Jellystone Park

When it was cold and dark and winter in Baltimore, I came across a deal for a spring weekend at Jellystone Park for a basic cabin and activities for the family. I posted to facebook to see if any friends might want to join us Mother's Day weekend thinking maybe 1-2 families would be interested and got an overwhelming response. Fast forward to this past weekend when we headed to Hagerstown to spend the weekend with Yogi, Cindy Bear, Boo Boo, and 11 other families with kids 2nd grade or younger!

We have gone camping with the kids once in a tent. It went fine but with both of them out of diapers/pull ups but still needing frequent middle of the night bathroom breaks, we aren't quite ready for tent camping again at this point. So we got a small one room cabin with bunk beds and a double bed, a full size refrigerator, and an attached bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower. The fridge and bathroom made the experience so much easier, even if we did have to pack at least as much without worrying about a tent!

Jellystone had a series of activities for the family to do included in the cabin price. They had a pool which was open, wagon rides, a jump pillow, playgrounds, mini golf, pedal carts, ball fields, character greetings, etc. They have a water park but that wasn't quite open yet - although it does look amazing! You could also pay extra for a zip line (even Noelle was a bit too thin for that), laser tag, or special crafts, but we didn't do any of those extra events. We had plenty to do with the included activities, playing and dining with friends, and chatting and sipping around the camp fire after we put the kids to bed. I even got in two runs while we were away with some of my MRTT friends!

We will definitely be back to Jellystone and hope others join us again in the future! It just may be our new Mother's Day weekend tradition!

Driving up Route 70 with everything we own.

Pledge of Allegiance, Yogicize,and hugs from the bears to start our Saturday.

Jump pillow fun. I wish we had this in our backyard to keep Kellen entertained all day.

The first of 5 or 6 mini golf games.

Mommy daughter pedal carts. They were hard work!

It was even harder driving with this one on me.

A swim in the frigid water.

I am pretty sure our plans to make Noelle a college scholarship earning golf star are totally panning out.

MRTT tackles Jellystone!

Lisa leads crafts as we cook dinner for 46.

Minus three kids this was our 8 and under group.

Old school playgrounds are the best kind!

Don't mess with a boy and his marshmallow on a stick.

"Hey" ride. Yup, I am sorry those who were on the route had to listen to the people on the ride yell "Hey" for 2 hours on Saturday afternoon.

Some of my very favorite ladies.

And my two very favorite guys.

Saxton's in disguise.

Ranger Noelle

Boo boo Kel

Bye cabin number 8! We'll be back again!

Ringing in May

To start May, I headed up to Frederick at 4:57 am with a car filled with other crazies who think it is fun to get up at 4 to run 13.1 or so miles. This was my first time doing the Frederick half but it won't be my last. The race was well organized, the run was scenic, and the weather ended up perfect. And I got a PR for the half, with a time of 1:47:23. Noelle wasn't super impressed when I told her I got 497th place, but it was out of 3,924 finishers so I'll definitely take it. I'm not quite Boston material, even for a half time, but I knocked 8 minutes off from my half last May and have been feeling a lot better running so I am proud of my finish.

Getting ready to start the race!

MRTT Catonsville (and friends)

We hung around the fairgrounds for a bit after the race and then I headed back to Catonsville to celebrate my best friend and her upcoming bundle of joy. We had brunch in Columbia and sprinkled Catherine with their needed new car seat and video monitor, as well as clothes for baby girl number two. I can't wait to meet my newest little "niece" in the next week or two.

May is always a busy month and this year is no different. Coming up we have our glamping Mother's Day weekend, planting our garden, Bryan's last wills for heroes as co-chair, an outing to Dutch Wonderland, Kindergarten conferences, a whole lot of work fun, the opening of the pool, and two big events at our home before the calendar turns to June. But if I can do a half marathon and baby shower by 3:30 pm the first Sunday of the month we are off to a good start.

Kinder Scientists

On Saturday May 2nd, the second ever Kinder Scientist club got together at our house. This was an idea that Lisa and I had after a fabulous visit to the science center earlier in the year. About once a month or so, we hope to gather some of our favorite K and 1st grade students to do about an hour lesson on a science concept. Since a big chunk of my job is science eduction, this is right up my alley. I was a little out of my element with eight 5 and 6 year olds, but I put together a lesson on seeds and plants to celebrate spring and everything in bloom. We started by looking at six different kinds of seeds, making some observations, and then taking some guesses as to which kind of seed matched each packet - three kinds of flowers and three different kinds of vegetables. We then read a book about how seeds become plants and then put learned more about the sprouting process by cutting out strips and gluing them in order. Finally everyone made their own little greenhouse with sunflowers and/or pumpkin seeds and got a journal to record their observations as they waited for their seed to sprout. The weather was gorgeous and I am confident the kids learned at least a little and had fun playing together so I am calling it a success.

Maybe I missed my calling as a Kindergarten teacher? I mean I am the most patient person ever...

The book was long but they hung with me anyways...and they all know what germinate means now!

Hard at work. I'd like to think this group is all gifted like my summer students :)

My favorite Scientists!

 And our seeds are sprouting to we are even more excited at our house! Hope everyone else is having luck with their greenhouses!

Day 14. Time to plant those pumpkins!

OOO Baltimore

I love Baltimore. There are so many amazing things to do. As you can probably tell from our blog, the Science Center, B&O Museum, and Zoo are just a few of our favorite local destinations. The people around the city are generally friendly. And diverse. Everyone comes together to root for the Os and Ravens and the Star Spangled Banner is better here than anywhere else. The past week and a half have been hard. But it's also been beautiful. Church leaders walked arm and arm down the street. People from all walks of life got together for peaceful protests. Families swept up streets and cleaned up stores. Little boys and girls of all colors handed cops water bottles, thank you notes, and flowers. And a city perhaps best known for how messed up it is is getting some much needed love and reflection. I have read so many articles about what happened and why, as well as what needs to be done, and for someone from near Baltimore, that works in the city but then escapes to the very peaceful suburbs just minutes away, there is obviously no easy solution to the extreme poverty and historical systems and structure that many face.

Noelle is five. Her school, like most local schools outside the city, did not discuss what was going on just minutes away. I suppose they felt it was up to parents to share what they were comfortable with with their kids, especially for kids as young as 5. Bryan and I are not bleeding liberals by any stretch of the imagination. But we felt it was important to talk to her a little bit about what was going on down the road. It is a delicate balance - we wanted her to feel safe and secure and not to develop a mistrust/hatred of the police or those she generally feels will be able to help her should she need it - but she isn't too young to know that sometimes people aren't treated correctly. And that it is ok to get mad. That there are good ways and less good ways to express your frustration when you are angry. And that everyone needs to be treated the same but that isn't always the case and our country is still working on that. And we need to try harder.

I am choosing to be hopeful. That Baltimore and other cities will review their practices, that we will work harder on parent education, student education, and our criminal justice system. That those that have will find new ways to give back to those that don't. The coming months and years will certainly be a challenge but Baltimore can BeMore.