The amount of happiness that popsicles bring to our household in the summer surpasses pretty much any other summertime activity. Even Maggie, who by and large hates anything sweet, has jumped on the popsicle train. Daddy will one day come around and realize that the sticky fingered children and floors that popsicles create are well worth the deliciousness of them.

Laney hosted her very first sleepover with her best friend this weekend while Kaya went to a sleepover at her friend’s house. Laney had SUCH a good time and I was really impressed with her buddy who handled being away from home like a champ. I am already sad that these two will be separated for kindergarten in a year.

An impromptu dinner at Nantucket Grill – we went to order Kaya a birthday cake and stayed for some awesome fried shrimp. We were lucky to have Yoya and Baba join us too!

Every year we stop at the Manteo Aquarium and have a look around. It’s a pretty small place, but just the right size for a post-brunch stop on the way home after a week at the beach. Then we get in the car and drive through nap time, stop for dinner, and get home by bedtime. It’s a nice tradition, and we also always take a picture on the turtle. We barely fit on there anymore!

Only the best au pairs play in their clothes in the waves with their host kids! We love you Mila!

We took our annual retreat to the Outer Banks this year again – we are lucky to have the Gangsteads, the Jensen/Gores, the Chadha/Kayes, Mila, and Gammy and Pop Pop join us this year. It is an especially great trip for me, since Maggie and I missed the trip last year. It’s fun to watch her play unencumbered in the sand this year, and Kaya and Laney lovedsplashing in the water and finding crabs. Kaya even brought her bike so now I can haul Laney and Maggie in a trailer, and Kaya can ride on her own and we can go on outings to give daddy some peace and quiet at the beach house! I have only driven back to Durham once so far for Maggie’s 103 fever (metapneumovirus) to get her looked at by Duke.

Yes a minivan helps when you are moving – we fit 3 mattresses into this thing! 3! Tommy update: I later crammed 2 more mattresses in here, getting us up to five.

We celebrated the 4th of July with a neighborhood parade in downtown Carrboro (kind of our neighborhood) and then fireworks in Southern Village. I personally didn’t really like the Southern Village locale (Chapel Hill’s new place), but the parade felt very community. Here’s Kaya with a school friend we ran into.

Parenting really is about setting good examples. No matter what I say, my kids notice what I do and do that. This is a bad thing for the most part, since I have a short temper and get frustrated with the world more often than I like to admit. However, sometimes it translates into them loving the things I love. Like pistachios (Laney and Maggie’s favorite food) and crab legs (Kaya’s favorite food). Or my childhood stuffed animal Cuddles, who is a treasured family member in our house.