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Saving Amy > Nature

Tag: Nature

Kayaking with Kids

Family Maryland

How I Got My Kids Out Flatwater Kayaking As Babies

With a little experience, planning, and preparation, you can bring your kids kayaking with you starting at infancy. ...

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Amy Lynn July 21, 2018

Meet Saving Amy

New mom and small business supporter, Amy Lynn, is the woman behind the Saving Amy blog, covering a broad range of topics with an ultimate goal to encourage and inspire you to save both money and time.
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๏ 𝚆𝚒𝚏𝚎 ♥ 𝙼𝚘𝚖: 👧🏼🧒🏼👶🏼
๏ 𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚛 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 & 𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚛 📷
๏ 𝙶𝙰 𝙱𝚘𝚛𝚗, 𝙼𝙳 𝙻𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗’ 🌿🇺🇸
๏ 𝙵𝙱, 𝚃𝚆, 𝙿𝙸𝙽: @𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚢𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐
๏ 𝙳𝙸𝚈, 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢 / 𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚂𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚘 ⬇️

Good things come to those who wait. 🧡 Our Chris

Good things come to those who wait. 🧡 Our Christmas ‘21 ornament has arrived. And, it’s beautiful! 🧡 I hope to find the time to resume posting the rest of our family’s Spring ‘21 circumnavigating the lower Chesapeake Bay trip soon - just in time for this Spring’s travels… #carrollcountymd #etsyfinds

Slightly delayed, but Happy New Year y’all none

Slightly delayed, but Happy New Year y’all none the less!! 🎊 Where the heck have I been hiding? 👀 On 6/4 we sold our former home in Anne Arundel County, MD with two months of rent back. And then won our fifth offer in that insane housing market (offer was a few days before our AACo sale), closing 6/30 in Carroll County, MD. We had been looking in areas of AACo, Carroll, Howard, Montgomery, Calvert, and even explored the thought of across the Bay Bridge or north of the Baltimore tunnels. We immediately began hauling our belongings from one house to another, moving people & pets in on 7/16 (including hosting our first company the same weekend!) We wrapped up moving all our things ourselves (with help from two dear friends) with our vehicles every day of July & @uhaul on two days mid-month, non-weekends. For about a month, the five of us lived out of one bedroom (and shifted to the guest bedroom at one point to accommodate painter room access). We had a week at the end of July to clean out our former home ourselves. Both of these measures saved money that we were able to put into repairs on our as-is purchase. In August, we spent time unloading our temporary storage unit we occupied during our house sale. We have been hard at work making the home “ours” the last 6 months, and still sprinkling in activities for the kids. We are blessed to have found much of our wishlist & some things we didn’t expect (3 master bedroom walk-in closets, a stunning view with a large deck, a finished basement with movie room, and an existing home office with built-ins) - thank you @claudiachangrealtor!! There are even plans to have a mini home photography studio. My goal in the New Year is to get back to new Saving Amy content, and the things I love. I promise to finish the posts I had started in May to document our lower Chesapeake Bay circumnavigation trip last Spring. And then I’ll bring you all the fun DIY projects we’re working on. I hope for a blessed year for you all! ❤️❤️❤️ #carrollcounty #carrollcountymd #marylandmoms #marylandblogger

Following our visit to Assateague Island National

Following our visit to Assateague Island National Seashore, we drove 90 minutes south & across the state border to Cape Charles, VA on Virginia's Eastern Shore (see no.2 in the last photo), with a brief pit stop at Burley Oak Brewery in Berlin, MD to pick up some brews to take home. We lined up the long drive with the kids' afternoon nap time. Upon arrival, we had dinner at The @oysterfarmatkingscreek Seafood Eatery. When we first arrived in Cape Charles, I noticed just how many folks had golf carts parked in their front yards and then many more at The Oyster Farm at Kings Creek. We arrived a little prior to our reservations, so we walked around and took in the view, noticed the villas for rent, and just how dressy everyone was getting out of their cars -- turns out it was for an outdoor wedding. At first I was a bit nervous over how casually dressed we were from being in the truck all day. The food here was good, as was the service, and the view was phenomenal. Scroll to see some photos I snapped outside the back of the Seafood Eatery as well as the view straight from our table. Before arriving at the restaurant, we passed the Cape Charles Brewery on the road in...and decided if there was time at the end of our meal we would quickly pay a visit as we were up against hotel check-in, unloading the truck, and the kids' bedtime. To learn more about our recent #circumnavigatinglowerchesapeake family road trip journey, click the hashtag. 🚗 We plan to complete the upper portion of the Chesapeake Bay within the next year. #figure8thebay 🌊
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#chesapeaketravel #chesapeakebay #vatravel #vaisforlovers #virginiaisforlovers #virginiatravel #marylandmom #marylandfamily #visitvirginia #capecharlesva #capecharlesvirginia #northamptonco #northamptoncounty #northamptonva #vaeasternshore #theoysterfarmatkingscreek #theoysterfarmseafoodeatery #oysterfarmatkingscreek #mdroadtrips #marylandroadtrips #marylandcampers #rvroadtrip

