I think the saying typically goes “Christmas in July” but this year, it is “July around Christmas” for this post. To say I’m behind is an understatement. So these posts will be picture heavy and story light. I’m just ready to unload the burden of getting them done.
In early July Sean, Charlotte, and Max visited Ohio and that included a couple of trips to our house in Powell. We had fun hanging out and enjoyed a bike ride to downtown Powell for dinner at Koble together outside on the patio. The kids love playing together and the pictures from previous visits also prove they are all growing up.
We were fortunate to attend the inaugural Crew match at the new Lower.com field in July as well. It was an electric atmosphere with so much energy and excitement. We literally sat at the top of our section and the view was still stellar.
July is also full of many visits to the pool. We are fortunate to have a fun neighborhood.
We went to Mom and Dad’s new house for the 4th of July and the kids enjoyed setting off some crackers.
Reid has always been a snuggler. He is an early morning guy.
This will be the last year for our “patio garden”. It had a very slow start this year and took forever to produce anything. But we enjoyed tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers from it.
This year we made a trip to a blueberry farm and harvested some fresh blues. To be honest, it was a slow picking! But the fruits were tasty and we were able to take some on vacation.
While Reid does not “nap” officially, he really does need a rest during the day. I often find him sleeping in random places.
This year Mom and Dad treated us to a wonderful family vacation in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. It’s only about a 4 hour drive from our house – which was wonderful! We had a great week filled with a pontoon boat and tube rental, fun adventures, good food, and family time.
We primarily are still sticking to outdoor activities, including a visit here and there to Nocterra. We met up with Brian, Lisa, Cooper and Cole for a fun night and the kids enjoyed playing card games.
We got our entire house carpets cleaned and it is amazing the difference in the way it makes the house feel (and smell!). If only we were able to keep the rooms this clutter-free and organized all the time….one can only dream.
Look at little Reidy from a couple of years ago! He continues to be a trooper and goes with me to Griffin’s soccer practices and other necessities. He loves adventure.
It’s been so long ago it’s hard to even recall, but I believe we went on a walk and in the end had a competition where we all placed and were given medals (a nod to the olympics that were going on at the time). Even Brutie got in on the medal placing.
Catching lightning bugs with the Manning girls, a bike ride for breakfast to The Locust Table in downtown Powell, a fun trip to the park, and a visit to Griffin’s new playground at Tyler Run.
And a little nod at the listing of Mom and Dad’s Mansfield home listing. The number of views and saves online were crazy!
Millcreek had a fun social event put on by the social committee – the Summer Olympics. It included a timed competition for filling flats with pots, pie eating, plug tray sticking, and an egg toss.
We are in June and full-on-summer-mode full of family fun, pool days, sports, sports camps, attending sports events, Father’s Day, Dad’s birthday, helping Mom and Dad pack up and get some things from Mansfield to Dublin, and so on. Another full and fun month.
Driveway lego and pool days. We love the summer days spent down the street at Jane and Bryan’s pool with friends. We have so much fun with swim lessons and then just pool fun afterwards or on separate days.
I signed the boys up for Locker Soccer summer camp this year – both during the same week, Reid’s for a half day and Griffin’s for a longer time into the afternoon. This is Reid’s first time in an organized camp and his first instructional group outing (like school) since March of 2020. He definitely had fun, but he has lots to learn in regards to sharing, taking turns, and listening. Ugh, it was rather hard to watch him struggle so much in the first few hours and day or two. Many moments of sadness, sitting by himself, not listening to his teachers, and so on. But eventually he turned a corner and participated and listened much better. Being on his own, not really having played with friends his age or having been in group settings for such a prolonged time has certainly had an impact on him.
The following week Griffin attended the Barca Academy soccer camp at Liberty Park in Powell. Kevin and I were both really impressed with how well-run this camp was. From daily check in, starting with a song and national anthem of Spain, organized team groups and two instructors per group. Each group was on the same schedule taking break at the same time, etc. This was our first experience with an all-day camp (9a-3p) and I was a bit nervous leaving him in a public park with strangers! But he absolutely loved it and had a blast every day.
Kevin, Jim, and Griffin were able to go to the last game at historic Crew Stadium. This was special to Kevin, as he has attended each opening game (at Crew Stadium and the first game of the Crew in 1996 at the Horseshoe) and he wanted to attend the final game at Crew Stadium too. The boys had perfect weather and enjoyed a great game. The Crew won in front of a sell out crowd 2-0 versus the Chicago Fire.
