Flashback to Easter Sunday

We came back from our spring break Edisto camping trip on Saturday and then got to enjoy Easter at home on Sunday. Matt and Ashlee came to church with us and then we had a big lunch at John and Barbara's house. I managed to get some pictures (although not necessarily decent ones) of all the kids in their Sunday best--the struggle is real when it comes to posed pictures and my children.

Shelby's bowling field trip

I have a tough time keeping up with the general hustle and bustle of our everyday life on this blog and when I looked at the photo card on my camera, I realized there were some key moments I missed documenting during the past couple months. I'm going to try and catch up over the next couple days.

I took a day off of work at the beginning of May to help chaperon Shelby's class field trip and to spend some quality time with my girl. When you are a full-time working mom, days like this are a really big deal.

This is Shelby's sweet friend and classmate, who insisted on sitting beside her on the bus. I think the bus ride may have been Shelby's favorite part of the field trip. 

It took Shelby a long time to warm up to bowling--the bowling alley experience is a bit of a sensory overload. But by the end of her first game, she started to enjoy it and had trouble waiting for her turn. Here is Shelby bowling with help from her sweet teacher, Ms. Milor:

After bowling, we had lunch at the park and Trip was able to join us. 

I am continually impressed by the amazing people that work with Shelby and her classmates at school. What a phenomenal team of teachers and therapists--I am so glad that Shelby is at this school and it was a joy to hang out with them for a day. 

Elkmont Firefly Camping Weekend

This was our second time traveling to the Elkmont Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to see the synchronous fireflies. This year, we went with four other families who are dear friends of ours and it was a blast. The synchronous fireflies did not disappoint. I found this video on YouTube in case you are wondering what these fireflies are all about;

Shelby's birthday was Friday and she loves camping, so we told her that this was her birthday party. My parents gave her an ENO hammock for her birthday and she spent a great deal of the weekend in her "birfday hammock" swinging and relaxing and napping by the river. 

Our campsites were riverside which was heaven for both children and adults. I loved the communal feel of this weekend. People spilled from one campsite to another and parents fed and took care of each other's children. 

The kids had an amazing tolerance for icy cold water and were in the river exploring and tubing from 8 a.m. till 8 p.m.--stopping every now and then to eat. My favorite part of the weekend was sitting by the river relaxing and laughing with friends while watching the kids float past on their tubes. 

Many thanks to my friend Jessica for providing photographic evidence of my presence at this glorious weekend of fun: 

Sweet Landen was the littlest kid at the campsite and he did his best to keep up with all the big kids. 

Group photos can be challenging--enter the selfie stick that the Grahams brought. Here is the selfie stick in action:

I think it is very safe to say that a good time was had by all! What a wonderful start to our summer--1 week till summer break!