All three girls did soccer camp this week through VYS.  I totally intended to take a picture of all three of them and then flat out forgot.  They all had fun…playing in close to 100 degree heat Monday through Thursday and then in pouring down rain Friday.

Woody, from Toy Story, was a fixture in Harper’s first grade classroom.  There was an instance during the school year where Woody magically appeared on Harper’s desk.  To hear Harper tell that story was pure magic; she lit up as she explained Woody’s superpowers.  Even after in person school ended, Harper would ask Ms. Rastelli about Woody’s whereabouts and Harper would then relay during family conversations what Woody was up to recently.  A few weeks ago, Harper spoke to Ms. Rastelli and during the conversation, Harper mentioned how funny it would be if Woody showed up at our house.

Can you imagine Harper’s surprise upon opening the mailbox today, seeing a package addressed to her and Woody literally popping out of the package. I was watching as Harper grabbed the mail…she pulled Woody out so quickly and ran with him screaming into the backyard where Justin was working that it was Woody!  The envelope and all the other mail dropped to the ground instantaneously upon her recognition of Woody!

It has been four hours since Woody arrived with a letter in our mail.  Harper has not stopped talking about Woody’s superpowers.  Woody hasn’t left her side and she has declared him her “best doll friend”.  I’m sitting here watching Harper and Avery play make believe with Woody going on hour four and despite Emerson trying everything in her power to make Harper question Woody’s magic, this girl BELIEVES!  Seeing her innocence, happiness, and joy is the real magic.

My girl and her best “doll” friend.

Needing a change of scenery, Justin and I booked a super cute farmhouse Airbnb rental in Crozet, VA for three nights for us and the girls.   The Barn at Crozet.

We took evening walks…

We hiked…our first big hike was on Ragged Mountain Reservoir.

Second full day, it was a challenging hike up to Humpback Rock where we enjoyed a quick picnic lunch at the top.

Awful angle, but needed to capture me and Mr. Scruffy Mountain Man and our big feet in our hiking boots.

Second hike of the second full day was to Doyles Fall off of Skyline Drive in search of the falls.  We made it to the first one, but after a few spills and some really tired girls who had hiked their butts off in search of a fall to swim, we decided to enjoy the view for a few minutes and then turn around.  Forty minutes straight of a downhill path to get to the falls made for a 40 minute hike back uphill the entire time!  We just kept telling the girls to put one foot in front of the other.

We ate good food which included cooking a delicous meal at home the first evening, creamy and delicious ice cream for Crozet Creamery (twice), Benny’s pizza (the largest pizza we have ever had in our entire life), and delicious pork barbeque from Smoked Kitchen & Tap.

We lounged and spent quality time together as a family cooking, playing games, reading and talking.

Justin worked for a few hours each day while I took the entire week off.   The girls and I went peach picking at Chiles Peach Orchard.

We explored neighborhoods to get a feel for smaller town living.  We finalized a huge decision in our house and opted for virtual learning for the upcoming school year, a decision that weighed heavily on us but in the end we felt it was the better option for our family. Neither option (virtual learning four days a week or in person two days a week) were ideal scenarios, but in the end our whole family was on board with virtual.  While we certainly are mourning the loss of a normal school year due to COVID 19, we are excited abut the opportunities we will have as a family to travel by car since Justin and I and the girls will be able to work and do school work remotely from anywhere.

It was a great weekday get-away.

Friday afternoon Avery and Harper were in the living room waiting for Emerson and me to join to read a chapter of Trumpet of the Swan.  Upon entering the room, Harper was crying…a true scared cry.  Apparently, Avery had taken her glasses off and Harper was scared of her eyes.  I was honestly dumbfounded at first.  Yes, Avery’s eyes move, and they are unique, but Harper is nearly seven years old…she has been living with Avery for nearly seven years and she just now noticed Avery’s eyes?  Say what?  Yes, Avery has worn glasses since she was three and her glasses somewhat mask the real appearance of her eyes, but Harper and Avery have shared a bedroom off and on over the year, they have showered together…. Avery doesn’t wear her glasses to bed, Avery doesn’t wear her glasses to in the shower!

My first instinct was to protect Avery’s feelings.  Avery took it like a champ though and told me that sometimes her friends call her eyes crazy and are intrigued by them….she shows them her eyes, they laugh about things, and then that is it.  That hurt my mama heart too but knowing that Avery has learned implemented skills necessary to respond to such questions and comments made my mama heart smile.  To my delight Emerson stepped in when it was clear I was still in disbelief that Harper had never noticed whatever it was she was noticing about Avery’s eyes that scared her.  Emerson stepped in and said, “well maybe Harper doesn’t understand why Avery’s eyes move…let’s explain it to her”. At that very second, Avery ran upstairs to get her book on nystagmus and for 20 minutes read each page beautifully.  She paused to explain how she relates to the characters and how she has used so many points in this book to explain things to her friends.  At the end of the book, Avery stood eye to eye with Harper and said “now for the most important part.  You need to see me without my glasses.”  She then took off her glasses and ensured that Harper took a good look.

There are times when it hurts my heart that Avery’s eyes are different but am so quickly reminded that different is unique and more importantly experiencing something differently opens up one’s ability to see outside society’s norm, to see beyond what we view to be normal.   It paves the ways for being openminded, inclusion, empathy, bravery, and kindness.

My mama heart had all the feels Friday afternoon, but most of all pure love for my girls.

The girls regularly wore dresses all through last summer.  Even when many girls their age stopped wearing dresses, my girls still continued.  Dress wearing subsided some this past school year and then came to a sudden halt with the start of COVID 19 and the cancellation of in-person school.  The girls started playing on the swing set and riding bikes daily; bike riding while wearing a dress was problematic as the dress would drag on the back wheel.  Pants and shorts became the norm.  When it came time for a few new summer clothes, shorts and T-shirts were in order, not dresses in years past.  I remember thinking how cool it was that dresses were still their norm last summer and knowing that at some point soon the time would come that they would be over them.

The time came!  And with that the July 4^th outfits that they had been wearing since 2016 (yes, you read that correctly….2016…we certainly sized up and got our monies worth) were finally retired.  They each got a fourth of July T-shirt and matched it with some shorts or pants.  I did size up so there is a good chance these will be their Fourth of July outfits for years to come.