It was an evening game, so Reid and I stayed home and had a relaxing night at home complete with a fun bath and movie snuggles in bed.
For Father’s Day, we gifted Kevin tickets to the Columbus Clippers. In celebration of Father’s Day, they allowed field access to run the bases and toss the ball around on the field with your family. What a fun time! Sports for Griffin, snacks for Reid – ha!
After the game we walked through Kevin’s Base22 office, which is on Nationwide across from the Arena. The boys thought it was pretty neat and it was my first time inside too. Then we headed for a burger at R Bar.
Sean, Max, and Charlotte came to Ohio for a weeklong plus visit and came to Powell a couple of times. We were able to enjoy an outdoor concert in downtown Powell on Village Green. The kids absolutely loved playing together and seeing each other again – it’s been a couple years!
Millcreeks end of Spring Celebration was a family event this year held at the Columbus Zoo and Zoombeezi Bay. We had a fun family day walking a bit around the zoo but mostly spending time in the water at the Bay!
In early June we headed to Mansfield to rent a U-Haul in order to move down a few key components from Mom and Dad’s house to their new home in Dublin. Things like the kitchen table and chairs, their bed frame, the dining room china cabinet and buffet, and so on. We packed up the rental pretty full, secured everything down, and headed to Dublin. We are becoming excellent packers, lol. We all drove separately, Kevin in the rental, me in the van with the kids, Mom and Dad in their cars. By the time I stopped home to feed Brutus and let him out and then got over to Dublin they had the van all unloaded thanks to help from Andy and Rowan. Whew – way faster to unload than load that’s for sure! Everything is fitting really nicely in their new space. From the time Mom and Dad secured their new home, Dad said he wanted to close and have possession in order to celebrate his birthday there – and that is exactly how it played out! We got City BBQ carryout and enjoyed our first family dinner there to celebrate Dad’s birthday.
This year on Nathan’s birthday, we visited the cemetery with flowers I’d cut from our gardens. We cleaned up Nathan’s headstone and prayed for our family. Reid had some questions as each year he has more of an understanding of who Nathan is and of course this year questions about where he is. It’s always an emotional visit.
This picture I snapped of the sunrise a bit before 6 am from our back patio. The colors were beautiful! I seem to be in a normal routine of waking up about 5:40 every morning, without an alarm clock. So Brutus and I head downstairs for coffee and breakfast together. We’ve been doing some yard clean-up, including trimming trees in the back. We’re hopeful that this will be the year we are able to put in a new patio and revamp our back yard.
I’ve planted a handful of annuals out front: angelonia, lantana, salvia, verbena, and new guinea impatiens to spruce up the front and add some constant color. Looking forward to these things getting big!
1179 Pearce Drive is beginning to look much different with things moved out and what is left having been rearranged. I headed up to Mansfield for a trip to dig up plants for Millcreek – some ginger and mini-polygonatum. We got many many crates which I drove down to Millcreek and loaded on to a rack. It was hot and we were sweaty but it was fun!
Reidy is usually my morning buddy, joining me on the patio this morning for coffee and cuddles. He also likes to help Kevin mow the lawn.
We’re excited for Griffin to have the opportunity to play on the Olentangy United Football Club soccer team this upcoming year. He will play on the U9 Blue Team with practices and most games in Lewis Center and Powell areas. Griffin is pretty excited!
And here are a few to wrap up June. Matching PJ’s, a visit from Haya and baby Summer, and a celebration for Chris Howard’s 50th birthday complete with a really cool cake!
Reidy got a splinter in his foot (from our kitchen floor, ugh!) and he was really upset! It was a challenge to get out, but we got it!
As it turns out, May 2021 was a really jam-packed month. Things like Mother’s Day, Reid’s 4th birthday, Graham’s birthday, lots of outdoor fun, and Mom and Dad closing on a home in Dublin! Get ready for photo overload.
Our seeds have sprouted and we’re looking forward to having things like peppers, zucchini, sweet peas, tomatoes, beans, and perhaps jack-o-lanterns though I typically have problems keeping those alive!
