I can't even think of a title...

I honestly can't think of a title for this post.  All I can think is, "Where did the week go?!"  I promise this is not another backslide into Ashley-never-blogs-ville, it's just that this past week was odd with the long Memorial Day weekend, and then my mom (Didi) and Papa Dave were in town from Tuesday until Friday.  Come to think of it, this was the first weekend in a while that was normal(ish).

Anyway, let me back up.  Chet and Sydney went camping Memorial Day weekend with other dads and children from our street.  There were five dads and eleven children:

Super dads.  One dad had all four of his kids with him (his youngest is about 9 months younger than Lorelei).  Chet and I debated for months before this trip whether or not we should send Lorelei camping too, and in the end we didn't.  It was the right decision.  Chet and Sydney had an amazing time, and Lorelei helped me take care of Bubby.

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend (all random and out of order, because...yeah, time):

Just before leaving the neighborhood

They camped at a naval air station, so there was a museum and some (fake) simulators

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

...Bubby ran around pantless.  (But what a gentleman to volunteer his vacuuming services!)  I promise I put pants on him before we went to the park, but he ended up soiling himself, and it was better for all parties involved to not put the shorts back on him.  But that means we were that family at the park.  Goodbye, pride.

(Lorelei was with us too, but these are pretty much the only two pictures I took the entire weekend.)

I didn't do my usual Mary Kay Monday blog post, because it didn't seem right to do so on Memorial Day.

Like I said, Didi and Papa Dave arrived in town on Tuesday, so we had tons of fun with them until they left on Friday.  The problem with having people in town who are huge helps is that by the time they leave you have forgotten how to wash dishes and care for your own children (because they've been doing the majority of that for you).

On Thursday my friend Emily (from Gulfport!) and her family were also visiting this area, and Sydney and I met them at the zoo.

Maggie Jo and Sydney Jo reunited

One thing I love about being a military family: you meet tons of people who become dear friends, and they remain dear friends.  And then when your paths cross again, even if just for a few hours, you are able to pick right back up where you left off.

I said this weekend was normal-ish, in that we didn't have company in town, but it was our annual neighborhood block party, so there was more fun than usual to be had:

And, finally, Chet and I attended an orchestra concert tonight at our church (the kids were there too, but went to child care).  It was such a beautiful concert.  Dan Goeller flew in from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to direct the combined orchestra (it was our own church's orchestra, and three others from churches in our area).  I had no idea who Dan Goeller was before this evening, but it was amazing, and I highly recommend listening to some of the music on his site.

I hope you had a GREAT weekend!