Day 2 - Walking aroun' Touring the Town

The best feeling about this vacation is that technically this is just a short stop on the way to our vacation!! :) And let me be the first to say (although many have said it before so I don't really know what that means!?) this place is BEAUTIFUL! We stared off our day at 9:30am on a carraige ride to tour the downtown area. Here is Kinzie in front of our enormous horse "Sampson"... but Kinzie will fight you that his name is "SamSam" haha...

After a lovely hour tour of beautiful 7 million dollar houses with fake doors, crazy gates, and amazing stories.... we headed to the aquarium....

and when I say "headed" to the aquarium, I mean we walked 198 blocks to get there.... and when I say "198 Blocks", I mean a really long walk in crazy sticky humidity... so it was actually about 10 blocks.... ;)

Anyways... so this aquarium is nowhere near as awesome as Baltimores, but it was still a lovely time spent with our beautiful girls in a nicely air conditioned atmosphere... oh yea, with some sea animals too ;).... The first thing we did at the aquarium was play in the kids area.... heres Bert and Kinzie in a shark cage ( ahhhh shark!!!)....

(yes... that was Kinzie's scared face hahaha)....

This next picture is Kinzie showing us how the fishies swim....

They didn't have any dolphins, but they did have a HUGE tank with lots of HUGE fish and sharks... pretty cool...

Now if you know Kinzie, you know she loves puzzles... so this was my nerdy little girls favorite part of the whole aquarium.... and it wasn't even actually a puzzle it was just some velcro pieces where you were supposed to make it look like a next where the penguins could lay its eggs... but to my smarty pants, it was a very challenging puzzle...probably because it was only 4 peices that didn't fit each other haha...

After the aquarium we did the 198 block walk back to the hotel to feed the baby... and ... well... you see what happened...

Oh and I almost forgot a VERY IMPORTANT part of our day... on the 198 block walk to the aquarium pretty little Mackinzie gave daddy "the look" and asked for a beautiful proncess fan... and of course he gave in :).... and it was worth EVERY PENNY!!!! she has not let this fan out of her hands all day!!! She just thinks she is the most beautiful princess with this priceless fan :) Its actually pretty cute! She has to show everyone along the walk ( did I mention is was about 198 blocks?!) , and everywhere we go! So here is one of MANY photos with the fan....

After our nap we were getting ready to go shopping and out to dinner... I guess I was doing everything in my power to delay another walk haha... so here are some silly pics we took... Here is me and my little mini-me:

And as everyone knows, Maeby decided to leave my genes behind and soak up all of daddys (is that wierd to say!? haha.... ) anyways... so heres daddy and his little look alike:

ps. HOW CUTE IS THAT PIC!!!!??? :)

okay, okay, so I had stalled as much as possible because Bert was getting that Margaritaville itch again :) .... So we started our walk... here some nice ladies took our picture so we actually have our first vacation family photo :)

Then we continued our stroll to (Drum roll please!) Jimmy Buffetts store :) Heres a cool shot of daddy and his parakeets in front of a painting of buffett ( notice the lovely fan... again...):

Here's another way cute picture of our little model - I think this one is getting framed for daddys office :

Then, fan in one hand, buffett bag in another we head off to dinner


to none other than.... BUBBA GUMPS!!!.... now all was low-key until the waitress asked us how long it had been since we had seen Forrest Gump. Bert of course answered "I've seen it at least 100 times"... (okay friends, look at that question again... now look at Berts answer.... silly silly haha... ) So of course the waitress says "Oh you must be an expert!" (ooo -la-la) and then begins to quiz Bert (challenge accepted and conquered!) haha... so after the waitress leaves, the rest of our dinner is filled with funfilled facts and quotes by Bert to continue proving to me (like I didn't already know) how deeply intellectual he is (ie: "I knew Mackinzie's kids meal boat would say Jenny on it because if it was a real bubba gump boat of course it would have to say Jenny")... and this is the picture that came with that... and at this point you can see how hyped up on his awesome-ness he is because he actually went into adding detail to this lovely photo-op (Can you find the hidden shrimp tail!?)

