Cambridge, MD

My mother-in-law offered Joe & I a chance to get a way, just the two of us, for a short break.  As you may or may not know, our travel usually revolves around football somehow.  I can see the benefit of making the best of these trips even if they have to be work related, but a bit of me resents it because it isn't just about us, as a family.  My  mother-in-law said she'd watch the kids on one condition - it has nothing to do with football.  A little party was going on inside of me - weehooo!

As soon as football season was over, we entered into football clinic season and our family did our travels.  The weekends began to fill up and the chances to have a get-a-way weekend were almost gone.  I was beginning to wonder if there would be any time at all!  Joe's mind seems occupied when it comes to his goals and work.  I could tell if I wanted this time away I'd have to plan this myself.  I seem to shy away from taking the initiative on these sort of things.  I like working on it and getting excited about it together, but I realized that wasn't going to happen.

I first made sure we found a weekend.  Thank God - there was one weekend left.  I, then had to find a place to go.  I didn't want to fly some where.  I wanted to drive some where close.  There are tons of places to just have a nice weekend, I just had to find them.  I chose to find something in Maryland.  My parents used to talk about how they found some really great places near Annapolis or out that way!  So, I went onto the Internet and found Dorchester County, MD.  I looked at all the places around there and thought Cambridge, MD sounded great.  They had a lot of history in their little town.  The houses dated back to the 1700's and they sat along the Eastern Shore.  Downtown Cambridge had a lot of cute shops and restaurants that feature fresh caught seafood and microbreweries.  It sounded perfect since Joe & I love seafood and beer (Joe).  I sort of pictured it in my head like a little Charleston, SC.  I also found a place not too far away called the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge to do some hiking/jogging on their trails while looking at the wildlife, mostly birds.

So, our weekend finally came.  It was the weekend right after Easter.  I would tell Joe about the places I found and the places I wanted to eat.  Joe was really excited about getting away.  We ended up staying at a Comfort Inn.  There was a really fancy-shmancy Hyatt Resort right near our hotel, but I chose the affordable option just because we were enjoying the town and not the resort, right?  Sigh...I like fancy-schmancy.

As soon as we arrived at the hotel, I couldn't even imagine what Cambridge would look like.  It didn't seem like there was a cute little downtown anywhere.  We drove to the first restaurant I wanted to try called the High Spot.  It was located in downtown on High Street.  As soon as I saw downtown, I was disappointed because it didn't look like I thought it would.  Not that it was a horrible looking street, but not as cute as I saw on the Internet.  The restaurant, however rocked!  The food was fabulous and I was very pleased with everything I got!  I had the broiled Rockfish over Dirty Arborio Rrice with Buffalo Fried Oysters as an appetizer.

After dinner it started to rain.  We decided to drive around to see if we could see the "happening" part of town.  It wasn't easy to find!  We still didn't see it.  We ended up walking to the Pier and taking a walk in the rain.

It was cold!  We went back to our hotel and enjoyed the rest of our evening.

The next day, I planned to visit the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.  We got our jogging clothes on and went to the Refuge.  Some of the trails were very muddy so we hit the paved trails.  It was absolutely beautiful place with perfect weather.  We set our RunKeeper app onto our iPhones and started running.  Have you ever heard of a fox squirrel?  They are like regular squirrels except extra large!  We saw one run across the trail.  We also some bald eagles which the website said we'd see.

There is something about jogging in a new place where you're not to sure where you're going.  You jog a lot longer and further than usual - it's all mental!  I jogged 4.5 miles according to runkeeper, not to mention all the walking that wasn't recorded.  Yeah!  Joe of course did two extra miles.  I took this picture while waiting for him.

Before we left, we spotted a couple of bald eagles.

They were hanging out with each other!

Before going back to the hotel, I got some pastries from a little bakery shop across the street.  I had read about it on the Internet.  I saved them for later!  We went swimming at the hotel and then got ready for a late lunch at Jimmie & Sooks.  Hopefully, we'd find the pretty part of Downtown Cambridge.  I got my raw oysters, some ceviche and a big chunky crab cake!

