OBX Day 1

So we packed up the car the night before and when our 3am alarm went off, we put the girls in the car and headed to outer banks hoping the girls would sleep most of the way.... They definitely were awake most of the time, but thanks to Sleeping Beauty, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Little Einsteins, they were quiet and content. We didn't hit any traffic at all and were in our Corrolla destination by 10am. Unfortunately for us, they wouldn't give us the key until 4pm. So for the next 6 hours we went to some fun shops, had subway, drove around, and went to the wildlife preserve museam/big grassy area to run around. Around 2 we were joined by pop-pop, gigi, sissy and chris (Chrissy??) ....went grocery shopping then GOT THE KEY!!! yayyyyy!!!

We start off with a lovely game of Chutes and Ladders (PopPop made Kinzie cry because he didn't let her win!)

Then PopPop almost burned down the Lady of the Lake.....

I love this pic of Kinzie and Bert swimming....

Matt and Emily finally got here around 8ish and we played a crazy game of spoons...

Josh, Mandy, Emma, and Brooke got in around 10 but by then everyone was beat from a long day of driving...

Stay tuned for the Survivor intro later today! :)

Red, White, & Blue

We had a really great Fourth of July weekend! My parents held a cookout on the waterfront for family and friends. The weather was nice, the food was good and the fireworks were excellent!

For the occasion, Laura broke out her red, white and blue dress... ... baby Mackinzie wore the outfit back in July of 2006 when she was just a chubby little nine-month old. Now, in 2010, Delaney is wearing the same outfit at almost 15 months old - not quite the "fat-baby" that her big sister was. ("fat-baby" being Kinzie's term for her younger self :)
My wonderful wife, although having shorter hair - still just as beautiful four years later!
Speaking of which, Laura and I also celebrated our second wedding anniversary this weekend on July 5th. Loyal blog readers will remember that we actually started this blog as a countdown to the wedding back in 2008 - since that time I have experienced the most amazing two years of my life and I look forward to each day, week, month and year I get to spend with this wonderful woman and the two beautiful girls she gave us!

(photo courtesy of Mandy Sroka Photography)

"Workin' at the Car Wash, Girl"

This past Saturday we volunteered to help raise some funds for a good cause. A car wash was held at Broadneck Evangelical Presbyterian Church to support Matt & Emily Sroka's upcoming trip to Tanzania. They will be working for Village School International, teaching English and sharing the gospel.
While I worked the drying and window washing station, and Laura scrubbed and rinsed, Mackinzie split her time between hosing off cars and bringing in the business with her cousin, Emma.
(photo provided by Gale Peck c/o Emily Sroka)
We had a fun afternoon altogether.
Matt and Emily have set up their own blog and we encourage you to follow them and keep them in your prayers. They depart in September and will be in Africa for almost an entire year!

Two Weeks From Tomorrow

Long time, no blog...
Summer 2010 is upon us and along with it, we hope to do lots of blogging.
Two weeks from tomorrow we depart for our summer vacation. We will be spending an entire week in the Outer Banks, North Carolina (Corolla) in a big beach house with the entire Sroka family. You might remember we made the same trip two years ago.
After that, we will continue to head south to Orlando, Florida (technically, Leesburg, FL) where we will spend the remaining three and a half weeks enjoying some relaxation and Disney magic. (I will be trying to squeeze somewhat of a regular working schedule in there too)
This trip will require lots of driving, so hopefully Laura and I will enjoy lots of this:
..... and this:
Be sure to check back regularly to see what we have been up to. We'll be sure to include lots of photos!
Also, check out the new Twitter feed on the right-hand potion of the blog where you can receive live real-time updates of what is going on with me and Laura.

Playoff Recap

Laura and I watched "Julie & Julia" last night (because apparently Netflix thinks its funny to send you a movie that is actually 15th in your queue). Anyway, it got us talking about blogs and we realized that while Laura usually does the summer blogging, I've been dropping the ball lately. So here is a little recap of the last few weeks. (... I hope Erin doesn't mind me "stealing" her photos. She is the memory-keeper, after all)We hosted a "front-yard" tailgate for the Ravens/Colts AFC divisional playoff game on Saturday, January 16th. While the result of the game sent everyone home unhappy, the pre-game festivities were very fun! Will and Brittany brought the fire pit to keep us all warm.

We had lots of food - everything from pizza to steamed shrimp to taco dip to buffalo wings to taquitos...

Everyone brought their kids. Here is Dustin posing with Ian and our own Maeby.

Justin & Sam brought Jackson dressed in his Ravens gear!

Brothers rocking our goofy Ravens hats.

The Taylor family stayed warm in the front yard.

I'm pretty sure that Mike had a purple shirt on somewhere under all those layers.

.... meanwhile, Mackinzie and her cousin Emma supported the Ravens by wearing matching Cinderella dresses.

So obviously, like I said, the Ravens disappointed everyone in the end, but we did it up right that night.
Laura and I just arrived home from a long weekend in Tampa, Florida. We celebrated her birthday on Friday, January 22 and my birthday on Monday, January 25. (My 30th) My cousin, Beth took lots of pictures, so I'm hoping to get my hands on some copies soon and maybe I'll post a new blog again soon.

BJ's Wholesale Cuteness

Who knew that a simple trip to BJ's could produce such a sweet photo-op This was Maeby's first ride in a shopping cart. I think she enjoyed herself and Kinzie really liked sharing the large BJ's cart-riding-space with her sister.

One More Look

Mackinzie has been a big fan of Mamma Mia! ever since she first saw the movie with her Grand-pop. Since that time she has come to know each character and every song. When we heard that the stage performance was coming to Baltimore, we knew we had to get tickets. This past Saturday Laura and I took Mackinzie, along with both of our parents - Gigi & Pop-pop, and Mimi & Grand-pop - to the Hippdrome to see Sophie, Donna, Harry, Bill, Sam, and the gang live on stage. Needless to say, Kinzie was extremely excited!
The show was excellent, the music was really good and a great time was had by all.
At the end of the show, for a monetary donation, the audience was offered the opportunity to get their picture taken with the actors portraying Sophie and Sky. This was the icing on the cake for Kinzie. Here is the Polaroid we got to take home.