A Lunch Fit for a King

Aunt Beth invited us to have lunch with the cousins today at Burger King. My kids followed Dillon and Kelsey's great examples and ate lunch before they played - I think it was a first.

Morgan was a little scared of the slide, but she felt safe enough sitting at the bottom with cousin Kelsey.

Myles, on the other hand, was climbing all over the place. I was surprised to see that he could climb the slide all the way to the top.

While the kids were playing, cute little baby Tyler, or Ty-Ty as he's called by the kids, sat in his chair like a little angel. He is such a dream - and one of the cutest babies EVER!

Froggy Friend

While we were playing in the sprinklers last night for our FHE activity, Morgan noticed something jumping around in the grass. Morgan wanted our visitor to join us for our FHE song, popcorn popping, and our FHE lesson, Lehi leaving Jerusalem, but for some reason he wasn't cooperating.

The Great Wolf Lodge

Now that the kids are getting bigger we decided it's time to start some family traditions. We thought we'd start by taking our first family vacation by ourselves. We did a few google searches and decided on The Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio only an hour and 1/2 away. When we got there we were surprised how big it was. It was huge!!


After we checked in the kids were ready to play in the water. They turned into little fish and wanted to stay all night. We rotated through all the pools starting in the zero entry wave pool. Every 30 minutes or so the waves turn on in this pool.


Here we are battling the waves. Myles loved being thrown around in the tube, every time a wave came he would laugh hysterically.




Another fun pool was the lazy river. You climb in a tube and the current pulls you around while buckets dump water on your head and water splashes all around you.

In the evening before bed the lodge put on a show for the kids. The animals move and sing songs. There were lots of kids sitting around watching, not moving, like a magic spell was cast on them.


Then we were off to our room. There was a little cabin built inside for the kids to sleep in. There were cute pictures on the walls and little beds just their size.


There was a decent buffet where we had dinner and breakfast. I always enjoy all you can eat...


Morgan loved the bunk beds, but she didn't want to sleep in it. Even though we got the fun room with the little kid beds, she ended up sleeping in my bed with daddy and I got to sleep on the little bed... Whoohoo!


In the morning we got to see Wolly at breakfast. What could be better?

Hairclips and Boating

Morgan and I made her some new hair clips during Myles nap for our quiet time. Morgan liked using the glue gun - or as she calls it the "blue gum".

We gave the clips the ultimate test on Grandpa's boat. After a couple hours of boating the clip was still in place. It passed!

We got to have dinner with Grandma and Grandpa on the boat - KFC - a boating favorite. Then we got to watch Mike wakeskate which is always a thrill!

Pig Run 5K

On Tuesday night my friend Awny called and asked me to run in "The World Famous Pig Run 5K" in downtown Columbus on Friday night. Not much notice to get ready for a race, but I decided since I've been running lately that I should give it a try and see how I do. It was my first race so I was excited and I have to admit a little nervous. I was scared I'd get a cramp at the beginning and look like a sissy or all of a sudden forget how to run, but luckily there was no cramping and I remembered how to run... YEAH!

Awny and I run at the same pace so we kept each other company along the way. We both got tired and different points so it was nice that we could encourage each other when we wanted to slow down. We finished the race in 26:22 - my new record time for 3.1 miles. My previous record was 26:40 so I was happy.

This is us just feet away from the finish line... We were dying, but it was worth the pain for the feeling we had right when we crossed the line.

A Day with Friends

Eliza spent the afternoon with us the other day. I was feeling adventurous and decided to take all three kids by myself to the bunny park to play in the water. It took me what seemed like forever to get all three of them in their suits and sun blocked from head to toe.

One big kiss to Eliza and we were ready to go.

I was happy to see that I can still use my double stroller when we have three kids.

I meet my good friend Awny there with her twin boys and baby girl Mia. Isn't her little swimsuit the cutest thing you've ever seen...

We went on a rainy day so there wasn't a crowd. I was happy about that - it made it easy to keep an eye on three kids running in every direction.

Family Night at the River

Family night is my favorite night of the week. I feel like every night is family night, but there is something special about Mondays. This week we picked up Chipotle for dinner and went to the river.

