Summer Part 2: World Cup, 33rd, Fourth of July, Swimming, SML, + Hiking

We start back with the list…the beautiful list my smart girl created in June, the very day that school ended.

Her plan for "play das" was a little harder to fulfill.  After a school year full of nothing but routine and structure, I CRAVE the free wheeling summer days.  I don't like to plan or agree to anything.  It's a specific quirk of mine, but we did end up meeting up with friends several times.

We all gathered at the fountains to watch more of the World Cup where the USA ended up breaking our hearts, though we cheered loud and hard for them.


World Cup champs or not, we're USA fans forever.


Our sweet friends invited us to their pool for a play date a few times and the kids wore out the slide.

She forgot my birthday on that list, but it came anyway.  I was so sick on the day that I actually started my 33rd year early at Urgent Care getting an antibiotic and some other meds.  My poor husband did his best to rescue me by taking me shopping later and even made my favorite cake. What could be better than another year with the people I love most in the world?  Perhaps just lots of sleep this year, which TG willingly gave me while I recuperated.


Our area has too many fireworks shows to have on the actual 4th so they all get spread out before hand.  Unfortunately I was too sick to see them this year so I missed "loching rorkit" but TG took the kids with our friends so they got to see plenty of launching rockets on July 2nd.

On the actual fourth I met up with my friends for a belated birthday lunch.  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed lunch outside and ate the yummy cupcakes my sweet cake making friend brought for me.  They were lemon cake and cream cheese frosting which just made my heart pitter patter.


While I was out to lunch, TG flew kites with the minis. I love this pic he took of them.


Later that evening we did sparklers and some small fireworks in our driveway.  She's got us all under her spell.


I fail to see what could be cuter than these two patriotic babes.  USA!


The library was definitely not on her list, but this summer they launched a fun reading program that we enjoyed participating in.  We visited the library several times to finish activities and read books that were part of the summer challenge.  I loved this picture of my boys, both in their Swoosh shirts, reading a book about sharks.  Cam loves all non fiction books.
 

The next trip we took was on her list. In the middle of July we headed west to the "lak" with our friends. The place we rented this year was idyllic. Perfect water to swim in, gorgeous views of the mountain and plenty of fun to have with our friends. The weather didn't cooperate as well this year, but we still had an amazing time.


Oh, hey, SUMMERTIME!


We all had a bunch of floats and spent most of our time relaxing in the emerald green waters by the dock of our house.


The woman who lived next door to our rental was kind enough to share her small beach with us. She invited us to play there and on her wooden pirate ship which was the kids dream. Riley managed to scoop up a few minnows one day in the shallows. #naturealive!


The weather was not the best at the lake this year, so we ventured out for the first time to nearby Lynchburg and the AWESOME kids museum. It was the perfect rainy day activity. Afterward we wandered up to the charm filled Main Street and had a delicious lunch that included authentic fried green tomatoes for me.

Summertime TG and Summertime Me are the best versions of ourselves.  Tan, well rested, and carefree (as parents of two can be).


On our last day there we rented a boat before we headed home.  It was the perfect way to say goodbye to the lake until next year.

We went tubing for a while before everyone was hungry.


So we swung into our favorite emerald cove for lunch, swimming, and play.


Then took one last cruise around the lake before heading into the marina.  Cam's expression is exactly how I felt about the whole thing.
 

Coming back from the lake is always kind of a let down, but there was more summer fun to be had!
Twinnie showed me how she makes homemade donuts while we were at the lake so those became a summertime staple.  These could not be easier and I love the donut holes.
 

This isn't what she had in mind when she put "bik" on her list, but TG thought it was time to seriously upgrade her to a big girl two wheeling bike.  I love the streamers.

"hiking" is one of our favorite summer time activities, so the first cooler day we had in July we ventured out to a nearby trail.
 

Riley brought her "field journal" and eagerly if not quite accurately drew everything she saw. It was precious. Everyone stopped to admire an impressive spider web.

We happened upon a large tree that had fallen and extended out over the Potomac. TG ventured almost all the way out over the water, and the minis wanted to join him - but I insisted they stop much closer to land.


Of course the log was perfect for jumping off of so they did that and hollered a bunch and most likely scared off any wildlife we had a chance of seeing that day.

We ventured up the high trail for a better view of the river and while we were up there we think we spotted an eagle on the other bank which excited Riley to no end.

Before we headed back toward the car I convinced the kids to stop for one second for a photo with their Mom.  Cam was not so thrilled, but Riley put on her best pose and I just don't look exhausted for once which I think needs to be documented here in case my kids ever come back looking for their history.  I'm sure most of what they will remember is me loving them fiercely, but exhausted.  There were times I was not - here's proof.


With less than a month of summer to go we got "skooder" done in a big way.  Our neighborhood hosted a summer fest and they had a scooter race for all the kids.  It was pretty funny to watch.  Riley tried hard, but got second in her heat.  Camden wanted nothing to do with the race until he discovered that everyone who participated got a candy treat.  Then there was nothing to hold him back - not even having to go without shoes, in Riley's Barbie helmet on her pink scooter.

Riley's race, a valiant effort.

Cam's race, an effort to finish.

So that leaves only one thing on her summer list left to be completed.  Part 3, the highlight of our summer 2014, that trumps all this fun I've just documented in Part 1 and Part 2..."hooyiy" for our tenth anniversary.  Aloha friends!

Summer Part 1 : World Cup, Father's Day, VBS, Week of Matt + Lindsay, Big Kid Bikes

I suppose we should start here, with Riley's list for our summer, because in the end she was pretty accurate.

There was "chok".


And more "srpingkuler" and fountain time where we watched the USA on the big screens while the kids kept cool in the fountain.


