Group Vacations Are The Best!

Three weeks, one women's retreat, and one pretty nasty cold later, I've finally gotten around to going through pictures of our trip to Virginia. We traveled with our good friends, the Byers to see visit our friends, Keith and Lisa, and their daughter, Lillian. Keith and Lisa moved to Charlottesville, VA last October (although it seems like they've been gone for much longer than 1 year!). Though we miss seeing them every week, we LOVE their home in VA! The guys kept calling it the Goad Retreat Center. It really is relaxing and retreat like. They have a small strip of woods behind their home and a clearing just beyond that. We felt comfortable to let the girls run around in the yard/woods without worrying that they were going to be hit by a car and I'm sure the girls loved having the freedom of not having a mama yelling at them to "come back!" every 30 seconds.

It was definitely a relaxing retreat for our family and a joy to be around good friends. The laid back atmosphere provided conversation that came easy, stories that entertained, and reflection on God's kindness to our families over our last year apart. The tag team parenting of 6 on 3 wasn't so bad either!

Sam and Riley spent the mornings sitting in the woods hunting for squirrels. I'm pretty sure Sam would be up for doing this everyday of his life if he could!

The women folk packed up and headed to Chipotle for lunch and played in Anthropologie (two of my favorite places).

We were able to get a babysitter for our girls and headed out for dinner and a stroll down the outside mall. Triple date nights are awesome! We pretty much stuffed ourselves on Tex-Mex, walked it off, and then stuffed ourselves again on frozen yogurt. It was almost like the old days before we had children, with the exception of having to plan this outing days in advance.

Sometimes I wish I had the ability to photoshop myself into pictures like this one. Or, maybe someone to follow us around  and take pictures for me without being to obvious. 

Apparently pet pigs are the new version of those tiny dogs in a purse. Weird.

This yogurt place is seriously so good! You can choose your own flavor of yogurt and toppings and you pay by weight. The last time we went Sam figured out that if he "tried" enough yogurt he would be half full by the time he purchased the flavor he decided on and therefore it would cost less. 

We spent the rest of the weekend just enjoying each others company, loving on each others girls, and soaking in the retreat time we had away from the schedules of our lives. I love seeing our friends love on our daughter. 

Here it is folks... the newest face of Rebekah Love. She figured out that when she made this face people would laugh at her. Well, it's been about 3 weeks and Rebekah is now learning NOT to make this face when she's in trouble because it DOES NOT HELP, IS NOT FUNNY (even if mommy smiles a little bit), and only gets her in more trouble. 

LESSON LEARNED: DO NOT LAUGH AT YOUR CHILD'S FACES WHEN SHE'S IN TROUBLE BECAUSE SHE WILL REMEMBER AND MAKE THEM OFTEN.

As our mode of transportation for 9 people we all piled our kids in the church van and traveled around VA in style. We sang along with great old school country music selections, most of which we were not allowed to know in advance per DJ Riley (the good songs were, of course, were sung at the top of our lungs as though we were the ones performing on stage).  It was pretty awesome!

UVA. I love this campus! It's so beautiful, full  of history, and rich with culture. If we lived there I'm pretty sure I would find excuses for Rebekah and I to walk around there often.

Visiting the chapel was my favorite part of the day at UVA. It's a small chapel filled with pews that are crammed together and walls that are filled with stained glass windows. The stained glass is so beautiful. When you're sitting in those tiny pews the windows just command your attention.

While we were all sitting there, enjoying the beauty of the chapel, Sam decided that he wanted to hear Lisa sing (I don't know what led to that request other than she sings well and studied music in school). Lisa said that she would sing but only if everyone joined her. So, the six of us sat in the back of the little chapel singing a hymn. There was no official church service, no one standing up front to lead us, and no real reason to sing other than the fact that we were thankful for for the voice the Lord had given our friend and wanted to join her in praising our God. My highlight of the day for sure!

Can I have a second favorite part of the day? If so, here it is:

I'm pretty sure seeing this man was Riley's favorite part of the day. Yes folks, that is his MUSTACHE! When we was walking away from us we could see it from either side of his face! When I showed Riley this picture he complimented my photography skills and was super excited. 

Bodo's Bagels. It's the first place I had ever had a bagel (at the age of 28) and it's pretty amazing. I recommend the smoked turkey with Feta cheese spread. My mouth is actually watering just looking at these pictures and thinking about that sandwich.

VA views while we traveled. I think we were there during peak leaf changing season.

Can it get much sweeter than seeing two little girls sitting in an open field together?

The poor cats were forced to be friends with the girls.

While with the boys, I learned that sometimes you don't need a reason to build a fire. 

Rebekah and I went for a walk around the property and found this little spot of leaves where the light was peaking through so perfectly that it just begged to be photographed.

And this... this is my new favorite picture. I love how Rebekah looks so comfortable in her daddy's arms, especially since he had just come running from behind and scooped her up into them. I love how he is so gentle with her when he knows she needs him to be. I love that their affection for each other is so natural and easy. I love that they are the two people that make up my family and that I have the privilege of being a wife and mother.