spring has sprung, as they say, and the spences have been taking advantage of the great weather! we kicked off the season with a trip to conyngham for easter. the kids were anticipating the weekend for a long time, talking about the impending egg hunt and spending time with nana and pop pop, their cousins, and aunts and uncles. (jackson said one day: “you know what? i think holidays are so fun because we get to see all our family and hang out together.” our thoughts exactly!) here’s the kids in their easter finest (with a shout-out to aunt lynne for finding phoebe’s adorable dress, which she did not want to take off – ever).

we couldn’t resist including this nice family portrait of the fitzgeralds. is it possible that colin has gotten even taller this year?! can’t believe he’s finishing up his senior year of high school. yowza!

and we’ll finish off the set with queen phoebe. after an impromptu trip to burger king, the miss decided that she should now always be called “the queen”! whenever someone comments on her crown (which she wore for several days, absolutely everywhere she went), she told them “i’m the queen!!”

it took us a while, but we finally made our trip up to the state college area a reality. molly and the kids last visited penn state on labor day weekend. they got to see joepa in person one last time during the friday night pep rally. and jackson was the only spence who got to see an actual football game live, coached by joepa in his final season. so, naturally, one of our first stops when we visited last weekend was to the joepa statue at the stadium. we didn’t bring the flowers. amy told us they have been omnipresent since the fall.

we arrived on friday afternoon and kicked off the fun with a nice dinner out with aunt amy and uncle nick! then we squeezed into one car, leaving uncle nick behind, and headed to campus for a gymnastics meet.

phoebe was especially thrilled to be there. it was like a circus, with girls jumping and flipping around, and so many places to look for action!

it was an exciting competition, and penn state pulled out a win with the team’s final event, the floor exercise!

 on saturday, we walked around downtown, did some shopping, had lunch at the corner room, and topped off the afternoon with a trip to the creamery, of course!

on sunday, it was the bryce jordan center and some men’s basketball action! (yes, we know jackson’s wearing a football jersey. don’t judge.)

phoebe kept chanting … “we are…”

we are??

penn state!

thanks to amy and nick for their never-ending hospitality. we all had a great time, and can’t wait for blue-white weekend so we can visit again!

many months ago, during one of my pinterest browsing binges, I discovered the most creative, cutest little valentines I had ever seen. they showed a smiling kid, extending his hand, with a real, live lollipop stuck into it. what an awesome card! as soon as I saw it, I knew we had to make it happen for our own kids’ cards. I could never do this on my own. thank god I married a professional photographer…

here’s what I love about my husband – I have an idea, I show it to him, and he always finds a way to make it happen. whether it’s a new patio in our backyard, a window-mounted seed starter kit for our vegetable garden, or silly-cute valentine cards for the kids, he looks at it, figures it out, and then does it! what a guy!

jackson handed out 34 of these babies to his classmates, teachers, and principals today, after hand-writing his name on the back of each. it seemed daunting at first, but when he was finished, he was so proud!

and speaking of proud… phoebe was pretty excited about her valentine breakfast this morning – heart-shaped pancakes with red, ripe strawberries! hooray!

happy valentines day, everybody! we love you!!

when I was a little kid, halupki were a staple in the fellin family’s diet. pretty frequently, the little beauties would be boiling away in a pot on the stove, and the ketchup would be set out on the table, and then it would be time to stuff our faces with stuffed cabbage. it wasn’t until high school that I realized many people had no clue what halupki was. and in college, I got a few strange looks when I would bring up the topic. but when I think of halupki, I always think of family, especially my mom. even though I love to eat them, I have never actually made halupki myself. enter my mother, who asked in a phone call whether I’d like her to make a batch when she visited in late january. she didn’t even have to ask the question!

