Summer 2014

Summer of 2014 has come and gone!  We had a really busy spring and, though life didn't slow down completely for the summer, we did get a welcome change of pace.

We spent the first several weeks of the summer, after school got out and work slowed down for me, doing not much of anything!  We all (all 5 of us) got strep throat at the very beginning of the summer, which was AWFUL.  BUT we got into a rhythm of staying around the house more, and that made for some really fun days after we were better.  

Lots of arts and crafts 

Plenty of reading 

Spending lots of the day (or all of the day) in pajamas

Being lazy and goofy

Practicing our selfies

Getting out occasionally- only when we really felt like it 

And bathing only when stinky desperation hit.  The pool counts as a bath, right?

In the middle of June, Sam and Charli went to the dentist for their teeth cleaning.  I asked the dentist to peek at Benjamin's front tooth (that he knocked loose soon after he learned to walk, and that she's checked before and thought was fine).  Well, this time, it was not fine, and she casually told me that we would probably need to wiggle it out.  Pediatric dentists, note to selves: do not casually tell a mama that her baby's tooth needs to be wiggled out.  Note to mamas: if your pediatric dentist casually tells you that you'll need to wiggle your babies tooth out, just do it.  Don't cry your eyes out in her dentist office, have her feel so sorry for you that she refers you to a specialist, freak out for a week, crying intermittently waiting for said appointment, only to go and get confirmation (obviously) that the tooth will be coming out ASAP.   

Since we'd just had professional pictures taken in May, I don't know why I felt the need to take last minute pictures commemorating by boy having both front teeth for the last time for 4-5 years.  But I did.  Here are a couple the day he went to get his tooth pulled.  

 Once the tooth was pulled, none of us thought much more about it, especially because we had a long trip to the NC coast and many fun memories ahead.  We love that snaggle-toothed grin and definitely feel that it fits his personality anyway! 

And here he is, the next day, driving to North Carolina, eating his first corn dog ever.  All's well that ends in corn dog. 

After one full day and one half day of driving, we made it to Beaufort!  

First stop was Jason and Lexi's wedding!

Charli got to be a flower girl, and we were so proud of her!  She walked all the way down the aisle on her tiptoes.  Cutest little flower girl ever!

Happiest too :).

We got to see lots of extended family and cousins, which was a treat.

And then we got to "keep" Meme with us for a few days with Nana and Pops!  We even got to spend her birthday with her.

Many times our trips to North Carolina include lots of driving across the state, but it worked out this summer that we were mostly able to stay on the coast.  After we wrapped up in Beaufort, we just drove over the bridge to Atlantic Beach.  

In Atlantic Beach, we had great times with Grammie, Grampa and Scott, and with Mema and Chip and Liz.  Thanks to the most amazing grandparent babysitters, Drew and I even got a few days at the beach by ourselves, and got to see some dear friends too!

We met Charli, Sam and Benjamin's FIRST first cousin- Shep.

We played on the Sandcastle porch and on the beach, and had a wonderful time.

We were sad when it was time to leave the beach and family, but after 2 1/2 weeks away, it was nice to return back to our home.

The summer got busier from that point on, especially because the end of July and beginning of August included a weeklong trip for me with these 12 teen mamas and their babies to Young Lives camp in Rockbridge, Va.  Drew held down the fort at home, and even managed to preach while I was gone!  It was a beautiful, joyful week at camp, but also emotionally and physically one of the more tiring weeks I can remember.  SO, when we loaded the vans to come home and all of the girls fell asleep, the first thing I wanted to do was turn on the recorded sermon and hear my husband's voice preach to me!

I haven't been great about taking pictures lately, so there are lots of things not recorded here.  We spent many mornings at our local YMCA pool.  Apart from the church, there is no organization that I could imagine loving more than the Margaret Maddox YMCA.  The weather was surprisingly pleasant for much of the summer, so we spent several afternoons at playgrounds with friends.  Drew's schedule changed and our church started worshipping in the morning, so we've tried to include more family time on Saturdays and outings together.  

 All in all, it's been a sweet summer enjoying our little people and this stage in life, and we are grateful!