This Oz Life

Seems like I was just here, writing about my dad on Father's Day. Thanks for hanging in there while I heal through writing. It's kinda my thing. If you have tuned in for more family adventures, they will be back. But not today.  Although July 5th was the day we took my dad off of life support, June 30th was the last day of normalcy. There is a photo hanging in Larkyn's room, right next to a photo of my parents. It was a random Instax photo taken by someone else at a food t… Read more

I can't stop and do the math or I'm going to get a little panicky. Summer is going by too quickly! We had another packed week, just how we like it. A few times, we stayed at home during the day and tried going out at night. Fail. We all go bonkers in our house and need outside stimulation, so...off we go! Brinner with Kate When a bestie brings brunch for dinner at your house, you know she's a keeper. And we provided the Prosecco and berries again, so I think that makes us k… Read more

I am a sucker for old, beautiful buildings, so the 1907 main library has always been a favorite of mine. I had only taken the kids once before it closed for a massive $35 million renovation last year. And yesterday, we made the trip downtown to Grant Avenue for our first look at the children's area. At 10:30, it was an easy drive down 71 to Broad Street. I would recommend taking a few extra minutes to find a metered spot rather than using the attached parking garage . You'll be… Read more

Having a friend who lives far away is tough because we miss them, but it also means we get two places to explore together!  Last week, I packed the kids up and we headed to Newark to visit Alyson and her son, Colton at The Works Museum . It was all highway, taking 161 until it turned to 37 and then we got off onto route 16. Do yourself a favor and look at an actual map every once in a while, because the little iPhone screen will not show you that this is the SAME ROAD that Velvet Ice c… Read more