I wasn’t the only one excited when patsy got working in the kitchen. dave has always been a big fan of all of my mom’s cooking. and halupki is no exception!

my mom was working so furiously, it was all I could do to scratch down the ingredients and directions as she worked and talked. I grabbed the closest piece of paper and tried to keep up!

we ended up with something like 3 dozen halupki.

and when she was all done, and the halupki was either eaten or put in containers in the freezer, nana got on her cozy pajamas and snuggled up to her little friend, phoebe!

it’s wintertime, and we all know what that means — swimming! seriously. for some reason, we always seem to sign up for winter swimming lessons for the kids. thank goodness the hood college swimming bubble is back in action. we love taking the kids there for lessons. the college kids who teach them are always super. patient, kind, and knowledgeable. this year was no different, as we enrolled phoebe in her first set of lessons. we were a bit nervous for her — she hasn’t been around water much, and judging from her brother’s first swimming lesson at hood (which you can revisit by clicking here), we weren’t sure if she’d flat-out refuse to go in the pool, or jump in and love it! guess which one it was …

while phoebe was all smiles in the pool, molly and jackson were busy posting photos online and playing games.

the only part phoebe didn’t like so much was being on her back. but she toughed it out, and really enjoyed herself! next, it was brother’s turn…

jackson walked right down the ramp and into the pool, no problem!

when it was his turn to jump into the pool, he was super-apprehensive. but his teacher talked him into it, and he jumped… about one inch from the edge, but still!

and the important thing is, he kept doing it. kept jumping even though it really scared him. what a guy!

when we opened our advent calendar for december 17th, we found a slip of paper telling us that this was the day to ride the walkersville southern railroad’s santa train! hooray! we missed the train last year, and couldn’t wait to see the big guy again this year…

we had a nice, long scenic ride before santa came and sat down next to us!

when the big guy finally arrived, the kids were pretty shy. after some prompting, jackson was able to tell him a few things from his list. and give him a hug. phoebe? none of the above.

hooray for the walkersville southern! we’ll be back for another excursion soon!!

we anticipated our trip to idaho for a long time, and finally, in mid-september, we boarded a plane at dulles at an ungodly, early hour and headed west. we ended up in salt lake city, rented a car, and after a super long day of traveling (including a visit to the golden spike national historic site in utah), we finally met up with matt, naomi, and ginger in hailey, idaho. they were the reason for our journey, and it was so great to finally see them.

we spent a little more than a week hanging out with the idaho spences. we spent a lot of quality time together. the kids got to play, a lot. and the grown-ups got to talk, a lot. we did some fishing (another post to come from dave about his super-secret adventure with his bro). we did some touring. we did some rock-throwing. we spent a great few days at the gorgeous redfish lake near stanley, idaho. we did some hiking.

but the best part of the trip was simply spending time with our family. phoebe, jackson, and ginger became good friends quickly, and really enjoyed being around each other. and that’s priceless.

and the second-best part? on the way home, we spent an overnight in salt lake city, where we were reunited with molly’s high school friend karyn. she showed us around salt lake (including a great hike up ensign peak, where we got a super view of the city) and she and molly caught up on the many years since they last met (over some awesome mole at a tasty mexican restaurant).

all in all, it was a wonderful break from the everyday. thanks to matt, naomi, ginger, cooper, camo and simon for inviting us into your home. we hope you all can come to maryland some time and soak up our sites soon. and best wishes to karyn and justin, as they prepare for their wedding in december! hope to see you both again soon (definitely in less than 15 years!).

when we were in idaho, aunt naomi introduced jackson to gymnastics, which she loved to do as a child. she took us to an open gym at a club at the end of her street, and jackson loved it. so, we signed him up for classes here in frederick! the first class was on thursday, and jackson was so excited! when he and molly walked into the gym, though, molly panicked. every other kid in his class, and every other kid at the gym was a girl. not just a girl, but a girl wearing a fancy, professional-looking gymnastics leotard. jackson was wearing a t-shirt and mesh shorts. molly started to panic a little — would jackson feel weird, want to leave? the answer was no. he loved it. and his teacher ended up being a teenage boy, so no problem at all. jackson did ask at the end of class about why there were so many girls, but he just shrugged. he’ll be back next week! (please forgive the images’ quality – they were taken by molly’s phone from an obvious distance. we’ll send the pro next week!)