So... well... Mama always said Stupid is as stupid does... ;) haha...

Here is how entertained Maeby was during daddy's show...

So after dinner we came back to the hotel to get ready for bed... and if I could add loud, vibrant sound effects of angels singing I would ... because ... Ohhhh (insert angelic noises).... daddy fed the baby!!! :) ... he did however try to weazel his way out of it... and then when caught, tried to distract me by focusing on the fact that I called him a weazel haha... but he did it and thats all that matters... so of course I had to take a picture of this MOMENTOUS occasion!...

Alright, so my crazy long blog comes to its end right here... tomorrow should be a much shorter blog as it will just be another day on the road.... FLORIDA HERE WE COME!!!!!

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter... we tend to "tweet" alot while board in the car :)...

www.twitter.com/bertrode

www.twitter.com/laurajoyrode

Yayy for fun days, well behaved girls, and for now, comfy beds! :)

Vacation - Day 1 .... Charleston here we come!

It was a very early morning for the Rode family today. We all dragged our excited little selves out of bed at 2:45am and we were on the rode by 3! What a GREAT start! I know when I was a kid and my parents said we were gonna leave at 5am, we never were actually on the road until 9 haha... so I was very impressed with our start time! Kinzie decided she wanted to stay awake and watch her movies --- with a few " We're going to Florida! We're going to Florida" songs in between! --- The girls were EXCELLENT (much to my surprise I hate to say!) We didn't hear a peep out of either of them! We decided to take a break and get some breakfast and feed the baby around 7:30 -- can you believe 4 and 1/2 hours without hearing the girls?! Anyways so we stopped at waffle house and here is our first pic of our trip.... can you guys why he took it?! ---- you are so smart! ;)
After our bellies were nice and full, we headed back on the road again... at this point Kinzie did end up falling asleep but only for a half an hour... the rest of the trip she just watched her movies and played with her new magna doodle pro. Here is a pic of her catnap where you can tell how exhausted she is:

So the trip goes on and after 2,448,984,980 billboards for the oh so amazing (said with lots of sarcasm) south of the border, we finally passed it. I owe many memories of my parents putting us to bed and putting a chair under the door handle (real safe right?!) haha...

So we are getting a little closer to ending our 10 hour trip.... can you guess who we had to stop for the most?? was it the 3 year old??? nope! was it the newborn baby??? nope! the grown woman??? nope! Bert was all caffiened up on a few coffes, redbull, and sodas... this is a still shot of him doing the peepee dance while anciously looking for another exit that has a bathroom haha...

And FINALLY we are getting off 95 and only 50 miles left til Charleston! --- there is a light at the end of this tunnel!!!!!

And of course as soon as we get there we unpack our stuff into the hotel and relax for a bit... then after a phone call from my friend Christy, we realize that Margaritaville is only open for 25 more minutes!!! (Can you imagine berts reaction?!)... so bert is out the door to do a quick look until tomorrow....

hes back in 30 minutes.... with a new margaritaville t-shirt...and if you know my husband, you know that is exactly what he is lacking in his wardrobe (man, I am on a role with my sarcasm tonight!)....

DINNER TIME! we took a stroll to Vickeries bar and grill for some cajun food (mmm!!!) It was very delicious and I look forward to our spicy re-cooked breakfast in the morning!

Here is Kinzie being a super model as we wait for our food...

Here's Daddy with his mini-me and his yummy plate of food!

And me and Kinz pose for one more shot at the restaurant:

After dinner, we took a long walk all around King Street to see what trouble we can get ourselves into tomorrow....

Within 5 minutes after getting back from our walk, Kinzie was in bed asking Maeby to be quiet because she is really really sleepy.... one minute later Kinzie was passed out! haha... so a bath and a bottle for Delaney, and we are set for the night!!! :) It was a wonderful day and we couldn't have asked for the girls to be any better!!! :) What a blessing!

