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Yesterday was a beautiful early Spring day here in Baltimore so I took my girls to spend an afternoon at Fort McHenry .  If you're ever in Baltimore, Fort McHenry is just a short drive from the Inner Harbor, Maryland Science Center, and American Visionary Art Museum.  It's the perfect place to learn a little history and get out a little bit of extra energy outdoors. Check out our visit... As a little history refresher, Fort McHenry is best known for its role in successfully defending the city of Baltimore during the War of 1812.   It was the morning after the British attack in September 1814, when Francis Scott Key saw the U.S. flag being raised above the fort, that the Star Spangled Banner was written. My girls enjoyed our afternoon...   Fort McHenry is part of the National Park Service and has its own Junior Ranger Program .  If you're ever at the fort, or any of the other NPS sites that have this program, definitely let your kids participate. ...

Ever since the kids were babies, we've been going to the Baltimore Zoo (actually called the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore ).  Here are a few highlights from our recent visit. The Maryland Zoo is divided into two main sections ~ The African Journey and the Maryland Wilderness Children's Zoo.  A tram will take you from the Main Entrance to the area with the exhibits.  My kids are past the stroller stage, but both the tram and the pathways are stroller friendly and most areas are fairly well shaded. The African Area has many of the more "exotic" zoo animals.  A winding path takes you on a large loop through the woods and the animals' exhibits are on either side of the pathway.   There's a giraffe feeding station as well as camel rides (both have an additional fee). My favorite area is the chimpanzee exhibit.  Eleven chimps share a large indoor and outdoor exhibit area.  We were lucky to be there for the zookeeper chat this past visit (check the schedul...

Today I decided to take the kids on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Washington, DC.  I knew it was going to be hot, I knew the kids would probably be cranky, but I figured instead of being hot and cranky at home, we'd make the one hour drive and be hot and cranky in the Nation's Capital.  While we did enjoy some parts of our day, we decided that the adjectives  Alexander used to describe his day also applied to our trip. Doesn't look so bad here, but keep reading. That's right, the car thermometer was reading 103!!  (it actually reached 104 several times, but not when I had my camera out).  With the humidity, I heard the heat index was up around 112!     But, Laura, you say, your kids look fine in front of the White House and at the American History Museum.  That's right, but you must remember, I had all three of my kids with me.  My oldest daughter was whining so much about the heat and how much her brother and sister were bothering her, that...

One of the activities in my Year of Valentine's gift for my kids was to go to a museum.  This month, it was my youngest daughter's turn and I wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been before.  I decided to take her to the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) in Baltimore's Inner Harbor .  It had been years (like, way before I had kids) since I'd been and her first time.  It was a HUGE hit and she declared it "the coolest museum ever".  I really think I have to agree with her. The museum has some of the most unique and creative pieces that I've ever seen.  From the AVAM website is this "definition" of visionary art. "Visionary art as defined for the purposes of the American Visionary Art Museum refers to art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself." You're not allowed to take photographs inside the actu...