july overview

i look back on these june and july pictures and think, 'huh, what a lot of energy i had then!' ;-)  we took a trip to shenandoah national park on a day when it was 100+ degrees at home, but turned out to be quite pleasant for a hike in the hills under tree cover:

this guy greeted us on our drive in



lunch break

rewarding view

skyline drive

stopped for a treat on the way home

another blueberry-picking trip.  the question being answered is 'how many blueberries did you pick?'  i think we need more fingers..

fanciest creation yet with the mother's day popsicle maker

 

c did her first vacation bible school this year, and our friend t joined in:

 

 

little l was upset that she was too young, but she did get to have some one-on-one time with mommy:



first trip to bounce u

 

 

vbs closing ceremonies - the 4-year-olds reciting hebrews 12:1

good way to end the week =)

one of the fun things for me during the vbs week was being able to invite friends, old and new, over for lunch in our new jumping, running, kid-friendly place =)

the dairy mooseum

checking out the butter churner

love those town square fountains!

 

 

i got a deal on a my gym class, and i was somewhat relieved when both girls happily participated.  we've turned the corner on activities without mommy!

daddy and his monkeys

at this point, i found out about baby #3 and knew that i had about 2 weeks before i would be out for the count.  so we took a trip with friends to homestead farms, ostensibly for blackberry picking, but there weren't many to be had.  we did enjoy visiting the animals though and the gorgeous pick-your-own flowers made up for the berries:

and this was the last big event for awhile: a trip to jersey for nai nai's birthday.  we brought the girls' bikes, and it was a funny feeling to see them riding around my old neighborhood:

 

can you see the street sign in the background?

coming home... that blue-ish evergreen is in the spot where one of my friends left tire tracks in our early driving days.. ah, high school =p

i didn't tolerate the drive very well, so prepare to be homebound for the next few months =)