besides, she has to wait until next year anyway. Well, Mike is calling me in to watch the next episode of "Glee," the new TV show we're trying to watch...