On the eve of our summer vacation, I figured it was time to share how we kicked off the summer this year.

This time last year, we were having a moment. A high stress moment. Jane and Emma had just turned the big ONE, and we were focusing on getting the seller of our house to closing. So much has changed in a year!

This year we enjoyed an extremely relaxing long weekend. Other than one double-trouble meltdown, the rest of the weekend was stress-free.

On Friday, we met our friend Erin (who is now expecting a set of twins of her own!) with her little girl, Olivia. Feels like yesterday we were at Erin’s baby shower excitedly waiting for little Livy’s arrival! We took the trio to our local zoo, where the lines were long but worth it to watch these little peanuts roam throughout the animal exhibits, holding hands and sharing snacks.

On Saturday we went to Livy’s (the girls call her “Via” because they can’t pronounce Olivia) house for a BBQ. We spent the day lounging next to the pool, wishing it were just a teensy bit warmer so we could dive in. The girls didn’t notice, and spent the afternoon playing in the sandbox and begrudgingly taking turns in the tree swing. They even got to play with their newest tiny friend, “Baby AJ!!”

The day inevitably ended in Meltdown City after VERY short naps in pack n’ plays, but we put them down and enjoyed a little bit of adult time with some of our favorite friends, after we took these blackmail-worthy photos of the twincesses.

Sunday we took the girls to the park for a bit where they ran wild for an hour before stopping at the farmers market for some “wallamelon”. That afternoon we lounged in the yard and watched Jane and Emma run back and forth between their 3 different water tables, swing set and okay house that Aunt Suzanne gave them for their birthday. I also finally got to kick back and take a little snooze in my hammock!

Monday, our last day of “vacation”, we spent playing in the yard. We did sidewalk chalk, colored in coloring books, and blew up their little pool for some real water play.

It was so hard to go back to work yesterday, but the girls were definitely looking forward to returning to school with their friends, and we are officially less than one month from summer vacation!

Last week we welcomed our new baby cousin, Brayden Hershey, to the family, and Jane and Emma are so excited to get to spend some time with their baby cousin! We haven’t been able to get down to the Philly area yet to see him in person, so we are looking forward to spending lots of time with him this summer at the beach house.

Above all, we were so grateful to have this past weekend to spend together, made possible by the sacrifices of others for our country and our freedom.

What did you all do for MDW weekend? Were you afraid of turning into a hot dog like we were?

Hope you’re all enjoying the beautiful weather here on the east coast, and if you’re in Texas or Oklahoma, we are thinking of you!

Happy Thursday!