Monthly Archives: June 2019

June 16-20, 2019

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Father’s Day 2019! After an early morning hanging out on the porch we went to church and headed to Matt the Miller for a tasty brunch. Kevin also spent time on some home improvement projects including replacing our front porch lights and installing a new Ring doorbell.

Griffin has been loving riding his new bike around our neighborhood. We are also able to go out on family bike rides with Reid in his newer kid seat that can go on either my bike or Kevin’s.  We explored on a 3.5 mile ride through Calumet Farms and down through a neighborhood that ends at 315. It was a fun ride.

Haya brought Lucy again this week and Griffin was so excited. He read for awhile in the afternoon with Lucy at his side.

This week’s adventure took us to Scioto Audubon Park just south of downtown Columbus. We took Griffin’s bike and he rode about on the trails that headed to the playground area where the boys climbed the ropes and rode the slides. It was SUPER hot out so on our way home we stopped at Whit’s for a sweet treat.

Friday we went to the Powell Festival with the boys. Finally, this year the weather cooperated and it was a really nice evening. Both boys enjoyed the bounce areas and dancing to the live music at the end of the night.

On Sunday we attended the extended Armstrong family reunion which was held on the Herman Armstrong family farm. Many of the Kevin’s father’s cousins were able to attend. It was another warm and sunny day where we were able to explore the farm fields, the old barn, and some tractors. The kids had a great time catching frogs!

The summertime Lemonade Stand has been in full swing a couple of times. The kids have made a some great money this year and really love flagging people down to see if they are interesting in buying.

This week Haya took the boys to a movie during the day and they loved it. I had no doubt Griffin would, but wasn’t sure how Reid would do as he’d only been to a movie one other time when he was less than a year old. She reported that he did really well and sat for the first 45 minutes straight.  That’s really good for him 🙂

 

 

The boys and I headed to Zoombeezi Bay after work one night. It is a great time to go for a couple of hours as many people are leaving at that hour. We spend most of our time in the lazy river walking or floating. Daddy met us at Graeter’s on our way home.

We explored the Delaware Splash Pad this week too on yet another really warm day. It has a nice and really big playground area and a nice splash and sprinkler area. Later that afternoon we headed to Mansfield for my 25th High School Reunion. There was a gathering at the Red Fox on Friday night, a place I think I’ve been to once or twice ever despite its popularity throughout the years. I saw old friends I hadn’t seen in 20+ years! From time to time I was apprehensive about going but knew if I went I would be glad I did. And it turned out to be a lot of fun! Saturday night was the official reunion at Dan Lew Exchange in downtown Mansfield which included dinner, dancing, and lots of conversation. I graduated with 330 people and while no where near that many people came it was great to see so many old friends and acquaintances.

Our summer bucket list included a weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Beilsteins, which we checked off our list over the reunion weekend. It was a crazy hot weekend and also the weekend of Mom and Dad’s annual hosta sale which Griffin loves to go to and help with. We’re thankful that my parents watched the boys both nights while we went the reunion festivities. Kallen, an exchange student from Brazil who was a good friend in high school stopped by my parents to visit. It was fun to show her around their yard, including the pergola which when I was in high school was the sand volleyball court. It looks very different today!

To beat the heat at the end of the hosta sale we took a trip to the Dairy Queen. We quickly ate our treats before they melted in the heat!

Kevin had jokingly told me that he would need several days to recover from all of the socialization of the reunion, lol. When we got home on Sunday Reid was in need of a nap so Kevin and Reid relaxed and Griffin and I headed to Zoombeezi.

Yet another picture that Google put together of a memory – 2 years ago and now. Look at how tiny Griffin is! And Reid too, of course.

Millcreek photo update – the concrete is being poured inside this week. It’s getting real!

June 15, 2019 ~ Nathan’s birthday

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Each year on Nathan’s birthday we go to the cemetery as a family. This year we took flowers from our garden. We pray. Each night before going to bed, Griffin prays for Nathan and Reid sometimes does too. Though neither one fully understands yet, they know they have another brother who lives with Jesus in heaven. Griffin is beginning to have more questions from time to time, especially when we go to the cemetery. I can’t believe it has been 4 years. While it seems like awhile ago in some ways, the memories, pain, and grief and all that has happened since then are still seem pretty fresh.

