Simple Girl

We've just returned from a family trip to the East Coast. Our mission? To get my husband to his 50th state: Maine. Ok, and maybe eat a little  a lot of lobster. One of our food stops was The Maine Diner in Wells, Maine. Five years ago we saw it featured on Diners, Drivers and Dives. They had Lobster Pie. We had to go there. (More food pics to come!) It was this stop for Lobster Pie, however, that got us focused on another missions:  Celebrity Home sightings. Are you confused yet? I thought so. It just so happens that the exit for Wells, Maine was also the exit for Kennebunkport. Maybe we could find the Bush Compound! After talking to a few locals, we got a general idea of where it might be and confirmed that it could be seen from the road. We were off. As we approached our destination, the congregation of other onlookers confirmed our suspicion. This beautiful peninsula entertains two former presidents. We were surprised that they did not invite us in considering...

During the course of my entire life, I have been invited by friends to two concerts. And by concerts, I mean music written post-1960 and not performed by middle schoolers.  They were 1987 - Echo and the Bunnymen (we're not friends anymore) and 2011 - Journey (I had no idea that people my age still dressed liked that).  So when my sister-in-law suggested we take the girls to see Taylor Swift, I had no idea what to expect.  After waiting almost an entire year for this sold out concert, the question became:  What do we wear?  I decided to pop into our local Justice.  If you have pre-teen girls, I know you've shopped there! The store clerk was decidedly helpful.  She told me not to buy anything at her store, but to go to our local Michael's, buy some $3 T-shirts and make our own concert shirts.  Since it was Taylor Swift's "RED" Concert Tour, the color was decidedly obvious.  Three dollars?  OK.  I'm in! Start by printi...

So I was paging through my Food Network Magazine (or, rather, scouring through every word since I've now been without access to cable TV and cooking shows for a good month), when I ran across an article about Betty's Pies .  In the fine print, it stated that there were two locations, both in Minnesota.  "Wait a minute," I thought, "I'm in Minnesota!"  So I Googled "Betty's Pies" and found that one location was in Two Harbors, Minnesota (a really long ways away) and one location was in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, (a really short ways away.) I'm inserting this sign for good measure, just so you know how people feel around here. Since Betty's Pies was actually featured in a national magazine, I decided that it was a worthy destination for a Mommy Camp Field Trip! Betty's Pies is obviously known for it's pies, but it was was also featured for it's latest invention: The Pie Milkshake. That...

While my dear husband heads back to The South, the kids and I are spending some extra time Up North, dedicating ourselves to pitching in while my mom recovers from surgery and spending a little time at "Mommy Camp".  Just the name "Mommy Camp" was enough to send my six-year-old squealing with excitement - all the fun of sleep-away camp ...... without leaving my side! Our first official camp "Field Trip" was to The Minneapolis Farmer's Market.  When you think of a Farmer's Market, this venue is exactly what comes to mind - rows and rows of local vendors selling their wares in an open air market. I gave each of the kids ten dollars and let them spend it as they wished.  We talked about buying fresh, locally grown produce and avoided the stands selling pineapples and mangoes. The produce colors were amazing.  Look at these shiny purple onions! (Anna bought some!) And the deep crimson rhubarb. (Crisp was at the top of Samuel's list!) We ...

The topic of pets is a frequent one at our house these days.  It seems that one large, fluffy dog is just not enough.  The girls have taken to watching Animal Planet, checking out books from the library and searching the internet for facts, information and adorably cute photos of pets.   In November, during a particularly weak moment, we finally gave in to one longing, begging, ten-year-old-birthday supplication for a pet hamster .  Surely, this would cease the obsession with all things cute and cuddly!  It did not. So, in lieu of becoming the caretaker of more animals, (we do not live on a farm, or a ranch, or even an acre for that matter!) we decided to give the kids an opportunity to visit them. Thus began our thousand mile journey to Key West. If you've never been to Key West, getting there is not so easy.  First of all, you have to drive to Florida.  When you reach the Florida border, you suddenly realize that you are no where near Key West...