Three girls, four-in-a-half nights….sleep away camp.
Emerson and Harper at Camp Highroad in Middleburg, VA.
Avery at Camp Easter Seals in New Castle, VA.
While I never wanted to go to sleep away camp as a kid, my perspectivehas totally shifted, and I view sleep away camp as a wonderful opportunity. Hearing about the challenges these girls do and the adapting they do outside their ordinary routines is amazing and heartwarming.
Emerson’s camp statement: My favorite part of camp was the walk back to the tower during night zip. It was pitch black and I was walking back with Alexis. We were laughing so hard because we could not find the bridge we needed to cross.
Harper’s camp statement: My favorite thing about camp Highroad was the high ropes course, creak hike, and daily worship.
Avery’s camp statement: It’s kind of like Christmas because it’s the most magical time of the year.
While these girls were frolicking in the woods, I took advantage of the reduced “momming” at home, and enjoyed four days and nights of leisurely coffee drinking, weighted vest walking, and house cleaning/organizing.
The girls came home happy, with stories, and lots of laundry!
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.
For me, this year’s recital was different…in a good, beautiful way. I still did Avery’s make-up, but she did everything else….her own hair, gathering of all her costumes, preparation of her snacks, etc.
For recitals, I no longer go back to the dressing room with her; there is no helping with quick costume changes. In fact, she does so much on her own that I literally forgot I had to do her make-up for the 3:00 Saturday show!
It also escaped my mind to take pictures. Normally, I take pictures at dress rehearsal. She had so many dress rehearsals (ok…three) that I wasn’t at all of them and even the ones that I was at, I flat out forgot to take pictures. Good thing Avery took it upon herself to get professional pictures taken in most of her costumes! And they are great…I may actually buy some this year!
And for the first time ever, two of Avery’s dance performances in the Friday night show (Jazz III and Lyrical A), I had never seen before. I hadn’t even seen the costume, which she hid in her closet for several months.
I absolutely love watching the company dances over and over; at the same time, there was something really beautiful and special about watching a dance for the first time at recital.
In total Avery, performed Friday night in four dances:
Days Like This – Lyrical A
Mambo Italiano – Junior A CDC Jazz
Baby I’m a Star – Jazz III
Brand New Day – CDC
Saturday 3:00 afternoon show:
Hold On – Junior A CDC Solo
Consider Yourself – Junior A CDC Musial
Brand New Day – CDC
Saturday 7:00 pm show:
Landslide – Junior A CDC Solo Lyrical
Brand New Day – CDC (that was the plan anyway)…
…Avery injured her already hurt knee in her second to last dance to the point she couldn’t walk and perform the final dance in production. She was heartbroken.
I went back to the dressing room after she was injured and seeing the girls and teachers come together to care and support her is truly heartwarming. What these girls have with one another is so incredibly special…a true gift.
Avery performed beautifully and it was extra rewarding to watch her perform her solo in front of close to 400 people. While there is more at stake performing a solo at a competition, there are far less people watching you. At recital, it’s all eyes on you!
As for her knee, we have had several appointment and have more to come…we are holding are breath and remaining calm for the news.
I’ve been trying to think of something clever to start this blog, but the words escape me; I try to quell my mind of the reality of this year’s graduation. Avery and Emerson finished 8th grade and will be freshman at James Madison High School, the same high school I went to just a few years ago…alright maybe more than a few but not more than a decade 🙂 ! Harper finished 6th grade and will be a 7th grader at Thoreau. Our family’s run of elementary school is officially over. Nine years at OES have come and gone.
As young toddlers, they watched the big yellow bus from the kitchen window thinking “one day they would be on that bus”. They got their turn after several years and now next year when that big yellow bus comes by in the afternoon, if they aren’t at their activities, they may just think “one day, I was on that bus”.
Avery and Emerson are thrilled to not have the 6:30 am bus stop departure time.
Harper will inherit it.
I am not too thrilled. This is pretty typical of my days of driving the girls to the bus stop….rolling out of bed in my pajamas and getting straight into the driver’s seat!
Thoreau did an 8th grade party during the school day for the 8th graders.
