Virginia--First week of July

About time for another catch up post I think :)

After I was in Utah, I packed up the kiddos and flew to my family in Virginia.  We survived flight number 1 of the summer, and were so excited to be in my hometown!  I hadn't been back since before Jake turned two, so it was pretty much a brand new experience for both of the kids.  My only complaint was the retched humidity, but really, I knew what I was getting myself into, visiting in the middle of summer :/

It was a very fun week, relaxing with the family, slowly preparing for the big trip to Germany! Jake and Mia had nonstop fun with their cousins, while we shopped, swam, packed, and watched Season 1 of Downton Abbey on Netflix :)  Here are a whole bunch of pictures highlighting the fun!

Waiting to board the plane. First (and shortest) of 4 flights that month.

The kids loved playing with their Uncle David.  Mia was so curious about him the whole time, and still shrieks with joy when she sees his picture 2 months later.  He may be lots older and bigger than she is, but they have tons in common--they both love to eat, swim, nap, and play with toys all day long!! ;)

You can always count on my mom to find fun activities for the kids--she's going on her 15th year as a preschool music teacher! I wish I had her natural creativity :)

Cute little buddies!

Shopping trip to Wegmans-- I wish we had that store at home.  Pretty slick how we got all the kids in the cart huh??

Too many errands.  I couldn't believe how hard Mia passed out that day. We took turns holding her, and she stayed asleep the entire time in Costco. Poor kid!!! 

My parents bought/built the most amazing playhouse for the backyard!  Jake called it the "gingerbread house" :)

Hard at work in the kitchen!!

We had a great 4th of July! Spent the day swimming with the family, then went over to a friends house to set off fireworks.  

All dressed and ready for a late night of fun and fireworks!

Nothing says 4th of july like a yummy slice of watermelon!!! :) :)

Jake was nervous about those sparklers at first.  But SO PROUD of himself for holding one!!!!!

Mia wasn't remotely nervous about the fireworks.. in fact, we had to hold her the entire time, to keep her from lunging at the firecrackers that were being set off in the street.

Walking to the park

We managed to squeeze in a quick visit with a good friend from my high school days.  Finally got to meet her sweet baby boy :) Loved spending a couple hours with you Sue!

Jake was obsessed with this little scooter

I love how the boys are playing with the girly pink dollhouse.. and Mia is in the background playing kitchen with her swimsuit pulled halfway off. hahaha.

Wouldn't be a summer trip to Fredericksburg without going to Carls!!!

Jake couldn't seem to eat his cone fast enough in the heat :)

Another thing I miss about Virginia are the fantastic thunderstorms.  Jake and Sawyer thought it was just awesome counting down the seconds between lightning and thunder.

Don't worry, we made them come inside when it started getting too crazy.

Unfortunately with the way all the dates lined up for the trips, I ended up being in Virginia on Wesley's 30th Birthday.  I felt bad that I couldn't be there with him that day, but I did leave him a little surprise in the house before we left for Utah!

On the morning of his birthday I let him know that there was a bday card hidden inside his nightstand.  The card told him where to find his present.

30 reasons we love him, tied to bottles of his favorite sodas. I had Jake answer a few, and wrote a few for Mia, and tied those to "Dad's Root Beer" bottles. cute yes? I'm not very creative, so I was excited that this came together.  Big thanks to Syd for designing all the bottle tags :)

And even bigger thanks to Wesley--30 years old, fantastic dad, friend, husband--smokin' hot too ;) My husband is 30!!! Man I feel like such a grown up! ;)

At the end of the week, we packed up the bags, carseats, strollers, 4 kids, and all the courage we could muster, and headed to the airport--Germany bound! Next post I'll tell you all about it :)