today, jackson became an official kindergartner! he’s now among the oldest students in miss heidi’s class at monocacy valley montessori public charter school, where he has attended for the last two years. he has the same teacher, and is in the same classroom, but now he is the “big man on campus,” and gets to stay all day, eat lunch with his friends, and help the younger students get acclimated. he’s in school from 9 to 3:45 every day, and now has music, gym, spanish, and art classes as well.

it’s hard to believe that only 2 short years ago, we pushed jackson in a stroller to his first day as a preschooler at mvms! today, he rode a two-wheeler the whole way to kindergarten. he’s gotten to be such a big boy!

when molly asked jackson how he got such big, strong legs to be able to bike all the way up big hills to school, he replied, “from santa!”

on his first day of preschool, jackson had the jitters. on his first day of pre-k, he was shy and nervous. today? no nerves at all! he just strode right into school, all smiles.

ms. king, the principal at mvms, hands out a carnation to each student as they arrive at school, and asks them to give the flowers to their teachers. it’s a nice little tradition! jackson hung up his backpack in his new kindergarten spot, then headed into the classroom without a second glance. he truly felt at home there, and that’s an awesome feeling for us, too!

while big brother was at school, phoebe was a little lost. she asked “where did brother go” several times, but generally she had a great day, playing and pretending. she even helped mom bake up a special surprise just for jackson!

mom’s special chocolate cupcakes with orange icing and a “k” for kindergarten! (yes, molly did use tweezers to position the sprinkles. don’t judge.)

jackson couldn’t have been happier about the cupcakes. he said it was his favorite part of his first day! but he did have a pretty great day, in general. some highlights? he ordered lunch from school for the first time (chicken nuggets and green beans with chocolate milk), he enjoyed Spanish lessons (“hola, mom!”), and he couldn’t stop telling us all about “PE” (“that means exercise, guys!”). we think this is going to be an awesome year for our little learner! and next year, when jackson graduates into 1st grade, phoebe will be a student at mvms, too!

what better way to celebrate the 4th of July than to go blueberry picking? well, to be honest, we tried to go picking up in thurmont on july 3rd, but were turned away! apparently, their bushes were all picked out?! so instead, we headed in the total opposite direction, to a new blueberry farm in southwest frederick county.

this time we called frog eye farm before we headed out, and asked if there were enough blueberries to pick (smart, right?)! and the farm’s owner assured us there were enough gigantic blueberries to pick for ages! and boy was he right. some of these blueberries were the largest and juiciest we’d ever seen!

we left grandpa kurt at home to work on the bathroom renovation project, but grandma joined us! she was intent on picking the very best berries, as these are her favorite fruit! jackson was helpful, as always.

it was seriously humid and super buggy, but the kids powered through!

jackson couldn’t stop picking! even on our way back he kept drifting over to what he thought was a good bush to pick (and eat!) some more.

nice berries, dave and marcia!

as an early father’s day treat, we made a trip in early june to skyline drive and shenandoah national park in virginia and we loved it so much, we reserved another night’s stay in november, so we can see the park in all its fall glory! shenandoah national park is known as the yellowstone of the east, and for good reason. the scenery, the animals (we saw tons of deer, a few turkeys, and even a mama bear and her cubs!), the hospitality, and the amenities were reminiscent of what we saw on our trip to yellowstone back in 2007. and we don’t have to take a long plane ride to enjoy them! we stayed at skyland, the more northern of the two resort areas in the park, built by the civilian conservation corps. awesome history for two buffs like us!

but before we got to the park, we made a stop at one of the many caverns in the region, skyline caverns, for a cool (in more ways than one) tour! the kids liked the caverns, but were a little weirded out when the tour guide turned off the lights!

