July

July was a very full and extra fun month for us.  It started with Bridgette and I taking a trip down to North Carolina.  We stayed the night with dear friends, then Bridgette joined AK and her mom for a week, going with their youth group to Centrifuge!  

Bridgette got to stay one extra night with our friends and celebrated the 4th of July at a baseball game.

Meanwhile, we had plans to celebrate the Fourth with friends, so the red heads made their American flag cake to take and share

We'd never been into DC to see the fireworks and had made plans to do so this year, but we got a late start heading down and were still on the highway when the fireworks started.  Thankfully, drivers in DC are crazy and were literally just stopping along the overpass to watch the fireworks along the water.  So we joined them!

Ryan and I were happy to have a night out with John and Leia while they were in town visiting family.  

Happy 7-11 free slurpee day!

Cheverly Baptist Church may not have our own building, but we know how to decorate a temporary space for a fun and exciting neighborhood VBS!

Ryan made a major career move this summer and separated from the Air Force as active duty.  He's gone into the reserves, and has a new job working as legal council for HUD.  In God's kindness, all of the transitions went very smoothly.  

Ryan and Bridgette are reading their way through the Chronicles of Narnia

With some time off in between jobs, Ryan was able to take a trip to spend time with dear friends in Oklahoma.  This group of guys have been friends since high school and do a great job of staying in touch.

Gretchen and Bridgette enjoying some shopping time with Aunt Vallerie

Rooke had three basketball tournaments in a row during the month.  One was just a guys trip!

The final tournament of Rooke's summer AAU basketball season was in Virginia Beach.  We made the trip down as a family and spent one day on the beach before all the games happened.

The $10 boogie board from Aldi was totally worth it!

After the tournament, we spent a few extra nights in Williamsburg.

Letting the kids take care of choosing the cereal for the week!

The forced family photo at the coffee shop before driving home =)

June

You might think this was a sign that we had guests over, but no.  It's just part of our collection of shoes ranging from sizes womens 9 to mens 15.

Gretchen tested out the piano before my studio recital.  She played beautifully (in practice and during the actual performance).

My recitals are always a family affair =)

And it's extra fun that some of my students are my kids' dear friends

The following night we went to Bridgette's violin recital.  She's doing great in her learning and played very well.  Rooke opted to meet-up with friends afterwards, then we went out for pizza.  It seems appropriate after back-to-back music recitals.  And a photo shoot ensued . . .

Camping!  We had a great site at Rocky Gap State Park and basically had the place to ourselves for the first 24 hours.  The wewather was great!  Departure time was delayed, but a kind fellow camper helped us out and we all learned a good lesson about how car batteries work and what happens if you leave the interior light on overnight.  Oops!

Encouragement during a swim meet

She placed third overall in butterfly and sixth overall in backstroke

We scored free tickets to a Washington Mystics WNBA game - yipee!!  And they won!

We LOVE fresh summer blueberries

We love them so much, we might just have to wrestle someone to gain access to the box! =)

May

The girls particiapted in a musical theater class with their neighbor besties.  The culmination performance of "The Little Mermaid" was super fun and the girls were great!  Bridgette and Gretchen both played one of the "sisters."

One of Ryan's favorite things these days is to share funny videos with the kids that he finds on Instagram!  It's good to laugh together =)

I had the privilege of catching up with Tricia while she was in town for work.   She was a dear friend at OBU and a bridesmaid in our wedding, and I was glad for a chance to catch up in person.  

Yummy popsicles on the porch

Happy Mother's Day!  Being Mom to my three is the best thing that keeps me on my toes and on my knees.  They blessed me with happy hearts and good attitudes for my celebration request: family lunch at a hot pot restaurant after church!  It was a great meal experience that I haven't enjoyed since we lived in China and fun to share with the kids

The mother's day party continued with a visit from Kaye K!!  Since she introduced us to paletas, it's a favorite spot for an after-dinner treat

As a birthday + mother's day gift, Mom and I got to spend the day enjoying Hillwood Estate and Gardens.  We both read The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Weather Post and delighted seeing the estate and touring the gardens together on a beautifully sunny day.

The girls' last day of Granite homeschool co-op - hooray!  The end of sixth and eighth grades.

Bridgette was awarded the second-highest honors for her score in the National Latin Exam!

Rooke is on a new basketball team and the tournaments continue

Rooke and the rest of the basketball players were honored at the school sports banquet

Strawberry picking - the sign that summer has officially started!  And the sign that we will be enjoying all things strawberry for the next week.

Gretchen went right to work!

We scored free tickets to a Washington Nationals game!  It was a beautiful evening and both girls surprisingly enjoyed following the game.  

Goofy girls on a walk through the National Arboretum