Another great week at camp

We are back from another great week at Roxbury. It is hands down one of the highlights of the summer every year (for us and the kids!). We had gorgeous weather and they got to spend SO much time with their cousins and camp friends riding bike, fishing, playing on the playground, swimming at the swimming hole, going to kids' church, and of course.....at their favorite place: the SNACK BAR! Crazy kids! 

Hot dogs at the camp bonfire!

Daddy's big catch for the week 

On one of the nights, we opted to sit in the little gazebo for evening church and boy, it's good we did. We had an absolute torrential downpour right in the middle of the service. It was so bad we couldn't hear and we weren't quite sure how we were going to get back to the cabin. The kids braved the rain and ran all the way back to the cabin to get us umbrellas. They were soaking wet but they thought it was the funniest thing. 

We're so thankful for camp and a cabin that holds so many memories for our family. Can't wait 'til next year! 

A new nephew on the way!

A new baby nephew to love, coming around Thanksgiving! We knew Bradley and Ashley were pregnant but they held a gender reveal where we found out baby Lauver was a boy. Can't wait to squish him! 

A fun, last-day-of-school activity!

Well, that year sure flew by! Another year come and gone! We now have a 4th grader and a 2nd grader. Yesterday, we did the obligatory before-school photos and told them we had a surprise activity for them after they got out (early dismissal).

 Look how much they've grown!

After they got home, we ate some quick lunch and headed to City Island for our first-ever ride on the Pride of the Susquehanna. It was SUCH a gorgeous day...like 70 degrees, dreary at first but then turned beautifully sunny when we boarded, and breezy. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!

Of course there was a snack shop on board, so you KNOW my kids were excited about that. They each got some candy, which really made the trip even more special for them (EASY TO PLEASE!).

Here's to a fun summer!

Professional family pictures

It has been YEARS since we have done professional pictures as a family, and this year, I pulled the plug and scheduled it. A wonderful photographer in our area was offering "mini sessions" for a reasonable price, so I snatched one up and I am SO GLAD I did. I will cherish these!

Fall fun (catch-up post!)

Phew, it's been a fun and busy fall so far. On October 20, Carter, McKenna, and Eli all had soccer games at the same park back to back, so we watched a lot of soccer and then went to Paulus Orchards for apple picking. It was chilly and windy but that didn't stop us! The kids played on the playground, we got some snacks to warm up, went on the hayride and picked apples. Then we went for pizza afterwards!

We also carved pumpkins with friends, which is something we actually hadn't done in a year or so. Both kids loved it! 

And, of course...trick-or-treating! Carter was a soldier and Addison was a snow queen. (Thank you, Target, for the last-minute costumes!) They got a ton of use out of their costumes. We did Hersheypark in the Dark, Street of Treats in downtown Mechanicsburg, and regular trick-or-treating in our town. Let's just say they were LOADED UP on candy!

A trip to the zoo!

This weekend, we headed to the Smithsonian Zoo in DC for an end-of-summer trip as a family. Gramma and Maw-maw came along, too! We also met our friends and their kids there as well. We love this zoo! First, free doesn't hurt, but the kids just love the variety of animals there. The highlight is ALWAYS the orangutans, which go across the entire zoo outside of any sort of enclosure on the "O-Line". So cool. 

It's hard to see here, but the mommy orangutan was at the glass tapping her finger with ours. I wanted to get a cute video but there was a huge line of people behind us waiting to see her, so I snapped my picture and got on my way. 

Seeing the panda bear was also so fun. We came to this zoo about two years ago but we did not get a chance to see any pandas. They weren't out the day we were there. Seeing them this close on this trip was really fun. 

Even though it was a pretty hot day, so many of the animals were out and visible, so that was nice and unexpected! 

We had so much fun and made it more hours than I thought we might in the hot weather! The kids didn't really sleep at all on the way home, which made two hours feel more like four. Thankfully, Gramma and Maw-maw were in the back with them! ;)