Ducks aren't dumb- they knew just who to go to for food. I was tempted to take a duck home with us... Do you know how clean the kitchen floor would be with a duck around to pick up all the food Myles drops. But then I remembered that they poop everywhere. I'll take the food on the floor...

Our activity for family night was throwing rocks and sticking sticks in the water.

I love having such a great family to enjoy family night with!!

Cliff Jumping

I don't know exactly what happened at high adventure, but Mike just hasn't been the same since he's been back. Something awoke the sleeping adrenaline seeking monster inside of him. He keeps getting urges to jump off of things into water... It started with jumping into the quarry water, but that didn't quench his thirst. He moved on to the river.

And it's just not good enough to jump into rock infested waters (according to me - Mike swears he checked the water first for rocks) feet first - you must do a back flip so that your audience is entertained.

I know I tend to be a little uptight, which probably explains why every time he jumped I had a knot in my stomach that wouldn't loosen until I'd see his head pop up...

The climb out was almost as scary to me as him jumping. Straight up the side while wet and slippery... Hum - I'll probably never understand what makes this fun, but I'm glad Mike had a good time!

Dad's Always Have the Best Ideas

The kids love playing in the sprinklers, but daddy decided the activity needed a little tweaking so as to keep sprinklers at the top of the favorite outdoor activity list. Umbrellas should do the trick...

Last year Morgan would watch the sprinklers through the window while standing inside the house. I think she has come a long way!

And I think she enjoys being on the other side of the glass.

Mega Fun with Mega Blocks

My baby really isn't a baby anymore. I wish I could say I am a little sad about it, but I love having him get bigger. His most recent accomplishment is stacking mega blocks to make a tower. This is huge for Myles - he's never been willing to play with blocks unless it's to knock Morgan's down. But yesterday he sat on the floor with Morgan and she taught him how to stack them.

Then he sat and played with them for about 15 minutes until he mastered stacking. His favorite part was still knocking them down... I don't think that will ever change.

A Night with Friends

Last night we had our friends the Fords and the Hegewalds over for a barbecue. It was too hot to sit around and eat outside, but Andrew was a sport and took the kids out to swing while the rest of us stayed in the air conditioned house.


Mike took his spot at the grill and made some yummy burgers and dogs. He was in a good mood that night despite how grumpy he looks in this picture.

A party isn't a party without little Creed Atticus around. It was so fun to have the Fords over - and Steph makes a delicious strawberry salad. YUM!


Morgan got to sit and read stories to Eliza. She tries to do that with Myles all the time but he doesn't sit still very long... She is going to miss Eliza when she moves.


At the end of the night Mike decided we needed to go on a group walk around the neighborhood. Since it had cooled off, we decided to have dessert outside too. My kids are no where to be seen - Morgan was off playing and Myles was inside on time out for running in the street... for the 3rd time... Humm - maybe we need to come up with a new consequence...

Gotta Beat the Heat

It's been beautiful in Columbus lately, but a little hot. We are doing what we can to stay cool.

Yes, Myles is sucking on the hose. I don't know why he does the things he does...

His diaper couldn't hold any more water if it tried. Next time I'll use a swim diaper - those are pretty cool...

The sun has a way of wearing you out.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

We started the Fourth of July out right by going to the Upper Arlington Parade with the Nadauld's. The kids thought it was great that they were handing out Popsicles at 9 in the morning... How can you say no on the 4th of July??

Morgan and Jake had the best seats in the house on their daddies shoulders.



The night ended back at the Nadauld's with tons of yummy food. We joined 4 other couples for dinner and then headed out for the fireworks. I don't know if it was our seats or what, but I think the UA fireworks blew the Red, White, and Boom fireworks away. I love this time of year - it reminds me how proud I am to be an American...

4th of July Games

Mike's parents have a 4th of July party every year and invite lots of friends of all ages. We almost didn't recognize their back yard when we got there - it was transformed into a magical world of games and entertainment. Here is Mike playing the corn bag toss game (I'm not sure of the exact name - it's very unbuckeye of me). They also had croquet, tether ball, horseshoes, a trampoline, a hammock, badminton, a playground for the kids, a big blow up waterslide, and more!!


I wanted to spend some time lounging in the hammock with the kids, but they only stayed in long enough to get this picture. Oh well...

We weren't able to stay very long at the party, but the quality of time spent there was priceless.