Busy Days

Our busy summer continues! We just enjoyed a visit from my parents and niece. Since Grace had never been outside the Midwest before, we made it a point to fit in as much as we could from this part of the country. A trip to DC included Ford's Theater, plenty of monuments, and a quick stop at the Museum of American History. Another day trip took us to Virginia Beach (she had never seen the ocean before) and a stop at the Virginia Aquarium. We also fit in a visit to Chancellorsville (it's Virginia--a Civil War historical site was kind of a must) and the DC Dulles Air and Space Museum extension. Lots of driving, lots of memories.

 Posing in front of the White House

Owen loved the various water features in DC (this one is at the Korean War Veterans' memorial). He stretched out so far at the WWII memorial that I thought he was going to fall in!

 Cousins at the aquarium

 This was the coolest part of the Air and Space Extension--the Discovery Space Shuttle

 

Fishing

We went out to visit our friends, Harry and Tammy, last night. They have recently moved out into the country and we got to see their land for the first time. On their property, they also have a pond full of fish. After dinner, our group (including our good friend Dave, his brother, and a friend of his) headed to the pond for fishing. Owen showed more proclivity for fishing than Brennan did--he reeled in fish after fish (catch and release), but Brennan managed to catch a few of his own. They needed a little help casting, but did the rest of the work (mostly) on their own. In Owen's case, that included throwing the fish back in the pond. John caught his first fish ever and I caught my first fish in years. There was a lot of excitement happening! Our friend Dave managed to catch a few photos of the boys with their first (and second) catches.

Brennan's first catch of the night

Owen's first catch (which happened about five seconds after we cast his line in)

 His second catch--his biggest one of the night

Blueberries

Brennan is a great lover of blueberries. He could eat massive quantities at every meal. With blueberry season happening now, I seized the opportunity on Saturday to take him blueberry picking as a mommy/boy date. We got there quite early and I loved listening to a distant rooster crowing and watching the sun rise about the tree line. Beautiful morning, delicious blueberries, quality time with my oldest boy.

Long Weekend

With John's parents visiting, we got a nice long weekend to spend as a family. Some of the weekend activities included Maymont Park, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens (see previous post), and trip to Carter Mountain Orchard for peaches. It was a full and fun time!

 The Blue Ridge Mountains were looking pretty blue the day we were at Carter Mountain!

Independence Day

Our one annual Independence Day tradition is heading to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens--free admission! We love exploring the butterfly exhibit, checking out the amazing flowers, and letting the boys play in the splash pad area. This year, Grandma and Grandpa Downer were visiting so we got to introduce them to this annual tradition.