Monthly Archives: November 2019

November 24 – December 7, 2019

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Yay Griffin! He was nominated by his teacher as one of two classroom recipients of the 1st Quarter Teamwork Award! We were in Tennessee during the school wide assembly, but Mrs. Hale offered to present it to him in front of the class once we were back. It worked out perfectly where I was volunteering the Monday we returned so I was able to see him receive his award – he was surprised!

The video is here:

I stayed after to work with the kids on word lists. Griffin is doing really well learning more and more words all the time. He crushed his November goal – he learned 60 new words and the goal was 15!

We headed to Mansfield for Thanksgiving festivities on Tuesday evening after swim lessons. Mom had plenty of fun for the kids to enjoy while we were there including a placemat making activity and folders of worksheets and activity sheets – one for each kid! The various activities kept them occupied and having fun for quite some time while Amy and Andy were packaging seed orders. The weather was SUPER windy but at one point I looked out and it seemed calm so we decided to give covering the greenhouse a go while there seemed to be a lull in the wind. We got super lucky and were able to get it done (I didn’t think there was going to be anyway with nearly 30 mph winds!). Sadly, I didn’t take any photos of our work though I did get one of Kevin being silly in the woods.

 

 

On Thanksgiving morning we got up, I took Brutus on an early walk, and then we all packed up and headed to the Turkey Trot / Kids fun run which all the cousins participated in. It was a chilly morning and Reid refused to run, but Graham, Greta, Rowan, and Griffin got in a quick race. We headed back home and got ready to head to Enon for the Armstrong Thanksgiving while Mom and Dad watched the Bethune kids while Amy and Andy ran the 5k.

We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving meal at lunchtime at Dave and Gayle’s home. We were able to spend time with everyone, Griffin played some football with his cousins, and we ventured out to feed the horses some carrots. Reid was so funny, he kept saying “he bit me, HAHAHAHA”. He did really well feeding them out of his own hand. He would giggle every time. And Griffin liked feeding and petting them too. They are nice and pretty horses.

We drove back to Mansfield where we had round 2 and a tasty Thanksgiving dinner at Mom and Dads. After a little relaxation we headed to bed and then it was up and at ’em for breakfast at Bob Evans to begin our annual Black Friday Shopping tradition. After gobbling up our breakfast we headed to Polaris, then to Easton where we got some items purchased off our list. We ended up at Bon Vie for our traditional dinner in the private circle room – it’s such a nice space! The kids put together their lego toys while we waited on dinner. After dinner we continued shopping some and got several more things accomplished – it was a successful outing!

On Saturday morning everyone woke up early so we decided to gun it and head to get our tree. It was originally forecasted to be a yucky rainy day but since it wasn’t raining and we had a noon OSU-Michigan game time we kicked it in to high gear. We arrived at Cackler Farms and made our way to the fields looking for a tall Canaan or Fraser Fir. There weren’t nearly as many options this year, but we found one and began cutting it down within 20 minutes of arriving! Kevin cut it down with no troubles and he hauled it to the barn. Whew, it’s a 12 1/2 foot Canaan fir! While Kevin was checking out, I headed to the playspace where the kids played in the cornbox and rode the slide. We always enjoy our visit there, though we’re thinking we may need to find a new place next year that has more options for larger trees!

Once we were home we were in full-on Buckeyes mode (notice the O-H,,,,,,, I-O below, which was Griffin’s idea).

Griffin continues to love all of his lovies. He regularly sorts them or organizes them by animal species, or puts them all down for a rest as he did here.

Reid is our mr. sassy pants. He is sweet yet sassy. He’s our firecracker. Goofy and short tempered. And we love him so!

One night I washed Brutus’ dog bed cover and didn’t get it back on before bedtime. When I awoke in the middle of the night I looked over and Lily had somehow made her way on the portion that was leaning against the wall! These dogs, they are spoiled and love their soft beds that’s for sure.

On December 1st, Kevin and I had a nice date night and went to the Amy Grant & Michael W Smith concert at Nationwide. It’s always a fun way to get in the spirit of Christmas and I love hearing the songs by both of them that bring back so many memories of Christmas for me growing up. Christmas wouldn’t be the same without them!



