It really shouldn't have been a good camping trip. 95-degree days in the Carolina low country, with an average of 85 percent humidity? Two kids, one a toddler, who had never camped before? I expected it to be kind of a grind but we had a surprisingly great time during our three-day stay at Lee State Park over the eclipse weekend.

We decided to camp because literally all of the hotel rooms and Air B&Bs in the whole area were booked up by the time we made our reservations. We chose Lee State Park as our camping spot just because it was near Florence, where our friends were staying. But once we were there, and saw all the park had to offer, we were glad we chose it. First of all, Lee State Park is home to some of the largest numbers of hummingbirds in the state of South Carolina. We saw so many different varietes of them, whirring about like little jewels. Did you know they make a clicking, chirruping sound as they fly? At some points we were surrounded by what seemed like a full on swarm of them.

Besides that, we saw a ton of other wildlife during our stay. Anouk's nature journal features several different frogs, spiders, centipedes, fish (in the kid-friendly swimming hole on the grounds), lizards, and a bobcat (that we heard yowling outside our tent one night, eek!)

But probably the most interesting things we saw at the park were the artesian wells. I had never seen one before and didn't know what they were so if you're in the same boat: Basically, an artisean well is a pipe stuck down into groundwater reservoir that's under pressure so that it flows up to the surface without a pump. The water is uncontaminated so it is clear and cold and clean. In the 1930s, the CCC drilled several of these wells at Lee State Park and most of them are still pumping over 80 years later! The kid were able to splashed and played in them like fountains. It was a nice way to cool off.


If you are looking for tips for camping with kids in extreme hot weather, here are some things that helped make our trip a little easier. First, frozen water bottles. Before we left, we froze 24 water bottles and loaded them into our cooler. At night, we all took bottles to bed with us. If you wrap them in a sock adn stick them under your neck and arms, it can bring the temperature down enough so that you're comfy enough to sleep.

Second: head lamps. Anouk kept losing her flashlight in the dark and freaking out, but once we stuck the head lamp on her, she was fine and bonus was able to use her hands to make smores.

Third: the Story Nory podcast. Before bed the kids wanted bedtime stories but it was dark and by the end of the night the grownups were pooped. We put on the Story Nory podcast and let somebody else read to them instead and didn't have to haul a bunch of books around in our packs.

Four: You can never have enough toilet paper. Bring several rolls.

Five: Sawyer Picaridin Insect Repellant Lotion. (You're welcome!) It has literally no smell, doesn't feel greasy, and works just as well as DEET. It evaporates more slowly than DEET though so you don't need to reapply as often. It also doesn't carry the same neurotoxicity concerns as DEET, according to my pediatrician. Sold!

Are your little ones happy campers or do they prefer to stay indoors? What tips/recommendations can you offer for camping with kids? Hit us up!

Ever since Darcy blogged about Philadelphia's Magic Gardens yeaaaaars ago I knew that I wanted to go there. A few weeks ago during a girls' weekend in the city, I got the opportunity to do just that and to take Gus along.

The Magic Gardens is an outdoor art installation featuring sprawling mosaics made by artist Isaiah Zagar. The mosaics are made up of bits of broken plates and tile, mirror, and ceramic cast by Zagar himself. At first it seems like total chaos, but after a while you realize that the flow of the mosaics highlight different aspects of the artist's life, his marriage and friendships, his feelings about himself. Altogether the space spans several different levels and is twisty turny. We went through the exhibit several times and saw something new on each turn. NOTE: there is a lot of nudity to see, as Zagar seemed to enjoy depicting it very much! Something to keep in mind based on your comfort level with this subject matter.

I especially liked the Magic Gardens because the little ones could enjoy it even without knowing all this backstory. They loved creeping up and down the stairs and popping into the little cubbies and hideyholes all over the place. For older kids, the staff has arranged a scavenger hunt, and I wished so hard Anouk was there to help me find each little bitty shard.








Besides the outdoor space there was an interior gallery with more examples of Zagar's (non-mosaic) work and a small but awesome gift store.

The Magic Gardens has a ton of family friendly events including mosaic workshops, twilight events, and hands on family fun. If you're local or planning a trip, click here for more info.

Road trip

James's family visited in June and we went on a road trip to the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Half our group went kayaking to Smith Island and half drove into Cape Charles for lunch and shopping.



