So long summer

I can't believe summer has come and gone.  We had a wonderful time enjoying the beautiful weather with family and friends.  My summer started with a Mission trip to Alaska...more to come in another blog.  It was amazing and God did amazing things that week.  I came back from 10 days in Alaska to find Maryssa had not only outgrown some of her clothes but also all of her shoes.  Thank goodness for hand me downs :)  We celebrated the 4th of July in Baker park with fireworks, and a volleyball tournament.  We had a great time and Maryssa LOVED the fireworks.

At the end of the month, we traveled north for a wedding on the Couch side of the family and a quick visit with old friends.  The Christophel's are dear friends from Virginia Tech and our time in Connecticut.  We don't get to see them very often, but when we do we seem to just pick up where we left off.  The kids had a blast playing while the adults got some time to catch up.  Then we were off to the wedding in Boston.  It was wonderful to spend some time Eric's family and Maryssa really enjoyed running around the dance floor.  Thankfully she fell asleep in the stroller later in the evening and we got a chance for some adult time.

Maryssa, Rosie, Timmy and Stewart after a long day of playing!

The whole family at the wedding.

The following day we took a one way flight down south to spend some time with my family.  We spent part of the week with my Uncle Dirk and Aunt Page before traveling to my Uncle Tab and Aunt Debs house.  Dirk and Page just bought a house in SC about 20 min from Hilton Head.  It was Maryssa first time to the beach walking.  It didn't take long for her to dig into the sand and play in the waves.  Despite some rainy days and a fever one day, we were able to get some beach time in.  Maryssa loved watching the waves come up on her feet.  The great thing was that the sand bar was really long so she could really walk out a long way in the water and let the waves "break" on her.  Granted it was a little break but she thought it was the coolest thing.  Also, the tide would come up a long way on the beach at night and create pools of water along the beach.  One morning we found a pretty large pool with a crab and two star fish in it.  Maryssa loved watching them move around in the water.  She built drip sand castles and got a kick out of burying her feet and lets in the sand.  Midway through the week we packed up and headed out to northern GA to Tab and Deb's log cabin on a lake.  Maryssa got loved taking rides on the boat...of course that was after having a melt down from having to wear her life jacket :)  We swam, went off rope swings and of course there was lots of tubing.  We also took some canoe rides around the lake and fished a little.  Of course no Wiedeman vacation is complete without food!  Both families spoiled us with crab cakes, home cooked breakfast, ribs and lots of other delicious food.  We had a great time visiting and can't wait for the next family get together.

Playing in the sand.

Out on the boat and loving the wind in her hair.

First canoe ride.

Kristie and Danny decided to stand up on the tube.  Job well done as they didn't fall off.

Of course our wonderful friends made the summer a blast.  Many trips to the water park, playdates, and playgrounds with the kiddos.  Here is one of my favorites of Maryssa with her friend Logan.  They are a little over 2 months apart.

So cute.

We also made a down for the Annual River Trip at the Corkers.  This is the sad part of my summer because somehow several of my pictures disappeared.   You can just know that it was a lot of fun :)  Eric had to work, so Maryssa and I made the trip by ourselves.  It was great to visit with the Super 7 (my girlfriends from high school), their wives and husbands and kids.  Maryssa and my friend Jane's daughter, Kensi, are just 6 weeks apart.  Usually we are at adult functions so the girls don't get together very often so it was great to let them get some time together.  They are both at the mine stage, but after working out sharing they had a good time just playing.  We also had a chance to put them in their matching bathing suits from our friend Lindy.  Oh they were so cute. 

For Eric's birthday we decided to have a family camping trip.  We headed down to the George Washington National Park in VA with my parents.  We stayed at a large secluded camp ground for 3 days and had an absolute ball.  Aside from eating way too much food, we had lots of campfires, the boys provided some fresh fish for dinner, we went on hikes, swam in the beautiful river and falls, and of course made s'mores.  This year we ventured out from the normal graham crackers, marshmallow and chocolate by switching the chocolate with a Reece's cup.  I have to say I will never go back. 

I am also blessed to have a great network of women in the Frederick area.  This summer I spent Wednesday evenings with a group of women doing Beth Moore's A Women's Heart: God's Dwelling Place.  It was amazing.  Not only did I love the connection of sharing our lives, but it was amazing to see how the Tabernacle is so applicable to our lives today.  Below is a picture of our Little Girl's Tea Party.  Enjoy!