June 1-15, 2019

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We woke up early Saturday morning and decided to get busy marking things off our Summer Bucket List. First up – strawberry picking! It was a rather interesting experience with TONS of people and the farm moved people through kind of like herding cattle. But, we picked an two full buckets of strawberries in a short amount of time. They also had baby cows there that you could pet, though they were mostly just sleeping.

After strawberry picking we picked up Charlotte and headed back to our house. We changed our clothes, left Reid napping with Charlotte, and took Griffin to the Memorial Tournament in Dublin. It was a sunny, beautiful afternoon. A great day for watching golf. Griffin got a couple of autographs and got to see Tiger Woods pretty close (he’s the golfer in the pic below atop Griffin’s head).

Sunday was the last flag football game of the season, which this year they got to play at Jerome High School football field in Dublin. Reid loved exploring the bleachers and tackling Daddy on the sidelines.

Late Sunday afternoon Kevin and I headed out on a date night. First stop, Wheelie Fun Bicycle shop in Powell where we got Griffin a new bike. He’s been needing a bigger bike for awhile and it was fun to pick one out and bring it home as a surprise! We enjoyed time at Nocterra and Koble in Powell and we also walked around Powell and checked out the new building and development that is going on.

Monday morning Griffin started Soccer Camp, through Locker Soccer in Powell that was held at Library Park right around the corner from our house. He had so much fun! After the first day they moved him up to the older kids group which provided him with a more challenging set of skills to learn. He came home each day telling us what he learned and how well he did. It was awesome, thanks Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein for sending Finn to soccer camp!

Mid-week this week Nocterra had the Columbus Zoo visit their beer garden. It was SO crowded but so cool to see some fun animals and so many families with young kids hanging out.

Over the weekend we went to the Duncan’s summer party in our neighborhood. Griffin was so excited to go fishing and ride the paddle boat out on the water. And Reid kept wanting to play their “baby” grand piano, lol.  Later that night we read him his books on our porch and he asked if he could spend the night on the porch. We agreed he could (honestly I thought it wouldn’t last!) but he slept out there the entire night!

On Sunday we headed to Mansfield to celebrate Dad’s birthday along with Father’s Day. The kids enjoyed catching bubbles and playing outside. Do you see Griffin in the picture standing next to the hosta – that is the one named after him “Mighty Finn”! It’s a beauty! And then there is the ginormous hosta that he is standing essentially under in the driveway. Dad had been collecting plants from around the garden and his beds in preparation for heading to the Hosta Convention.

Next camp for the summer: Safety Town! They had several sessions, but the one we chose was put on by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office and held just up the road at Liberty Middle School. Griffin learned so many things throughout the week. I was able to drop him off on my way to work and Haya picked him up. It was so cool to see what they were going to learn about each day. The list included – Day 1: Pedestrian, Bus, Bicycle Safety.  Day 2: Electrical, Drug, Stranger Safety.  Day 3: Fire Safety.  Day 4: Gun, Outdoor, 9-1-1 Safety  and Day 5: Friendly Sheriff, Water, Seat Belt Safety followed by Graduation where he was given a medal and they sang a few “safety” songs that they learned throughout the week.

I took the boys to the zoo and we explored a short bit, then ate our packed dinner and cooled off with ice cream before we left.

My latest snack invention: banana sushi sticks made of banana coins with a smidge of peanut butter, a raisin, and a pretzel stick. I’m trying to find new snack ideas that are more nutritous and more filling so they don’t want to eat e-v-e-r-y hour!

There is a newer cookie bakery in Powell called Mrs. Turbo’s Cookies so we stopped there for a sweet treat one evening. It’s a cute 50’s themed bakery that has an eat-in counter.

We also checked out the new Dublin Library this week amid the pouring down rain. Griffin got his own library card and we checked out several books and signed up for the reading challenge this summer. Griffin, Reid, and Kevin also got their hair cut at Powell Hair Design, which is more like an old school barbershop in Powell. Griffin can barely fit in the car these days!

Here are a few odds and ends from the week including some artwork from Haya and Griffin, Lily and Brutes sharing the tiny closet space, and the progress on the dock pit at Millcreek at our new Facility.