We decorated our tree on a weeknight which was great, except it took forever and Griffin went to bed at almost midnight. Kevin had been exhausted from work and not sleeping well, Reid was having a great time but was nearing his bedtime and so Kevin put Reid to bed and went to bed himself. So Griffin and I enjoyed Christmas music and put up so-many-ornaments! He loves it so much and he quietly sings Christmas songs as he puts up the ornaments. He’ll occasionally say “mom, I remember this one from last year!!” with so much excitement in his voice. He had been begging to decorate the tree for several nights before we were able to make it happen. As we got everything finished and cleaned up he proclaimed “mom, we forgot to have hot cocoa!!!”. At the hour of 11:30 we weren’t going there, so we rather enjoyed a sweet ice cream treat and then hit the hay very quickly. Bad mom award for such a late bedtime that night, but memories we made were fun so it doesn’t really bother me :).

The next evening there was a family Pottery night and book fair at Tyler Run. I helped setup the fair (as I’m helping with the large school book fair put on by the PTO in February). We ended up being super busy and the pottery painting was really successful also. It was the first time our school had done it. Griffin painted me a “surprise” mug and they each painted ornaments.

Here’s our Lily girl taking in some sunshine at the front door followed by a selfie I found on my phone of Finn 🙂

November 15-24, 2019 ~ Tennessee Vacation!

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We headed out for our Tennessee vacation on Friday morning. Before we left I took Brutus on a nice mile-long walk. It was a pretty quiet morning and not many distractions so toward the end I put the leash up on his back and had him heel alongside me for a stretch. He did really well. I took video of it which is below if you feel like watching. Some of these things I just post for me to easily find later 🙂



Before leaving we turned Reid’s car seat forward facing. Though he hasn’t reached the “limits” of the manufacturer for rear facing we felt it was time. He seems to like being able to watch everything and it certainly makes interacting with him much easier, not to mention putting him in the actual seat.

We didn’t leave Columbus until 11:30 by the time we got the seats rearranged, packed the car, and stopped at Walmart to pickup Kevin’s prescription. One of our later starts, but still a good trip down. Once we arrived we quickly unloaded our car and unpacked some things while the boys explored the bunk beds in the basement. Our cabin this year had 4 bedrooms, so we took over the basement floor which had the bunks, a room for Reid, a room for us, a bathroom, foosball and arcade game, and a tv area with a couch. It was a great layout.  It was about 7:45 and we packed back into the car and headed in to Gatlinburg for dinner at Smoky Mountain Brewery, our yearly first night stop for dinner.

Our cabin this year, Aspen’s Envy, had a great view of the mountains. Here is the sunrise our first morning there. We woke up on Saturday, our anniversary, and opened some gifts. Then we proceeded to lounge and rest a majority of the day and then decided to head in to Gatlinburg for dinner at Ole Red, Blake Shelton’s restaurant which features live music.

We enjoyed dips in the hot tub, playing on the beds, arcade games, Reid’s favorite was the balls that come in the foosball table. They were the perfect size for him to carry around everywhere he went.

On Sunday, Mom and Dad arrived midafternoon. It was a nice and sunny day and we figured they’d want to stretch their legs after 7 hours in the car, so we headed to Dollywood. We visited Santa, Griffin and Reid wrote their letters to Santa, we rode the coal train, met Abominable, Clarice, Rudolph, and explored various parts of the park. We had dinner at Aunt Granny’s (which I later learned is Dolly’s nickname, lol) at Dollywood and

On Monday it was another nice, warm, and sunshine filled day. We headed into Gatlinburg to walk around and explore the shops at the Villages. We had lunch at Ole Red and then we ventured up to Anakeesta, which you reach via a chairlift (aka Chondola, lol). The have open lifts or closed cabins – we waited for the closed cabins, ha! Griffin and I rode the mountainside coaster together and Kevin rode separately. We walked through the sky walk bridges (they are high up there and after the first two I got a bit nervous for Reid to walk alone, so I made him hold my hand!!). They have a nice garden and play area and it’s a nice high elevation where you can take in some nice views.

We stopped quickly at the cabin and then moved on to Dolly Parton’s Stampede (formerly the Dixie Stampede) dinner show. It’s always a nice Christmas show and tons of food to eat. This year both Griffin and Reid were selected to chase chickens. It was super cute and completely predictable. Griffin was excited and eager to do it; Reid a bit apprehensive and stubborn – at least at first. Then he came around and participated and seemed to have fun. They are in front of a crowd of a thousand people, literally, with lights shining on the arena – it is intimidating! I video’d the whole thing and this year Kevin got some arena-level photos too.

