Going on an Edventure...

Another day of travel, another fun museum. I think this is the best children's museum we've ever been to - we hardly even saw everything there was, much less tried it. Even with extending the trip home out to 3 days, we still didn't get to spend as much as we'd probably have liked exploring along the way, but what we did do made for fun times. Evidence of said fun times include Amity as dentist, Amity as West African cook, and Zara as very small person in chair with very large kid (who is actually a play structure!) in background. For anyone going anywhere near Columbia, SC with kids, do check out Edventure. It's TOTALLY worth a stop.

The MoSH

One of the awesome perks of membership to our local children's museum is reciprocal membership at children's and science museums all across the country (and some in Canada, I think, too!) We use this benefit to its fullest extent when traveling, often stopping for an hour just to run around and explore in a new museum somewhere (and not be sitting in the car). Here we are in Jacksonville, FL, at the MoSH. The giant sideways face is the entryway to an exhibit on the human body.

Ormond Beach

The only thing we didn't get to do while visiting family in Florida was get to the beach. So, when Amity woke up from her nap on the first day of our trip home, we got off at the nearest exit of I-95, and headed east. We arrived in Ormond Beach about an hour before sunset. As to not waste time with changing and since it was kind of cold anyway, I figured we'd just all go in the clothes we were wearing and wade a bit in the water and play in the sand. However... 3 out of 4 of us ended up getting significantly wet. 1 of us had to remain dry in order to properly document the expereince... and hold the iPhones and car keys.

Riding River Run

The really awesomest thing about Aunt Debbi's horses is getting to ride! Here Z is getting ready to ride River Run, Deb's very tall (over 16 hands!) horse. Zara did fantastically, of course (video to follow some day soon-ish). And most importantly, she has a wonderful time! She rode every day we were in Florida. Thanks SO much for hosting us, Deb and Craig!

Maté

One of the best parts of visiting excellent Aunt Debbi in Florida is the horses! Here Zara's hanging out with Maté, after helping Deb give him a bath. Zara spent a great deal of time helping with farm chores, and seems to take follow in the footsteps of her various horse loving relatives!

Jekyll Island

We planned our trip down to Florida as a 2 day drive, with a stop in Savannah, GA, as that's about the halfway point. Ironically, however, we never ended up in Savannah proper and just kept driving on by. As we were about to pass an exit for Jekyll Island National Park, Amity started have a mega-meltdown, so we quickly left the freeway and went exploring.

Long story short, here's a pic of our 2 resident cuties relaxing in the rocking chairs on the porch of the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.

Happy Chanukah!

We had a funny chanukah this year, because of the overlap with a good chunk of winter vacation. The first night (pictured here) was the only night we actually celebrated at home. For the other nights we were either on the road traveling to/from Florida, or lighting candles and singing with Aunt Debbi (and Nanny). Also of interest is the homemade menorah representing our 2nd year entering the creative chanukiah contest. This was a fairy menorah, and we called it "Queen Titania Brings the Light." It won the award of "menorah a fairy is most likely to land on" in the contest, so we clearly did a good job! Also of note, Amity likes latkes!

Second Recital

Just a few short months after Zara and friends performed in their first recital, we present you their second one! This time they are doing a reel.

And that's why they call me... Doctor!

This blog is usually devoted to our adorable kiddos, but I must take a moment for some shameless self-promotion. Today, I successfully defended my dissertation, which means pending a few small changes and filing the very large document with the Curry School (that's the name of our Ed School here), I will have earned my PhD. This has been many years in the making - from toying with going for a doctorate instead of a masters when at UMich in '02-'04, and then finally taking the leap to apply to programs outside of MI in '05. I started at UVA in August of '06... and of course in the meantime Amity was born. So it has been a long, not entirely direct path. I could not have done it without the support of friends and family, near and far, and I thank all of you who have helped me along the way - you all know who you are! Of course, this now brings up the larger question... what's next? Stay tuned to find out! (This does not mean I actually have a plan, mind you, just that one will get made. Sooner or later.)

Ball Pit, Jr.

And another in the series of "cute things my daughter was doing while I was working on my dissertation." Amity found herself unexpected solo at Vijay's (other kiddo was sick and therefore didn't come to play) and so they went to Bounce 'n' Play instead. She apparently had a fabulous time, and enjoyed herself in this small ball pit pictured here. Not quite as all-enveloping as this one that Zara played in, but it's a start!

Spring Jackets

Sure, it's December here, but as I've often mentioned, it can be quite balmy. Here the girls show off their Spring Jackets (thanks to the Greene-Hutchings-Schmidt crew for the Amity hand-me-downs!) and their dual ponytails, aka pigtails.

"Doggie" Hat

I'm not sure who started calling this a doggie hat, it looks a bit more like someone took and Ugly Doll and turned *that* into a hat... but monster hat doesn't have such a catchy ring to it? And it does have cute floppy puppy ears.... naming conventions aside, here's Amity showing off her cute to Vijay while I do my final prep for my dissertation defense next week!

Pony Tail

Here's Amity, looking all grown up in her first ponytail. Also 22 months!