My friend Bridget, who still lives near the town where I grew up, told us about an ice skating rink where she takes her boys. So one morning we met them there. My boys love ice skating! And the rink they used to go to around here closed down.
They picked it right up again, like they had never stopped.
Even Chloe went out and totally loved it. Spencer said that was his favorite part about going there.
It was her first time, and she did great!
Afterwards we all went to Baker Park. It was the warmest day of our whole trip (mid-70's), and it was beautiful! We got all caught up and had a great visit while the boys played in the park, climbed trees and threw rocks in the water. Afterwards I asked my boys, "Isn't she nice?!" because she is so sweet and smiley and bubbley. They all said, "Mom, she is JUST like YOU!" They said it was crazy because she talked and acted exactly like me. No wonder we were friends!
This is a funny pic. Chloe didn't want to look at the camera, and that head at the bottom belongs to Bridget's younger son. The boy next to Dallin is her older son, and I don't even know those 2 boys next to Spencer - they're friends of her boys. I wish I would have taken a picture of Bridget with her 2 boys!
Then we said goodbye and drove around Frederick. I showed the kids the church I went to, which is still my favorite, and my high school, which is about to be torn down.
Then we went to the house I lived in from 3rd-12th grade. It made me really sad, though, because it was abandoned and really run down. I talked to the next door neighbor, and he said they moved out awhile ago when the bank repossessed it.
At least we were able to walk all around it. The deck was added after we moved. We always talked about building one.
It was all so overgrown, I barely recognized it. The creek behind our house where I played every summer looked completely different too. I thought about finding an open window and getting inside the house, but that probably would have made me too sad to see. Best to remember my house how it used to be.
Then we headed back to Berkeley Springs for the family crab feast! It was still too early in the season for Maryland blue crabs, so the bushel we got was from North Carolina. I'm no crab connoisseur, but they tasted the same to me!
The whole experience is just so fun, and the kids love it. Here they are, trying to climb out of the pot.
A bushel is a lot of crabs! We had to steam them in batches. There were enough leftover for the kids to keep eating them over the next few days. They wanted to take a few on the plane, but we told them it would be too messy!
We ate several dinners at Christine and Tony's house. My family fell in love with their little girl, Juliet. She is a doll! We've been quoting her ever since.
Uncle David is so funny! She warmed up pretty quick.
Our kids played with her the whole time. Christine was ready for us to move in!
Her daughter Celestial is 18 already! She loves making animal noises, waving her scarf, watching A Christmas Story, and eating chips and salsa for breakfast. What a character!
I don't usually eat crabs, since they seem to make me feel sick. But I managed to eat 1 or 2 without any problems. Tasty!
My kids love crabs! I think it's in their genes or something. Levi was only 9 months the last time we were there, so this was his first time eating crabs. He was super excited!
Chloe wasn't sure what she thought of them. They were cute, anyway!
Hanging out with family, eating crabs, it doesn't get better than this!
We got to spend more time with Dave's brother Patrick this trip than we usually do, which was awesome. My kids said something funny: "Uncle Patrick is just like dad! Except he's more relaxed." I told that to Patrick, and he said, "That's because I don't have kids yet."
Christine and Tony bought their house last year. It's a beautiful home on a large property, out in the country. The selling feature was the large, screened-in porch. Perfect for family crab feasts!
Thanks for hosting, Christine! We love you, and we love being in your home!
Crabs are messy!
Thank you for getting the crabs, mom! It was a highlight of our trip!
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