Summer Visitors

I'm terrible about blogging about this one, but we've actually had a TON of visitors this summer and it's been fabulous!  So I guess it's time I remedied that...

Right after we got home from Disney World, our friends the Shaws came and spent a couple nights at our house.  This was perfect for so many reasons-- the Shaws live in Utah and we haven't been back there since we left school.  This was their second time coming out to the east coast and seeing us, which I sure appreciate (last time was two summers ago).  Craig has known Steve since they were about three and when Craig and I were first dating Steve & Emily were newlyweds and we went some great double-dates with them, so I feel like we all go way back.

Anyway, we had a great time with them, although I seem to have taken very few pictures of the event.  Double bonus, Steve's cousin Chris (who also grew up with Craig and is our friend) and his wife Julie moved to Charlottesville within two weeks of us moving here, so the six of us all got to hang out, too-- how cool is that???

 

Hanging out right after scout camp

The kids' table!

Making s'mores

Me trying out Chris & Julie's zipline

Spencer Shaw playing foosball with Bentley & Ryder

Kendra and Evie looked like they could be sisters!

Ryder and Garrett getting into mischief...

Me chatting with Julie (who looks a little grumpy here, but isn't at all!)

My favorite: Craig hanging out with Steve and Chris-- lifelong friends!

The other really nice thing about their visit was that it helped distract Craig as he finished up at CATEC and was about to start his new job.  I think it was nice for him to have other, happy things to think about!  And it kept me busy rather than letting me freak out about how to take care of all my kids while they were home for the summer and Craig was working!

Also, Emily took these pictures of Camille which perfectly capture her facial expressions:

Happy

Fine

Just okay

A little worried

Not happy.

That's my girl!  (Sigh!)  Emily took most of the pictures up there, too, and I just stole them off facebook, just to give credit where it's due.

Anyway, is was great spending time with all of the Shaws-- we feel very lucky to have such great friends in them.  And it was fun showing off Charlottesville to them!


Our next set of visitors was when my sister Rachael, her husband, Ian, and their brand new baby, Nolan, came to see us during the 4th of July weekend!  It was their first time coming to see our new home, so we were really excited to take them around.  We had a great weekend together, even if it did rain all day on the 4th!

Ryder hanging out with Ian and Nolan

Ian told Ryder he was going to wear his dragon costume

He almost got it to fit!

Camille likes the pool

Nolan took a short nap against his mommy's shoulder

Just hanging around, talking with Ian!

Dressed in patriotic colors

At the downtown mall

All dressed up for church

Craig and Colton took them Monticello, where it rained the entire time

I like that Craig is holding the umbrella over Jefferson

Nolan with his cousins (except for Colton, who was napping)

At the end of July, my friends Anna and Vangie came down from Manassas for a few hours.  Anna has started selling LuLaRoe clothes, so I asked if she'd be willing to do a shopping party at my house.  Their stuff is super cute, and I was excited to finally get to try it on and see what I liked!  I didn't manage to take any pictures of them while they were here, but Craig did snap this picture of the racks of clothing that Anna set up:

I had quite a few people come to the party, but unfortunately for Anna, they didn't buy very much.  (In their defense, the clothing is super cute, but it's a little pricey...)  I made up for their lack of shopping by going crazy-- I bought two shirts, two skirts, and a dress.  And I LOVE what I got.  If I had more money...!

But whatever the clothing situation, it was really great to see Vangie and Anna again!  It had been WAY too long!


Last week my friend Tracy came down from Manassas and stayed a couple days.  Her husband was in Singapore for two weeks on a business trip, so she visited me one week and our friend Sarah the other week to help divide up the time on her own.  We were more than happy to help out!  :)

Ryder and Tanner are both crazy

Kendra and Afton are both growing up too fast

And Colton and Alexa are both too adorable!

 We took Tracy to Carter Mountain for the sunset, but didn't take any pictures with her in them!  Yes, I suck as a friend!  But trust me-- we had a lovely time together!

And finally, this last Tuesday, our friends the Konstantys came to see us for the day!  We first met them because their son, Peter, was Bentley's best friend in kindergarten & first grade, and the two did cub scouts together.  We hadn't seen them since they came down last summer, so it was great to reunite Bentley and Peter again.  We had ten kids (six of which were boys!) all running wild through the house, so it was a little nuts, but it was still great to see the Konstantys again.

That's John and Peter in the middle

I like how Camille is just sitting on Colton here

I don't know why I never manage to take more pictures (these were all taken by Craig!), but we hit my favorite splash pad and managed to feed everyone two meals (no small feat!) and have a great time.


I'm enjoying the peace and quiet today.  But I'm so thankful that we have such great friends who are willing to come visit us even though we're a bit far away now.  I feel so very blessed by the wonderful people in my life, and in the lives of my children.