Lynchburg, VA

Nick and I got to have a weekend away as we traveled north to Lynchburg, VA. Our great friend Jess is getting married in October and this was her engagement party weekend. Her hubby to be is from Lynchburg. Camille stayed behind with her Mimi.

We had a great time. We arrived early enough on Saturday to enjoy lunch at Catalano's Deli (where we later went back for gelato!). We also had some time to walk around the downtown. Admittedly, there wasn't a lot to see. However, Nick and I did enjoy making the hike up to the former Lynchburg courthouse, now the Lynchburg Museum. It dates back to 1855. As you can see in the picture, it is high up on a hill which allows for a small view of the James River. I believe the town decided to restore the courthouse back in the 1970s to turn it into the town's museum. It still looked to be under some construction, but we were still impressed with the architectural layout of the stairs leading up to it.

I also found this old church to be fascinating. It looked to be a Methodist church that was no longer in use. Perhaps it is in the process of being restored as another part of the museum since it is next door.

The engagement party was at the home of a family friend of the grooms. It was beautiful!! The most amazing part of the house was the large back patio that opened up to a beautiful pool that was the most immaculate pool I have ever seen! The house itself was somewhat on a hill as well, which made it even neater to look down at the pool from up above. We had a wonderful time socializing and celebrating the engagement of Jess & William... and getting some adult time though we missed Camille for sure!

I left my camera at the hotel for the party, but hope to share some pictures that some other friends had taken.

DesVergers Family Get Together

This past weekend we finally were able to get most of the DesVergers family together for a mini reunion. It was awesome to finally get to see Baby Jack and Baby Camryn. They have grown so much already and their pictures don't do them justice.

We had a great time in Sanford (and ate lots of great food). The guys spent lots of time fishing- which Camille enjoyed watching. She even touched a fish! (she doesn't get that from her mom) Every time a fish was caught and thrown back in, Camille would say "more!" Joe definitely gets the award for most impressive catch!

Camille enjoyed being with all her cousins, but they all liked to do their own thing for the most part. We did a small 2nd birthday celebration for Bryce. Martha made an amazing Elmo cake! Camille definitely enjoyed that (and the Elmo balloons too).

The dessert war was on because Claire came armed with these cute burger treats. The burger was made of brownie; the buns were cake; and the french fries were sugar cookies!

Jack & Camryn got lots of hold time too. Surprisingly, Camille didn't seem too jealous.

We even got the treat of having John, Allie, & Jack spend the night with us. Camille loved sharing her old exersaucer with Jack and wanted to show him how each toy attachment worked. And it turns out Jack ended up sleeping better than Camille that night! Yay for John & Allie.... not so yay for me & Nick. Camille had lots of fun with John & Allie, though it also added some confusion between them and Uncle John & Aunt Aya.... so Aya is being called Allie right now. Oh well!

Camille is such a handful right now it seems, yet she has her super sweet moments that melt your heart. She has still been biting at school.... and now she has to be monitored in hopes of catching her before she strikes. She is very sensitive, so even though she misbehaves at times, it makes her so sad to be told no or that she did something wrong. She is very talkative... I would say her favorite words are "Mommy" and "No." She still likes to give kisses & hugs for no reason which I love!! I am also seeing signs of her becoming a girly girl. She loves for me to put a bow in her hair or put it in a ponytail. She loves when people compliment her clothes, hair, or shoes... she puts on an extra performance in those moments. She is such a funny girl, yet loves to push our buttons. Also, she is becoming more independent each day- which means more accidents due to running around the house or outdoor or trying to get herself on and off the furniture. She is definitely a mini mommy when it comes to cleaning- she loves to help with the laundry and cleaning (as long as the vacuum isn't involved). On Sunday, we didn't make the bed first thing in the morning like we usually do and low and behold Camille did not want to leave our room until it was made. She just stood at the foot of the bed holding the pillows and saying "Mommy" and handed me the pillows. This age seems so challenging, but she has just enough sweetness to make me forget all that at the end of each stressful day.

Happy 4th of July weekend!

We had a wonderful July 4th weekend! Nick & I started the weekend off with a much needed date night while Mimi kept Camille. We went to Midtown at North Hills which has delicious food & great service! We came home with full tummies to a sound asleep little girl- now that is a nice treat!

Saturday was spent running errands, a little relaxing, and Camille getting to play with her friends next door- Mackenzie and Corey. They had two inflatable pools that Camille enjoyed playing in. They even cut on the sprinkler for the kids to enjoy. Camille was a bit confused at why the water was coming out of the ground, but she loved standing under it and was laughing every time the water came her way and got her wet. Camille's favorite part of playing next door was eating all of their food! They had cheese balls, grapes, and watermelon- all of which Camille was quick to help herself and even found a place to stockpile the goods so that Corey couldn't eat them. And we wonder how she gets that belly!

We started Sunday off at church. Camille wore her new "pillow" dress that one of Mom's friends had made for her. She didn't want to cooperate for the camera, but looked so cute!

After church and nap time, we made our way to a friend's house for some pool time and a cookout. Camille got to play with Victoria who is just a few months younger than Camille. They had a great time splashing in the pool and enjoying all the attention that the blond beauties were getting. Their favorite part of the evening was getting to enjoy some blueberry pie and homemade ice cream! Camille kept saying "more!" When we left, we headed straight for Buffalo Lake to visit with Nick's parents. We made it just in time for fireworks. Instead of being scared, Camille would say "pop" or "boom" when the fireworks were lighting up the sky. She made sure to stay close to Mommy, but didn't seem to mind the loud noises. Unfortunately for us, that excitement kept her wired until after midnight :(

Monday was spent playing at the lake. The water was too low to go out on the boat, but Camille had a great time hanging out in the water & playing in the sand. Here are some action shots of the lake baby!

Before heading home after dinner, Camille got to experience a little real life Natural Geographic moment. As we were walking out to the car to pack up, Nick spotted a black snake under the car. We stopped dead in our tracks. It was skinny and somewhat small, but to me, no snake is small or harmless- they freak me out! It began to raise up as Nick got close, so we decided he needed to jump in the car and run it over! I wasn't going one step further until I was sure that snake was dead. Sorry, reptile lovers! Well of course as Nick was attempting to run it over, it was moving fast in our direction! Freaky! Nick maneuvered quickly and got the snake under the tires several times before we agreed to load up :) Rita said that a black snake is a 4th of July tradition at their house. Remind me to leave on the 3rd next year! :)

Hope everyone had as great of a holiday as we did!