Happy Twenty Fo!

New Year. Same Us. We couldn’t be happier so why change? Maybe the only break from tradition was NOT showing a re-run of the NYC Ball Drop at 10pm in an attempt to fool the kids into thinking they made it to midnight… This year, we all made it to 12:01.Well done crew.Ramen for all…

Merrrrrry Minnesota!

An impulse airline ticket buy in September (they were a good deal I promise!) led us back to Minnesota for Christmas with big smiles on our faces. A few years ago, Meredith suggested an ugly Christmas sweater themed holiday gathering (since we are taking a break from parties at the house) and it was a…

Turkey Time

We were lucky enough to host Thanksgiving in Alexandria this year. With Carolyn’s crew back on the East Coast, Northern Virginia is once again a “good, sort of in-between and convenient to travel to” location for the holiday weekend. The Clays road tripped from Rhode Island, the Wiktors flew from St. Paul and one Mumsie…

Peak Season

Come late October temps are finally below 80, the humidity is gone and the leaves are changing. It’s the best time of year the DMV if you ask me! I couldn’t have timed our family photos better this year – perfect weather, fall foliage, and my three favorite people. We were able to link up…

Good old fashioned summer fun!

A trip to Minnesota in the summer is such a treat! It’s a rare occasion when we get to go and just visit – no holiday, specific event, or agenda. Well, maybe there’s still an agenda because I like a plan but the agenda items are relaxation and family time. Our summer trip was three…

Bikes, BBQ, Ballet, and SUMMER!

It’s June in Washington, DC which means school is winding down and summer is starting up. That means (more) baseball games, (more) bicycle adventures, and plenty of time on the porch with the grill fired up. Between Will and my MTB adventures at Fountain Head and Wakefield we are in the triple digit territory on…

Moments from May

After a year of a somewhat normal schedule for Phil, May brought a full month of travel. While Dad was away, we were fortunate to have grandma with us for a few weeks – what a treat! The weekdays were filled with work and school, but grandma got to see lots of Will’s baseball games…

Early Blooms

Normally an April event, the peak cherry blossom bloom this year was predicted to be 22 March by the Park Service thanks to a moderate winter and some early season warming. I can’t remember if we had been back since 2017 but I was up to my usual pre-blossom viewing grumbles this year. Rain all…

All of the Gluten

I’m not sure what prompted it, maybe a post-holiday / post-vacation rut, but I spent an unusual amount of time working with dough and trying to figure out sourdough levain in February. The intent was for the two activities to be linked. Step one: perfect a levain. Step two: use it once a week to…

New Year, Old Haunts

You may stick us on the East Coast and not give us a flake of snow for the winter but you can’t keep us off the slopes forever! Well, three of us anyway. We’re still working on the skiing part for Mere but she enjoys the quiet time and beautiful views during the days and…