 

On Tuesday we drove to Cade’s Cove and did the driving loop of the park, getting out at a couple of places for exploring and traditional photos. This year the park was conducting controlled burns within the cove, so that made it rather interesting! Griffin got some practice driving the loop and Reid was all proud of himself for buckling into a big kid seat.

We went home and had lunch and then Dad, Mom, Griffin and I headed out to the outlet malls for a bit of shopping. Check out Griffin showing his trick riding skills that he learned the night before at the Stampede. Reid was home resting up for our big dinner at Paula Deen’s restaurant. This year we had the fried chicken, pot roast hash, pork chops, salad, broccoli casserole, corn casserole, and sweet potatoes. It was a big and tasty spread. We got dessert to go, lol!

The next morning Mom and Dad headed back to Ohio. Reid was being a bit stubborn during our goodbye photo. Later that afternoon we headed back to Dollywood to ride some coasters and other rides. They don’t open until 2 pm! Reid rode his first big kid ride that leaves the ground – the Flying Acorns. Throughout our visits to Dollywood he would at first want to ride a ride, but once on it would start fussing and crying and sometimes screaming. So we got off more than a couple times. He is a boy who stands up for how he feels.

The Glass blowing shop was doing a demonstration so we watched a snowman being made. We’d been eyeing these guys for a few years and this year after looking at those in the shop decided to ask if it would be possible to buy the one we saw being made – and we could! So we bought it that night and picked it up the next day. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but the hat and scarf are red/white but different patterns. We love it!

The next day it was another sunny one so we headed to the Island to explore the rides, pretend to play in the Arcade, and have some cookies for a snack. Reid loved riding the train (we probably rode 3 or so times), the carousel, and he bungy jumped and the ropes course this year too.  He worked up his bravery as the first time he backed out of it, refusing to get on the scale to be weighed with a blatant “NO”, lol. But after watching Griffin do it and after some time passed he was actually excited to do it and the scowling turned to smiles and excitement as he got strapped up. We also rode the ferris wheel (our annual tradition) and visited Build-a-Bear where the boys made Pikachu and Pichu.  Then we moved on to Dollywood (gotta make the most of those season passes!) for more coasters. Griffin and Kevin explored Wildwood Grove coasters and rides while I watched Reid explore an indoor kids gym area.

The next couple of days were mostly chilling with a bit of exploring. We took in the Pirates Voyage Christmas Show this year and that was an entertaining dinner show. See if in the pictures below you can see the labradors mid-air jumping off the platform to retrieve a stick from the water! They get crazy air!

This vacation was a pretty busy one with bits of rest here and there. Lots of brotherly love and wrestling. It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, but it was filled with many memories and traditions and we’re grateful for the time away.  As we were driving away today Griffin said “It’s so hard to leave, I love being at the cabin”.  “Bye Dixie – until next year!”.

And here are the professional photos from Dollywood – enjoy!

November 1-14, 2019

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We started November off with a photo session of the 1953 MG TD as we needed to get photos of the four corners of the car for the Bring a Trailer listing. It was a bit fun, shall we say, as the battery was dead and we could only locate our battery backs with one set of cables (not our true jumper cables) which weren’t effective. Finally we were able to borrow a pair of true jumpers from our neighbor and got her started and out into the street for some photos! The hour delay in all of that turned out to be a good thing as we captured some nice photos with the sun setting. Kevin took the boys for a ride down the street and back. Griffin also helped me get some photos of the hard top, acting as the “hidden” support to keep it propped up. Afterward I got some photos of he and Reid being goofy.  Monkey see, monkey do around here.  After we wrapped up our photo shoot we packed up the car, the dogs, and the kids and headed to Mansfield to get the HostaWorks Seed Shoppe ready for online sales for 2019. Kevin works all of that magic while the kids have fun playing. Dad and I got the labels printed for the seed trays and then I snapped some pics of Mom and Dad to use on the website this year. It was a fast weekend and the site launched well with only two sneaky pre-orders before the site was actually live.  As it turns out it has been a record breaking year for seed sales. The first 24 hours brought in crazy sales. The site went live at 5 pm, by 9:40 pm half the SKUs were out of stock and we had received 43 orders. By 8 pm the next night we were at 71 orders and 592 or 775 total packs sold, and only 39 of 148 SKUs still available. It was nuts!

