Our Happy News!
April 23, 2025, 8:52 p.m.
Our 2025 highlight is a little sister coming in just four short months! Added joy and light to our happy family.
- jezka
Happy New Year!
Jan. 19, 2025, 8:41 p.m.
Out with the old and in with the new, but first, we wanted to share some of the experiences that 2024 brought us!
Early in the year we went on a trip to Southern California with Jessica's BFFs and their families. We stayed in Palm Springs and LA, went hiking in Joshua Tree National Park and the Indian Canyons (among others), lounged by the pool, and celebrated Alma's third birthday with donuts! When we came back, we celebrated again with our extended family.
At the Santa Monica Pier, Alma discovered a love of carousels, so back home in the spring we made a trip to Glen Echo Park in Maryland to ride the old carousel there.
In the summer we got to go on our annual beach trip with the Orndorffs. In the fall, two of our friends had baby showers in New Jersey on consecutive weekends, so we found ourselves spending some time in Jersey City.
We decided to make a trip out of it and spent the week in between in Montreal. John was happy to practice his French, and everyone enjoyed the beautiful fall weather.
- jezka
Backyard Movie Nights Wrap-up
Dec. 13, 2024, 9:36 p.m.
We wrapped up our summer movie nights with a trio of classics: Twister (1996), Vertigo (1958), and The Princess Bride (1987).
Having seen the trailers for the legacy sequel, we decided to see how the original Twister holds up! Written by Michael Crichton and featuring performances from Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, it has been called "a triumph of technology over storytelling and the actors' craft." Roger Ebert wrote, "You want loud, dumb, skillful, escapist entertainment? Twister works." This one was definitely a crowd-pleaser, and a perfect way to spend a hot summer evening.
In August we took a look at Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, a psychological thriller from the master of the genre. This movie has aged well despite being old enough to collect Social Security; the tale of murder and obsession is ageless, and the shots of San Francisco and its environs are absolutely gorgeous.
In September (coinciding with Jessica's birthday) we watched a classic from our childhoods, The Princess Bride. This infinitely quotable comic adventure is a good old-fashioned swashbuckler featuring fencing, giants, pirates, royal intrigue, miracle men, six-fingered sadists, and more. It sill captivates the young, we learned, as Alma could not be enticed to go to bed while it was still on. And best of all, some of our friends even got to enjoy the experience for the first time.
Thanks to everyone who joined us at the movies this summer!
- john