End of Summer 2015

Summer 2015 was probably my most favorite summer to date. I told Logan I wanted this summer to be about the kids. They were at such good ages (Hud- 4 and Mia - almost 2) to play hard and spend as much time as we could OUTSIDE. I was also excited about this summer because we weren't in the middle of moving, switching jobs, having a baby, pregnant, or with so many activities planned. It was so nice to be able to just enjoy the summer months without too much going on in our lives. The end of summer (all of August) was dedicated to girls camp and playing hard before Hudson started preschool again.

I planned a little playgroup with our church friends to the fire station. This is a historic fire station in the heart of Charlotte. It was so much fun seeing the firefighters! The kids had a blast.

My friend, Emily, from Raleigh was in town with her kids and came to visit us one afternoon. We had a lot of fun catching up and so did the kids. Always so happy to reunite with our Raleigh friends again! 

We also played a lot at home. The kids did a lot of arts and crafts. They also started playing well together (some days are better than others, of course). I love these cute kids and how much they like to create and play! Here's Hud one morning. His room a complete mess, but he was having fun searching for a capybara (aka his sister). He loves pretending she is an animal and then they chase each other around.

Painting out on the front porch

A lot of nights after daddy got home from work, we would play at the park. I love summer nights because it stays light for so long! One night we took the kids to Freedom Park for fishing and playing.

We planned another fun outing; this time with our preschool friends. We went bowling! Our preschool friends are awesome, and an added bonus -- all the kids are about the same ages. 

3 little ones to the left, 3 big kids to the right

A nice older man in our ward went down to South Carolina and got us a box of FRESH peaches. So delicious! I wanted to go peach picking, but the heat was too much for me to consider going with the kids. So glad someone was able to go get us a box because we sure loved these!

One of our favorite places in the Charlotte area is a small town called Belmont. It reminds me so much of the place where I grew up -- railroad tracks going through town, little shops, cute eateries, etc.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of Amelia. It describes her free-spirit and joy for just about everything. I love her! 

Getting ice cream at our favorite little shop (sadly, this place closed down for good a few months later).

One of the very first places we ate when we first moved to Charlotte was this tiny diner called Mattie's. It's super small, old, and a little rough around the edges but we loved it! Sadly, it closed down end of summer. We will miss their breakfasts and yummy milkshakes!

We went to a Knights baseball game for family night. The ballpark is down the street from us. The kids sure loved running around and eating hot dogs. Great summer night!

Video: Baseball game fun

YW Recognition Night. As a leader for the youth, three of the girls I work with had their recognition night. This is a night where the girls get to highlight all that they have done to receive their YW Medallion -- service, gospel learning, etc. It was a great night! These girls are amazing. 

More summer things below. 

Date night in our city!

Summer afternoon nap

Love this boy! He had an idea to make a "trap" out of cardboard and duct tape. He was so excited.

Movie on the green at Romare Bearden. 

Such a fun night!

Playing at the park

Last water day outside on the driveway. 

Riding a triceratops (Discovery Place)

Playing at the water table (Discovery Place)

We took a quick trip to Raleigh before the summer was over. It was just me and the kids. We stayed with our friends, the Wrights, and had such a fun time. We went to the Durham Life and Science Museum (our favorite) and got to see many friends.

Amelia loves babies, and this baby L is such a sweetie. 

I need to get the original picture from Julia, but this is my favorite picture of Hudson and L. 

Cuties! 

Girls Camp

Beginning of August, I went with the young women in my church congregation to a week-long camp. As a leader, it was so fun to be with these sweet girls for a whole week and get to know them better. It was a hot and humid week, but we made the best out of it. Camp Wayfarer is awesome!

I was in charge of second level girls (meaning the girls who were here at camp for their second time). This camp was run by many amazing women from my church congregation. It was wonderful to see everything come together. It was also wonderful to see these girls for a week (without their phones, make-up, and distractions). I loved camp for that reason. I loved how we got to leave the "world" for a week and just focus on our testimonies of Jesus Christ, developing talents, and creating friendships. What more could you ask for? It felt so much like a safe haven for the week -- a place where the girls were accepted, loved, and cared for. It was amazing to witness and be part of it!  

The camp theme for the week was "The Game of Life: Decisions Determine Destiny" and each day had a separate theme (choose to be happy, choose to be obey, etc). Board games were, of course, incorporated into camp: Operation, The Game of Life, Candyland, to name a few.

Here are some pictures from the great week:

Dancing! 

We did a lot of dancing at camp. 

Candyland (where the girls learned everything for First Aid Certification)

The Game of Life

Testimony meeting (where girls were able to go up and share their experiences/testimonies) 

Operation!

Some of the great women I got to serve with!

Each day we got 30 minutes of D.A.R.E (drop everything and read) time. It was a time for us to read the scriptures. The whole camp is quiet during this time and it was a very sacred part of the day. 

Videos below: This is when I tried to blob. So fun! 

(One of my YW is named Abbie and she was the one who sent me flying off the blob.)

My parents were so awesome to watch the kids for us in VA while I was at camp and Logan had work. They had Ma & Pa camp filled with DC trips, the zoo, playing mini-golf, and fishing.