Sunday, December 19, 2010
our angelic little lamb
Thursday, December 16, 2010
An ode to Rachel
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Letter to Santa
I was a good girl this year. And Toby thinks he was naughty [Toby yelling in the background "Nonny! Nonny!" in the style of Animal from the Muppets,] but he tries to be good. I would like a flashlight ["FLASHLIGHT TOO!"] and Toby does too.
I love you Santa. And I like your reindeer.
I want a pink flashlight and Toby wants a blue one.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Homemade for the holidays
Friday, December 03, 2010
Julie's travel tips
* Each kid gets their own backpack. In it they have their favorite stuffed animal for cuddling and comfort, snacks (healthy ones like fruit and crackers) and treats (unhealthy ones like lollipops and M&Ms,) a NEW book, a NEW sticker/coloring book, a small box of 4 crayons, a pair of headphones (for airplane movies,) and a few other toys (Toby usually gets cars, and Charlotte some little ponies.) They carry their own bags and they cannot open them until we say so.
* I carry a diaper bag with the diapers, wipes, sippy cups, snacks for grown-ups, and also a complete change of clothes for each kid. And sometimes also pajamas for each kid, cuz you never know.
* In airports we like to: ride the escalators, have the kids race from one spot to another (over and over again,) give the other passengers silly names (like Harriet and Tornado Man- nothing derogatory) watch airplanes, and discuss workers and what jobs we see them doing.
* On road trips we like to: make up stories (everybody can add in bits,) read books, look for things out the windows, and do the backpack thing. We don't have DVDs or handheld games in the car at all, though Santa may be changing that soon. ;)
* In hotels we like to: play ball (we bring a soft one with us,) have hot chocolate parties with the provided cups (bring some packets from home in your suitcase,) watch TV (we do rely on this pretty heavily in the evenings when we are exhausted,) jump on the bed, and let the kids look through photos on the camera.
*When waiting in lines we like to: give people funny names some more (I don't know why this is so amusing, but it works for us,) put the kids on our shoulders or backs to give them a break and a change of scenery (I'd be bored looking at people's knees for 30 minutes too,) have a snack, talk to strangers in line with you (I know, I'm a bad mom, but you can tell pretty quickly if people are toddler tolerant or not-- some really enjoy passing the time chatting with Charlotte or tossing a ball with Toby, and that gives us a mental break too.)
* At tourist sites we like to: play 'I Spy' and have the kids look for something (like 'pictures with horses' in an art museum, or 'blue flowers' in a garden,) celebrate when they are good at a "boring" place with an ice cream cone or fruit snack reward afterwards, and make sure to visit parks and playgrounds between destinations to burn off energy.
So those are a few things that we do. We are not completely meltdown-free on all of our adventures, but for the most part we have a good time together, and the kids enjoy it too. We hope they will have happy memories of all our family adventures together some day. :)
Waiting in the airport in Zadar, Croatia.
Nice playground in Bruges, Belgium.
There was a band playing in a pavilion nearby, so we got to listen to music too.
Bedtime stories in Grindelwald, Switzerland.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
New York, NY
First stop- Rockefeller Center to see the (in)famous Christmas tree. This place was insane! Silly me, first Saturday after Thanksgiving. The kids were not terribly impressed by the Swavarski crystal star, and it was daytime so the lights were not thrilling either. But oh well, we tried. ;)
After Rockefeller Center we peeked in shop windows and strolled to the Carnegie Deli.
Here we had a traditional New York lunch.
Rob and I shared a Reuben the size of my head and a meat knish, while Charlotte and Toby split a foot long hot dog. Then we decided we all needed a little cheesecake topped with chocolate mousse.
Utah is the place...
Grandma and Grandpa Anderson were enlisted to read many, many books to Charlotte and Toby. "One more, peease."
We spent a day at the Children's Discovery Museum in Salt Lake, thanks to Cousin Annie. The kids loved playing here in the pretend construction zone, house, grocery store, and farm.
Sweet home Pennsylvania
We started off the festivities with a group hike at Hawk Mountain. Uncle Dan, Eddie, Max, Charlotte, Leah, Toby, and Connor all made it to the top! (Although we did carry Toby quite a bit.)
The views were really pretty with the Fall leaves,
and we did see a few birds.
Monday, November 08, 2010
Iceland... continued
There are massive wide open spaces in Iceland. We spent a lot of time driving around on gravel roads in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes we just had to stop and stretch our legs with a quick game of tag in the "highway." (Those resourceful Icelanders are hauling that same volcanic ash around to make these roads.)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Iceland is coooool (part 1)
Our first stop was to Reykjavik. We spent our first night in the City Hostel... which was not the best hostel I've ever been in, but we had a family room with private bath, and it worked out just fine. There is this cool Viking ship sculpture near the bay. We also saw the cathedral and went up in the tower to look all around.
This is the cabin that we stayed at in southern Iceland. It was very nice down by the river, and we even saw the Northern Lights the last night that we were there.
Don't try this at home. You are not supposed to stick your hands in the geothermal pools near the geysir. It's hot. (Just ask Rob.)
They have a lot of rocks in Iceland. Rocks and water. And volcanoes. And glaciers.
Rainbow over Gulfoss. Notice that there are no "safety precautions" to keep you from falling down the waterfall. We were very, very careful with the kiddos here.
Seljalandsfoss.
This is a cool waterfall because you can hike behind it.