Summer Vacation-ish

We lament every year that grownups don't get a real summer vacation, but this summer has been the closest thing we can imagine. Jayne's being here for a big chunk of it has meant that the kids get to go to school for a couple hours a day and spend the rest of it like this,

and most evenings Seth and I can talk everybody into a sunset swim when we get home from work. 

This week Seth and I had to make a quick run up to DC for work/ medical supplies, and didn't even have to feel guilty. Grandma took F+F to the library,

handled bedtime,

and chaperoned field trips in our absence. (Don't ask about the tie dye. It's their school's way of making sure no one wants to steal your kid.) (Also don't ask why the kids were apparently given an adult-sized tray of junk food and soft drinks at the movie theater. We didn't.)

We came home to a record heat wave, so there was only one way to spend it. Acting terrible at the pool

(note classic little brother move),

showing off our new beach towels,

and shrieking about the fact that water had gotten into the new goggles we hadn't quite figured out.

Eventually Jayne had to go home (sorry we kept her so long, Tony)

and we're all in mourning. Including the Ryans. So Sunday we cheered ourselves up with this wild pool party

where even the grownups got in on the act 

(is it really summer without red solo cups and water guns?)

and finished up the night with a golf cart gun truck.
Because West Point friends understand the family business.

And just when we thought we were all partied out, Finley got invited to a Monday night (?!) sleepover, and you cannot say no to goodbye sleepovers during PCS season. 

So Kennedy's sainted parents endured this Jojo-themed fiasco (look at those bows):

and Seth and I once again scored, opting for date night with Handsome Ford. Who liked his new golf glove way better than actually hitting, but was pretty good company anyway. 

It's been a lovely couple weeks of fun in the sun, and a few of my favorites are of Seth chilling by the Ryans' pool seemingly oblivious to his lounging companion,

my handsome guys on the way to the pool (because Ford refuses to wear shoes and then shrieks that the pavement is like "hot lava!") (he's not wrong),

and Jayne lounging poolside, as Natalie put it, "like the queen she is."

Favorite Holiday Shenanigans

The fourth of July is my absolute favorite holiday, and I'm definitely working on passing that on to the next generation. If only because I indulged Finley's pleas for (completely ridiculous) matching dresses.

But also, we celebrated in exactly the way one should celebrate the birth of the greatest nation in the world, minus the fact that I completely forgot the apple pie. 

We hit a baseball game (Woodpeckers, natch)

where we got to hang out with this guy

and catch a bang-up fireworks show with friends, way past our bedtimes.

We spent hours and hours at the pool and the splash pad with the neighborhood Pool Gang;

and, in what has become a beloved tradition, we partied with the Ryans.

Complete with the dangerous fireworks we expect from such a crowd.

The day after the holiday, something miraculous happened (at about 3 in the morning, no less): Seth and I left to catch a flight for two days away with no kids and very few plans. Thanks to Grandma, we got to skate off to Dallas guilt-free, for Chandler & Colby's exuberant wedding extravaganza in one of our favorite places (by which we mean Texas generally, although Dallas doesn't suck.)

We ate too much and drank too much and slept in. We caught up with friends. We had conversations that didn't include threats of timeout, sipped fancy cocktails, and devoured real Mexican food.

Seth, who is nursing a painful fractured scapula, let me talk him into a death-defying electric scooter ride.

We had a blast at the wedding, where we wore outfits without nutella or kid snot on them,

and recovered the next day sipping drinks in the rooftop pool.

 

We also missed these little beasts madly, and were beyond grateful for a Grandma who sent pictures and (loosely) enforced bedtimes. Even if she let the kids go out in public like this. (Because, fine, we do too.)

All in all, our quick whirlwind of a getaway was just what the doctor ordered and we loved every second. 

Especially because the holiday long weekend meant when we got back we still had one more day of pooltime,

living room antics and new board games,

and enough time to make cleanup a real team sport. 

It was such a beautiful weekend there are too many favorite photos to pick even a handful, but the one that made me snort with laughter was this one Jayne sent us while we were away, of Finley at the zoo in an outfit she clearly selected herself, too tired to sit up but not to keep working on her ice cream.

Tough life. Hope everyone's holiday was even half as wonderful as Finley's random Saturday afternoon.