OES had a formal graduation, where Harper received two awards:
Presidents Education Awards Program for Outstanding Academic Achievement
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Youth Citizenship Award
Only 5 students (out of 125) received the DAR Award….I’m not surprised…..Harper is always helping others and cares deeply about doing the right thing.
Harper and her entourage.
We arrived home to Avery and Emerson’s surprising Harper with a driveway celebration!
Later that night, Harper attended the Oakton Elementary 6th Grade graduation party. We carpooled with a few of her friends. Such a great group of girls and wonderful friendship.
The annual last day of school bus stop tradition continued with water balloons, water guns, and Kona ice.
How amazing is this….I know this is a memory that the girls will cherish always.
The girls are ready for a laidback summer full of little surprises.
Sitting on the stairs next to each other isn’t possible as it once was.
And the mad dash to see what the Easter Bunny brought is quite a dash anymore…just a relaxed curious stroll.
The Easter Bunny delivered mostly chocolate with a side of sour patch kids.
We made it to the 9:00 VPC Church Service….along with much of Vienna, which meant we had to sit outside the sanctuary!
The girls spotted a “celebrity” at church and were starstruck…they were even giddier when they got to take their picture with her. They had to tell me who she was…Kendall Vertes from Dance Moms.
We enjoyed the free treats and warm weather on the Town Green. It was a beautiful day and I was so happy that the outfits that the girls wanted to wear all coordinated with one another. Once I knew what they were wearing I pulled out my blue dress to maintain the look! And Justin and I always seem to wear the same colors so he blended in very nicely too!
We took the obligatory family pics.
And the annual Easter Egg Basket holding picture in the driveway.
The girls enjoyed an extended Easter Egg Hunt of chocolate filled eggs, hidden in both the backyard and the front yard. Each girl had 49 of her own designated colored eggs and there were 27 “free for all”.
My parents came over for dinner. It made oven braised chicken with white rice and roasted carrots and asparagus. Emerson made a delicious loaf of bread. Avery made a fabulous Easter Bunny cake.
Harper made home-made cake-pops!
I have been on a gut health protocol the last four months and don’t indulge in desserts nearly as much as I used to. But I did for Easter….as Harper said, “Life is about eating cake”.
A few months back, I had the realization that our girls’ future schedules upon entering high school would mean less available weeks of family travel. With this Spring break potentially being our last “free” one, I originally thought we would take a big trip. Flight prices were insane though…so we decided to go to the Outer Banks for four nights…turns out it was just what we needed to relax and replenish.
Sunday:
We arrived Sunday evening just in time for dinner. We ate at The Run Down Café just around the corner from our Airbnb. It was yummy…so yummy that we actually went back for dinner a second time Wednesday evening.
Our Airbnb was super cute and quaint. The house was impeccably clean….I have stayed at a lot of beach houses and even the nicest ones often have some mold in the bathrooms…there was seriously not a speck of mold or dirt on the grout or anywhere in the bathrooms or the house.
Monday:
Justin woke up early and went to the store so we had food to make for breakfast, lunch, and one dinner. We enjoyed a breakfast of oatmeal and maple sausage and then spent several hours at the beach. While the water was freezing, the sun was strong and it was an enjoyable few hours.
After lunch at the cottage and some time playing ping pong and corn hole, we played a round of mini golf at Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf. Fun was mostly had by all!
On the way home, we had ice cream for the first time at Scoops. Avery thought it was good…I didn’t try any so I can’t say, but it wasn’t a place that I would rush back to.
For dinner, we went to the Blue Moon Café in its new location, a favorite of mine and Justin’s. We hadn’t been in at least six years and we were excited to share our favorite OBX restaurant with the girls.
The food was delicious (other than the calamari which was okay), though Justin and I both agreed there was a little something missing with the larger size of the restaurant.
TUESDAY:
Originally the forecast for Tuesday had rain in it, but the morning couldn’t have been more beautiful. We spent a few hours at the beach, followed by lunch at home, and more ping pong and corn hole.
Avery had a good time doing dance poses by the water.
We went to Jockey’s Ridge in the afternoon. It was warm when we left and by the time we arrived 15 minutes later, the weather had completely shifted. The temp dropped and the winds picked up.
