Road trip

While Chris was in a two-day conference at church we took the opportunity to go to Charlottesville to visit Karen and the kids. Zach was gone too so it was definitely a time of being outnumbered. It was so much fun to watch the kids play and it will be even more fun to watch them play together next summer in Jamaica!
Karen is going to do her first triathlon in a few weeks so we went to a nearby lake to practice open water swimming. Of course it started to rain when we got there but it tapered off to a nice mist and we ended up with the place to ourselves.

Baby David discovers sand...

Daniel and Melina playing under the "umbrella"

David and Diane chowing down on grapes

Piano time

Crazy bedtime routines in the bathroom!

On the way down to Charlottesville we had a little time to kill before Karen got off of work so we stopped at a local market that also had a petting zoo with goats and all kinds of feathered creature from quails to chickens to ostriches. Both boys had a BLAST and as we were leaving we met a farming coming in to sell some produce and we got a huge box of locally grown peaches for only $13. Yum. 

Cutie face

Look we have cutie faces too!

Daniel sending up corn kernels in the pully to the mommy goat.

The sweetest baby goat.

David fed the goat and even let her lick his hands!

Crazies in the car!

Selfies

 Daniel and I were watching the finale of one of our favorite summer shows, So You Think You Can Dance and I decided to take a selfie of us watching the show. So cute, he even made a funny face...

But something must have clicked with Daniel because hen took the camera from me and figured out how to take his own selfies...as evidenced below in exhibits A, B, C. Uh oh...now we're in for it.

Little graduate

Daniel has big changes coming up in the next few weeks when he graduates from his one class at school to the official "preschool" class where he will wear a "uniform" every day (pictures to come when he starts Sept. 2). But to prepare us, he just graduated from his "Walkers" class in Sunday school to the "3's". Don't know what the difference will be but Pastor Julie Shiffert who runs the Families Ministry had little graduation caps and a certificate for them on Sunday. SO cute. My big boy is growing up.

Almost there...

Sometimes they boys do something that is so cute I just have to caputre it with a camera. Usually by the time I get it the moment has passed, but not this time. Daniel had been napping in our bed and I was downstairs working on something. I hear him get out of bed and go to the bathroom on his own (SO awesome) and then I hear quiet. I go upstairs about 30 minutes later and found this...

Shorts and underwear left at the entrance of the bathroom and then turn around and see this (cue heart melting). Seems that he was just so groggy that he couldn't make it back up into our bed.

Making do

One of my mantras when I'm solo parenting is "just make do" or at least keep it simple...While Chris has been gone this week that's exactly what we've been doing.

Group run with mommy? Might be a shorter run, but bottles and breakfast will be served before take off.

Eat dinner off the floor? Sure if it means they're eating.

Breakfast from the counter? Why not, got to teach them to be self sufficient.

Serenade the metro commuters as they walk by? Everyone needs a little music in their lives.

Sweet/sugary fruit for dessert? If it makes him happy, absolutely.

Pull all of the (un-used) tampons from my purse? Fine, if it lets me get the car loaded up so we can get to work on time.

Backyard camping

I got Chris a tent for Father's Day and he and Daniel have loved using it. Baby David even got invited in on the action the last few times. Chris got two foam rolls and then I get all of our extra blankets and sheets and build them a little "nest" for sleeping. Daniel usually ends up on daddy's pillow and David tosses and turns and ends up waking up with the sun shortly after 6. I enjoy the soft squishy bed inside...all to my self.

And while they weren't camping here, Daniel's second favorite summer activity is building a campfire and making s'mores with smush-mellows. After a fun dinner with the Rassmussens, Uncle Travis wrangled the 5 big kids to roast the perfect marshmallow. And then when it got dark Aunt Chanel taught Daniel how to catch fireflies. Connor enjoyed cleaning up fallen marshmallows and graham crackers.