We were glad to get on the road this summer for a long road trip visiting lots of friends and family. Thankful for my cousins wedding in Atlanta that got the ball rolling for us. We figured if we made it to Atlanta..we might as well head to see Grandma and Grandpa in South Carolina..friends in Jacksonville...and the 4th wouldn't be the same without Chautauqua..and we had to stop and see Daddy, so our final destination was Norfolk before heading back to Omaha! Shew...it was a lot of miles! And of course things don't ever go quite as planned in this military life. With Greg's last minute orders to Norfolk for the Summer, lots more driving was done with just this pregnant momma and the kiddos than I had planned! I was panicking a little when i first heard the news and all our plans had already been set. But we made it! Really helped to have my mom and dad with us for our NY trip. And now that were back home, I'm so thankful we broke up his time away from home on the road seeing so many.
We had a nice time seeing the Brown side of the family at Lake Lanier, Georgia. It was a beautiful place! And nice to catch up with aunts, uncles, cousins, and 2nd cousins we haven't seen in awhile.
Mason & Langley playing with their second cousins.
We saw Daddy off to Norfolk and then headed to Aiken with G&G. The kids enjoyed riding bikes with Grandma and heading to the park.
Then we headed to Jacksonville to get a little beach time in and to say hi to a few old friends. We had a great time and wish we could have stayed longer. We got some fro-yo just like old times!
We definitely missed this beach! And the weather held out for us to have a couple beautiful beach days.
Anna Claire and Langley hit it off again. And Mason and Kate are still little pistols together! Love these friends!
Our next journey was to Chautauqua. Gonna save that for another post, since there were so many pics! It was great having Greg join us there and then all travel back to his summer stomping grounds in Norfolk. We had fun exploring Norfolk while Greg was in school...a little exhausting for me with the kids, but a nice city. We kept it mostly at the beach and water, since we don't have much of this in Omaha. Virginia Beach had very powerful waves that about knocked us off our feet! Kids loved playing in the sand again.
We had a couple really hot days! And after a couple days at the ocean, we decided to find a calmer place to hang out. (not so exhausting!) The bay was so nice and relaxing...perfect for the kids. They seemed to meet new friends every day to play with.
And Greg had us hitting all the places on his "list" for dinners in the evenings. Discovering a little pin ball action.
And if we weren't out and about this was usually what we were doing. They loved our "hotel". And making forts!
Had a blast at Busch Gardens with some old pensacola military pals of ours.
This was one of the more exciting rides that langley was able to ride. Her first water ride.
Getting a little brave. Langley didn't want to venture on any of the roller coasters this time.
At the end we hit the splash park in our clothes. I think this was the highlight after a hot day.
And now it was time to tackle the big trip cross country. Travels went pretty well. Thank goodness for the iPad and dollar store toys and suckers and gum. :)
I was so glad our travels brought us through Lexington so that we could visit a great college pal of mine. We might as well have been roommates living on the same street in Nashville after college. Loved catching up and seeing our kids play together! They had a blast!
Our next leg was to St. Louis. Feeling pretty cranky by the time we made it here! But then we were onto Omaha the following for the final stretch. And stopping in Kansas City broke up the day.
There second visit to Fritz Railroad restaurant. They LOVE this place.
Langley is ready to come back to the Lego exhibit.
And HOME SWEET HOME!! This was our in the driveway selfie as we pulled up to the house.
Everyone is smiling now!!! Finally.