I went to college on Maryland's Eastern Shore (MES

I went to college on Maryland's Eastern Shore (MES) after growing up in Frederick, and I had my beat-up car with me right from the very first semester -- once I learned where it was safe to park it off campus for free. So, I was often off exploring. 🚗 (I still test out new-to-me-roads even today -- anyone else?) I learned about the wild horses 🐴 at neighboring Worcester County's Assateague Island National Seashore (AINS) during that time that I lived in Wicomico County...we never went to MES when I was growing up, as we summered in OCNJ near grandparents instead. I have taken many trips to Assateague over the years and even tent-camped once! Since our youngest was born (2015) I have been wanting to take the now three kids. It was only natural that AINS became a major stop on our recent #circumnavigatinglowerchesapeake family road trip journey (scroll to last pic for route map). We did pay the hefty $25 7-day automobile fee to enter the Nat'l side of the park, because we wanted to explore some of the trails on the marshy / bay-side of the park. Not only did we spy horses in the distance on the trails, we had two walk right past our truck at one point and the kids were in love. 🥰 The fee ended up being worth it to us considering we were only there a couple of hours, goes towards supporting this beautiful, relatively-untouched park, and likely keeps the car traffic down. To learn more about our recent road trip, use hashtag I used earlier or #figure8thebay. 🌊
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#mdtravel #marylandtravel #marylandmom #marylandfamily #visitmaryland #worcestercounty #worcester #worcestercountymd #worcestercomd #worcestermd #assateague #assateagueisland #assateaguehorses #assateaguewildhorses #assateagueislandnationalseashore #mdeasternshore #marylandeasternshore #marylandhorses #marylandwildhorses #mdroadtrips #marylandroadtrips

The last thing I’ll be packing away where I can’t reach it, before our house move, 📦 is my @officialcricut and it’s supplies. This was perhaps the most fun thing I’ve made on it to-date! I ordered the nominal-fee svg file from @etsy @les_pensees_en_papier for later use and was coincidentally invited to a H.S. Grad 🎓 party just a few days later. 😮 I followed the steps for having a scoring tool and the video for assembly (the cutting was the easy part). All it took was an internet-search for school colors & a few sheets of card stock from @michaels and some glue…and voila! A nifty way to say congrats & gift cash (the best gift at nearly any occasion - thank you @theclarkdotcom for that tip)! 👩🏼‍🎓
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#amyiscricutobsessed #etsyshop #lespenseesenpapier #graduationcapcard #graduationgiftbox #cricutmade #michaels #cardstockcrafts #cardstockpaper #cardstockcreations #madeitwithmichaels #makeitwithmichaels #graduationgift

There are some things I value having brand new. Fu

Dad, for all the times you took me traveling, day

Dad, for all the times you took me traveling, day trips to see the sights of Maryland and bordering D.C. & states, for all the times you made time from work to do lunch on a weekday, all that you did to help us see the stars, for making me hold the other end of the board on your table saw 🙄, for all the mini golf we played, art lessons, trips to Toys R Us to pick out new video games, for fixing stuff, for putting me through college debt-free, thank you! I’m blessed to have a Dad and the grandkids have a Dada as great as you! 🥰 Happy Father’s Day! Love you! 😘❌⭕️❌⭕️ (still your favorite daughter) #happyfathersday #fathersday2021 | first photo credit: @gabriellevonheyking

