summer 2016 fun!

This Summer has flown by much too quickly! It feels like just yesterday that the girls wrapped up the school year, and now here we are, about to start Kindergarten and 2nd Grade in just a few short weeks!  Even though it went fast, we managed to pack in a good deal of fun over the past few months. Some highlights...

Some of us went to Texas to visit family and to celebrate the Fourth of July:

While those of us left behind used their alone time to take up new and unusual hobbies, like cartooning:

We all went to Ocean City to soak up the sun and visit our friends (and to be artistically transformed in the sand as a gorgeous Merman by one of those friends):

Ryan and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on a sans-kid trek around Philly:


What square are we in? We have no idea!

We sold our wee house in TX:

And bought a new one across the street from us (which means more work for Ryan, but more rental income, too!):

Elliott got her first pair of glasses:


"I look so scientific!"

We traipsed around DC on an uncharacteristically pleasant August day:


And we finally got around to cutting the girls' hair in an attempt to look presentable for the upcoming return to school:

This is what happens when you suck on your hair, kid!
She is pretty pleased with her new 'do, though.

Ellie was bordering on a crazy Rapunzel-esque look...not anymore!

In addition, Ryan worked his butt off running the Farmers Market (which continues through October), the girls attended the local summer camp, we played with lots of good friends, and I managed to keep my head above water helping run the hectic Summer Reading Program at my library! We are also planning a visit to Hershey Park the weekend before school starts, and we are all looking forward to our mini-getaway before Summer officially comes to an end!

spring is in the air!

It's that time of year again...so long Winter, hello Spring!

Even though it wasn't technically Spring yet, our wonderful little town held its annual Easter Egg Hunt. It was a chilly day, but the sight of the Easter Bunny and all those eggs still made us feel like Spring was right around the corner!

The Smiddleton Middlewartzes are all bundled up for the annual Easter Egg Hunt!

Out back, our garden is growing, quite literally, from the few cinder block planters we used several years back to a fenced in area that runs the entire length of our yard! With Spring comes the promise of delicious, extremely local veggies for our meals (kale, spinach, tomatoes, parsnips, carrots, corn, squash, and herbs...to name just a few!) For the record, Ryan gets all the cred for the garden. He is the mastermind behind it all, and does most of the tending as well.

Planting the seeds.

And covering them with soil.

Veggies are already starting to sprout!

At the library, the snow is thawing and flowers are appearing! (Yep, I'm still hanging onto that tree!)

The library tree is starting to grow flower buds!

My patrons made colorful butterflies to decorate the bulletin board (more have been added since this picture.)

Happy Spring, friends!

winter happened [IS happening]!

Mom, fondly known around here as "Gramma," is not on social media, and therefore isn't privy to the masses of photos and family news I post to Facebook and Instagram on an almost daily basis. Granted, Mom lives 10 minutes down the road and can see the grandkids as frequently as she desires. But Mom also laments that the blog - the one family news source she is able to access easily - is not updated frequently enough. So, this post is for my mom. We promise you that, even though you didn't see it on the blog until now, Winter DID happen!

A special holiday dance recital at a local retirement home happened:

A first annual Very Villainous Christmas show happened:

Christmas happened (complete with a visit from Aunt Kristen!):

Snow happened (and lots of it!):

Friends happened. (We love our friends!):

Of course hot cocoa happened:

Even ice skating happened. (Each of us survived a lap around the rink at least once!):

We love you, Gramma!

someone turns 40, plus renaissance faire fun!

Can you believe it? My main squeeze turned 40 this past week!!! Happy birthday, Ryan! We love you so much! Can't wait to bust out some oldies on our sweet new "record player"!

Happy 40th, my love!

How did we celebrate Ryan's birthday, you ask? We shared a birthday morning breakfast at Friendly's, went out for dinner (a few times) and then topped off the week with a heaping serving of RENAISSANCE FAIRE fun!

Mere words cannot adequately describe a good Renaissance Faire (and yes, the "e" is mandatory, and preferably pronounced, as in "fair-ay" -- at least in my little world.) I love the feeling of stepping into another time and place, one that probably SUCKED if you actually had to live it, but is completely enchanting nonetheless.

Knights! Knaves! Kings and queens! Even mermaids, witches, pirates, creatures on stilts, and of course, completely inappropriate and uncalled for cleavage! Puppeteers, acrobats, jugglers, musicians, and magicians abound!

Better yet is when you manage to sucker family friends into joining you at said Faire. We were thrilled to have the Tennants by our side to brave the cold temps, rain, snow (I kid you not) and cleavage. Massive turkey legs were devoured by all in attendance. Huzzah!

Knight & jester

Not all the wee ones were taken with the puppet show!

Circus Stella

The rugrats, all caged up!

A true Renaissance man eats like a Neanderthal.

Mother and daughter turkey gnawing

Let the joust commence!

Lady and Lord Middleton

The grounds were gorgeous!

I had a great day!

She was out within 5 minutes.