Watermelon Park river tubing

July 7th our family drove up to Northern Virginia to go river tubing with the Allreds and Calderwoods. It was a perfect day and even better because of the company.

On the bus to the start point up river:

We had quite the group!

Getting everyone into their tubes and coordinated was the hardest part, especially since the kids wanted to jump right in.

Lily insisted on swimming most of the way!

  

This was the first time George has been able to come! It was so nice having Daddy here.

Lance trying out Uncle Tyler's water straw:

Lance was a good sport and spent a lot of his time rescuing the little ones that were floating just a little too far away.

Thank goodness for Grandma! She held Lexi for most of the trip so I could enjoy swimming with the other kids.

Always fun to be with family!

Muscles, dogs, and cows

I love summer vacation! Yes, most days we just hang out and watch way too much YouTube and Netflix, there's just something magical about having no schedule.

One thing we do try to do every day is get to the gym. George and I have been fairly consistent and it's showing. I'm hitting some decent PR's and I love the way my body is changing.

Excuse the photo, but I had to document that once upon a time I really was in shape. Look! You can kind of see my bicep!

Bender and Vera are thick as thieves these days. Their favorite thing to do is follow Lexi around waiting for her to drop food (which she does constantly). Lexi thinks it's the best thing ever and most dinners George and I have to intervene before she gives the dogs her entire meal.

FGTeeV is the kids' favorite YouTube channel and I'll admit I like it too. The family is nice and the videos are always entertaining.

I've beens spending my nights going through old family photos for a project I'm working on. These dogs are good company at 2 a.m.

Doggy play-date! Raven and Vera are BFF's and have a great time running around the yard together (and stealing food off the table). I guess if you're going to live a life of crime, it's best to have a partner.

This girl cracks me up! Love her!

I walked in on these girls one day while Lily was sharing her stick-on earrings. Lexi was excited to be big like her sister.

Cole has discovered Legos and seems to have a knack for them. I got him this cute little set and together we built a train engine.

He did a great job!

This has become a common sight for us: Jude will sneak into our room most nights and curl up next to Bender on the dog bed. While I'm a bit grossed out, I have to admit it IS super cute.

Anyone else celebrate Cow Appreciation Day? Laura did with her kids up in Northern Virginia:

We did, too!

All the kids and I had cow tails to compliment the spots.

Someone was excited for their free food!

The cutest cows I ever did see!

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!

I got this picture from Scott that day. Way to work hard, Lance!

We in Charlottesville had a pretty low-key day. We went to the gym, then had dinner at a friend's house before heading to Carter Mountain to watch the fireworks.

The view from the mountain never disappoints, but I don't think we'll do the fireworks there again. They were so far away that they were about as awe-inspiring as watching someone play with sparklers.

Peach cider and donuts!

Love my family!  

It was fun to spend that time together, but I think next time we'll try to get a little closer.

After the fireworks, we went home and did some sparklers before calling it a night.

Lexi was a little nervous at first, but finally got the hang of it (and than promptly grabbed the hot end after it burned out...poor girl had a blister for a few days).

Happy 4th of July!