{boston}

the first week of august i found myself in boston. shawn was attending a training for work and invited me to tag along with him. this was something i was extremely excited about as i have been wanting to visit boston for at least a few years. however, boston was not anything like i expected it to be. but there were some things i like about boston, so here they are...

1. harvard square - lots of nice shops (curious george store - a children's book store that i loved!) and (pinocchio's pizza - very good pizza!)

2. riding the ducks (boston ducks)this is always a treat in whatever city we visit and this was no different

3. the make way for ducklings statue in boston public garden - so cute!

4.riding the T (local name for the subway). this is such a treat for me, being married to sean who would never let me ride public transportation anywhere in case there was an emergency we would need to be able to get where we had to go, i have learned to love taking public transportation whenever i can! we don't have a subway in baltimore, or a very good public transportation system in general, but boston's was nicely designed and easy to use.

5. ned devines irish pub in fanueil hall marketplace. the best fish and chips and great irish company. we met a few friendly irish-folk from a touring dance/music troupe, very nice.

{cramer reunion}

july 26-27: it may seem an unusual sight to see a group gathered so casually in a cemetery with children playing and men and women with drinks in hand, however, it is exactly as it seems. every year my maternal grandmother's family has a big family reunion in west virginia. the festivities usually include an old fashioned weenie roast at a family members house on saturday and the actual reunion at the park on sunday. this is the first year that i have gone to the reunion since i was a kid and i had a great time! the weenie roast was a lot of fun and a good chance to catch up with family i haven't seen in a few years. one of the highlights of the evening was the visit to the cramer cemetery. this is a family cemetery with one of the most gorgeous views i have ever seen. it sits high atop a hill nestled in the mountains with a breathtaking view of the sunset. we didn't get to see said sunset on this trip, it was too cloudy. the cemetery is one of the highlights for us all to visit while we are there and this trip was no exception.

the actual reunion was a lot of fun too! like all traditional family reunions there were games aplenty. we all took part in the balloon toss and some of us played in the egg toss, too messy for me! there was tons of good food and perhaps the most fun we had was during the auction. people brought gifts and wrapped them so no one knew exactly what they were getting. everyone had a great time bidding against one another. the money they raised from this little activity is going toward buying new picnic tables to donate to the park where the reunion is held.

the weekend was a lot of fun, we stayed at alpine lake, as usual. and our weekend included a lot of late nights drinking and talking. we played scat (a card game my dad's family plays often) and really just enjoyed each other's company.

i can't wait to go back next year!

{artscape 08}

on sunday july 20th, shawn, amber, and i went to artscape in baltimore. this was my second year attending the art festival, last year i went with jay and jackie. this year was even bigger and better, but a little too big for as hot as it was, we never got to see everything. it is always such an inspiring day, chock full of art of all varieties and i always leave with so many ideas for projects and things i want to try. one of the highlights of our day was getting to see our friend evan perform. below are some photos from the day.

{ trying to catch up... }

well, once again, i have fallen behind with my blogging. so starting here, i am going to try to backtrack and update on all of the things that i have been up to this month, which is a lot and do a post for each of the things i have neglected to post here. so please don't be overwhelmed, sorry for the massive posts at once, but what's a girl to do? enjoy!