Summer Vacation, Part 1

Perhaps it is a bit overdue, but here are some pictures of summer 2015. It was a sweet one. 

Mac had been asking for over a year for a pet turtle. It was a lot of fun getting to keep one for a day!

We went to Sandy Point State Park on the Chesapeake Bay. It is right next to the Bay Bridge, and it sure makes for a fun and inexpensive "beach" day! (Shaded picnic areas included)

Mac and Corrie had a blast in the water. They floated for hours with their water wings, and even made friends. Davey was mostly just happy to play in the sand. 

And as always, Aunt Joyce's pool was a highlight of the summer!

Today

Corrie solidified her title of the best-dressed member of the family 

Mac's dream of getting to hold a yellow swallowtail butterfly finally came true 

And Davey helped harvest some carrots from the garden!

Meow Painting

A few weeks ago I opened our door to find a little note waiting for Corrie. She was still sleeping, so I waited until she got out of bed and showed her the little surprise that was waiting for her.

It was an invitation to a nail painting party!

(From her friend who lives across the street)

She was pretty pumped :)

The painting fun continued a few days ago, when Corrie invited her friend over to paint their nails together with some new nail polish that Corrie had just bought with her allowance. 

"Can I bring my face paint?," her friend asked. 

"Of course!"

Corrie enjoyed being a cat for a couple days. Everywhere we went, she smiled and loved the comments about her cat face and sparkly fingernails. 

After the "meow painting" party, they enjoyed a little picnic together in the shade. Very sweet!

David

David is the type of kid who is always on some kind of mission. He's either got a project in mind, or he is conquering something.

I recently came across a video on my phone that I took of David a long time ago. I laughed to see how much it captured his personality.

The sun was shining into our kitchen one morning, and he saw all of the dust particles floating in the air where the sun was highlighting them.

I remember when Mac and Corrie first noticed dust particles when we lived in Front Royal. They would see them sparkle in the sunlight and say, "Look! Beautiful fireflies!," and they would gently try to catch as many as they could.

Davey's reaction was just a little bit different...."DESTROY THEM ALL!!!"

That's Davey!

A Day on the Magothy

It was a bit of an adventure getting there, but we sure had a fun time visiting Grandpa and Grandma Johns last weekend.

Grandpa took some of us out on the river to go tubing on Sunday afternoon. I went along with the intention to supervise Mac, but I was pleasantly surprised by the chance to have a nice, long, relaxing "float" ride of my own. 

In the evening, Ellis and Grandpa took us to one of Ellis' favorite "swimming holes" growing up. Mac and Corrie enjoyed swimming at Dobbin's Island, and I enjoyed resting for a bit on the shore...taking in the scenery while enjoying the beautiful evening breezes and the long shadows being cast by the setting sun.

Later, Mac and Ellis braved the waters in the inner tube together. Here they are right before they flipped over backwards. At first Mac was really scared, but we decided to convince him that it was an epic, awesome flip, and we cheered and clapped for him and Ellis.

Surprisingly, our plan actually worked. Mac loves telling the story of the time he and Daddy flipped in the big tube. :)

Corrie was the last one to brave the "giant" water tube. At first she was scared, but Grandpa made sure to go very slowly. A few minutes after she got in the tube, I looked back and saw that she had disappeared!

After a few minutes of extreme panic for me, Corrie popped her head out of the tube and smiled at me. She had discovered that she could curl into a tiny ball and completely hide herself in the middle of the tube! She kept peeping her head out like a little smiling turtle for the rest of the ride. That's classic Corrie right there.

Thanks for a fun day on the water, Grandpa and Grandma!