We found it!  Apparently, Poplar Street seemed to be where all the happening things happen.

Here's another view of Downtown.  I found all the cute shops and restaurants.  We walked all around downtown and saw some of the houses that date back to the 1700's.  They were really beautiful and in great shape.

Not to say there aren't any other beautiful parts of Cambridge, there are!  For instance, the Marina.

We walked around a while looking at the names of the boats.

Right next to the Marina were a lot of neighborhoods with beautiful homes.  I could see how peaceful it would be to live near the water in a cute historical town.  I think I would be fishing for seafood every chance I could get!

I found this really fun place called Reale Brew.  They offered four of their own brews and then 6 other beers of their choice.  We sat and had a drink.  I got an apple cider beer.  It was really good.

After this, we went and ordered a pizza and headed back to our hotel and relaxed the rest of the evening.  We had done a lot of walking/jogging that day.  We enjoyed a great day enjoying our time together.  After pizza I had my pastries - yummy!  Weekend was a success!  Thank you God for a great time together and for the opportunity (thanks Gran/Bips!).

Candy Crush Saga

I have this morning ritual of getting up in the morning, getting the kids ready for school, dropping them off at school and then coming home to eat my breakfast in front of the computer to check my emails, read Facebook, browse through the headlines to see what's up.  That used to be it and then I started to end my routine with a little computer game.  Sort of wrap things up with something mindless and fun to play before starting the endless work ahead of me.

The mindless and fun computer game used to be Bejeweled or some other color ball elimination sort of game.  I don't know why I choose those sort of games.  Why not something that makes you use your noggin?  I used to stick my nose up in the air when I'd see people playing these games.  I used to think, what a waste of time!  Eventually, I came around and had the need to just get lost into something.  I had grown tired of those games mentioned above and had knocked it out of my morning routine until I found people playing something called Candy Crush Saga!  What could this be?  People seem to like this one.

I don't know when it started, but I think when I'm at the computer and I think about all the things to do during the day or hear the volume of kids at play in the next room - you sort of want to just stay in the zone and add a few more minutes to computer time!  I thought I would see what this Candy Crush Saga was all about.  I got on via Facebook and could see all my friends who were participating and saw how far along they were on this endless episode of saga after saga...level after level!  I saw Moms playing Candy Crush and thought, ok - let's give it a go. You won't be the only mom...

I could see how this was addicting because each level brought on harder challenges and then they added new twists.  It's as if each level trains you for the next.  You could compare your scores and your progress with all your friends - it turns into a little friendly competition!  Not to mention the affirmation the game gives you, "Sweet!", "Tasty!", "Divine!", "Delicious!"  Oh yah, got this game in the bag!  All the fun sound effects make the game more fun and not to mention how fun striped and wrapped candies are!  Oh and those gumballs!  Is that what those colorful balls are called?  I also think it's brilliant how they make you stop after 5 lives so that you can move on with your day!  Unfortunately, you just want to go back and play more.

I'm on level 273 - been stuck here for a while.

Fun game.  My kids come watch me play and help me along.  One of my sons always asks me after school if I've passed any levels on Candy Crush.  My son put it in one his Mother's Day questionnaires (which was a gift) that I was a cool Mom because I play Candy Crush, awe, how sweet - no wait, now every one knows I play Candy Crush!!  My name is Jana Patterson and I'm addicted to Candy...Candy Crush.  Nah...not addicted (I'm in denial).

Anyway, this deserves a post because it's something I have fun with.  Although, once I walk away and dive into the day's chores I'm good to go - however, you give me a dull moment in the day or get me in a moment of chaos in the house (which happens every so often!) I may find myself escaping into the world of Candy Crush!  So, I'll thank God for my little escape or bit of fun here and there or my time-filler between chores - whatever you want to call it.  Time to clear the jelly!  Have a good day, ya'll!

Cross Country Day, Day 11 & 12

July 8 & 9

So, we said goodbye to Wisconsin and started driving west towards Minnesota.  When I think of Minnesota, I think of when I was in college and even though I can't remember who was from Minnesota, I remember thinking people from there seem to be really nice.  The second thing I think of is Mall of America.  I remember women from work taking a girl's vacation to go shopping there.  The world's largest mall?  Well, what good is it if you don't have money to spend?