She forgot Father's Day, but after we cheered for Daddy at his soccer game, we did end up in our "back yard" enjoying dinner and playtime with our friends.




Lord, I can gush about this man, it's been well documented, but I am so thankful for him on Father's Day and the other 364 days of the year.


Then we hit the road for "gigi and papa" so the kids could go to VBS and spend a week at their house. Sometimes the drive is traffic filled and painful, but this particular time it was lovely.  We had 1/2 price milkshakes, rude sound contests and plenty of cloud shape fun on the empty roads that got us there in double quick time.


Upon arrival, we wasted no time getting in their pool!  

Where the kids and TG do a lot of playing and I mostly do this.


The next day TG and I hugged our babies tight, and thanked Gigi and Papa profusely, before hitting the road for home, SOLO.

And so began the #weekofmattandlindsay.  He started with a stop at IKEA on our way back to NOVA, before we went out to watch the next World Cup match with friends that night.


We slept til noon, didn't set foot in a Harris Teeter, ate Chipotle with the teenage lunch crowd at 2 pm, and saw grown up movies, midday, in empty theaters.


We had leisurely shopping dates, and got things done in the light of full day, while watching more World Cup of course.


In the busyness of life with two jobs and two kids I forget how much TG makes me laugh.  He is one of the funniest people I know and for one whole week I got to be all about him again, the way we were in the beginning.  I would never trade our life now to go back, but my God, it's oh so good to get a glimpse of it now and then.  You don't look a day over fast cars and freedom TG.


The week went by quickly, but we were ready to see these smiling faces again.  They even decorated to welcome us back to them!


Then it was back home where we had "bik" time. On the last and hottest day of June, TG took Riley out and practiced riding without training wheels and in a blink she was doing it.  "I just got over my fear.  I climbed right over it!"

Camden immediately proclaimed that he could do it as well and though I was skeptical, within minutes both of our kids were circling our cul de sac without training wheels.   Hail, the conquering victor!

The first part of our summer, was so much fun, it's crazy to say that the second and third were even better, but they were.

 

June Highlight Reel

June started off with a beautiful Sunday, perfect for lounging outside.

We went to post church lunch, (Pei Wei again!).  While we waited for our food I practiced selfies with my mini.
 

From lunch we headed to the fountains to work on our pre Hawaii tans and let the kids run themselves silly.


No trip to the fountains is complete without a trip to the custard place.


A couple days later we broke out our own fountains at home.  Driveway sprinkler is much preferred to the grass these days - my kids hate getting their feet muddy.  Weirdos.


Later that week we discovered that some of the kids had gotten poison ivy from our Memorial Day winery and BBQ picnic outing in May.  It was awful - Riley had it particularly bad and some of our friends had it even worse.  Camden apparently is immune to it, as I learned TG is.  I guess those "leaf" necklaces they were making on our picnic were actually poison ivy (which is what I said when Riley came running up to me with one of them, but I was voted down).  I felt really guilty about Riley's poor itchy rashes, but my twinnie made me feel better when she told me "Poison ivy is a badge of honor. We're outdoorsy! If by outdoorsy you mean drinking wine. Outside."  Indeed.

So, our sweet girl had her Kindergarten graduation ceremony while she was covered in poison ivy rash.  She was a little embarrassed by it, but thankfully Gammy bought her the perfect long sleeved dress to hide most of the worst areas.

She ended up receiving the Principal's Citizenship Award and we were so proud of her.  She truly is a caring, intelligent, natural leader and we can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

Look at her proud, gap toothed grin, right after she received her award.  She had just lost tooth number 7 a few nights before.


The time flies.  I can't believe I'm in a photo with our Kindergarten graduate and big boy Cam - and this was already almost a year ago!


We absolutely LOVED Riley's kindergarten teachers.  These two women took her from barely knowing all of her alphabet to reading fluently, writing diligently and learning how to be a good citizen.  I can't say enough good things about them and how fortunate we were to have them for her first year in school.


After her ceremony in the morning we went to enjoy a special fun day together! Our first stop was Chick Fil A - where they were celebrating graduation too.  Riley thought they did this just for her class and I didn't tell her otherwise.


Our next stop was Chuck E Cheese!  I love the way Camden is looking at her.  He was proud of his sister and so excited to have all her attention for the day.


We finished out our afternoon at the fountains yet again, where the girl of the moment alternated between playing in the water and giving me a "spa day" that entailed pouring fountain water on my feet and giving me a shiatsu massage.


Guacamole and margaritas were consumed in copious amounts this month, but there's no better place for them than Uncle Julio's on a kid free couples date.


Where after we ate tons of guac, fajitas and then cupcakes from the bakery - we ended up at Breakers (attempting) to play a few games of pool.


After all the spring rain and sun the backyard jungle could no longer be ignored. We spent a few June Saturdays at Home Depot...


And the Dollar Store where Riley insisted she needed this coconut cup because "I'm Hawaiian and this is very Hawaiian."  I wish that logic worked when I insist that I need to live in Hawaii because I am Hawaiian. TG, are you reading this? #BeachfrontBargainHunt


And of course, there were Mommy and Cam snuggles, because what would a month without that even look like?


Even though this picture screams, "SUMMERTIME!"...


When the last day of school finally arrived, my sweet girl cried big alligator tears because she was so heartbroken to leave her beloved Kindergarten teachers behind.  She grudgingly gave me a tear filled grin with a number one for first grade.


I, on the other hand, was ready to party, but someone needed a nap first.

Can you see my life in this photo?  My blog should be called Stenciled Walls, Monogram Pillows and Disinfectant Spray.

Summer's comin!  In the next blog post.