Monthly Archives: May 2019

May 16-31, 2019

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We’re making the most of summer this year. I’ve been taking one day off a week and trying to have some sort of fun involved with the kids. This week we went to the zoo and rode the train, spent some time at the petting zoo, and saw many animals. Several of these pictures of Reid I’ve included to show his many expressive faces and his spunky personality. He’s in a fun stage.

This week I went to the Train concert at Express Live with Laura, Sarah, and Megan. It was a nice evening outdoors of fun and friends. Over the weekend Kevin enjoyed a trip to Emerald Isle North Carolina with his friend Chad. It was nice for him to get away and recharge for a couple of days. The beach was nice and warm, but super windy at the beach!

While Kevin was out of town Griffin had a double-header weekend of flag football. Grandma and Grandpa Armstrong came up to watch and help me chase Reid around the fields for a couple of hours :). Griffin and Cole earned medals together that day and it was cute to see how excited they were together.  It was a busy afternoon as after Griffin’s game I went home, Griffin went to Coopers birthday party with our neighbors, and I went to Greta’s dance recital. Greta was all done up and danced in two cute routines. Thankfully Jim and Pat were able to stay and watch Reid (as he was in desperate need of a nap, though I was also freaked out as he’d fallen and hit his head and had a huge knot on his forehead). Later that evening Kevin returned from his trip. An action packed day.

It hardly seems possible, but the end of the school year has arrived! Wow, did that year fly by. Griffin was excited to hop on the bus for the last time. He truly loves riding the bus – every time I would go to school and he had the option to ride home with me he chose to ride the bus. E-v-e-r-y time. He particularly loved the “music on the bus Friday’s”. I was able to go to the last day of school activities where the kids played games and enjoyed treats.

The below are not G-rated, lol, but it was a fun memory of the boys being silly running around nu-nu after a shower. What’s cuter than a naked baby booty.

Griffin and Reid have been playing really well lately. They are playing a lot of dress up, tackle, legos, and such.

One of our favorite new spots is Nocterra Brewery in Powell. They have a nice outdoor beer garden and a great selection of brews, though honestly Kevin sticks with the Trail Break and I enjoy the sours (Tahitian, Hawaiian, or the newest one I’ve tried is likely my favorite – the Californian Swell). Each day they have a different food truck so we occasionally eat there, but the kids enjoying running around playing ball, corn hole, and meeting new friends. And it’s forever fun when the trains go by.

It was a hot morning for the Memorial Day Parade this year! But the sun was shining and the parade was fun.

Here are a few other pics from late May. Griffin was excited to gear up in the goalie gear when playing with Cole and Cooper. And a few others of Reid and Griffin having fun with Haya.

The boys are enjoying helping me care for the garden. The favorite activity is watering and harvesting. The photo of Griffin wearing my blue tennis shoes is one for the books. We had gone out to dinner at Roosters and I asked Griffin to get shoes on so we could head out. I didn’t look at him before he got in the car and when we arrived at Roosters he was wearing my shoes! He thought he was hot stuff and very much enjoyed wearing my shoes.

Reid had his 2-year well-check with Dr. Houts and he is a strong, healthy boy. He weighs 29.9 pounds (83rd percentile), 34.75″ (55th percentile), and a BMI of 17.41 (71st percentile). He got one shot and handled that like a champ. Afterward we went to Graeter’s for our traditional sweet treat.

Our construction project at Millcreek is humming right along.

And here are some videos of flag football from Griffin’s double header.

 

Reid is 2! 5.20.19

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How can it be – Reid is 2! Look at the little babe in the photo only a few hours old, then on to birthday #1, and now birthday #2. How does the saying go? The days are long but the years are short? I pretty much think the days seem to pass quickly too.

Reid’s birthday was on a Monday this year, so Kevin and I went in to his room to get him up before we both had to head in to work. He had the cutest expression on his face as he rested his head on his hands. We went downstairs and he absolutely loved the balloons that he discovered when he entered the kitchen. We showed him his cake that we would have later and then he was happy to greet Haya.

