What to do on a gray day?

The clouds are out and the kids are restless! Quick, find something to do so both parents and kids don’t lose it! It was one of those Saturdays that led us up to the Air and Space Museum near Dulles. We’ve been to the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall a few times;…

Ringing in 2017

What better way to ring in the new year than to slap a tux on, ditch the kids, and spend a week in San Diego, right? Okay, while yes, that is technically what we did, it would be a bit disingenuous to skip the background story. After planning the perfect Christmas vacation back to Minnesota,…

We’re Thankful

Thanksgiving was a good one this year. Family came north and family came south; both would eventually converge on our little home in Stafford. With the southern guest checked in to Casa de Wiktor, the burners were lit and the feast was prepared. Thumbs up all around the table as the food tasted even better…

A quick excursion

Got to take advantage of the time off these days! It feels like the busy, unpredictable work schedule overlaid on top of the school schedule has wreaked havoc on our adventuring as of late. No more Tuesday afternoon trips when everyone is in school but mom and dad. Lame. Fortunately there is still some time…

Dog days of summer

July is when the temps pick up around here and when that’s the case, we seem to find ourselves chasing the usual American escapes. A little road trip here, a little bike trip there, and as much pool time as we can find. Of course there are near-daily ice cream for the kids (and mom)…

Looking back on a jovial June

Well, another June has come and gone! Looking back, it’s easy to fall into the trap of saying we didn’t do much during the month. After some travel in May, we stayed local-ish. There were a few weekend road trips to visit nearby family and friends but nothing out of what might be called “ordinary”…

Disney or Bust?

If Disney is the metric for success, it was a bust. Old Dad McScrooge put the kibosh on that idea many months ago. Too many lines, too many bucks, and too short of attention spans (the kids of course) for Disney this time. None-the-less, onto the plane we went to spend a long weekend with…

Some out-of-towners

In addition to a couple of birthdays and a little bit of work travel on the schedule, we had a couple of much anticipated visitors swing by during the middle of the month. Both parents and kids alike were excited to spend a few days with John and Lauren. We spent a little time up…

Blossoms a Year Later

I guess it has already been a year since the last time the Tidal Basin turned purple and white. How the time flies. With schedules and the National Park Service’s “peak bloom prediction” both fluctuating, we decided to sneak up to check out the blossoms on a Wednesday. While I was a little disappointed at…

Little Adventures

Little adventures are best embarked upon with little adventurers. Fortunately, there is no shortage of those around here. Lucy, Will, and Sophia all piled into the Land Cruiser for an adventure with Dad today. The truck fired up and west we went. Our goal for the day was to do some exploring in the Shenandoah…