We went to Busch Gardens and had a bunch of fun on this hot day!  Alex rode a bunch of adult rides and Brooke rode her first adult roller coaster Invader as well as some adult rides by herself!

Today we went kayaking as a family.  In the past we have had to take shifts with the kids because of developmental, safety, or space reasons, but now we can all go together. We kayaked up a part of the Elizabeth River ten minutes from our house that has a nice dry launch.  We even had snacks and of course everyone’s water with us.  The kids enjoyed going under a few docks and Brooke even paddled a bit.  Unfortunately, my kayak does not have two seats so Alex got tired of sitting up and we transferred him to AJ’s kayak for the ride back.  We paddled 2 miles round trip. It was a nice morning!

For her 5th butterfly birthday, Brooke received some live caterpillars and a terrarium to watch their metamorphosis into butterflies.  We’ve been enjoying their growth and today released them into our backyard.