Two trips here this past week. Just scouting, thou

Two trips here this past week. Just scouting, though so much is out of stock anyway. No new “hacks” in the works, but I’m sure some new need will come to mind soon. My top two blog posts continue to be IKEA hack projects: saving-amy.com under navigation menu DIY > IKEA Hacks. And yes, we did partake in the $0.99 frozen yogurt before departing. 😋🍦 Almost can count on the hands how many days are left until we close on the new-to-us home. #ikeahomefurnishings #ikeahome #ikeafamily #ikeamaryland

It's been a couple of days since I last shared our

It's been a couple of days since I last shared our #circumnavigatinglowerchesapeake family road trip journey. I left off at Oxford, MD's Town Park on the Tred Avon River. Once we departed Oxford, MD, we plugged in the address for Burley Oak Brewery, Berlin, MD - en route to our next major stop of Assateague Island National Seashore (AINS). On the way to Burley Oak, another brewery on the side of the road (Forest Grove Rd. + US-50) caught our eye and we ended up pit stopping there instead and having lunch on the back patio while the kids ran around the sandy cornhole game area. @talltalesbrewing in Parsonsburg, MD (slightly east of Salisbury - where I spent four years of my late 90's life) filled us up with delicious food and brews before we were back on the road again. We did stop at Burley Oak following AINS to pick up some canned beverages to take home. Supporting small businesses is how we roll. Follow along on the journey at the hashtag I used earlier or #figure8thebay. Next up, wild horses…
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#mdtravel #marylandtravel #marylandmom #marylandfamily #visitmaryland #wicomicocounty #wicomicoco #wicomicocountymd #wicomicocomd #wicomicomd #parsonsburgmd #talltalesbrewing #talltalesbrewery #supportsmallbiz #mdeasternshore #marylandeasternshore #mdbeer #marylandbeer #mdbrewery #marylandbrewery #mdroadtrips #marylandroadtrips

Happy National Strawberry ThisMamaAin'tGotTimetoMa

Happy National Strawberry ThisMamaAin'tGotTimetoMakeRealShortcake Day! 🍓🍓🍓 #StrawberryShortcakeDay

Visited the $10MM “Playground for All” recentl

Visited the $10MM “Playground for All” recently unveiled at the @hocorec Blandair Park in Columbia, Md for our first time today. ☀️ Age & disability-accessible play areas for everybody. It’s pretty sweet. So many fun things to see and do. 100% fenced in and double-gated because sometimes those little ones slip out of sight on those massive structures. Scroll the pics to see a glimpse of the bocce courts near the restroom pavilion. About the only thing I didn’t find here was a shorter sink in the ladies’ bathroom for the little ones. Otherwise, just about everything you can think of here. Note: Waze is wrong. 5700 Oakland Mills Rd. #marylandplayground #marylandplaygrounds #hocoparkrec #hocorec #hocokids #hocofamily #columbiamd #howardcounty #hocomd #howardcountymd #blandairpark #blandairparkplayground #baltimoremom #marylandmom #motherhoodiscolorful #runwildmychild #outdoorchildhood

In yesterday's #circumnavigatinglowerchesapeake fa

In yesterday's #circumnavigatinglowerchesapeake family road trip post, the @obferry delivered us and the truck safely to Oxford, MD - a small town near St. Michaels / Easton. 🚗 Part of why we did the Bellevue to Oxford leg is because I wanted to take the kids to the Oxford Town Park and I didn't want to be on any time crunch to leave. 🌳 We spent quite a bit of time at the Park on Saturday, May 1st. It was a little breezy, but the kids loved exploring the small sandy area on the Tred Avon River, as well as enjoying the swings and playset. As for us parents, we enjoyed small-business @oxfordsocialcafe at the corner of the park for coffee and final bathroom breaks for all before the drive out to the Atlantic Ocean area for the afternoon. ☕️ I HIGHLY recommend Oxford Town Park (street parking surrounds) & Oxford Social if you're ever in the area! Follow along on the journey at the hashtag I used earlier or #figure8thebay. ⛵️
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#mdtravel #marylandtravel #marylandmom #marylandfamily #visitmaryland #talbotco #talbotcounty #oxfordmd #supportsmallbiz #mdeasternshore #marylandeasternshore #chesapeakebay #tredavonriver #oxfordtownpark #oxfordsocialcafe