Tomorrow we are waking up early for a carraige ride/tour and then off to the aquarium! .... STAY TUNED!!! :)

We've Been Twitter-fied!

In case you haven't heard, Laura and I have succombed to the power of Twitter.
Follow our tweets!

Bert's Twitter
Laura's Twitter

We're posting a lot of cell phone pictures from our trip.
We're currently in Charleston, South Carolina.
-Bert

Last Weekend in Baltimore

Our family will depart for sunny Florida early (well before sunrise) this Thursday morning. Our long drive will include a two-night stop in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. Neither Laura or myself have ever been to Charleston before, but we have heard nothing but great things about it, so we are very excited about going for the first time. I'm most excited to visit the Margaritaville store in Charleston, but thats just me.
Speaking of me, check out the father-daughter resemblance in this picture taken this morning:
... just add a little milk dribble on the side of my mouth.
Yesterday, we visited family for Father's Day. Here is our latest family photo - wearing matching outfits, of course!

All of the Rode fathers enjoyed a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Kinzie loves spending time at Grandpop and Mimi's house!

The day before Father's Day was spent in the parking lot outside the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersery for Jimmy Buffett!

This was my fifth Buffett concert and the third for me and Laura together. It rained for most of the drive up there and for a little while during our tailgate, but we were all able to make the best of it.
Notice the large puddles in the parking lot:

It was a great day and Jimmy was great as always!
Finally, last Thursday evening, Laura and I stumbled upon this great photo-op:

Mackinzie was so worn out from her field trip (and long day spent with mommy and Gigi) that she fell asleep at my desk playing on the computer....

.... all tuckered out!
We should be in Charleston at this time in three days. Laura and I are going to try to blog and post of Facebook as much as possible while we're away, so keep checking back!
-Bert

Maeby Growing

Delaney Mae was born back on Monday, April 13. As most of you will recall, she spent a week in the NICU at GBMC. We brought her home on Sunday, April 19. On that day, at almost an entire week old, we took this picture of her in her swing with "big" Tigger.... ... and now, a full 8 weeks since that photo and 9 weeks since her birth, here is Maeby back in her swing.
She is just about the same size as "big" Tigger now and growing more and more by the day!

Baby Smiles

For weeks we've been waiting for Maeby to start smiling. Her cute little face was so adorable, yet expression-less.....

..... until now! It takes a little coaxing, and I might be making myself look ridiculous in the process, but the results are well worth it!

Delaney Mae Rode - the smiling baby! At nine weeks old today.

More Recent Photos...

Most of these recent photos have been posted on Facebook over the past few weeks, so if you are Facebook-Friends with Laura or myself, you've probably seen these already.
If you're strictly an blog-only follower, we hope you'll enjoy this look back!

We visited the Boordy Vineyards back on May 30th for Parrothead Weekend. Here, Maeby and I are posing with Rob Taylor and his son, Lucas.

My cousin, Casey, visited from Florida over Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed a Friday afternoon happy hour at The Barn with her and Beth, along with Will and Brittany.

Another shot from Boordy Vineyards - picnicing on the lawn.

On May 29th, we celebrated, as a family, the coming of the "savior of the Orioles", Matt Wieters.

My spring 2009 BSSC kickball team, "Drunk Again & Lookin' to Score" celebrated a successful season, where we finished in the final four before losing in the semi-final playoffs.

We got together with our immediate family to congratulate my cousin, Rich's, graduation from the Marines.

This past Sunday, our girls wore their matching dresses to church.

Maeby recently got personalized diaper covers.

Good friends! Mackinzie, Ian and Sophia at Lucas' post-baptism cookout.

Me and my matching girls!

Kinzie and Maeby, matching yet again, for swimming and crabs at Mike's parents' house. Maeby wasn't crazy about the pool itself, but loved the hot tub!

Thanks to Casey and Sharon for some of those photos.