Saying Farewell to Summer | Virginia Beach Photographer | Jess Nicole Photography

I'm getting a little sappy, a little sentimental. I feel like the summer has flown by. Do I say that every year? Is it something crazy that happens in your 30's where life begins to go at super-sonic speed?
This summer has looked so drastically different for us... and I'm sure it has for ya'll too. While there is a big part of me that sad, I guess hindsight is 20/20 and I'm seeing things in a little bit of a different light now that we are entering the fall season. We've spent all of our time together and I will never, ever regret that. 
You see, I look forward to summer every year. I get so excited. I usually have the kids make a "summer bucket list" and we check their items off one by one. Not only that, but we buy season passes to Busch Gardens and Water Country and we visit the theme parks weekly- even in the blistering heat! We love it! 
But other items include beach days, zoo days, aquarium days, the summer reading challenge at the library, lazy days, walking around Colonial Williamsburg, picnics at the park, splashing around at the Botanical Gardens and walking "the long trail", kayaking, swimming, hiking at the state park, shell hunting, and visiting local ice cream shops. 
I try to jam pack all the fun I possibly can into our summer. They've worked so hard at school and I've missed hanging out with them, so I plan as much family time and family activities as possible. Sadly, we've only been able to do a few of those things. We've spent a lot of time at the beach, riding bikes, and having those lazy days. 
It seems only fitting though that we say farewell in such a sweet way, right? We visited the iconic Lolly's Creamery near the Oceanfront in Virginia Beach. We took in the artwork of the vibe district, ate delicious ice cream, and let the salty ocean breeze whip through our hair. 
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I love supporting local small businesses and it doesn't get much more local than Lolly's. They handmake their ice cream and come up with the most delicious flavors! This evening, we enjoyed Mint Chocolate Chip, Cookie Monster, and their limited edition Blueberry Lemon bar (which may have been the best ice cream flavor I've ever tasted in my whole life!!). 
For a few minutes we experienced something that almost felt normal. Ice cream on a summer evening. Sticky kids sitting at a picnic table, stealing bites of each other's ice cream, smelling the "beach" smell, the setting sun...for a few minutes the pandemic didn't exist and we felt normal. That just doesn't happen much these days- and that's priceless. 

Visit Lolly's at 414 Virginia Beach Blvd. in Virginia Beach, near 17th Street Surf Shop.  Here's Lolly's website if you want to check it out.