A Week in the Shenandoah Valley

Last week we got to spend some time with family. Grandma and Papa, Aunt Vi, Airalyn, and Addison came into town, and we headed out for a week in the Shenandoah Valley. They also brought Sophie and Bella, and Maddie was basically on cloud-nine all week :)

One of our activities for the week was zip-lining and a ropes course! We were able to do that at Bear Mountain Ziplines, and it was a great day for it. You had to be a certain weight for the Mama Bear Zipline, so the kids were able to do the Baby Bar High Ropes Course. 

All ready for the zipline!

Ready for the ropes course!

I was so proud of all three of them for braving the course and conquering their fears! Eli was initially unsure if he even wanted to do the course, but in the end, he jumped right in and had no problem completing the course. Maddie was eager to try and on her first round felt a little uneasy. But she kept at it, and was excited to go again, zipping through like a pro! Aiden was also eager to try, but needed some coaching along the way. But each part that he completed, he grew more confident, and he ended up having "the best day ever!"

We got to see Papa on his final zipline!

The house we were staying at had a pool, and the kids definitely LOVED that. We had a little bit of rain during the week, but there was still plenty of sun to enjoy the pool.

We also made a trip to Luray Caverns. Mike and I had toured them on an anniversary trip a few years ago, but it was fun to take the kids and the rest of the family. It was a lot less crowded this time around! We also walked through the Car & Carriage Caravan Museum, which was fun to see the different cars through time.

We took advantage of the fire pit and had a s'mores night! We had beautiful weather, the view was amazing, and the s'mores were delicious :)

A trip to the Shenandoah Valley is incomplete without a trip to the National Park. We hiked the Little Stony Man trail, and even though it was warm, most of the trail was under trees, and the wind at our peak provided the perfect cool down. It was a great morning hike with Grandma and Papa!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at The Chop House Bistro in downtown Luray and got to watch a big thunderstorm roll in. It cleared up enough for us to walk down the street for some ice cream and to snap a family photo. 

The rest of our time, we got to play a lot of games {both board/card games, ping pong, and the arcade games in the basement of the house we rented}, watch the NBA Finals {which made Grandma so very sad...}, and just enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Shenandoah Valley. 

It was a great week, and based on the checklist I found in Aiden's things, I think we accomplished all that we needed to :)

{iPhone Rewind} :: May

Mike got to spend time in the Netherlands with some of our missionaries, as well as visit a church in Belgium. It was a great trip, and we look forward to continuing/deepening relationships in both countries.

We learned about the Tabernacle in Bible, and we were able to build it with a Bible Bricks set! I love Eli's complete focus :)

The kids were in charge of watering the lawn while Daddy was out of town...and it went about as well as you would expect. It was mostly Mom redirecting the water flow and reminding them that the water actually has to go ON the lawn, not their bodies :)

Kids are the BEST #nomercy

I had a sweet Mother's Day with cards and flowers and my favorite people :)

Mr. Jesse and Ms. Linda came into town!

His head was cold. Haha. 

We wrapped up the ministry year with our 2 Corinthians study. I love these ladies, and I am thankful for their diligent study.

We just had cold weather and then made it all the way to "feels like 97." A nice warm day for a soccer game. Then it rained, and we were back in the 50s. Gotta love Virginia weather.

We wrapped up our school year! I am so proud of these three and how hard they have worked this year.

Love them.

Grandma and Papa Time

Mike got to visit some ministry partners in the Netherlands and Belgium, so Grandma and Papa came to town to keep me and the kids company. They got to come along for a lot of our activities, and it was just fun to have them here.

They got to watch the kids' soccer game, and then we all went out for celebratory frozen yogurt. It was the last night of Relay Boys, so Papa took Eli and Aiden to help them finish up their bird feeders.

The kids got lots of Grandma and Papa time while I got to attend Bible study and various meetings, and I am grateful for the extra help during the week while Mike was gone. Unfortunately I ended up with a cold, so I missed out on a trip to the zoo, but the kids had a blast with Grandma and Papa! They were excited to see the new baby elephant, and they all came home with new stuffies :)

The rest of the week was filled with playing games, reading books, and eating yummy foods. We loved our time with Grandma and Papa and are looking forward to seeing this again early this summer!