July: Baltimore

Last weekend Charlotte and I traveled with our Girl Scout troop to visit Baltimore's Inner Harbor. We toured the aquarium and all of the ships, rode paddle boats, and ate at Hard Rock Cafe, but the most interesting part was spending the night aboard the USS Constellation! She is the last existing intact naval vessel from the American Civil War, and she was the last solely wind-powered warship built by the U.S. Navy. We learned everything about how the crew worked and lived on the ship and had very knowledgeable guides! The girls were put to work moving the mast, working the capstan, and moving/loading/aiming a replica cannon. Then we experienced a real cannon firing. We slept in hammocks with mixed amounts of enthusiam and the adults (and some girls) took turns on the mandatory night watch. It was an experience we will never forget!

 

 

May, aside from kittens

middle school band concert * day date movie * flowers for Mother's Day * getting rid of a bunch of stuff during community clean-up * flowers blooming * Gabe and his new computer mouse * Frank and Zach go backpacking * Charlotte goes to dance class * lunch out with a friend (and favorite fettuccine Alfredo with chicken) * rearranging furniture in the basement * Charlotte bridging from Brownie to Junior * Zach cuts the grass (first and only time...he's not a fan) * hitting the indoor pool * taking care of kitties

before

before

before

after, more photos coming

 

The kitten story

Meet George and Jasmine. He's the orange and white, and she's the brown/orange tabby. These siblings were rescued by a family in our Girl Scout troop and given to us when they were about six weeks old. They were still drinking from bottles and not using a litter box, but that changed within about a week of being with us. They are super curious and cuddly. After two weeks of keeping them in a fenced in area, they now have the run of the moderately-cat-proofed living room. They are not scratching furniture or climbing up the curtains yet, but we know it's coming! Right now they like to sleep a lot (especially on the couch), wrestle with each other, and get picked up by/lay on people for snuggles. They are completely lovable and everything we could ask for in new pets.