A few weeks after the kids wrapped up their school year, we packed our bags, drove to JFK (after a quick detour in the Bronx for pizza – wink, wink) and caught a flight to LHR. London was the destination for the first leg of our much anticipated trip to celebrate Elaine’s 70th birthday. It…
A great puppy.
Lucy was not just a good puppy, she was a great puppy. For almost 17 years she was a happy, four-legged member of the family. Never fussed. Never chewed a shoe. Always ready for an adventure but equally happy lounging in the sun. Honestly, I don’t know that I’ve met many dogs that were as…
Making ________
After a busy April, it was hard to lump May’s happenings into a particular theme or provide some summary of a capstone event for the month. So maybe the theme is just making stuff… like smiles, food, drink, and memories big and small with my favorite people on Earth: my family! As spring rolled into…
14 candles on the cake
Ok, ok…I know it’s September and Sophia’s birthday was in April, but here I am. By and large, this site is our own digital journal – I know only a few family members keep up with our little corner of the internet – but I’d like to think that the kids will look back fondly…
Back on the Slopes
“It’s SPRING BREAK!!” shout the kids and with Mexico already scratched off the list, there was only one destination on the menu: the mountains! The real question was “which mountains?” We were pretty set on going back to Tahoe but decided late in the fall to instead make a reconnaissance pass on another western mountain…
Get me to Mexico!
An opportunity knocked in the fall and we said “yes”… then we had to figure out how to make it work. One of our great friends decided to celebrate his 50th this year in his typical style… with over the top class and unlimited fun. Cabo San Lucas. Stellar resort. No kids. He sent the…
Food! (oh, and it’s 2025)
As I looked back on the pictures from the month of January, there were two common themes across almost every picture. (1) Food. (2) Smiles from eating food. Seems like the surefire way to a smile in our house is a well cooked meal shared with friends. I think that means we’re doing alright! As…
Happy Christmas from Stafford
Our (at least my) favorite time of year is upon us! The calendar flipped to the month of December and had in store for us plenty of down time and even some visitors from Minnesota. We started the month with a search for the perfect tree. Never an easy task… The big debate this year…
The good kind of madness: Family Time!
As we rounded the corner of summer and life ran full-speed into fall, we still had some question marks on the schedule for the upcoming holiday season. Lucky for us, the Tetris blocks fell into place a few weeks ago for us to host a grand Thanksgiving celebration. We were thrilled to have visitors from…
Spooky Stafford
October was a busy month with quite the ghoulish end. Not because anything hauntingly bad happened but just because, you know – Halloween – it happens every October. When it comes to Halloween, I share the same sentiments as my dad… Halloween has to be the worst “holiday” of the year… gimme gimmie, free candy……