Pre-COVID, we had the PERFECT summer planned. We had a full schedule in July of summer camps for the older two girls (including sleepaway camp), preschool for Maggie, and a month of snuggles for Orly and me. Then, a week at the beach in Duck with great friends, followed by an RV trip in the Pacific Northwest with visits to Portland, Seattle, Vancouver (and Vancouver Island), Olympic National Park, Whistler, Mt Ranier, and many things in between. The only thing that has not been cancelled is the beach week, although the group is smaller than usual due to COVID.

So, in response, we decided to take a 2 week RV trip in July instead to get out of the house but remain ‘socially distanced’ – and get a new puppy (because newborn humans are getting routine but a puppy + newborn might give us a challenge).

Days 1-2: We drove the whole first day and took our first stop at the Lineberger Blueberry Patch, a beautiful little stop just outside of Asheville owned by Sylvia Hatchell (the former UNC women’s bball coach and leukemia survivor/Lineberger patient). It supplied our blueberry pancakes for the rest of the trip, which were delicious.

How many hours a day do I spend looking at this? Many.

We’ve taken to calling her Orly, and I think it’s going to stick. Also, it also doesn’t autocorrect to Oral, so that’s a plus. And I find it suits her. Google also tells me that Orly means “You are my light” in Hebrew, which combined with Orla meaning “golden princess” is lovely. And the 10 day old update is: she’s doing great!

With 3 little sisters, Kaya is a professional tummy time trainer at this point.

I really felt bummed to miss the typical 4th of July celebrations this year – but we blew up the pool and had a barbecue at home. We had a few favors and balloons and the kids referred to it as a “party” – although admittedly the definition of party has changed in the last 4 months. But they were AMPED all evening – especially Maggie!

A tanning session a day makes the jaundice go away! (Note: we left her in direct sunlight for all of 2 minutes, for all you critics out there. And she doesn’t actually need phototherapy).