A long road trip and new digs

Finally after many weeks of waiting, it was time to hop in the new van and make the long trip from OK to VA to see Daddy and our new home! It worked out well that we have family at the halfway point in Indiana. It was fun to stop and stay a couple of nights with them and break up our trip.

Me and my cousin, Laura.We are a year apart and have always been close. I love that we can always pick up right where we left off even when we haven't seen each other in a long time. She has precious 15 month old twins - Tyler and Savannah.

Uncle Ben took the boys for rides in his tractor.

I had to stop on the side of the road to take pictures of the corn! It was huge and so green!

Finally 10 more short hours later, we made it to our new house in Woodbridge, VA!

Boy, were we happy to see this guy!

Our new home is in the Belmont Bay community of Woodbridge, VA. It sits right on a marina on the Occoquan River. We love walking down to see the boats!  Sidenote: every now and then, Keaton decides he's going to try out a new smile. You'll notice he looks like he's just had his wisdom teeth removed in most of these pictures. I wish he'd stick to the same handsome smile and change his "JAWS" shirt every once in awhile...

Hanging out in Daddy's truck!

After living in Hawaii for 4 years, I love that Scott found us a place where we can still see the water everyday.

We had a few weeks to relax and hang out at home before school started. What kinds of things do you do to entertain yourself when all of your toys are still making their way across the country from Hawaii?

Lollypop sword fights!

Visiting Daddy's new workplace at the Naval History and Heritage Command

Checking out the US Naval History Museum. Teaser alert: it was here that we finally decided on a name for baby sister!

 

 

lots of coloring

Exploring our new town. They are admiring what we like to call "the big pencil" or "the Washington mommy-ment"

The boys surprised me how much they loved walking around the National Mall. Keaton: "It's like the zoo with no animals but even more AWESOME!"

My other favorite Keaton quote from the evening: Me: "Keaton, do you know who lives in the white house? The president!" Keaton: "But, I thought all the presidents were dead?"

The new World War II monument is really amazing!

Before we knew it, Labor Day was upon us.

One last hop into the pool and summer was over...

Summer in the country

We spent the month of July with my parents in Oklahoma. Forget Hawaii, my boys think that Oklahoma is paradise! There are wide open spaces to explore, grandparents, aunts & uncles that spoil nonstop, cousins everywhere, swimming pool, snakes, frogs, squirrels, dogs, sandbox, Gator rides, Cocoa puffs for breakfast, freezer full of ice cream... can you understand why they think this?

Here are some highlights:

the annual "ice cream pic"

Tomatoes from Brumbra's garden! Mark loves helping in the garden.

Summertime watermelon!

Oklahoma bugs!

I absolutely love this picture. Having a crazy fun time with our friend, Noah.

This summer was unseasonably cool in Oklahoma, but this did not keep my boys from enjoying the pool every day!

More than one trip to Kiddie Park!

Beautiful downtown B'ville

My 93 year old grandmother decided that she wanted to take the kids on a picnic one day, so she came and picked them up in the Gator and off they went. I wasn't invited, so I have no pictures. From what I gathered, there was sweet tea, marshmallows, carrots, cheese & crackers, and a special rendition of "Peter Rabbit" told by Grandmother. When I looked closely in this picture, I realized that she is wearing my favorite Kate Spade sunglasses that I've been looking everywhere for! I texted my mom about it, and she says, "Oh yes, I told her they were yours and she said she didn't care, she liked them." Oh well...

Helping Brumbra in the kitchen...

Beautiful mornings...

Mark and his Pepper dog! I love how Pepper is smiling in this picture.

Adrian celebrated his 4th birthday while we were there - at Chuck E Cheese of course!

 One of our favorite things to do when we are in OK is to visit the Safari Zoological Park in Caney. It's better than any zoo you'll ever visit, trust me! Talk about close encounters!

Hanging out with the Bermese python.

Since we sold both of our cars in Hawaii, I bought a new van while we were there. I call it my "mainland mommymobile!" And I love it. LOVE. IT.

 Once I had wheels, Lisa and I took the kids on a road trip to Texas to visit Meg and her boys. 

Keaton and Mark think that William, Hudson, and Crew are their TX cousins. I refuse to correct them. :-)

Mark and Crew are about 13 months apart. This was the first year that they were able to really play together. They were buddies!

And wore each other out...

Good ole Abby-Doo

My mom's crazy-early pumpkin harvest from her garden. Jack-o-lanterns in July, anyone?

Grandmother's roses

More ice cream and cousins. Mark and Adrian are only a month apart. They were inseparable!

Brumbra in her element!

The cooler weather made my mom's garden exceptionally beautiful this year!

This was our last night in Oklahoma. That little boy/man who is towering over me to my left was my ring bearer 11 years ago. He's driving now. I'm old. Sniff. sniff.

 So many amazing memories made! 

Angela's Wedding & Girls Trip 2014

I left Hawaii and flew into Oklahoma just in time for me to drop off the boys with my parents, and  high-tail it to Canada for Angela's wedding! I'm so glad that it worked out that we could celebrate our 11th annual girls trip watching Ange marry her dream guy, Charles Ibsen. Their love story is so unique and so clearly orchestrated by God. I'm so excited to see what He has in store for them!

They were married in the backyard of one of Ange's good friends in Greenley, Ontario (right outside Ottowa). Beautiful backdrop, and such a lovely day for a wedding!

Finally her turn! God is so good!

Ange's recessional song was "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, and of course, she danced down the aisle. The whole wedding and reception was so "Ange" from start to finish, complete with uncomfortable party games at the reception. :-)

Next year: our first ever couples trip?

First in line for refreshments. You will notice this trend...

We spent a day or two exploring beautiful Ottowa, the capital of Canada. Here's us in front of Parliament. (I think?)

High Tea at Château Laurier

It wouldn't be girls trip without pedicures!

One of many coffee stops

We spent the 4th of July watching fireworks on TV, eating Indian take-out in CANADA. Very surreal!

After Ottowa, we took a road trip to Mont Tremblant, a beautiful ski town in Montreal.

Feasting on "Beaver Tails" (AKA Canadian version of a doughnut) before our day of hiking

We took a ski lift to the top of the mountain.

We found some beautiful hiking trails overlooking the town.

The weather was perfect!

 After Mont Tremblant, we drove in to Montreal. It was such a fun city, and so FRENCH! It really felt like we were in Europe.

22 and 21 weeks (respectively), me with #3, Meg with #4. Not sure if she is having a boy or girl yet, but either way, they are destined to be BFFs. So fun to get to share another pregnancy with Meg!

Unfortunately, it rained for most of our time in Montreal, so we spent the majority of our time there inside eating and making each other laugh (which is what we do best anyway).

Dumplings in Chinatown. We liked them so much, we actually ate dinner here both nights!

Genuine French Crepes - yum!

We were able to snap a few shots of old town Montreal in between rain showers...

 

Lunch at Swartz Deli

 Over all, we laughed enough (and ate enough) to last us until next summer. I know I say this every year, but I'm so blessed to have these girls in my life. I think every summer gets more special because we know how rare it is that we have each other and this fun tradition. I hope and pray that there are many more girls trips to come!