MiMi and PaPa's 40th Wedding Anniversary - August 2010

One of other summer adventures was meeting up with the Kramer family in Pennsylvania at a condo on the grounds of the Nemacolin resort. There was so much to do - multiple swimming pools (one with a water slide), a croquet court, and wild animals! Ripley's most vivid memory of her time (which she still talks about) was finding a teeny snake (not much larger than a large earthworm) in the pool. She was the one who spotted it - and said "What is that?".

We had lovely anniversary dinner at The Summit Inn, which apparently has an amazing view of the sunset, but the night we were there it was cloudy! It was nice to get a family picture.

One of the last events was Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Culann, and Chad doing the Fat Bird zip line. I have a feeling our adventure girl is going to end up on a zip line one of these days.

Father's Day Weekend - June 2010 - Atlantic City

We owed PaPa a much overdue stay at the windsurfing hotel in Atlantic City and decided that Father's Day weekend was the perfect time. We had gorgeous weather, and Ripley loved wandering along the beach with MiMi. We ended the trip with a fun stop at the Atlantic City Aquarium.

Uncle Tom's Visit - June 2010

I've lost track of a bit of chronology, but Uncle Tom came to visit in June. Uncle Culann came over from Cleveland too. We went to the Greek Festival in Greektown, stopped off at the American Visionary Arts Museum, and went to the Farmer's Market where the boys won a lobster and Uncle Culann used a bike to make a smoothie. All in all a super-fun weekend.

Ripley's 2nd Birthday - May 2010

Somewhere along the way, I completely skipped documenting Ripley's birthday. We had a series of celebrations that started with small treats with her friends at school. Her teachers decorated the table.

We also continued the tradition of attending a baseball game. This time in a box, courtesy of TFA, with a crew of TFA folks, as well as Adam and Charlie Martin, and Olivia Todd.

Finally, we hosted people at the Tot Lot for a cookout (a small fenced in space that local families can use and little kids can play). It was a very hot day, so we got out the inflatable pool to cool the kids off. We had small cupcakes and Rita's for dessert, and it didn't last long enough for it to melt! Adam, Charlie and Olivia were in attendance, as well as Aunt Nona, and of course MiMi and PaPa. All in all, I think our little 2 yr years old had a fabulous time. I know we had much fun celebrating her!

Texas - May 2010 - Schlitterbahn

Yes, it's September, and I am just now writing about May. It's been a crazy summer, and I have started a second blog (even though I can't keep up with this one) that might merge with this one at some point, but for now, this is still Ripley's blog. And we have a lot of catching up to do. So let's get to it.

When Aunt Jen came back from her latest trip, we decided that a trip to Schlitterbahn (best water park in the country) was a must. We've always known that Ripley loved the water, but she was in her element here. Schlitterbahn is so big that you have to take a train from one part of the park to the other.

She played with Grandma and Grandpa for a while and rode the slide in the small pool. She also went in the big pool with Mommy, Daddy and Aunt Jen. I think we'll be going back in a few years when she could do a bit more because she is older.

Part of our Texas trip was a stop in Round Rock to see Grandma Flossie. While it was a short visit, it was so good to see her.

Easter 2010 and PaPa's Birthday - Atlantic City - April 2010

I entirely skipped our other Atlantic City adventure this year, which happened right around Easter. Again, I've lost track of exactly the order of things, but we did start Easter with Ripley doing the Patterson Park Egg Hunt. As you can tell from the coats, it was quite chilly. While I think she did understand the idea of getting eggs, she decided she only wanted one this year. We'll see how many she goes after next year. We had brunch with the whole family in Havre de Grace (I am going to try to remember exactly where).

Part Two of the Adventure was in Atlantic City. We stayed at the Flagship Resort and had a great view of the bay. More walking along the boardwalk and the beach, and just general fun being with MiMi and PaPa.

Hopewell Cancer Walk - April 18, 2010

I don't know where the past month has gone, and my goal over the next week is to do some updating on the blog, but it seemed like I should start with something simple first. This morning, Chad, Ripley and I joined my colleague from work, Larry, to do the Hopewell Cancer Walk. He's a survivor and coordinates a team every year - Team Larry. This weekend was also the weekend for Relay for Life in Texas that Grandma Janet and Grandpa Dean help organize. It was darn cold here in Baltimore for an April morning (high 30's/early 40's), but Ripley had a great time being pushed in her stroller for 1 K. Our goal next year is to do the 5 K, but this will require some training. She's a bit too young to understand how much it means to us to participate in events that raise money to support those fighting cancer or survivors, but one day she will. Until then, she can enjoy the granola bars at the end.