Azerbaijan

In the weeks leading up to our trip to Azerbaijan, I have to admit that there were moments of doubt. I wondered if we were nuts to make a big international trip right before moving to Japan. I worried that we were going to be too jet lagged to do anything. I panicked because I hadn't done any of my usual research or preparation, but as soon as we got on the plane there was a collective exhale. It turns out that a trip to Azerbaijan was exactly what we all needed.

Canadian Postal Cheer

I went to Canada and fell in love with their mail boxes. Colorful and peppy, those cheerful depositories made me want to stuff them with encouraging letters and bills with pretty stamps. It's funny how traveling makes the mundane aspects of daily life so much more interesting in new places. Grocery stores in other countries are far more interesting to me than grocery stores at home. And now it turns out that mail boxes are, too.

And here's another thing those postal boxes made me think about. When I was a kid, sending postcards was a big part of our travel ritual. Selecting the perfect card for each recipient. Using scratchy motel pens to describe trip highlights to grandparents and cousins. Words and drawings spilling over the edges. A satisfying little stack of paper greetings ready to be mailed. I was actually pretty good about sending postcards all the way into my 20s and 30s. And I assumed that this travel ritual would continue with my own children. It seemed like a good way to push them to write while also maintaining contact with family many miles away. But as with most good intentions, it never really happens. Don't get me wrong. We keep trying. Or at least I keep trying. After careful deliberation, post cards always get purchased with specific recipients in mind and I always think that this will finally be the trip that kick starts a new desire to write personal notes and letters on a more regular basis. Sometimes they actually get written, but they rarely get sent and the reality is that I have a large box of postcards documenting most of our trips from the past sixteen years of marriage (any ideas on what to do with those?). And I can't even remember the last time we received one. To be honest, it is surprising that post cards are even still made and sold.  So here's to hoping that those cheerful Canadian boxes prompt a personal letter writing resurgence and may postcards continue to exist. 

Quebec City With Kids

Pack a soccer ball. Rent an apartment in the Old City. Eat poutine. Attend the Les Fetes de la Nouvelle France. Leave plenty of time for wandering and splashing in fountains. Eat crepes and chocolate croissants.Try to speak French. Get in line early for the spectacular (and free!) circus on Saturday nights. Stay for the fireworks over the St. Lawrence River. Stop to listen to street musicians. Fall asleep to the sound of horse drawn carriages tromping over cobblestone streets. Get up the next morning and repeat. 

Philadelphia Weekend

Philly cheese steaks, family reunions, the Philadelphia Pen Show, Elvis in a scarf, a bacon bloody mary, Sideways Stories at Arden Theater, fabulous museums, bookstores, record stores, that famous bell, and chilly hands. Can't wait to return.

Happy New Year!

Andermatt, Switzerland

Wishing you and your families all the best in 2014. May it be a year of laughter, wonder, and peace for all!

Christmas Eve in Switzerland with Dolly Parton

A week ago we had no idea we would be here... sipping disappointingly flavorless hot chocolate in Andermatt, Switzerland while listening to Dolly Parton belt out Christmas tunes on a speaker rigged up in a little wooden hut next to an ice skating rink. And yet here we are. 

We spontaneously and successfully hopped on a free military flight to Germany, rented a car, drove south, and have tucked ourselves into this little Swiss Alps town. Hoping to ski, eat lots of fondue, and stay warm. Merry Christmas!

Exploring: The C&O Canal

A few weekends ago we finally made it to the C & O canal. We started at the Great Falls National Park visitor center where we happily discovered their free loaner bike program...bikes and helmets for all ages for two hours. What a great discovery! The boys headed down the towpath, while Camille and I chose to walk it. On our walk we came across fourteen Plestiodon skinks (their tails are only blue when they are young), spiders spinning webs, beetles, fish in the canal, and way too many swallowtail butterflies to count. 

It was quite a pleasant little outing and we are already fantasizing about doing a serious C & O canal trip complete with a stay or two at the historic lock houses along the way.  We met a few folks who were doing that sort of trip. A family on bikes with a bike trailer filled with food, sleeping bags, clothes, etc. on their way back to D.C. after a weekend of biking and camping. And a group of women doing an annual stay at their favorite lock house. Doesn't that sound like fun?

