Memorial Day

We all camped out in the backyard with the fireflies and forest sounds. I forget how noisy it gets back in the forest at night with frogs and owls and bugs. We had a fire and roasted marshmallows. Ben made pancakes in the morning and then we loaded up all the bikes for a family bike ride on the American Tobacco Trail. It was really hot on Memorial Day but the breeze while biking helped, as well as the shady trail. The girls were troopers and we managed to ride 10 miles which is a lot for their little legs. The promise of ice cream at the end helped move them along. The boys hung out in the bike trailer and fought for the last few miles. We stopped at Goodberry's on the way home for yummy frozen custard. We broke out the slip 'n slide when we got home and then grilled veggies from our farmer's market trip for dinner and had a yummy strawberry cobbler for dessert.

memorial day weekend.

We kept things simple and easy for Memorial Day weekend. Backyard camping, pancake breakfast on the deck, and a few friends over on Monday for a cookout (do not confuse a cookout and a bbq in North Carolina).

Relaxing with a book.

No need to go camping anywhere else when we already live in the woods.

Art projects on the deck and cereal for dinner one night.

Memorial Day at Great Falls

We spent Memorial Day outside, enjoying the perfect weather. We started our day early at Great Falls for our annual breakfast cook-out. We met Ben's parents there and cooked up pancakes, sausage, and eggs. If you ever go to Great Falls on a holiday, early in the morning is the way to go. We had our pick of the picnic tables and when we left the park around 1 p.m., there was an endless line of cars waiting to get into the park. I can't imagine a worse way to spend a holiday.

We hadn't been to Great Falls in a few years. The kids had a great time climbing on all of the rocks and watching the kayakers in the river. After our short hike, the girls gave everyone spa treatments (like hand massages) and retreated to one of their vast imaginary worlds assigning everyone a role as king, queen, etc.

The girls were pretending to be leopards most of the morning. Oliver followed suit.

We picked up sandwiches on the way home from Sandwich Republic (their veggie sandwiches are awesome) and ate them at a park. The kids were thrilled to get more time playing outside.

the beach.

On a whim we decided to throw our swimming gear in the car before we headed to the Topiary Gardens in case we happened upon a beach. (We made sure the kids were unaware of this...it's good to keep their expectations low.)

We were pretty worn down and overheated after exploring the gardens for several hours. But a stop at a beach sounded really relaxing. After some GPS research, we picked up some sandwiches and headed to North Point State Park on the Chesapeake Bay. Since it was evening, the Memorial Day crowds had begun to thin, the sun wasn't beating down, and the water was warm. The beach, however, was pretty awful. Lots of garbage and an unfortunate barrier of rocks and seaweed to pass through to get to the sandy waters. And let's just say if Walmart had a beach, this would be it.

But the kids were completely thrilled since they thought we were headed home. They declared us to be the best parents in the world for taking them to TWO fun places in one day. (That declaration changed a few days ago when Elsa, who was upset about having to clean up a mess, said, "I still like you, but you are NOT the best mom in the world.") Despite the unsavory beach conditions, we all enjoyed the warm water. Especially Oliver, who had been denied so many attempts at water earlier in the day.