we made several hikes during our two-day, one-night stay. dave brought the backpack to carry phoebe, but she wanted to RUN! and she did a really good job, too. almost made it the entire way up stony man trail.

what an awesome view at the top of stony man. we all stayed up there a while, eating breakfast and enjoying the cool breezes and incredible sights. oh, and taking lots of pictures.

another trail we enjoyed hiking was “story of the forest,” which a park ranger told us about. the ranger gave us a free illustrated book which gave clues to find interesting points on the trail, such as crazy trees or interesting bridges. jackson got a kick out of the scavenger hunt-like hike!

another thing jackson got a kick out of was carrying his own camera with him, and snapping away at pretty much everything he saw. it paid off with the shot above! check out that great action of a mama deer and her baby. awesome job, j-man!

for more photos of our adventures, click through the images below!

we had talked for a long time about putting in a tire swing in the front yard. the gigantic tree in front of our house was just perfect for it, with lots of branches and plenty of room around it. first jackson picked out the green rope we would use to attach it to the tree.

then, finally, jackson and dave went over to best foreign auto, the auto parts graveyard behind our house where we often see mashed-up cars getting forklifted high into the air. they picked out an old tire from a giant bin for 5 bucks! and we were golden.

dave’s tree-climbing skills were put to good use, as he attached the swing to a high branch. we covered the rope with a rubber bicycle tube, so that where it rubbed against the tree branch, it wouldn’t rip.

now, this is a photo in need of a creative caption!

getting ready for their first ride!

whee!!!! (this is what phoebe now says every time we pull in to the driveway, while pointing at the swing: “phoebe, whee?!!!”)

for the last several weeks, phoebe had been climbing into her big brother’s bed, laying her head on his pillow, pulling up the covers and giving us a huge smile. we took that as a message that she was ready for a big kid bed herself. so, the whole family piled in the car and headed out to our favorite kids’ furniture seller — ikea!

the irony here is that phoebe didn’t actually get a new bed, jackson did! always the younger kid, phoebe took the hand-me-down toddler bed that we bought for jackson almost three years ago at ikea. jackson, meanwhile, finally got the bed that matched with the starry tent cover that molly bought a while back, thinking it would fit on his toddler bed (it didn’t).

first step was to dismantle the crib! sniff sniff!

this being ikea, the new bed came in tons of pieces, of course!

jackson and phoebe were daddy’s helpers, and jackson’s excitement level grew as each new piece was put together.

patience is a virtue, jackson!

taking possession of her new bed already!

happy girl! phoebe has slept in her new bed every day for her nap and every night for her long sleep with no problems. she loves it!

as for jackson, well this photo and…

this video say it all. the kid is thrilled!

and here’s the bed, with a nice little built-in ladder and plenty of room underneath for both kids’ mini armchairs. a great spot for reading with giant pooh bear!

when our favorite local toy shop dancing bear toys and gifts blogs about something, we listen. this has lead to lots of great toy and game finds, of course. but this week, our friends at the bear blogged about a special crafty art project that could help teach kids about helping others. so, naturally, we headed to the bear this afternoon to get involved.

the bear’s owners, marlene and tom, are offering free kits for kids to help them create original artwork. the projects will be auctioned off in late april to benefit hope alive, a frederick county nonprofit that offers transitional housing and support services to homeless mothers and their children. according to the group’s website, hope alive’s children’s programs “are committed to providing a safe, stable, nurturing and stimulating learning environment for children while their mothers build a more stable life by working, attending school, seeking counseling or obtaining a GED.”

several different kinds of kits were available to choose from, but jackson and molly chose a paint-your-own birdhouse!

jackson loved the idea of painting the entire birdhouse red, but, as you can see, the paint tubs that came with the kit were rather small, so we had to get crafty in our planning!

jackson grabbed a bunch of his old national geographic kids magazines, and he and molly clipped out photos of some of his favorite animals. then, they grabbed paintbrushes and mod podge, and the house took shape!

here it is, in progress…

… and here’s the finished project, full of skunks and frogs and gorillas and zebras and meerkats and elephants and more!

