As all good stories should go, I have saved the best for last! Our day in Stirling was my absolute favorite, and I firmly believe the entire family enjoyed it about as much as I did. It was the perfect Scottish holiday kind of day. As in, we even saw men in kilts playing bagpipes. It was the cherry on the top of our UK holiday sundae. I’m not trying to be all sunshine and rainbows, glossing over the struggles. […]
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I’d asked around and learned there were good places to see Hadrian’s Wall near the historic park of Vindolanda. “And what is Vindolanda?” you might ask.
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This family vacation to the United Kingdom was extra special to me because I feel like it was a once in a lifetime kind of trip. Our time together with our children is short. The preciousness of this time became so apparent to me once our oldest went away to college. Plus, he insisted on skipping this trip. It was impossible for him to obtain summer employment if he was constantly leaving town on all my family adventures. He was […]
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On day two in London, after we’d thoroughly toured the Tower of London, we rode a train down to Greenwich. Once in Greenwich, we walked like a mile over to this park and then literally hoofed up the steepest hill I have ever climbed in my life. It was basically a curved walk upwards that must have covered twenty stories, walking almost straight upwards, but without stairs. At the top of this grassy mountain sits the Royal Observatory, home of […]
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This year our family’s over thirty years of vacationing at the grandparents’ condo in Miramar Beach comes to an end. When I got engaged to my husband Alan in 2002, I took my very first trip to Miramar Beach. Alan’s mom, who we call Nonna now, took me to her parents’ condo. We walked on the beach, ate out, went shopping, and had a great time. Nonna’s dad was a contractor. He built these condos in the 1970s. How cool […]
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If you are planning a DC trip, and wondering what to do in DC, you are in for a treat. This is one of those questions I get asked the most from friends who are not local to the D.C. area. We have lived here off and on since 2009, and we have ALWAYS loved hosting our friends and family when they come visit the DC area. One time we had so many guests that the older boys’ room looked […]
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July 4, 1863 Telegraph from President Lincoln: “The President announces to the country that news from the Army of the Potomac, up to 10 P.M. of the 3rd. is such as to cover that Army with the highest honor, to promise a great success to the cause of the Union, and to claim the condolence of all for the many gallant fallen. And that for this, he especially desires that on this day, He whose will, not ours, should ever […]
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Alan pleasantly surprised me a couple of weeks ago when he announced that he had cashed in our hotel points and made reservations for us to spend July 5th in Ocean City. Say what?? Granted, Alan can be very spontaneous, but this was even better than a last minute trip. This was a PLANNED vacation surprise! Wahoo! I had not even suspected that he was planning something like this. We have been basically stuck here. You see, not only is […]
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Welcome to summer in northeast Maryland! I have lived in Maryland a grand total of 3 months now. Wow, huh? Such a long time. And what is the first thing we do when we move to a new place? Unpack boxes!!! And what is the 2nd thing we do??? Explore the new place!! I have barely put a chip into my goals of exploring our new state. I haven’t even made it to the actual Chesapeake Bay yet! Don’t worry. […]
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I didn’t get a single sting this year. Hurray! But Alan and two of our sons were swimming around when they all began to realize that their legs were stinging, all of them! It wasn’t a terrible run for cover ordeal, just a, “Hey, I’m getting out
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