Nonetheless, I like malls.  I like window shopping, looking at what's in style and getting ideas for what have you!

We checked into a hotel for the evening and then headed over to the mall to get some dinner and look around.  We did have some shopping to do, like swim trunks for Patrick.  The Mall of America seemed to look like any other mall I've seen, just plus-sized.  We walked around the many floors and the multiple food court areas.

After we ate dinner, we found a Marshall's and bought the swim trunks for Patrick.  The kids found a mirror maze.  Tommy and Anne both wanted to spend some of their money getting through the maze together.  They took the video camera with them.  They had a lot of fun.  Afterwards, we found a toy store where the kids had some fun buying things with their own money.

Then we decided to stop by the Nickelodeon amusement park that was right smack in the middle of the mall.  I couldn't believe they crammed roller coasters in a mall.  Since Anne just did a zip line ride at the zoo, she found another zip line adventure where you are harnessed and you walk across many rope courses and basically try not to fall.  Also, you are high above ground - of course!  Joe, Tommy and Anne did this together.  The rest of us watched.  Joe & Tommy were more timid than Anne and finished a bit earlier.  Anne kept on going and had a blast.

The little ones found a ride they could do.  I believe it was bumper cars?  Geesh, don't remember.

We all went back to the hotel.  The kids played with their new toys while also getting ready for bed.

Bye, Mall of America.

We woke up, loaded our van and headed west toward South Dakota.  We were headed towards the Porter Sculpture Park in Montrose, SD.  I've never heard of this place nor did I even pay attention to the itinerary when we stopped in the middle of no where surrounded by miles of long green grass.  In the middle of no where appeared these art sculptures made of metal.

The pieces of art were sculpted out of metal by Wayne Porter.  He learned to weld in his father's blacksmith shop as a child and now has his art displayed in the middle of no where off of I-90 exit 374!  We stopped to check it out.  The weather was so beautiful!  It was late afternoon where the sun is just golden.  The wind was blowing a warm breeze and the skies were blue.  The best part was being surrounded by miles of green!

I have to say, his art is really odd but interesting.  Made of mostly junk metal, he came up with some of these sculptures.

A giant hammer.  Odd, huh?

I wonder what his inspiration was here?

This one, I get.

This one seemed to be the most prominent sculpture.

Some of them were a little disturbing, but fun to imitate.

I think this one was my favorite - I like happy.

I think of Sting's Field's of Gold when I look at this picture.

Ahhh, so beautiful!  I don't get to see this every day.  

We all got into our very messy van.  We trashed it!  I wish I took a picture of it.  Our next stop was Murdo, SD and Wall, SD not too far away from each other.  We were going to 1880's Town, Wall Drug and the Badlands!!

Cross Country, Day 10 and 11

Sunday, July 7-8

We said goodbye to Chicago and headed toward Wisconsin!  I've never been there before so I was really excited.  I only think of cheese when I think of Wisconsin.  Didn't get any cheese.

There were two things that brought us to the state of Wisconsin, family and Happy Hippo.  My Uncle in-law lives in Whitewater and we thought we'd swing by since we were so close.

But first, we had to visit Happy Hippo.  What seems to be a long time ago, but really isn't, we took our kids to the National Zoo in DC and went by the Elephant House where Happy the Hippo lived.  My kids were so taken by Happy.  He was very playful that day and walked around, splashed everywhere and played with his ball.  He was so huge!  My kids started their love for hippos that day.  You won't find Happy's home in the Elephant House anymore - they've built a brand new elephant habitat.  Because of that new habitat, they had to get rid of Happy and ship him off to Milwaukee Zoo.  We thought we'd never see Happy again.  We received some news clippings from our family in Wisconsin about Happy and his new home.  He seemed sad and wasn't getting along with his hippo friends.