If you've caught my previous two posts regarding o

If you've caught my previous two posts regarding our recent #circumnavigatinglowerchesapeake family road trip, you may be curious where we ended up next. 🚗 Well, waking up on Saturday morning at the @holidayinnexpress in Easton, MD we loaded up the car, took our complimentary grab-bag breakfast, and drove to the Bellevue Landing for the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, America's oldest (est. 1683) privately owned ferry company which opened for the season on that day (May 1st). I wasn't sure how high demand would be as they started back up for the season so we selected Bellevue to buy ourselves a greater chance for a ride, vs. Oxford where they started service in the morning. Because we got there so early, we hopped out of the truck, which was parked at the boarding sign, and let the kids play at the Bellevue Park. To my surprise, we ended up being the only vehicle on our ride, and their first vehicle transport of 2021! They also offer walk-on rides (which I highly recommend and have done before for a 30-mile Eastern Shore loop bike ride). We also selected the Bellevue side to start as I wanted to "land" in Oxford for a lengthy visit in the next activity I'll share with you. I don't remember the exact cost for the truck and our passengers but I do remember it was under $20 for the quick ride. The kids LOVED the ferry and it continued to make the top of their favorite things we did on the 48-hour lower Chesapeake Bay loop. I loved supporting the small business and chatting with the @obferry owner (yay - a woman!) during the ride. I'm not sure how on earth we can top this when we complete the upper portion of the Bay in the next year. Use the earlier mentioned hashtag to see all the parts from this trip or #figure8thebay for when the full figure-8 Bay trip is done!
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#mdtravel #marylandtravel #marylandmom #marylandfamily #visitmaryland #talbotco #talbotcounty #oxfordbellevueferry #oxfordferry #bellevueferry #oxfordmd #bellevuemd #supportsmallbiz #supportwomanownedbiz #supportfemaleownedbiz #stmichaelsmd #mdeasternshore #marylandeasternshore #chesapeakebay #bellevuelanding #tredavonriver

My oldest graduated preschool today! 👩🏼‍🎓❤️🎉 However she didn’t want to. Because graduating means moving into new things. She’s apprehensive about kindergarten. 😕 What’s your favorite kindergarten memory that I can tell her to help ease her worries? (And, yes…I plan to connect her to other kids at her elementary school before the fall start). Give me all the positive things I can say about elementary school itself. ✏️ #preschoolgraduation #preschoolgraduate #prekgraduation #prekgraduate #kindergartenherewecome #proudmama #marylandmom #baltimoremom

For the first pit stop of our recent #circumnaviga

For the first pit stop of our recent #circumnavigatinglowerchesapeake family road trip, we had dinner at @knoxiestable at @chesapeakebaybeachclub (a recent recommendation by @ashb4211 on Insta) and LOVED it. 🥰 The service was impeccable, and food and drinks 🍽🥃 were delicious, and the location just over the Bay Bridge couldn't have been more ideal after sitting in all that Friday-evening, eastbound traffic. Highly recommend this restaurant! Scroll for photos of my Farmer's Chicken dinner and Saffron Peach Sour. 🚗 Following dinner, we used points to stay for free at the @holidayinnexpress in Easton, MD, which put us in an ideal location for our Saturday morning travels. Where will we head next? 🤷🏼‍♀️➡️ Follow to see & use the earlier mentioned hashtag (or #figure8thebay for when the entire figure 8 journey is completed in the next year -- ideas are still welcome from my earlier post regarding the upper Chesapeake Bay loop). ✅
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#mdtravel #marylandtravel#marylandmom #marylandfamily #visitmaryland #queenannesco #queenannescounty #queenannesmd #stevensvillemd #knoxiestable #baybeachclub #chesapeakebayrestaurant #chesapeakebaybeachclub #kentisland #kentislandmd

