NACC

Sunday after church we packed up the car and drove to D.C. for the week. Paul had his NACC conference at the University of Maryland this year, so we came along. We knew Paul would be busy most of the week, but just the thrill of staying in a hotel was enough for the kids!
We wanted to stop at the D.C. temple on our way in, but traffic was worse than we expected and we had to get the kids out of the car and some food in their bellies. We kept saying how grateful we are to live close, but also not have to drive in that traffic everyday anymore. Can't say enough how much we are loving Charlottesville!

Monday was Gavin's birthday! But more on that in the next post...

Tuesday we got to meet up with Paul for a day in D.C. We visited the same sites and museums we always have before, basically because we already know they're the best for kids. There's so much to see in D.C., but we figure we'll get to see it all as the kids get older. For now, we have fun when they are having fun!

Since our hotel literally shared a parking lot with IKEA and kids eat free on Tuesdays, that's where I took the kids for dinner while Paul finished up some meetings.

Wednesday we went with Amy to the National Zoo. The weather was perfect, the crowds were light, and we had a delightful time!
The gorillas were putting on quite a show for us, and ended up being Jenna's favorite of the day.
Liam absolutely loved the pandas, and Gavin was pretty content to be along for the ride.

We finished the day off at our favorite park, then pizza at the hotel, baths, and some crazy jumping on the bed!

Thursday we drove up to Baltimore to visit with Rachel and her little girls. First we joined their play group at a bounce house place, then went back to their house to chat and play.
Rachel was so awesome to feed and entertain us for the afternoon, even though they had just bought a house (!) and had to pack up everything in just a week!

That night the whole conference was going to the Nationals v. Rays game, so of course we tagged along! I had hoped to get a picture of Gavin similar to the one of Liam two years ago, but he wasn't having it. It was still a fun family excursion (despite the rain delay, horrendous parking fees, and tired baby boy).

Friday we headed home, but not before a "quick" stop at IKEA. This was our car for the 2 1/2 hour drive home (poor Jenna, she's behind Liam):

And now our home is one step closer to looking like an IKEA catalog!

Saturday Paul had to work, so we recovered from our trip and began preparation to leave again in three days. I just love the summer!