I took Brutus on a walk with Mom and Griffin in the morning. It was one of my more frustrating walks with him to be honest. There were so many distractions and lots of newness so he wasn’t listening to best. But we got it in anyhow and he demonstrated some of his listening skills and commands as we got back home to Mom and Dad’s.

On Monday and Wednesday mornings I’m home to get Griffin on the bus and take Reid to preschool. Some of those mornings I haven’t had time to get Brutus walked before the kids are up, so we’ve headed out together. It has been pretty chilly a couple of times but the boys have been troopers and enjoy the brisk start to the day.  After texting back and forth with Brutus’ trainer about his pulling/barking/growling when encountering people or other dogs on walks he suggested a slip leash. We got one and I’m really happy with how it works and how you can more easily control the dog, taking the unwanted behaviors pretty much off the table.

Reid has brought home some fun art work from preschool. I met with one of his teachers this week for conferences and she had good things to say. He’s a good listener, he plays well on his own and with his peers, he’s able to do a lot of fine and gross motor skills well. She did note that he doesn’t smile much for them, but that they know he’s happy as he’s not seeming sad or upset. I noted that he’s very observant and also that he talks so much. She was surprised to hear me say that he’s a big talker, she said he doesn’t talk much at school. That honestly surprised me, though she explained that there are some strong personalities in the classroom. With that I’m not surprised at all, I can imagine Reid watching what’s going on. One thing she noted to work on was sharing, which basically all 2 year olds need to work on, lol.

One evening the boys put on their matching footed pj’s and decided to be goofy together. Griffin asked me to capture all of their silly poses. I love these silly boys!

On Sunday Griffin was invited to a friends birthday party at The Movement Lab, a fun ninja-warrior-like training facility. The all boy party was two hours of athletic ninja obstacle course, pizza, and cake!  I found him playing in his room early one morning making lego creations. He loves to play with people, but also loves his time alone to create.

On voting day, we like to take the boys to the polls with us to learn about voting and our civic duty. Afterward, we go to breakfast typically at Anne’s Kitchen in Powell.  We had voted, eaten breakfast, and were able to get home in time for Griffin to make the bus at 8:35 am!

For Veteran’s Day, Griffin’s school had a breakfast where the kids were able to invite a veteran and have breakfast with them. An assembly followed afterward. Griffin invited Grandpa Armstrong (US Navy 1960-63) as his guest. He wrote a cute little invitation for Grandpa. Grandpa drove Griffin and himself to school and I popped in quickly to snap a couple of pictures. They were treated to a pretty large spread of breakfast foods and cards and crafts handmade by the kids on the tables. Thank you for your service, Grandpa!

Early one morning I had to head to WestCamp, the printer for the Millcreek catalog, for the 2020 catalog press check. School was on a two hour delay due to the icy and sleet covered roads. It made for an interesting walk with Brutus in the morning. Lots of crunching with each step. While I was at the printer Kevin was home with the kids, who got all suited up and enjoyed playing in the snow for a bit. Good thing the snow pants still fit!

We hosted the main course of our neighborhood progressive dinner – chili, hot dogs, and ham/cheese sliders. It was a large crowd this time with 6 families (14 adults and 13 kids) and we barely had enough food! The kids always love this time together and it is fun to see them get so excited to move on to the next house. They like to be the first ones to each house before he next course begins.

We were SO EXCITED to receive this letter from Tyler Run on Thursday, November 14th. I opened it at 10 pm the night before we left for our Tennessee vacation. I was so excited followed quickly by so disappointed that we were not going to be in town for the assembly, in which Griffin would be recognized in front of the entire school for being a student in Mrs. Hale’s first grade classroom that has demonstrated TEAMWORK during the first grading period. There are two kids per class who are recognized each quarter. We are so proud of him! And we are thankful for his teacher, who nominated him for the award. We haven’t shared with him that he won this award yet, as it is a surprise. His teacher reached out to me and wrote the entire letter out in a message to ensure that I had received it. She said she nominated him before they knew when the assembly would be and she apologized that it was while we were on vacation! She has offered to present his certificate in front of the class on Monday, 11/25 (which also happens to be the morning I volunteer there this month) so Kevin and I will be there for that. So proud!

 

And here are a few videos of Reid doing his ABC’s and 123’s!