It was a meaningful trip to Milwaukee Zoo.  As soon as we arrived there, they had a zip-lining ride that Anne wanted to try out.  No one has ever done that in our family.  We let her be the first.

Sort of scary to see your daughter hanging from a string several feet in the air.  She loved it!  All of our other kids were too short to zip-line.

After that adventure, we headed straight to Happy.  When we found his home we were a bit disappointed because he was in the water just floating around and there were these bars that were in the way and it made it tough to watch him especially when you're so short like our kids.

We stayed for a while and watched him as he swam back and forth and the occasional coming up for air which wasn't too exciting.  It was nice to see him.

The Milwaukee Zoo was really nice.  It had a relaxed and casual feel with beautiful trees and lakes.  At one point, we took a break because some of us were a little tired.

Bernie was very cranky.  I love those purple sandals.  Purple seems to be her favorite color, next to pink that is.  By the way, those shoes didn't make the whole trip, unfortunately.  We had to find a Walmart and get her some new shoes.

Daddy had to cheer her up before we moved on.

Daddy is working his charm - usually works.

Daddy is still trying as Bernadette is trying to keep her bad mood.  It was so cute.

Then Bernadette couldn't help but crack a smile.  Daddy is so good and he knows it.

We sat around as we passed out some snacks and got some drinks.

We enjoyed the zoo and even went back to visit Happy one last time.

We were off to Whitewater to visit Joe's Uncle Johnny and his wife Marie.  It's just the two of them now since their two kids are all grown up.  We arrived at their beautiful home and they made us feel so relaxed and comfortable.  They took really great care of us.  They fed us, let us do laundry, showed us around town, took us out for an incredible breakfast and then sent us off with a bunch of goodies for the rest of our trip.  So incredibly thoughtful!  Thanks for a wonderful visit.  I wish I had taken more pictures!  Joe took a great shot with his phone - I just don't have it.

After dinner, they brought out a fun dessert made just for us.

How sweet was that?  No pun intended!  It was both =-)

After we left Johnny and Marie's house we headed towards Minnesota to hit Mall of America!  I was having such a great trip so far with my family.  I never liked rode trips when I was younger - um, also as an adult, but this trip was surprisingly awesome!

This was the last zoo we were to visit on our trip and we were going to begin to see a bunch of National Parks.  This was going to be the first time for my kids and for myself to see other side of America.  Excited!

  

Chicago Part Two, Day 9

July 6

Keeping up this blog has been a challenge.  It's really busy around here!  However, after accumulating a bunch of pictures and memories, I thought I should try better to get stuff onto my blog.  I hate to not document things.

Back to our cross country trip...  I shouldn't be too worried, Joe has made a beautiful video of our trip and we have that!

I believe this would be day 9 in Chicago.  After a full day at Millennium Park and Downtown we added another full day in Chicago.  We wanted to go to Lincoln Park Zoo (free!) and then hit the beach which was right near the zoo.  I have to admit it sounds a bit weird to mention the beach in Chicago.

We went to a lot zoos on this trip.  I really enjoyed this one.  The zoo being situated so beautifully in the middle of the city made it so enjoyable.  Not to mention - free, made it great too.  The weather was perfect!

Another great shot of Chicago's skyline.  I took a lot of pictures with my iPhone.  In fact, I've ignored my camera lately.  My phone is so much easier to take pictures of moments as they occur.  I miss my big clunky camera.  I shall dust it off and use it more often.

After the zoo, we had walked into the city and had lunch at McDonalds.  We also had to make a stop at a local Walgreens to pick up some beach towels!  In the McDonalds, I spotted one of these.

I just stared at it and thought how unused those payphones must be!  It almost seemed to be a thing of the past and it registered useless in my head.  However, there it was!  I didn't even check if it still took a quarter to make a call.  Funny, I just saw a payphone the other day and we had a similar conversation upon finding it and then we noticed that the phone handle had been ripped off.  It was no longer a working payphone.  Off to the beach.

We packed our bags that morning to spend a few hours at the beach after the zoo.  I didn't know what to expect, but once we got there it looked just like an ocean view except it was Lake Michigan.  The beach was crowded.  We placed our stroller and towels way in the back and set up.  I didn't even bring my swimsuit.  I just laid back with Max and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  Everything felt like any other beach but I would say the an ocean breeze might have been the one thing I noticed different.

