We headed up to NoVa for the 4th and had a wonderful time (of course!). I actually left a few days earlier (sans kids and husband) and went up to spend some quality time with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew in Richmond.
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| Luke and I at story time |
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| Adorable |
Then I spent a couple days with my parents and two other sisters. It was amazing. It's impossible to describe to people who don't have kids what a few days with out kids are like. For four days, instead of waking up to a 3 year old in my face whispering loudly "WAKE UP, MOMMY!!!", I woke up when I wanted to. One morning I woke up and went running with my youngest sister and then went kayaking with my mom in the lake for a couple hours. At meal time, instead of feeding a ravenously hungry one year (seriously- his appetite is insatiable) and a picky 3 year old, I just fed myself. I could drink my coffee slowly in the mornings and not worry about whether or not Chase was going to knock it over. My schedule was my own. I could go where I wanted to when I wanted to and not worry about how that affected nap time. I went to see Eclipse (what!? I'm not ashamed of it. Loved it!) with all of my sisters and my mom one night.
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| Pre-Eclipse sister pic. |
I went to Starbucks one day and drank an iced coffee slowly while reading a magazine while sitting outside and stayed as long as I wanted to. I got to hang out with my parents and sisters and have conversations that weren't interrupted on a regular basis by "Know what, Gigi!?" or "Gpa, look what I can do!" It was glorious. =) All of that to say...I was so excited when Alan came with the boys! I was actually pacing by the glass front door waiting for them and really savored the hugs and snuggles I got when they arrived. I loved the time with out them and felt very refreshed by it, but there is nothing I love more than being with my husband and kids.
I mean...it's hard to resist these faces...
My youngest sister, Becky wasn't there for the 4th festivities and we missed her a lot, but we managed to still have fun somehow. =) We did the usual stuff...
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| Dad did the grilling. |
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| We ate yummy food! |
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| Luke was really cute. | | |
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| The boys hung out and talked about crazy the Blecksmiths are. |
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| Lizzy and Matt decorated the pear salad. |
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| Chase practiced his walking. |
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| Sister time. |
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| Dad and Mom were the best hosts in the world. |
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| We headed over to the golf course to watch fireworks over the lake. |
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| Aaand we set off a few of our own. |
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