Here is one more of the boys: last year on Reids birthday and this year on Reid’s birthday!

We went out for dinner at Yaya Pizza (also known as Pies and Pints) but before we left Reid opened his presents. Fishing rods and a new tricycle! Griffin also made him the cutest card. We also got in some play time at the indoor playspace at the Worthington Mall after dinner. They ran around until they were delirious.

After wrapping it up at the playground we went home and had birthday cake. The chocolate chip “2” was a favorite.

To celebrate Reid’s birthday we had a cookout on Memorial Day with family and friends. Our theme was StoryBots, which is a show on Netflix that Reid loves to watch. We had a nice spread of burgers, chicken, and ribs along with other things. The kids enjoyed playing outside in the bounce house and some baseball. Brutus loved getting some attention and Lily enjoyed laying around watching everyone.

Before playing with the water balloons we opened gifts for Reid and Graham, who share birthdays close together. It was a warm afternoon and the water was a nice way to cool off. Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein brought back some fun gifts for everyone from their recent trip to Scotland, including coins for each of the kids. They had a nice time sorting them and each taking a portion of the loot!

Here are a few videos of our new 2-year old! I love the “2 years of Reid” video that Google put together. There are some great memories in that video!

May 1-15, 2019

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I just love this picture that Haya took of the boys at the zoo while they were riding the train. It shows them both in true character. They had a full adventure at the zoo that day complete with a picnic lunch and exploring the petting zoo, riding the pony’s (Reid’s first time!), the camel, and checking out the aquarium.

When I get home from work the kids are often outside playing. Almost every time Reid just wants to get in my car and play in Griffin’s car seat. He buckles him self and then wants help unbuckling (thankfully he HASN’T learned that yet!). He also loves to flop from the back seat into the back cargo area.
After taking a hiatus from the garden last year we’re getting back in our groove. We planted our little seedlings this week so we will see how we do! I included the picture of Reid helping himself to water at the sink as I just think it’s a good picture of his personality. A climber, risk-taker, explorer, problem-solver – he is a funny little man.

I got each of the boys a new back pack for school (ahead of the game as the current year isn’t even over!) and Griffin was excited to try his on. Though lately he’s told me he doesn’t want to give up his back pack and wants to save this one for second grade!

Griffin truly loves animals. He’s happy to spend hours in the pet store just holding little pups. See the video below too. Haya told me he easily sat with the puppy in the video for a half hour!
The school year is rapidly winding down. Griffin took flowers to his teacher on a wet and rainy morning. He completed his “timeline” project and took that to school also. We were all so happy with it and surely can’t believe how fast the years are moving.

Even though spring season is busy at Millcreek, I have been able to flex my hours and go in at 9:30 on Friday’s, after I get Griffin on the bus. This Friday I surprised him at school to help the kids with a book binding project. As it turns out the book was about Plants! I got to help him bind his book and then he brought it home a few days later.

Griffin continues to love sports and is constantly busy playing outside whenever possible. When Cole and Cooper are home they are usually all playing together and even Kevin and Brian get out there and play. Griffin really enjoyed Flag Football this spring (once the weather cooperated enough to be able to play!). He got to play quarterback a few times in different games and was able to complete a pass that resulted in a touchdown. Woohoo!  I watch the games as best I can but a large portion of time I’m basically chasing Reid around and snatching him off the field. He also gets creative and pretends to sleep in the chair “bed” that he makes.

Mom, Dad, and the Bethunes came over for an early Mother’s Day celebration as Mom and Dad were then headed to Scotland for a couple of weeks. As always it was a fun time 🙂  The first posts were set and construction began on the new Shipping and Growing facility at Millcreek on May 1st. The concrete trucks arrived and before long all of the posts were set.  The building is going up quite fast – I’m really glad we are having it constructed! Our new (second) pump house is nearly completed also. Crazy big pipes and valves in a nice new building. The new pump house will allow us to now do twice the amount of watering simultaneously as to what we’re able to do currently. It’s going to be great.

And here are a few videos for the memory bank, including Kevin’s interviews from his trip to California in February for the IBM THINK 2019! Conference.