riding the rails

Our Memorial Day weekend has been very nice, starting Saturday afternoon attending a cookout at our friends' home, and on Sunday we took a daytrip up near Frederick, MD to ride the Walkersville Southern Railroad. They were having rides behind a steam engine this weekend, and hubby's parents had planned this fun outing for us! It was a beautiful day, and the train ride was a great way to spend the afternoon.

 Nothing is better to a boy of 5 (or 40) than climbing in the engine!

 Walking through the rail yard...

 My wonderful in-laws, who planned this fun day for us. I love this photo of them! :)

 All of us (except hubby, taking the photo), on the observation car, which we rode for the first half of the trip.

 Hubby and his mom ( I love this photo too):

 For the second half of the trip we got to ride in the caboose! Here we are riding in the "cupula" (the upper level seats in the caboose):

 Here the kids are sitting in the rear doorway of the caboose, which was really the "front" as we reversed the several miles back to the station! It was a great view, as we saw things no one else on the train could see, like two deer crossing the track and a groundhog. We also got a great view of the bridge over the Monocacy river. The kids even got to blow the whistle! 

 Silliness...

 At the end of the journey!

And as they say when you come to the end of the train, "That's all folks!" What a fun adventure.
Today has been a busy day at home, with hubby working hard to get the pool open for the season. Now all we need is some warm weather, which hopefully will be coming later this week!

brave

This afternoon, the girl scout troop went to the Adventure Park at Sandy Spring Friends School, which is advertised as "the largest aerial forest adventure park in North America"--basically a giant complex of ropes course type activities and zip lines put together into trails up in the treetops.

 What fun the girlie had! This was a challenge for every girl. I saw just about every troop member push herself to a place she thought she could not succeed and then push on past fear. Our girlie had one element that she fell on (caught by the safety harness) twice trying to cross, and when given the choice of going back or trying again, she chose to try again. Tears turned to smiles as the third time she made it across.

What a confidence building experience this was for the girls. I was so proud to see them each so brave.

every day is mother's day...

...but it sure is nice to be treated like a queen on that one Sunday in May! We had a full Mother's day weekend, and I felt blessed to be a mom from start to finish. There are many hats I wear every week...wife, mom, chauffeur, housekeeper, chef...I even get to "play" Veterinarian a few days a week! But my role as mom is one of the most challenging yet the most consistently rewarding role I have. Raising and loving these two munchkins is something I thank God for everyday!

The boy had his preschool "graduation" and ending program on Friday evening. We have been so blessed to have this wonderful preschool for both of our kids to attend...after many years there is a bit of bittersweet to see it coming to an end as the youngest finishes. Boy, is he ready and excited for Kindergarten in the fall!

thats his self portrait with the blue shirt!

Saturday, the girlie had her very first piano recital. She started taking lessons just in February and has made such good progress! She played very well and barely showed her nervousness. Here she is playing, and with her wonderful sweet teacher, Mrs. Wise.

Then Sunday! Mother's day started with a wonderful breakfast of bacon, cinnamon rolls, and omelets (did I mention bacon?).  Energy food....for we headed out for our first family biking adventure since the boy's training wheels came off and I got my new bike! Getting a bike after about 20 years without one has been a surprising (to me) delight! I am so happy with my bike and it has been great fun to get out with the kids and hubby. On Sunday we drove over the Bay Bridge to bike part of the Kent Island Cross Island trail, going about 4 miles in all. It was a windy day and there were kite-surfers at Terrapin Park, where the trail starts. Hubby's comment was "cheaper than water-skiing....no gas required!". Hmmm....yeah, I think he would enjoy it.

my new bike...cute AND sporty!

new bike rack too...4 bikes!

We wrapped up the day with hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill with my in-laws, and they treated us to old family movies from when hubby was just a baby- age 0 to 3, perhaps. Sweet fun. The whole day just felt right...relaxing, fun, surrounded by my family. The kind of day a mother loves. This mother, anyway.

end of April...oops, early May!...update

 Despite not being present here on the blog much lately, there have been a few fun events going on in our lives, things like:
...the second grade musical performance at the girlie's school (she is a butterfly, in case you were wondering):

...a field trip with her class (and Daddy as a chaperone!) to the Baltimore Museum of Industry and Fort McHenry:

 ...a boy who is trying to learn to ride his bike without training wheels (we're not there yet...):

 ...a "reading nook" which has come together in our upstairs area that is half library/ half craft room. Its not quite finished yet, so I promise you more details later. So far I have a crib mattress, four throw pillows and a quilt I made that is backed in "minky" faux-fur that is oh-so-snuggly!

 ...a few trips to the park and various playgrounds:

 ...and the park with the 4-H animals; love those spring lambs!

 And finally, just tonight, I dropped the girlie off for her first weekend Girl Scout Encampment! She was so excited, and I can't wait to hear about all the fun when we pick her up on Sunday!

 So, that's life in a nutshell around here. How are things in your neck of the woods?