Solomon's Island, Maryland

Summer Collection

Sand dollars and shells from Navarre Beach, Florida. Rocks from Macu Picchu, Peru. Fossilized sharks teeth from Calvert County, Maryland. We found some good things this summer. What about you? What got stuck in your pockets, buckets, or in the back seat of your car? 

I love the bits and pieces that find their way home with us. I just wish I was better about labeling/organizing/keeping them. I have a friend who puts little discoveries from their trips into shadow boxes. They have a wall of boxes filled with rocks, shells, feathers, and coins from all over the world. It's wonderful and I envy it. We, on the other hand, have plates, jars, ziplocks bags, and camera cards filled with finds but never put into any permanent state of display. One day, maybe one day, I will eventually do something big and fabulous with it all, but for now I am happy to have a white platter filled with summer souvenirs on a table by our front door.

Travels with Pacy: Peru

We had so much fun traveling with Pocket Pacy in Pisa and Barcelona, that we decided to take her with us to Peru!

Pocket Pacy was a gift from Grace Lin as part of her book party for her Dumpling Days book. Her newest book, Ling and Ting Share a Birthday is about to be released and she will be celebrating with another special book party at White Square Books. Wish we could attend in person, but here in DC, we are especially excited about Grace's upcoming appearance at the National Book Festival. I think Pocket Pacy (and a few others in our house) will enjoying getting to hear Grace read at the Festival. 

End of Summer

Tonight marks the official end of summer for us. Tomorrow the kids start back to school and for the first time in ten years I am officially returning to work. I still have so much to post about Peru and other summer highlights, but for now here is a taste of one of our all-time favorite summer experiences: Babe's Sno Cones in St. Martinville, Louisiana. It's a long time summer tradition...one that my mom and her eight siblings took part in every summer, one that sweetened my childhood summers, and one that my own kids now crave on super hot days. 

During our trip to Louisiana this summer, we had snow cones just about every afternoon. And Babe's really are the best. Established in 1949 and still going strong! Head down Main Street, look for the little turquoise building, the long line of eager customers, the friendly staff, and pick out your favorite flavor (mine is nectar, but almond and peach are pretty good, too!). We are sad to say good-bye to summer, but there are lots of new adventures waiting for us and we know that Babe's will be a part of many more summers to come.  

Peruvian Flash Mob

Market Day in Pisac

One of the most unexpected moments in Peru came when we were a part of a flash mob dance in Cusco. We happened to have lunch next to a friendly guy who revealed that he was directing a flash mob on the main square as part of a national ad campaign. And sure enough at 2pm, things starting happening on the square. It was a ton of fun and one of those things I have always wanted to experience. Just never thought it would happen in Peru!

Blue Doors in Urubamba

In addition to loving the blue doors we found on a little, dusty street in Urubamba, we also enjoyed: lunch at Kaia, dinner and art/crafts at  Paca Paca, and staying with Liz at Lizzy Wasi

Peru!

 A land of bright colors, high mountains, hard working people, strange animals, amazing fruit, dusty streets, intense hospitality, awe-inspiring ruins, bulls on rooftops, and glorious ceviche. 


Camille was a serious little trooper and ended climbing more ruins than we ever thought possible! We enjoyed the time with just the three of us, but we also kept commenting on how much Noah would have enjoyed Peru, so we are already dreaming of a return trip. Actually, it's a place that deserves several return trips. Not only is there so much to still see and sample, there is also a great need and that touched all of us in striking ways. Similar to our time in Thailand, the beautiful bits are tightly woven in with the sad bits.

Heading South For The Winter

Navarre Beach, Florida

Although it is clearly summer here, we are digging out a few winter clothes and heading south. South of the equator to Peru, where it is now winter! Adam has already been down there for a week doing humanitarian work. Camille and I are now on our way to join him. Stay tuned for tales (and photos) of llamas, mountains, and Incan ruins.

Summer Fun In DC With Kids

 

This weekend we were thrilled to have some of our favorite friends visiting us from Sicily. It was such fun to catch up on a year's worth of news, gossip, and changes. It was also fun to see the girls all having a blast together with their fashion/dance/music shows in the basement and late night giggles. 

