daveandmollyspence.com

the boys trying to chill on a warm summer morning.

nana and pop pop spent the weekend with us in frederick, and we couldn’t have enjoyed it more! (see more photos by clicking here.) they arrived friday night and stayed all the way to monday morning. molly and jackson had lots of fun with them while dave worked at two weddings! though we have no photos of nana, trust us — she was here! among other things, she helped us plant some new flowers in our backyard.

on sunday, jackson had a birthday party to attend — for his friend, jillian. to celebrate her fourth, we hung out at adventure park usa, a really cool mini amusement park about 20 minutes down the road. while there, jackson rode on the merry-go-round (white-knuckling it the whole way, as nana said) …

and rode in a noisy helicopter. before all that, he practiced his best tiger woods moves while taking on 18 holes of mini golf with pop pop. next, we hit the arcade …

where jackson demolished pop pop at a game of air hockey! nana also had a blast in the arcade, playing at least 10 games of skee ball, and earning enough tickets for jackson to get three lollipops and a crappy foam rocket that has already broken.

we planted a small strawberry bush in our garden last year, and i think we tasted exactly one berry before the birds ate the one or two others that actually grew. but this year, things are looking up! the bush has many blossoms and in the last few days, a few of the berries have started to get red. today, jackson was ecstatic to pick the first four ripes ones!

as soon as we told him they were ready, jackson sprinted outside and grabbed the first one, yanking it off the plant. a few seconds later…

… it was in his mouth! yum!

he let mommy, daddy and aunt lynne each have a small taste, before devouring the berries in less than 30 seconds!

hooray summer!

yay! jackson and dad are having fun watching the worker men and dumper trucks put in a new road along our corner today!! good thing we got our errands done early today!!

having a great time with grandma and grandpa!!

as we entered the tent for cole bros. circus last monday, jackson was truly in awe. he’d been to circuses before, but not in his own town! and besides, the circus is always awe-inspiring to a 2-year-old.

jackson kept asking about riding on the horses, and i was doubtful whether he’d actually go through with it. but, we paid our 5 bucks, and sure enough, he loved his first pony ride! we went around and around and around, with jackson clutching the saddle tighter and tighter.

some of our favorite parts of the show! for days after the show, jackson talked about the elephants visiting us at our house. according to him, they helped us garden, they slept in our bedrooms, and mommy had to kiss them goodnight every night!

hurrah for the great show! we want to see it again! if you’d like to see more photos of our circus trip, click here.

ok, so pretend that the random woman above is actually molly — or my sister, beth. you see, we were both way too busy relaxing and soaking up the loveliness at the spa at hotel hershey on sunday, that we didn’t take any pictures at all! but that’s exactly what it looked like.

we started our day out right with the luxurious breakfast buffet in the circular dining room at the hotel hershey. all I have to say is … wow! if you ever have the pleasure of eating there, please eat the waffles with fresh whipped cream! I ate so many of them that I didn’t even have to eat lunch or dinner!

after, we checked into the spa and received our luxurious yellow robes and black sandals and were shown into the locker room where we could change and keep all our belongings. I have to admit — it was sort of strange to see dozens of other people walking around, all wearing identical robes and shoes, all looking dreamy and relaxed.

we spent the afternoon at the pool, then in the various “relaxation rooms” before I got my prenatal massage and beth took her reflexology treatment.

we finished the yummy, chocolate day at chocolate world, of course! we took the tour ride, for old time’s sake (you can’t visit hershey without taking the ride), bought some cookies and other treats, then were on the road.

it was a wonderful day, and I can’t thank beth enough for arranging it all. what a great idea! (and special thanks to marcia for the early birthday gift!)

can’t wait to go back!

the spences finally made it up to connecticut to visit patrick and shannon and their brood of five kids! we made the trip last weekend for a very special occasion — the baptism of the twins, clare and brody. patrick and shannon honored molly by choosing her to be brody’s godmother! one of the highlights of being a godmother is getting to dress the babies in the elaborate christening gowns, being extra careful not to damage the fragile white layers! molly and cheyenne almost lost the babies in all those layers!

to see a collection of photos from the entire weekend, click here.

one of jackson’s favorite parts of the weekend was riding around on his cousin, quinn’s, gator! thumbs up to you, quinn, for the great rides! we can’t wait to come up to your house again.

one of the best parts of the weekend was getting to spend so much quality time with family. jackson joined in on a bedtime story that nana was reading to cousin eva!

shannon sure does have her hands full with twin newborns and three other kids! but she’s doing a great job. the babies really respond to her every time she picks them up!

brody is a little sweetheart. we think he looks like a little old man, at four months old! jill decided to call him mister magoo, since patrick always called colin “ernie” when he was a little guy. (on a side note, it’s pretty crazy to realize how big and old colin has gotten — he’ll be 15 in a few months, and he’s now officially taller than molly!)

for the last several years, dave has been bringing home gorgeous photos from weddings he’s shot on the eastern shore of maryland, and we’ve been saying how fun it would be to visit there as a family someday. well, someday was this past weekend! (click on this link to see more images from our trip!)

dave, molly and jackson piled into the car on friday and headed to easton to the historic tidewater inn. we found a great deal to stay at the hotel where dave had shot a wedding last year, and it was just minutes away from the wedding he shot saturday at the oaks in st. michaels. (check out his awesome images from the day on amy raab photography’s blog listed under “meghan and jeff.”)

the eastern shore is known for boating and beautiful, small, historic towns with lots of character and fun shopping and dining. on saturday, while dave was at the wedding, jackson and i visited the chesapeake bay maritime museum grounds in st. michaels, where they were hosting bay day. we climbed aboard lots of model ships and watched boats out on the water, petted some turtles and just generally had a blast.

the peekaboo game took on a new twist as jackson discovered port holes!

our cozy hotel room had two small beds with lots of comfy white down pillows and duvets! jackson loved jumping on his own bed and curling up with the new ball he found at a cool toy store in downtown easton.

it was such a lovely weekend, weather-wise, that we ate our dinner outside friday night at the lovely scossa restaurant in downtown easton. jackson enjoyed a vanilla gelato for dessert while dave and molly savored some cappuccinos.

thinking a lot today about appreciating the life and family i have, despite the down times and faults and frustrations. (a lot of this due to the tragedy in middletown we’re covering.)

watching dave and jackson in the pool at one of our last lessons tonight and i am so grateful for them both. jackson has advanced so much from his first lesson. and dave is such a good daddy, helping him learn not just to swim but to do so many other things. i still find it a little hard to believe we’ll add a new member to our family this summer, even as my belly grows. but I am excited and hopeful about this family we are building.

« older entries