If you've been following along the last three mont

If you've been following along the last three months, you'll know that we've been home shopping. 🏡 After our second (of ultimately five) offer was rejected in this seller's market, we had to better our future offers by listing our existing home first before buying. We had been moving our belongings to storage since early February, and starting a deep clean in early April, so when this decision was made to move forward with listing first in mid-April, we kicked everything into high-gear. Pro photos were taken 4/29 and edited other-side-of-the-globe overnight while we slept, active listing on 4/30, and open house the very next day, 5/1. Around 4 dozen families and/or agents toured our home throughout the weekend and/or open house with multiple offers thanks to @claudiachangrealtor. 🧳 We had about 10 days to prepare to evacuate the house for that entire weekend. We put the pets at various sitters. And, then we hit the road on a bucket list trip of mine to "Figure 8 the Chesapeake Bay" - middle point being the Chesapeake Bay Bridge & knocking out the lower portion of the figure 8 in that weekend. We started out near BWI, and upon getting through Chesapeake Bay Bridge traffic on a spring Friday afternoon, we took our first pit stop for dinner. 🚗 Over the coming days, I'll share highlights from the rest of the 48-hour super-kid-friendly journey, which was jam packed with bridges, tunnels, ferries, lots of water views, some wild horses, sand on our feet, and a handful of craft breweries. Follow our route at #figure8thebay #circumnavigatinglowerchesapeake and know that you could slow it down by adding more hotel stops or completing it in an RV! | It's also our goal to tackle the top of the figure 8 sometime in the next year. I know less about the land surrounding the Chesapeake Bay north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge than I do about the lower portion. All family-friendly ideas welcome.
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#mdtravel #marylandtravel #chesapeakebaybridge #mdbaybridge #marylandbaybridge #smalltownmd #marylandmom #marylandfamily #visitmaryland #annearundelcounty #queenannescounty

Third summer of lessons now. She started at 3 and

Third summer of lessons now. She started at 3 and her brother at about 18m. Both of their swings / shots are getting much better thanks to the amazing junior golf instruction at @arundelgolfpark Glen Burnie and with clubs from @2ndswinggolf Columbia. 🏌🏼‍♀️ #juniorgolf #juniorgolfer #outdoorkids #annearundelcounty #howardcounty #hocokids #hocofamily #columbiamd #2ndswing #baltimoremom #marylandmom #marylandkids #marylandfamily

We found it! 🙌🏻🎉🙌🏻🎉🙌🏻 Over

We found it! 🙌🏻🎉🙌🏻🎉🙌🏻 Over 60 days looking, around 70 homes toured, and we found the ONE! And it’s EVERYTHING. I think I cried happy tears that I’m getting the front porch from my checklist, an amazing man cave for the DH, and expansive yard space, better schools, and neighborhood sports for the kids. It also has ample space for our DIY hobbies, photography, outdoor equipment, holiday storage - because clutter makes me anxious. We are so in LOVE. I can’t wait to enjoy the stars at night and sunsets from this porch. Thank you @claudiachangrealtor - miracle worker! Onto all the many things that happen pre-close… #marylandhomes #marylandrealestate

We saw the inside of 7 homes between Thursday nigh

We saw the inside of 7 homes between Thursday night and Saturday. I think we’re close to seeing the inside of 70 homes now in 60 days - who knows 🤷🏼‍♀️ - I lost count. Here are scenes from 3 of those 7. Definitely a lot more matches coming online as we draw closer to summer, which is making it easier to rule properties in/out more easily before making the drive. We have several musts on our list, and most of those center around our hobbies (blacksmithing, DIY woodworking, home brewing, gardening, crafts, photography, kayaking, golf, etc.) and family (both our own kids as well as our-of-town guests). A pool is not on the list, but indoor/outdoor living & space to entertain is. Saw multiple turn-key options this weekend that remained on the list following their tours. We’re drafting up another offer. Which one will it be? Or, rather, which county will it be? 😏 Luck needed. 🍀✨ And, no…the kids aren’t allowed inside on our tours. We take turns or they remain in the vehicle. #marylandhomes #marylanrealestate #countryhouse #farmhousedecor #frontporch #craftsmanhome #viewsformiles

Back at it. And no we didn’t take our sick kiddo

Back at it. And no we didn’t take our sick kiddo into the open houses today. The trio only ever gets to roam the yard…even when well. Not one fit this weekend to make an offer on. All four we saw had existing workshop space and one house was a craftsman but we couldn’t easy determine solutions to some of the lifestyle changes it presented. Hard to say if Memorial Day Weekend will have any worthy listings or not…so we might get a mini break. #marylandhomes #mdrealestate

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