In addition to catching up, we also attempted to squeeze in a bit of sight seeing so they could experience a slice of DC. 

We kicked things off with a Friday night viewing of Peter Pan and Wendy at Imagination Stage. We are so lucky to have this amazing children's theater just a few blocks to our house. As soon as the girls discovered that we were attending a show, they hit the dress-up box, pulled out fancy shoes and got all gussied up. I loved watching them sashay and skip downtown on their way to the show! Highly recommend Peter and Wendy as an entertaining(and cool..the AC is always blasting in theater) summer treat.

Saturday was a very busy day for us in the city. Our first stop was the National Building Museum where the kids had fun building/playing in the various hands-on areas, but the real high light was their annual summer mini-golf course. We loved it last summer and this summer's course is equally as enjoyable and creative. Then off to the Mall to soak our feet in the National Gallery's fountain in the center of their sculpture garden (where we went iceskating this past winter), ride the carousel, eat ice cream, and take a quick tour of the dinos at the Natural History Museum. In addition to eating ice cream and fountain soaking, our misting water bottle was a big hit. Highly recommend one of those for your summer adventures, especially city sight seeing.

 Sunday was also focused on water. We headed down to Georgetown and had a refreshing time at the Waterfront Park. The splash area is so well designed that all ages had a blast while cooling off in the summer heat. It is also in a beautiful location overlooking the Potomac River and the Kennedy Center. After everyone was sufficiently soaked, we walked along the waterfront and admired all of the boats, kayaks, ducks, and swimming dogs. We eventually wound our way over to  Farmers, Fishers, Bakers where we gorged on their amazing Sunday Brunch: a seriously delicious and satisfying meal for all of us. The last stop of the day was the Lincoln Memorial. Just a quick viewing because everyone was pooped. Since I couldn't find parking, I actually dropped everyone off and drove around until they were ready to be picked up. It turned out to be a good decision because it is so much easier to load tired kids into a van that already has the air conditioning running! We didn't see everything in DC, but I think we did a pretty good job of keeping everyone happy, fairly cool, and entertained. It's nice to be in a city which has so many different options and fun to have visiting friends to share in the exploring.

 

If you are planning a trip to Washington, DC with kids be sure to check out these blogs and books:

Kid Friendly DC

Washington Post Going Out Guide

Fodor's Around Washington DC with Kids

Frommer's Washington DC with Kids

City Walks with Kids: Washington, D.C.

 

Navarre Beach 2013

Beach walking, card playing (including a horribly addictive solitaire game called "One Pile"), laughing, kayaking, sweating (the air conditioning wasn't great this year), shell collecting, singing/dancing/joke telling (we had a lively show night), tie-dying (shirts, socks, and fingers), reading, hammocking, treasure hunting, and lots of family time. It was another good year at Navarre.

Last Summer in Chicago

I recently stumbled upon these shots from last summer and realized that I never wrote anything about our Chicago adventure. So here goes.

Just a few weeks after arriving back in the States, we hopped on the Metro, headed down to Union Station, and took an overnight train to Chicago. It was a fast and furious four days and it was FUN. We went for a Taiwan ROCks adoption reunion weekend and had a great time meeting up with old and new friends. We also fell in love with Chicago and took advantage of the Blue Star Museums (Art Institute, The Field Museum). But what we really loved was Millennium Park and that famous bean (this is one of my favorite family portraits!)  Can't wait to return to the Windy City!

If you are a military family, be sure to check out the listings for Blue Star Museums. The season has started and there are some amazing museums on the list. There's also a cool contest happening this summer.

If you are a family with a connection to Taiwanese Adoption, try to make it to this summer's Taiwan ROCks reunion in Disneyland. Sadly, we'll miss this year's gathering, but are already looking forward to next summer in New York City.

If you are thinking about doing a train trip with your kids, do it. It is a unique and memorable way to travel. My kids are still giggling about the snoring man in the row ahead of us and I still have fond memories of the summer my family traveled all over the States by train. There are discounts for kids and military families and it pays to book your tickets far in advance.

 Hope you all have some exciting summer plans in the works!