Once Upon A Child
According to mom, the concept “gum is for chewing and not swallowing” is difficult for a child to safely understand until this age.
What is five
Dad came very close to missing his flight to Germany last spring because of this surprise at the airport.
What is he had the wrong passport
Ryan began his study of music in 5th grade with this instrument.
What is a guitar
This is the only Christmas gift exchanged by mom and dad each year that can’t be returned.
What is the man made
It’s not uncommon for little girls to play dress up, but Julia was obsessed for years with wearing an assortment of these, with zero regard for the proper fit.
What are shoes
This was the only school all siblings attended at the same time.
What is Spears Elementary
Sometimes we operate on autopilot. In a rush to hit the road, Sara hit this person’s car while backing out of our driveway.
What is Zsofi
Sara performed this type of act at her 8th grade talent show.
What is stand up comedy.
The name we use to refer to our colorful collection of traveling totes.
What are the Easter eggs
In 10th grade, Ryan pulled off this legendary feat in pursuit of his greatest childhood passion.
What is sneak onto a bus from school heading to Six Flags
Mom loved Halloween, but not the exorbitant candy consumption it inspired in her kiddos. In an effort to reduce the sugar load, she offered to buy back loot at this price per piece.
What is five cents
Beans landed in the ER on Cape Cod because of this injury.
What is bitten by a dog
Some foods naturally conjure a pucker. Grampy Rene loved challenging his grandkids to eat this food with a straight face.
What is rhubarb
The name Beans called her lovie.
What is Nana
Getting rid of things we don’t need is cleansing, and no one enjoys this more than dad, especially when it comes to trash and this obsessive (not to mention illegal) practice of purging.
What is dumping our trash in the dumpsters of local apartment buildings
This sleep away camp was attended by all siblings at least once.
What is Camp Twin Creeks
On her way to visit Carolina in Italy, Sara was stranded in this country when she missed her connecting flight.
What is Switzerland
Ryan can start a fire in record time using nothing but this handcrafted tool to produce a spark.
What is a bow drill
This was our name for the candy stored in small wicker baskets tagged with a specific colored ribbon for each child, and offered as dessert after finishing growing food.
What are sweet treats
We all know mom is keen on organizing, but she may have taken it a bit far with this method of packing for our trip to Disney World.
What is putting complete outfits for each child in zip lock bags
These two sisters lived on our block in Villanova.
What is Scotty and Georgie
While traveling by car to Florida in 1999, Ryan dropped this precious possession in a hotel parking lot while being buckled into his car seat
What is Ryan’s lovie (DT)
While living in Greensboro, Mom spent a year with a vocal coach training for an audition in this musical.
What is Sweeney Todd
Parenting experts extoll the benefits of positive reinforcement, which inspired mom to design this incentive program to keep her kiddos on the strait and narrow.
What are Rizzo Rewards
Traveling with toddlers on airplanes is never easy, especially when yours won’t stop crying while boarding. Thanks to this magical snack offered by a fellow passenger, Julia was delighted and entertained for the entire flight.
What are fruit loops