Eventually, Max fell asleep and I put him in his stroller under the shade.  I laid back and tried to relax while I watched my kids go back and forth between the very crowded beach hoping they would find their way back and forth and not get lost.  I didn't even visit the water till the very end just so that I could say I stuck my foot into Lake Michigan.  Done.

After the beach, it was time to head back to our hotel and unwind, have dinner and go to bed!  Goodbye, Chicago!  Next stop, Wisconsin!

Max Behind The Wheel

This is another video I took while waiting for my kids after school.

I once had to move my car really quickly and didn't have a chance to strap Max in his car seat.  We were only going to move a couple of feet so I didn't think there was any harm in putting him in my lap and driving those few feet.  When I started to drive and turn the wheel so slightly I got this loud squeal of delight from him.  He thought it was the best thing ever!

I was trying to recreate that laugh but didn't get it quite the same, but this video shows how happy he is to be behind the wheel.

Happy Halloween - Star Wars

 

This year my kids decided to dress up as a character on Star Wars.  I was surprised no one wanted to be Darth Vader.

My boys all wanted to be some sort of Jedi.  Bernadette, of course, wanted to be Princess Leia and Anne wanted to be Queen Amidalla (aka Darth Vader's mother).  If you are familiar with the movies, Queen Amidalla is quite extravagant in her wardrobe and make-up.

This year I felt like Halloween was an all day event instead of just an evening thing.  It all started the night before with the pumpkin carving.  After that, I stayed up and made cookies for Anne's Halloween party the next day.  I got an idea from watching the Food Network a few days ahead to make Witches' Fingers.


I thought they were absolutely cute, but wondered if it was too much for a Halloween festive snack?

The next day was going to the Halloween parade and then having to attend an after school haunted house party that Anne was face-painting for.

After that, the kids and I went home.  It was already 4:30!  I made a hot pot of chili, cleaned up the house a bit and started getting the kids ready for the evening. 

This year, my in-laws came over to pass out candy.  This was great because the kids love seeing their grandparents and sharing Halloween with them is special.  I'm always leaving a bucket outside for trick-or-treaters and it's always nice to be able to actually have someone answer the door. 

It got dark so quickly - so I had to get my pictures done!

We were a little disappointed in the headpiece - it's really flimsy plastic, but she looks really good nonetheless. 

 

I had fun putting her make-up on. Her costume improved a lot with the make-up!  Fun stuff.

Tommy is Luke Skywalker. 

 

 

This is his Jedi pose.

 

 

Patrick just chose to be a Jedi - no one in particular.  He's a young Jedi, I guess.

 

 

Eddie just woke up from a late afternoon nap and was a very cranky Jedi.  He was on the verge of going to the Dark side.

 

 

My cute little princess.  The costume actually had her buns attached to a big wig piece that looked so fake!  I just cut the buns off and sewed them onto a elastic headband.  Looked so much better!

 

 

Max broke tradition this year.  The baby usually wears a Santa costume, but he had to be Yoda this year.  Someone took a look at him and thought he was a bunny.  Bunny, I am not!

 

 

My Star Wars crew.

 

We had a great evening.  We went down another road this year which has a lot more traffic.  Tommy was hoping to run into some of his friends.  Halloween was pretty fancy schmancy on this road.  One house had two cotton candy machines passing out huge sticks of sugar out to every kid!  One house had an interactive game to get your candy and another road was sealed off so they could create a bonfire in the middle. 

 

It started to sprinkle in the middle of our trick-or-treating and definitely dampened the mood a bit.  My kids were getting tired.  Joe ended up finding us and joined us for the rest of the way.  That was the best part of the night for me!  When we got back to our house we were informed that our house got 70+ trick-or-treaters!  Wow, that's a lot.  Thank goodness I bought enough candy.

 

I'm a little upset I can't get my pictures to get larger.  Something is not working too well today on the world of BLOG!