Road Trip 2013 {Virginia}

Road Trip 2013 {Virginia}

We left Indiana, and drove to Virginia for the second part of our summer road trip.  We were there at the beginning of July so these photos were taken about a month ago.

My older brother and my younger brother live in Virginia so it's a very special place for us.  Chris and Laura welcomed us into their home for the first part of our visit and then we went to downtown Fredericksburg near my brother Brian for the remainder of our stay.  It worked out perfectly and the boys got to spend a lot of time with their cousins, Cassidy, Ella and Lily.  That was special since we don't see them very often.  They still talk about them and it's been almost a month since we've been there.  

Chris and Laura took us to one of their favorite places, Government Island.  We wandered around the walking paths and let the kids look for fish and turtles in the streams and lake.  Mark and Chris walked a little farther where you can see the quarry for some of the stone used in building the White House, U.S. Capitol, and other building in D.C.  Mark and I both love history so anything like this is really interesting to us.

Our family on Government Island

Chris, Laura and their sweet girls, Ella and Lily 

This is just outside of a very urban area, and I love that it's so calm and peaceful.  I can see why Chris and Laura like coming here so much. 

Almost impossible to get them to pose for a photo but we tried anyway. Cuties!

Tire swing, which we did not swing on.

One of the best things about our time with Chris and Laura is that we didn't make any big plans.  We let the kids play and we all relaxed and hung out.

The kiddie pool is always a good idea! 

Lily was too small for the kiddie pool but she still had fun watching from the sidelines.

After leaving my younger brother's house, we stayed in downtown Fredericksburg near my older brother.  We hadn't stayed in a hotel yet on our vacation and the boys were so excited to be in one.

We did things like eat ice cream for supper.   

We went swimming in the hotel pool.  They fought over who would get to push the buttons for the elevator so we worked out a system where they had to take turns.  Mostly it worked.

We walked around downtown Fredericksburg and looked at the old buildings.  It's a charming city with so much history.  It dates back to the early 1700s.  There's colonial history and Civil War history.

 Will by the William Street sign

Ben wanted to pose by this sign 

Old buildings and signs with character.

We walked everywhere and never used our car. I could get used to living in the city.

Me, Brian, Cassidy, and the boys  

Poor kids, I made them pose for a million photos 

Before we left Virginia the entire family had one last meal together.  I love this photo of Will and Ben with their "Virginia cousins".   

We couldn't leave Fredericksburg without stopping by Carl's Custard to get a frozen custard cone. 

We had a wonderful time and I'm so thankful for the memories we made with my family.  When you are separated like we are you realize that time is precious.  We may not see each other often but I think the separation makes me value the time we spend together even more.  The only bad thing about our trip was having to tell everyone goodbye.