July

July was a fun and busy month.

We celebrated the 4th at a picnic lunch in town then with a parade and dinner in my  hometown.  Our family loves Independence Day.

We left the next morning for our week at the beach.  We had the best time playing in the sand, eating out, and relaxing.

Avery turned 6 on July 23rd!  Our elf visited, she had her traditional Bojangles breakfast, and she opened a few presents.

That weekend we had a house full to celebrate her with a princess party.  No one loves her family, friends, and birthday more than Avery.

At the end of the month, Avery participated in a week-long dance camp that lasted all day.  She had a great time, Sam and I had some special time, and I even had a few days to myself.

June Happenings

June was a fun, full month.  We got right down to summer business once we got home from the beach.

We headed to the pool as often as we could.

We ate ice cream often as well.

Avery participated in cheer camp at school and then proceeded to jump and tumble all around the house.

We backed out of seeing a Thomas program at the Children's Museum and instead chose shopping, lunch, and splash pad at Stony Point.  We didn't tell the kids we changed our minds about Thomas until about a week later.

Sam said goodbye to his crib!

We spent the morning at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens with Katie and Parker.

We celebrated Father's Day with our favorite dads.

We of course celebrated National Wear Your Lilly Day also.

The kids attended Bible school at the Baptist church and I helped in Sam's class.  They had the best time, but the 8:45/9:00 p.m. bedtimes were a little much.

We were silly.

The kids took swimming lessons.  Avery became a little less afraid and Sam almost drowned a few times because he wasn't afraid at all.

We read, read, read.

All that fun made the month fly by unbelievably fast!

A Long Beach Weekend

This year we planned to spend a weekend in June at the beach with my parents.  They usually come while we are there in July, but we decided it would be nice to all stay in a hotel together.  We were excited when our good friends invited us down on Wednesday before my parents were arriving Friday.  We stayed with them at their house in Duck, and while the weather wasn't the best for the beach, it was great for the pool, shopping, eating out, fishing for the men, and girl time for the girls.

 

We left their house Friday before lunch and headed just south for lunch.  Since we had time before checking into our hotel, we went to the aquarium for the afternoon.  Sam was not a fan of the outdoor dinosaur exhibit this year.

My parents ended up having car trouble and got to the beach late, so we checked in, sat on the beach for awhile, and then went for a 2nd dinner at Capt'n Franks in 2 days.

There were donuts for everyone the next morning followed by time in the pool and on the beach.

 

We enjoyed a snack and the beautiful ocean after nap time.

 

That night we all went to my favorite, The Lone Cedar, and had a great meal.

We stopped for ice cream before heading back to the hotel.  Our long weekend was just perfect for getting us excited about our week at the beach in July.

Wrapping Up Kindergarten

The last few weeks of school were very busy.  It made the days leading to summer vacation go fast {but sometimes not fast enough}.

We took pictures in Richmond with our friend Lexi, and they all turned out beautifully.

Avery had her dance recital and did a fantastic job.  This was her first year with a complete costume change.  Ned, Sam, my parents, and Mimi slipped out after Avery's 2nd performance, so I got to sit alone for the remaining acts.  There were almost 40 dances in the recital and I thought I might be spending the night.  A professional photographer took performance pictures but I haven't ordered mine yet.

 

Field Day was held the day before school got out.  It was a hot day but could have been much worse.  Avery had a fun time participating in all the events with her classmates.  School dismissed at 12 p.m. that day so she and Ned had lunch before going back to work.

 

 

That night Avery fell on the hardwood floor and busted her lip badly.  It became very swollen immediately and took a long time to stop bleeding.  She does not like for people to know that she has been sick or hurt, so I was worried she would not want to go to school the next day.  The poor thing was so sad and pitiful.

She did make it to school for the final day!  I couldn't believe how much she had grown compared to her first day picture in the same spot.

The next day was graduation, and it was so neat to walk in another graduation ceremony for my school.  Ned and the kids were at home since it was Saturday, and we met for lunch when I was done.  Summer vacation started at it was still May!