Summer 2025

Tomorrow is my last regular weekday home with James before school starts next week. Already! We are here! Online shopping for new Sperrys and lunchboxes that won't shatter upon impact, and in-store shopping, hollering toddlers in tow, for pencils and markers and crayons and glue. I look over my May goals for the summer: starting each day with chores and "table time" - I giggle at my great intentions. Well, that plan didn't last longer than one week, but what a summer we have had. We did all the most important things, and I'll spend all this coming fall, winter, and spring savoring the perfect time we've had this summer.

How many pizzas have we eaten? How many stories read, cuddled on the couch? How many popsicles slurped down, dripping all over the place? How many sunscreen swipes to the cheeks, or times I helped Ruth get her pink keens on? 

May- Sandbridge, VA

We scooped James up a few days before the last day of school van packed out and headed south to the beach for Alpha Project! I'd rather not remember the sleepless nights and meltdowns, but it was a memorable adventure. I loved bringing the kids to a theme rally, cleaning mustard and ketchup off them at project meals, and enjoying a staff fellowship (during which we lost Annie, who slipped out of the backyard and was wandering around next door, and James, who took a joyride in the house elevator and got stuck inside). Like I said, there was some serious stress on that trip. Onwards. Jamestown on the way home was a highlight.

JUNE - Home, Deep Creek Lake, Cunningham Falls

June was full of outdoor adventures with friends, and generally just delighting in the relaxed summer routine. James and the girls were just so, so happy to be home together. For weeks, Ruth would ask daily, "Does James have to go to school today?" "No? Yay!!!"

The highlight of our DCL camping trip (not the sleeping, I'll say that) was exploring Swallow Falls State Park on our way out of town. We felt transported to the Pacific Northwest, and the way the trail clung to the cliffs high above the rushing river reminded me of hiking Eagle Creek Trail outside of Portland. The ancient hemlocks, abundant ferns and moss, and the fiercely flowing water made for a magical hike.

We left our camping gear in the van for our second camping trip of the summer the very next weekend with our Cheverly friends - about 100 of them, 50 adults and 50 kids, to be exact. It wasn't quite dry, wasn't quite raining; a cloud settled over the mountain for the entirety of our trip and I found the misty quality rather magical. 

JULY - The Camp, VBS, SC, AL, GA

From there, down 81 we went to reunite with my family at the camp, most of whom I hadn't seen since Thanksgiving. I missed them so much! 

August - Home, The Camp