Beach Day

We met up with friends and spent the day at Yorktown beach -- heaven! It might have even surpassed East Beach as my fave beach for kids: there's restrooms and restaurants nearby, and the river water is shallow and warm and gentle enough for the smallest baby (just watch out for the occasional jellyfish)



Homemade ice cream

We shared our mint-chocolate-chip coconut cream recipe last week. So yum.



Nature journal

This has been a fun way to spice up our daily walks and bike rides. While A. and I are out, we keep our eyes peeled for interesting animals and plants; when we get home she draws them and practices her writing while I look up fun facts about them on my phone. Did you know some ants can live for 30 years? Or that a dragonfly's larval stage can last up to two years?



Swimming lessons 

A. took swimming lessons at the local YMCA. Not only were they super cheap ($35 for 10 hours of lessons, for members), but she learned a lot and had a lot of fun.



Paint pottery

We headed down to Color Me Mine, in Ghent, on a rainy day last week. Can't wait to pick up our completed pieces, follow us on Instagram to see how they turned out (and for more summertime adventures).



Find our full not-bummer-summer list here and be sure to let us know what you are up to around #HRVA (and beyond) this summer! We're always up for new ideas.

My friend Angela had the idea to get a group of friends together to rent a house at Cheatham Annex to ring in 2015, which was probably the greatest idea of 2014. A group of us drove up from the HRVA area, a group drove down from DC, and some locals drove on over from Gloucester and there we met to watch the sun set on our year.

Cheatham Annex is part of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, close enough so that you don't have to go far to get there but remote enough that you feel like you are away from it all. (Interestingly, the annex has been part of every American conflict since the revolutionary war. History!) The hundred-or-so-year-old farmhouse we rented used to be the commanding officer's headquarters and so was full of little interesting details like a wood-paneled library with secret compartments in the walls, a solarium, and beautiful views overlooking the York River. There was lots of room outside to run and play and the place was big enough to house FOUR families (six adults, two teens, four kids) with room to spare.











^ James whipping up a batch of George Washington's eggnog recipe, delicious & highly flammable ^


We said goodbye to the old year with chicken tacos, s'mores in the firepit, epic rounds of Cards Against Humanity, and as much champagne as we could hold. We said hello to the new year with more of the same, substituting black-eyed-peas for the tacos and LCR for the cards (have you played? It's awesome, not just because we were playing for cash and I won every time).

Active duty military, retirees, and Department of Defense employees and their civilian guests can rent cabins and houses at Cheatham Annex year-round (in the summer there's a pool, golf, kayaking and canoeing). Since it is an operating military base, there's a background check and a lot of paperwork for civilian guests to set it up. But it's worth it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! As Anouk says, "We're starting the year all over again. That's so crazy!"

We're back from our end-of-summer trip to the Outer Banks! We rented a house on the beach with six adults and four kids and had one of the best times of our lives -- so much so that we are already planning on making this an annual thing. Our house was in Rodanthe, at the northern end of Hatteras Island, and made famous(ish) by the Nicholas Sparks movie that was filmed there. In fact, our house was right next to the house featured in the movie (which none of us had actually seen), which we realized only after a few days of wondering at people posing for photos in front of it.




Rodanthe has kind of a laid back vibe -- it's like Duck or Corolla but without the super-upscale feel, like Nags Head used to be when I visited it as a kid. Lots of houses and little shops, not too built up (yet?) The built up thing is a double-edged sword at times, though -- the nearest grocery store was almost 20 miles away and so it was a pain every time we realized we'd forgotten something (um, DIAPERS?)

Rain was called for every day of the trip, but we ended up having a good amount of beach time, nonetheless. The rain also gave us the excuse to explore a little bit more than we might have otherwise. We hit the lighthouse and a museum. The girls did a little bit of thrifting and antiquing, the guys took the kayaks out and fished. And in between the showers we did find time to check off a New Year's Resolution or two.



1. Coordinating four kids' bedtimes ain't no joke. Some nights looked like this, we let them run until they dropped.



2. Be sure to catch a bonafide Hatteras sunset or two, on the days it isn't raining. (This was the view from our kitchen window -- it made doing dishes a lot more palatable).






3. Speaking of rainy days, don't put too much stock in what the weatherman says. These pics were taken on a day with a predicted 100% chance of rain.