Long post alert! Even though I already hit the highlights of the trip, I'm doing the special blog extended edition of our family trip to Virginia and Pennsylvania because I like keeping track of my memories. The 3 parts of this extended edition are:
Our family roots are deep in Pennsylvania, where Jeff grew up, and Virginia, where we met and went to college. We took our kids back east on a family trip during the first week of summer break. It was so much fun showing our kids our beloved Southern Virginia University! And the rich rolling greenery of central Pennsylvania! We wore ourselves out running, driving, hiking, and exploring this cherished pocket of the country.
Concerts, recitals, performances, speeches, projects, celebrations, activities, birthdays: the end of the school year is always full to bursting! Here is a photo album of the end of the school year, with captions for details.
Jay's one and only birthday present was a trip to visit his cousin Steve before Steve leaves on his mission to Mexico City in a few weeks. The last time Steve and Jay saw each other was last summer at our family reunion, so without this trip they would not have seen each other for four or more years, thanks to overlapping missions! Since Steve is 18 months older than Jay, they won't see each other for three or more years after this visit. It was a sweet "last visit of childhood" for these cousin friends. I feel a little nostalgic thinking about it all, because my sister Em and I used to get our kids together every year when the kids were little. Visiting when our oldest sons were on the verge of leaving the nest was bittersweet!