Around the House

The weather wasn't as picture perfect as we would have liked down at Lake Monticello, so we spent a fair amount of time playing inside the house and on the covered porch during the first half of the week. Thankfully, my parents brought a ton of great toys and once my sister arrived, there were plenty of adults to entertain our two kiddos.  Aside from fishing with Granddad, Finley was eager to play guitar with him and so the first afternoon we arrived, the duet began.

This picture needs no explanation, which is good since I really don't have one...ha!

 Finley the sous-chef helped Grammy make pancakes.

Dagny was always on the move and probably entertained us more than we entertained her!

Aunt Caitlin is the best!

 Grammy and Dagny had fun doing "Trot Trot to Boston."

 Lots of time to snuggle in PJs.

Dagny LOVED going out on the porch where she could sit in the many kids-sized chairs, stare and point at the ceiling fans, swing, or play with the water in the water canal. 

Whenever she'd get cranky, Caitlin or Grammy would take her out there and she'd perk right up!

Boating Around

Having a boat docked just outside is awesome, we took several rides--some to get to the beach, watch fireworks, fish, and some just to ride.

 Yes, Dagny's lifejacket made her less than thrilled but safety first!

Finley loved wearing his lifejacket so much that when we got to the beach one morning, he wanted to keep it on!

Finley at the Beach

As Dagny took a morning nap on day, Finley headed to the beach with Granddad, Caitlin, and Dan.

They swam, played in the sand, and had snacks.

What fun!

Dagny at the Beach

Since our two kids naps seem to rarely overlap these days, while Finley napped, Dan and I hopped in the boat with Dagny and Granddad kindly drove us over to the beach. We were hoping that taking her into the lake a second time would be more successful, but it wasn't at all.  So we let her play around in the sand instead.

She may not like the water, but Dagny's certainly a beach baby!

Downtown Charlottesville

Since the weather wasn't beach friendly one morning, my dad, Dan, and I took Finley to the children's museum in Charlottesville while my mom and Caitlin stayed home for Dagny to nap.

Finley liked the pretend bakery, a lot!

And delivering mail all around.

 

 

We spent some time at the farm stand, too.

And selling popcorn.

 Just a little bit of block play before we headed out.

 Oh, and Finley made a birthday card for Dagny in the craft room, too.  So sweet :)

Caitlin, Grammy, and Dagny arrived for us all to have lunch together. Thanks for the photos, Caitlin!

Happy 4th of July, Finley!

After the birthday festivities, we said goodbye to Chris, Bronwyn, Owen, and Natalie.  It was time to put the birthday girl to bed and then celebrate the 4th of July!  My mom had some sparklers in the closet from a couple years back so we took them out to the driveway to school Finley.  He was impressed!!

And soon ready to try one on his own.  Gulp.

He was a pro in no time!

He loved the sparklers, too bad they are illegal back at home!

After viewing some youtube videos with fireworks, Finley decided he did want to watch them out on the lake when it got dark.  Grammy kindly stayed home to listen for a sleeping Dagny, and Granddad drove Caitlin, Dan, Finley and I out to the middle of the lake.

 We waited for a long while and then it was time for the show!

 We knew Finley would probably be a little scared, so we brought along Owly for him to hold and that was a good plan!

 Finley did pretty well, overall, but he'll tell you that he both liked the firework and didn't like all the noise.  That's fair :) It was great to watch them out on the lake and share such a novel experience with him!