thanks to marlene and tom at dancing bear for always providing inspiration and for letting us know about this project. we are excited to submit our finished birdhouse, and to see whether it brings in some big cash for kids in need!

this year’s theme for jackson’s valentines is “let your love grow!” and the whole family got in on the act, creating 33 valentines for jackson to distribute today to classmates (30) and teachers (3) at school!

molly found mini white seed envelopes on ebay, and jackson helped her buy sunflower seeds at home depot. dave modified the growing directions from the back of the seed packets and printed and cut them to fit on the envelopes.

jackson’s main duty was to pick out two good seeds and deposit them in each envelope. he also helped with gluing and did a GREAT job writing his name on many of them. (he’s had challenges before with writing small in a small space, but this time, he did such a nice, neat job!)

phoebe didn’t want to be left out, of course, and created her own artwork. then she promptly bit the head off one of the (thankfully) washable markers! she’s a crazy little girl!

and here they are! we hope you “let your love grow” this valentine’s day!

jackson had a big idea today — let’s bake something! so he got out his “favorite cooker’s book,” also known as paula deen’s cookbook for kids (don’t ask!), and found a cinnamon bun recipe. of course, paula wanted us to use a can of crescent roll dough, and not only did I not have any, but I also took offense! I mean, how hard could it be to make them from scratch? well, we found out — not too hard at all! time consuming, yes! messy, yes! but worth it? yes!!! so worth it. special thanks to one of molly’s favorite “cooker” blogs — the pioneer woman — for the recipe and great instructions. deeeeee-lish!

shortly after arriving home from our whirlwind tour of eastern pennsylvania, our family’s portable hard drive took a turn for the worse and we thought all (meaning our last 6 years’ worth of personal images and videos) was lost. after a few friends tried to help out, we turned to some pros. and voila! we got everything back, including all our videos! yay!

so, here it is, our long overdue post on our fun times in doylestown during the holidays!

presents, presents, cute baby girls and snow!

we enjoyed ourselves for almost a whole week in d-town, meeting our newest niece, ginger miriam, having a date night with matt and naomi (way too much fun, needs to be done more often) and just plain hanging out with grandma and grandpa. along the way we took a few pics, but for the most part we just enjoyed everyone’s company. looking forward to a planned trip out west to see more of the idaho spences soon!

look what santa brought jackson… a big kid bike! super cool, dude!

the girls and their aprons from jan.

it’s the crazy hat family!

got your hands full there, matt!

the girls loved taking baths together! lots of splashing all around!

jackson thought the girls were wacky!

naomi trying to read the girls a story, but there was just too much squirming!

ginger is a master of the serious stare. but get her started on laughing or talking and watch out! she’s a riot!

she’s not a fan of the hugs, phoebe.

phoebe and daddy had fun in the snow…

…and big brother jackson loved it, too!

our favorite toy store, dancing bear toys and gifts in downtown frederick, hosts santa each year for one day only. and we’ve missed him every year we’ve lived here! that is, until this year! we marked it on the family calendar and arrived at the bear promptly at 4 o’clock.it took a whole lot of prodding before jackson would approach the big guy. the kid’s just painfully shy. no surprise there. but phoebe’s reaction? well, that was totally unexpected.phoebe was all smiles while we waited for santa to arrive. she chased jackson around the store, made friends with marlene and some of the girls who work at the bear. but when we said, “ooh, phoebe, look who’s here. it’s santa!” the look of terror and dread on her face was pretty intense. lots of crying, yelling, and running for mom ensued. the photo above was the best we could manage. when santa came within a few feet of her, all she could do was yell “mama!!!!” eventually, our big boy jackson got on santa’s lap and managed to mumble a few things he wants for christmas (a pillow pet is at the top of the list). when we asked him afterward why he had such a hard time hanging out with santa, he said, “mom, I just want to hear his boots on the roof, I don’t want to TALK to him!” oh, jackson…