Philadelphia was the location of the 2025 ANN Conference. Avery has been looking forward to it for months, if not two years since our departure from the conference in Nashville two years ago. 

Avery has stayed connected to Sophia and Vivia, even seeing Vivia a few times this past year.

  Years ago, when we started going to the conferences, it was strictly to learn.  The information was fantastic yet overwhelming at the same time.  Fast forward 13 years and our primary purpose for coming is for Avery to see her friends.  Information is still good, but no longer overwhelming or dominating. This year they added a session on mental health.  The therapist/speaker was blind from retina pigmentosa; it was a fantastic addition.

Avery attended most sessions and spent time hanging out with the teens and her friends Sophia and Vivia and a few new ones this year. 

Harper meanwhile had a blast hanging out at Camp Nystagmus with Ailyer and some other new friends. 

The girls took over the pool Friday nights…

And again, Saturday night….

They managed to find one another during meals and breaks….

There was no shortage of fun.

And no shortage of wishing that the conference was longer and more frequent…until next time ANN!

Eight years….that’s how long Harper’s Ferry has been on my list of places I wanted to go with the girls. Clearly it wasn’t that high on the list since it has taken eight years to make it happen.  When I first looked into going, specifically tubing, Harper was too young…the minimum age is four!  

Fast forward eight years, and this was Harper’s Ferry.  She led the way at multiple points along the river. 

We had beautiful weather; the sun was shining…a perfect day.  The current was quicker than normal so the 1.5 mile river ride took only about an hour; we made two trips. 

We tubed.  We talked.  We familied. 

After tubing and getting somewhat cleaned up, we made our way into town. 

We worked up an appetite and ate a delicious lunch at The Rabbit Hole.  It was all delicious; the hush puppies may have been my favorite. 

We explored town after lunch. 

Beautiful views of the Shenandoah.  

And topped off the day with Hershey’s ice-cream and snow-cones. 

With the girls’ activities it’s not often that we have free weekends.  After eight years, we finally took advantage and made it happen.