The girls would have to stand still and hide their faces during a big wind gust.
Despite the sand blowing, it was such a cool experience.
We had ice cream and acai bowls on the way home at Noosa…it was SO good!
Tuesday evening we cooked at the cottage…pasta with sausage, ground chicken, mushrooms, and a ricotta sauce.
WEDNESDAY:
Our friends from home, the Sittas, were also vacationing in Kitty Hawk, so we met them Wednesday morning for donuts and coffee at Duck Donuts. We then went to brunch at Arts, right near our cottage. Between all us, we had omelets, pancakes, French toast, a sausage breakfast sandwich, bacon, and fruit.
The weather was considerably cooler Wednesday so while we went to the beach it was a little chilly. Harper enjoyed flying her new kite! Emerson had a turn and while she too had fun, she almost decapitated Harper and Avery in the process.
Avery had one more session of dance poses and back walkovers by the water.
We went back to The Run Down Café again for an early dinner as there was something on the menu for everyone. And since we had an early dinner, we decided to get dessert one last time. We went for frozen yogurt and soft serve gelato at a super cute place called Surfin Spoon.
There was more ping pong and cornhole….I didn’t play a ton but when I did, I quickly got into it!
We had a great few days of family time and relaxation and I certainly felt replenished and refreshed. The sand, sun, and beach were good for our souls.
My dad’s 75th birthday fell on a Monday, a heavy activity night…so we opted to celebrate on Saturday. I gave my dad three options to celebrate his birthday…1. Go out to eat a restaurant of his choosing; 2. Come over for a home cooked meal of his choosing; or 3. Come over for a Passover Seder / birthday dinner combination. Secretly I was hoping he wouldn’t choose the third option as it was my least preferred…I just didn’t know if I was up for cooking a full Passover meal the night before we were headed on vacation. He chose option 3! Ha!
SO…I opted for a simple yet delicious menu of oven braised beef brisket, Hungarian potatoes, and garlic green beans. I seasoned and seared the brisket and sauteed the onions Friday night so Saturday morning all I had to do was stick the brisket in the oven! My dad bought latkes and Matzo ball soup from Parkway Deli to complete the meal.
I made a Seder plate…a real Jew would probably laugh but for my first one, not bad. We did the same abbreviated Seder we have been doing at my parent’s house over the years.
We ate!
We took pictures to celebrate 75 years of life!
We sang Happy Birthday and my dad blew out the four candles in one breath!
And we finished off the evening with Passover desserts as birthday treats!
Twenty years in the making….that’s how I felt about finally going to visit Katie in Guadalajara, Mexico. One of my biggest regrets is not visiting Katie in Argentina during the four years she lived there in our mid-twenties. When Katie told me three years ago that she and her family were going to live and work somewhere in Latin America for two years, I knew this was my second chance. With just a few months remaining in her time in Mexico, a little nudge by Katie and my trip was scheduled.
We had a wonderful girl’s weekend….we walked, we talked, we checked out markets, and caught up on life. Katie and I haven’t spent more than a few hours together each year in years past so having 2 ½ full days of mostly just us time was wonderfully good for the soul.
Katie wrote up everything we did (as she knew I likely couldn’t remember it)…
-stayed in Colonia Country Club
-visited the American School Foundation of Guadalajara
-walked around Bosque Colomos park
-had tacos at Don Miguelón in Colonia Providencia
-had a glass of wine and a popsicle at Brick Steak House in Country Club
-visited Teuchitlan and Guachimontones including lunch at Monte Carlo on the Laguna de Teuchitlan
-walked around, had brunch, and visited the Tianguis in the Santa Teresita (Santa Tere) neighborhood
-explored the tianguis and walked around Colonia Americana including Avenida Chapultepec and dinner at La Matera Argentine restaurant
-had Ceviche and margaritas at La Mar restaurant on Avenida Terrenova in Providencia
-explored the San Juan de Dios/Mercado de la Libertad (largest indoor market in Latin America)
-walked around el Centro to see the Catedral Basílica de la Asunción de María Santísima (Guadalajara Cathedral), Rotunda, and plaza
