Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!

2012 was an exciting year for us. We took Addie overseas for the first time in February, along with 18 of our inner-city students, spending time in both London and Paris. The highlights of our trip were Warwick Castle, the Tower of London, and the Louvre. Addie proved to be a great world-traveler, and in addition to the 30 states she’s visited, was able to add two new countries to her passport.

April brought a trip down south to see Kendra’s family in South Carolina. With fantastic weather on our side, we covered a lot of ground. Addie went to her first baseball game (the Greenville Drive, a Red Sox farm team), picked strawberries at Hunter Farms, and hiked along the Reedy River.

Summer was rather quiet since we stayed home, but we had a wonderful staycation with Kendra’s parents, who drove their RV up to spend 10 days with us. We camped, hiked, went to museums, rode on a train, and ate a lot of great food.

We spent our fall hiking, camping, and even took Addie canoeing. Both Addie and I held a toad for the first time, saw a moose in our campground, and got bitten by ticks.

This winter Addie strapped on skates for the first time and ice skated with us on the Boston Frog Pond. We’ve also visited more museums and artists’ open studios, taken more hikes, cooked together, and enjoyed our time together as a family.

As the year ends, it has been fun to reread the blog posts and relive our memories.

My Favorite Posts of 2012

1. Don’t touch the moose! – Teaching our children to respect wildlife
2. 5 Tips for Taking Toddlers to Museums
3. My Personal Connection to Lowell National Historical Park – Lowell, MA
4. Why Our Kids Need Outdoor Play
5. Hiking: Bay Circuit Trail, Andover, MA

Readers’ Favorite Posts of 2012

1. Why Urban Kids Need to Spend Time in Nature
2. Confessions of a Sometimes Squeamish Adventurous Mom
3. Nature as a Source of Strength
4. Blogging for LGBT Families Day 2012 – A Non-Bio Mom’s wish…
5. Boston Pride 2012: A Mom’s Perspective

2013 promises to bring us more adventures, and I can’t wait to share them all with you! Thanks for the love and support, and Happy New Year!