returning to virginia.

The day after the girls' last day of school, we headed up to Virginia for the weekend. Ben had some work in the area scheduled for Monday so we planned the trip around that and then the work was postponed at the last minute. But we decided to head up anyway and we had such a great weekend seeing so many friends. I love that the D.C. area is only 4 1/2 hours away.

We stayed with our friends the Littles and the kids were so happy to be reunited with all of their buddies. Kirsten put together a fabulous cookout Friday night and it was so fun to have the Davis family join us for the festivities. Delicious food, great friends, fireflies, and s'mores. Perfect summer night.

Rest stop antics.

Abi and Amelia catching up.

beach day.

During the last week of school, the kindergarten classes had a beach day at school. I was able to help out with the activities and it was fun to see Elsa having a great time with her friends. She loved Kindergarten and had a great experience, despite moving in the middle of the school year.

NCMA

Before Courtney and Bria headed back to Virginia, we visited the North Carolina Museum of Art. We only had a few minutes to look around in the museum before it closed but the grounds stayed open later. The Museum Park was much bigger than I expected, with lots of walking trails through fields, woodlands, and a pond and some outdoor art installations. Great spot for an evening stroll.

weekend visitors.

It was so fun to have my friend Courtney and her daughter Bria drive down from Virginia for a visit one weekend. Elsa and Bria have been friends since before they were two!

A few gems I found from their early years...

Elsa loved having Bria stay with us. We ventured out Saturday evening to Duke Gardens. Ben had actually driven up to D.C. early that morning for a quick work trip and then drove back down that afternoon and met us at the gardens.

Doing stretches. For some reason they were really into this stretch routine.

Oliver had to force every single duck and goose into the water. He got hissed at. A lot.

Simon really wanted to get into the water.

Everything had completely changed again since my visit with the boys a few weeks earlier.

Sleepover!

Fireflies!

It never quite feels like summer until we can start catching fireflies. Our yard has been filled with them which has been so much fun. I love watching our backyard woods start to twinkle every evening. Feels magical.