June found us even busier than May!
We resumed our Wednesday night with the William's Dinners
Discovered that Dairy Queen will take Gluten Free cones and dip them if you bring them!
We had a cookout at Mimi and Grandpa's and the kids played in the water and devoured watermelon!
Taught my little buddy some yoga
and did forearm and handstands in the yard with the kids
I also discovered just how deep the love runs between Angus and Argos... these boys aren't going to know what to do without each other when Angus moves to the UK with us!
I lost count of how many summer vegetable plates we made...
A cotton candy sky at sunset will never get old..
Stella's first time holding a lighting bug...
Another Wednesday night dinner and another random twinning with Amanda! This is not the first, nor the last time I'm sure, that this has happened...lol!
Bribing Asher with snapchat filters to take a picture with me!
Try as we might we can never manage to see everyone when we come back. We didn't make it to Washington State or Texas like we'd hoped, but we did make it to Virginia! And because we're either dedicated friends or absolutely insane, we drove to VA Beach for one single night and then on to Culpepper for another single night. And we drove in this...
But we made it in one piece and got to squeeze some of our people!
Stop 1 was Virginia Beach and the Connelly's! We had some very happy girls on our hands! Claire answered the door squealing at the top of her lungs and threw her arms around us! It was so sweet!
The girls got to have their first sleepover!
And Charlotte and I finally got another picture of ourselves together... I think this might make number two in 7 years of friendship?
After breakfast in Hampton Roads we headed to Culpepper and Rachel and Josh's new house!
And we drove in more of this... and found out that North Carolina was flooding like hell while we were gone!
We got to marvel at how fast kids grow up and how much can change in just a couple of years.
We got to catch up in person
And we laughed... a lot!
Alex (10), Jackson and Stella (8)... my little Pixie girl next to those giant kids!
Mom getting all of Lucas' cuddles
With the cranky old man who finally cuddled with me!
Oliver!
Watching Minecraft videos together the morning we left
We headed back down to a very wet, very flooded North Carolina.
Stella requested mermaid hair for her birthday month...
After Gavin finished Kindergarten we got to steal him for the day and we headed to Charlotte to the aquarium!
The aquarium had partnered with Lego for an event this summer so there were legos in the tanks with the sea life and huge lego figures all over! Stella loved this giant octopus!
Angus remembered how deeply he loves his sister....enough to sit on her head when she's sleeping...haha!
We headed to the mountains to take a peak at the Koenig's new Mountain House rental property and Stella had her first BBQ sandwich... and loved it! Thanks to the Peddlin' Pig in Boone for having gluten free stuff!
We discovered a problem with blue hair dye and not piling Stella's hair on top of her head and out of the way when she sleeps...
Baby wipes and coconut oil took it off at least...
We headed to Discovery Place in Charlotte with Matt Matt, Cici, Ellory, and Ryan
We finally remembered to snap a picture of the two of us out doing something and not just the kids... and I'm out of focus...haha!
Stella on the bed of nails. The kid behind her was so funny- he cheered her on the whole time!
"I mean... I guess I'll try it..."
"OMG what have I done?"
Since they both love Paris so much we decided every time we see and Eiffel Tower they have to take a picture together!
We ended up deciding to extend our trip in the states and with plane ticket prices the only affordable option was to extend for an entire month. So we ended up being there for Fathers Day and Stella's birthday. We were definitely sad to be apart from Christopher for longer than originally planned, and absolutely being away for holidays made it worse. But we made the best of it and we'll celebrate when we're together again!
For Father's Day we got Steve a bag of his favorite things and the girls loved stealing his chips from him
We took Dad to backstreets after hanging by the pool for the afternoon
Stella started feeling crappy part of the way through dinner and ended up on my lap the rest of the night. This is the only picture of Dad we got the whole day. But we hung out and had fun just being together!
Cuddles with my boy!
Pelicans with the Williams!
These kids...
I got to watch the kids for Matt and Carly while they worked one day so we had a full day of playing outside together and enjoying their favorite- chick-fil-a!
I got sweet cuddles with this boy after he woke up from his nap!
The week after Stella's birthday she started pottery camp!
I'm so jealous- I've always wanted to learn how to throw pottery and do the wheel!
She did a great job and absolutely loved it!
Finished products post glaze!
Finished products post glaze!
This crazy storm blew in one evening. It was clear when Mom walked into Food Lion and then all of a sudden it got dark and I looked up and saw this! The weather was absolutely insane this summer! Cooler in the beginning of our trip than we had thought and all these wild storms blowing in. As a storm lover, I enjoyed it a ton though, I have to say!
Comm Scope had a take you kid to work day and Stella got to go with her Duke!
Sushi girl
More target-ing with Noni
We headed up to the camper in the mountains one more time before they sold it.
And we soaked up the mountain air and sunshine
I'm really not kidding when I say you don't realize how much you miss green grass, sunshine, clean air, and a blue sky until you no longer have it. Every chance I got this summer I was barefoot in the grass, grounding my body in the earth and soaking up every ounce of fresh air I could inhale.
My peaceful forest bathing was interrupted by this wild beast...
But we made do...
I did more inversions... I made a goal at the beginning of the year to go upside down every single day and I've stuck to it. Not only is it good for core and shoulders, but its fun and playful and a reminder to just do something silly and fun every day. I feel like its helped me focus on setting and sticking to goals again and also to just remember the playful side of my practice.
That night, after the kids had been put to bed and before the sun had completely set, a family of deer came to the backyard.
I grabbed Stella out of bed and brought her outside to see!
We saw the new house they're buying again and snapped pictures of the kids on the bridge thats at the entrance... if we can talk them into it as they get older we want to do pictures like this every year to see how they grow and change!
We headed to the general store and Stella talked me into her first glass bottle coke.
She loved it.
We walked around the park and the kids played in the creek and then we headed back down the mountain.
When she wasn't on the swings, she was in the pool and I was camped out with a fruity drink and my kindle...
or my new found love... peach cider!
All the outside time had me bringing my outdoor mat outside and practicing yoga in the yard... I had help...
often....
