#11 - Naval Academy

2 years ago I found a list of the 50 Most Beautiful Place in Maryland and, as they say, the rest is history. 

That was the summer of the 50 most beautiful places, the Maryland ice cream trail, and Harry Potter, and it.was.magical. 

I’m back on my list game and ready to get her done! Last Saturday we got up and decided to have an adventure day instead of a working day. Yay! There were 2 places in Annapolis, and Kilwins ice cream, so we packed some bags and were on our way. 

We checked out the museum at the Naval Academy first. We’ve been there a few times before, but not since D was born. 

The girls are pretty good at museums, as long as we don’t linger too long in any one area. We keep things moving. 

We spent some time at this Pearl Harbor exhibit. I showed the girls where grandpa Seagrove’s ship was docked that morning and we talked about how it must have been. 

Addie compared her $5 bill with this one from the pocket of a sailor whose ship sank. 

When I was pregnant with Addie, Matt would make this exact face to mimic our baby. Then to see Delaney do it... I guess Matt was onto something? 🤷‍♀️

We sent this to papa. 

And this. Go Navy! Beat Army!

Little Ray adventurerers. 

These are the models they made of the ships to use as a blue print in making the real ships. So intricate!

When the girls were done with the museum, we headed outside. 

The grounds really are beautiful. 

It was a hot day. 

A girl and a dad on a mission. 

3 days shy of being this guys wife for 13 years. 

By this time our little Maryland girls were ready to move on, so we were off!

1st River Concert

We hit the pool before the first river concert. The girls hate rash guards, but they’re so much easier. 🤷‍♀️

We had just enough time to shower and finish packing up our dinner and then we were off to the concert. Delaney and Alexis made friends with a visiting friends daughter and they were cute together, playing cards and sharing food. 

It was so cool and pleasant. We love the river concert in any weather, but it sure is more comfortable!

I wanted to get our whole group, so I took a test shot. Little did I know it would actually be a better shot than the one I asked a helpful stranger to take. 

She cut out half of the group, but whatever. 

Delaney and Amelia showed off their yoga moves. 

We love these summer nights with friends. 

Nanny heads home

I thought this was a funny shot. And also not funny how much we’re on our phones. 🤷‍♀️

Mom headed home Thursday morning. We took some pictures before she left. 

This wasn’t the best photo shoot and people were acting up. Not sure why Frankie’s not smiling. 

We waved to nanny as she left. Frankie raced down the street as she drove. 

Girls have been in charge of their own lunch. Which D made in her pajamas. D wanted a sub but then we didn’t have lunchmeat so she settled for a mayo and pickle sub. Gross, but she ate it. 

We’re listening 39 Clues, a new series Mrs. Owen recommended to Addie. So we hung out in the basement and listened where it’s cool and the girls did art. 

Then we hit the pool and were almost the only ones there. 

I am a wet blanket mom 3/4 of the time and don’t even get my suit on. 

The girls wanted to watch the sun rise for the Summer Solstice, so I woke them up at 5:40 and we hung on our driveway. 

We walked down the street and checked the backyard to see if we could get a better view. 

These big girls. 

Delaney wanted to get up, but loves her sleep, so she didn’t join us. 

Addie saw that we could see the sun on the house across the street. And we called that good enough. 

And a bonus pic of Frankie and friends at Morgan’s dance recital with Morgan’s dad. She had so much fun. 

Eagle project

On Wednesday we headed to Bubba’s house for adventure. Do those couches look familiar? I forgot how comfortable they are! The girls adore their brother, and they don’t mind his phone either. 

Snapchat is awesome. Delaney as the cutest little girl/boy ever. 😂

We piled into the jolly green, with only minimal complaining from the boy, who offered to take his own car, and headed to show nanny his eagle project at Calvert Cliffs. The girls took this low hanging branch, and ensured that it hung even lower. 🤷‍♀️

There it is! The cookie has shrunk a ton and the band should probably be re-tightened. And people have been putting dollar bills in there, there’s probs $7-$10. I’m so glad Chris was able to become an Eagle, I know it’s a great source of confidence for him. 

Nanny and 4/15. 

I love that Delaney requests silly shots now!

Then a nice passerby asked if we’d all like a picture, and bonus, he actually got all of us in and looking decent! Yay!

The girls played for a few minutes at the tire park, but it was super hot. 

Super hot. 

So we came home and went swimming. We have so many old goggles and I want to know if they work or if we should get rid of them. D was not happy to try them on. 🤦‍♀️

Summmmmmer!!

Nanny comes to town

I gave a talk on Father’s Day, and also helped coordinate the treats for the dads, so Saturday and lots of Sunday were spent doing that, and nary a picture to be had. 

I found a Father’s Day talk to be more challenging than the norm because I gear so much of my learning towards women and girls. I asked some women from church what they’d like the men to know, and went from there. I really wanted them to feel built up and honored and not schooled. I had all my input plus lots of ideas and worked on it Saturday, but i didn’t like the way it was shaking out. I took a break, said some prayers, and went back and moved things around and then it flowed much more smoothly. I don’t mind giving talks at all, and I enjoyed preparing. I thought it went well enough and it is over, so yay. 

Nanny came to town Sunday evening. Yay again! We stayed home and she relaxed her knee on Monday. The Aina girls came over, and it looked like the storm was going to hold off, so we went to the pool. We were there for an hour when the thunder started, so we ended up coming home early. Super bummer. 

A couple of sad kids getting rained on. 

These reading friends. 

It rained off and on all evening. We took the whole crew for a quick walk between showers. Isla still not sure about being without her mom, but she liked the walk. 

She knows she loves me. I copied her faces for some photo shoot fun. 

Everybody loves her. She’s like a tiny, adorable dictator. 

On the way home she started crabwalking and insisted Delaney join her. Babies are so weird. 😂

We stayed outside and watched the lightning when we got home. D and Ellie caught lightning bugs. 

Isla survived and everyone else had fun. 

The next morning tbis big, list making girl wrote out what she’s learning to cook this summer. Among the delicacies are “ramin” and “white chikin chile.” 

Nanny and Frankie worked on some multiplication facts. Frankie’s a trip. 😂

We saw The Secret Life of Pets 2” and it was cute. 

We swung by the grocery store too and nanny made all their little dreams come true. 

They were still in rare form. Not fun. 

We tried to smooth things over with some games. 

But after a few rounds of Jenga, they just couldn’t keep it together. They got sent to their rooms for the evening. Again. 🤦‍♀️

Then nanny and I got to enjoy Silly Street with the silly bug. Much more peaceful. 

It rained just about every night. Cool lightning storms and tons of rain. So beautiful!

We’ve got our 2019 family theme up (shooting for March next year!). It’s the chorus from The Family is of God. It says “God gave us families, to help us become what He wants us to be - This is how He shares His love, for the family is of God.” I love it and find such truth and beauty to the words. Matt made the girls sing with him one night.