It started off with a quick trip to Florida for me and Eleanor to celebrate my little brother's graduation from the University of Florida. We are so proud of Andrew and all his accomplishments!
Then Grandma and Grandpa came to Camden for a visit!
At the end of May, Anna Kate "graduated" from Bethesda Christian Preschool where we've spent each Monday morning for the past two years. Even though she's only been there one day a week, she's really enjoyed the teachers and the friends she's made. She's excited to come back and help me teach Spanish to the three and four-year-olds this year!
One morning when Luke was off work, we decided we'd look up a splash pad to take the girls to. We found one in Columbia and (after arriving an hour before it opened and then driving to find another one, getting lost, and ending up back at the same place) we had a great time!
The first week of June, Anna Kate and Caroline took swimming lessons and both did a fantastic job. Caroline was nervous the first day, but was doing great by the end of the week. Anna Kate has progressed really well this summer, and as long as Luke and I are both in the pool, we've been letting her swim without a floatie!
Eleanor's gone swimming a lot this summer too!
Here's a fun picture of the girls with some of their best little friends at our library's summer reading kickoff and community heroes celebration. Is there anything better than sundresses, sandals, and lollipops?!?
Also in June, we went to the wedding of a young couple in our church. We actually snapped a couple of good pictures of the girls and of me and Luke.
We took a quick trip to the mountains with two of my close college girlfriends, Caitlin and Lesley. Here's a picture of us with all our babies!
Not long after VBS we went on our church family mission trip to Morganton, GA. We helped the same church that we partnered with last year. We were able to minister in some nursing homes (music, manicures, visits), help clean up the church building, do some evangelism, food and clothing ministry, construction and yard work, and general encouragement for the people at the church. Honestly, other than a little bit of strep throat that spread through the group, we had a great time and the girls really did well all sleeping on the floor in one room of the church's old school facility. They actually gave our family part of the old school library, so Anna Kate was in heaven.
Caroline having fun with Courtney on the 8 hour bus ride
Eleanor did not so much enjoy the 8 hour bus ride
Little girls making themselves at home
Delivering food
Cooling off on a hot afternoon
Nursing home ministry
Everyone went tubing on a lazy river the last day. It was hard to catch pictures of them, but this is Luke and Caroline in one tube and AK tethered to them in another.
One funny moment...it was extremely hard to keep all of our things organized living out of suitcases for the week. The girls got their matching dresses mixed up one day and wore the wrong size for a few hours!
We had a great time ministering with our church family!
And who doesn't love a good Independence Day picture. Just for the fun of it!
Anna Kate has had Chick-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day on the calendar for months. Dress like a cow, get a free meal. I mean, I'm not above making a fool of myself to not have to cook dinner!
It also happened to be Caroline's first time ever having a regular old dairy ice cream cone. Yay for outgrown allergies!
It also happened to be Caroline's first time ever having a regular old dairy ice cream cone. Yay for outgrown allergies!
While Luke took his youth to Mission Fuge Camp in July, I decided I would be brave and take the girls by myself to see Sarah and Dustin and the boys in Washington, DC. An added bonus was that we would also get to spend some time with Andrew (who was in Philadelphia for the summer) and Anneka (who is now living in DC)! The girls could not have done better on the 7.5 hour trip each way. We listened to music, books on tape, and they read stories and slept. We seriously packed so much fun into our 6 days there. We did pools, splash parks, play grounds, all the monuments, two museums, and lots of playtime!
Eleanor with another famous Eleanor
Fireside chats
We loved the Wright Brothers exhibit at the Air and Space Museum!
Just a few weekends ago, we took a trip down to the zoo to spend some time with Uncle Jonathan. The girls had a great time hanging out with him and getting to see some of the new exhibits at the zoo. We especially like the river otters!
Well, that was long, but I have a lot I want to remember about a wonderful summer with our one-, three-, and five-year-old little girls. Life is sweet.
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