Random Giveaway Fun

This is a terrible blog post, but an awesome opportunity. I love visiting Emily's blog for inspiration. She is amazingly talented, stylish, and has a real love for her family. Every month she puts together superb little giveaway packages, and this month's treasures are no exception! Imagine starting the new year winning these lovely little items!

Blizzard and Busted.

Blizzard.





Remember this? New awesome Schwendy StaWag AKA Schwagon...



Busted. Got hit by a bus going straight through an intersection on my way to work. Thankfully, Bean wasn't with me and I wasn't too injured. Made for alot of Physical Therapy though!

Winter 09

I'm not sure there is much to say about Winter 09 into Winter 2010 other than SNOW. We had so much more snow in the Baltimore area than usual, not even including the big February blizzard! It was great to look at, but a huge pain to live with as people around here (and the transportation system) is very unused to wintery road conditions, making commuting pretty awful. Well, I didn't have to worry since I had off (teaching profession for the win!) most of the time. Here is Audra enjoying the snow and consequent warm-up tubby from our first December storm...

The snow certainly helped me to feel like being more creative when decorating the house for the season. We have had these antique ornaments stowed away for years that came from Steve's grandparents, but haven't hung them on our tree with a cat and little one waiting in the wings to potentially destroy them. They were just so pretty though, so I hung them from our dining room chandelier...which I hate most of the time. This helped to make it more bearable!

We had a pretty super Christmas season and were even more blessed to have Audra baptized during the season of celebration of Jesus' coming. It is pretty awesome to know that we have such a large church family dedicated to Audra and her spiritual well-being.

The holiday celebrations were fantastic, with visits from Aunt Pam and Uncle TJ who now live in California, and one last holiday at Mom Mom and Pop's being the only granddaughter. Audra's first girl-cousin Avery was born just a few weeks after Christmas!

Fall 09

Fall 09 was a beautiful season with some added excitement in our family. Not only did Steve begin his MBA, but he also completed his very first Half-Marathon! He ran it through the Baltimore Running Festival which is a huge annual event.

Audra and I had a super time downtown, cheering others on, especially Steve.


All that cheering is exhausting, as you can see!


We had many lovely days to play in the leaves....


and go to Weber's Farm to pick our pumpkins.

Of course, Fall wouldn't be complete without a delicious Thanksgiving celebration at Mom Mom and Pop's house with the whole family. Audra loves spending time with her cousins!

End of Summer 09

End of 09 you say? Yes. The last few weeks before school begins are always a busy time for me. I try to cram in all of the summer fun that I have been too lazy to go out and enjoy during the previous weeks of break. I know that school is about to begin when we travel to Spruce Lake. My family has been traveling to Spruce Lake for "family week" (I also did a stint at their wilderness camp....soooo not me!) since I was about 4 yrs old. It isn't for everyone, as it is pretty similar to a summer camp for adults/families, but I love seeing people annually, it is pretty great to have built-in nursery/kid activities for Audra, being refreshed on multiple levels by the mountain air and fellowship, and I LOVE not having to think about cooking or cleaning as everything but clothes and toiletries are provided and meals are buffet in a dining room. Audra also loves to eat, so having many culinary choices at each meal is a treat for her as well. Here are a few pictures of Audra's (Steve stays home and does home projects without having to worry about Audra Bean's nap times *yay*, oh..and goes to work) and my trip last summer.



In addition to our Spruce Lake trip, we had a fun-filled day at Port Discovery. If you live in the Baltimore area or can make it for a visit, you should. One of our favorite areas was the water room. There are pipes to put together/pull apart with flowing water, a water gun that shoots drums and cymbals, and something similar to a train table but, much larger and with boats and water. Here is a picture of Audra in the water room (she looks so little!).



All in all, we had a great summer...but it had to end. This is what Audra thought about Mommy going back to work:


Then again, it may have also had something to do with teething....

Random Giveaway Fun

I just stumbled across this blog giveaway and thought that I would share. I love the design aesthetic (want.to.live.here.) and the giveaway treats are to die for! Go ahead and check it out for some inspiration, or - if you're like me, to procrastinate and ignore the general tasks that haunt my ever-growing to-do list.

One Year Later...

...and I am finally posting to tell you that I plan to add to this blog in the near future, detailing our family exploits over the past year. I am gearing up to return to school and am trying to be positive, though I am anxious about leaving my sweet girl and our lazy days of summer. Many changes are in store, including - but not limited to: Audra heading off to preschool rather than growing and learning at home while I am working, starting a dance program at school, expanding the residencies and Arts programs I lobby for, becoming a grant-writing fiend, a new semester for Steve as he continues his MBA program...

For now, I will leave you this sweet picture of Audra the Explorer.