This spring our front garden is really looking nice. We planted some new Emerald Towers Sambucus (Elderberry) bushes at the far end near our norway maple to fill in the big open space. And a late May frost as you can see on the blades of grass.
Our outdoor fun continues and each and every soccer game we went to Reid wanted to wear Griffin’s old uniform :). Often when I garden out front I take Brutus out with me and he just lays around sun bathing in the grass. He’s not fond of looking at the camera though when I take pictures!
More s’mores fun at the Bolans!
This photo will either garner giggles or rolled eyes I’m sure, but this was life in May. Distance learning for Griffin – he was not enjoying the basement much and so began to like to do school in the kitchen or the patio. Reid, not a fan of always going in the potty but if you offer him the opportunity to go outside will never pass it up (though typically a bush is best, lol).
I enjoy taking Brutus on walks each and every day. We typically walk a mile, either through our neighborhood or one of the surrounding ones. Brutus does so great off-leash, I haven’t used it in forever. Sometimes the boys like to come with me and while Reid is well beyond stroller years, I like to walk at a brisk pace and not stop – so the stroller is more for my selfishness than his need!
We’ve enjoyed taking bike rides as a family this spring and on this particular night we rode our bikes up to the downtown Powell and enjoyed dinner on the patio at Koble.
Grandma and Grandpa Armstrong made it up to one of Griffin’s soccer games this spring. Reid loved having some attention during the game, ha! This marked the end of the spring soccer season for Griffin!
At this point, the secada’s seem like a distant memory, but these images remind me of the invasion we had this summer! They were SO LOUD in our neighborhood it was crazy! At first, we didn’t seem to have many but man did that change! The kids thought they were pretty cool, I’m not a big fan!
A fine display of Reid’s self-given hair cut and his new baby “Ariel”.
This boy plays hard and then sleeps hard. Check out the drool marks and finger impressions on his face!
Each year for Mother’s Day what I look forward to the most are the treasured tiny handprints (which are getting pretty big) from the boys on a painting that they create. I have a little gallery on the wall in our bedroom and love to see what they come up with each year. Lilly also helped the boys make the cute planted flower pot cards this year too.
REID – IS – 4 !!!
We celebrated Reid’s 4th birthday on May 20, a Thursday morning this year. As is our tradition, we had our kitchen all decorated and ready for Reidy when he came downstairs. He loves to get up and get dressed right away, 4.5 days out of 5 in OSU gear.
The Bethune’s came to one of Griffin’s soccer games and brought Reid’s birthday gifts with them. Reidy loved opening the gifts right away and later once we were home was obsessed with playing with the fighting robots.
Given that we’re still in a pandemic and aren’t really spending time in other’s houses, we didn’t think hosting a party for Reid would be ideal. Instead, we decided to rent a movie theater and invite some friends to a small showing of Tom and Jerry The Movie. It turned out to be perfect for Reid. Snacks and a show. He just wanted to sit with me and Kevin, not any of his friends! But I’ll take it as long as I can get it.
Griffin was my cake helper this year and spread frosting on our Dino cake like a champ! We decorated with Dots and sprinkles and a toy dinosaur!
And this was too cute not to include – 1 year birthday and 4 year birthday pic!
Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein and the Bethune’s joined us for a birthday dinner for Reid and Grandma and Grandpa Armstrong visited a couple days later too. This boy was flooded with birthday celebrations!
Reid had an excellent 4-year checkup with Dr. Houts at Powell Pediatric Care. He weighs 38.9 pounds (75th percentile), is 41″ tall (67th percentile) and his BMI is 16.27 (70th percentile). He got a couple of shots and as we like to do, we spent some time together afterward with breakfast at The Locust Table in Powell where we were able to sit outside and watch the train go by! Then we stopped at the park on the way home for some outdoor fun.
While we did not anticipate an entire year of Distance Learning for Griffin, that’s what we ended up doing. Griffin was a real trooper. He definitely went through phases of loving it, then not liking it. A bit of boredom, and a bit of defiance (or cutting his hair, holes in his shorts while being bored on the computer, etc). But all in all he did so well. His computer navigation skills are impressive! His teacher, Miss Peacock, was wonderful and did a great job of working with the kids. She was always available for individual calls (via Teams) and was so upbeat. We really loved her. On the last day of school she dropped off some things at each and every kids house! And even included something for the “honorary” second grade siblings. She gave each kid a coupon for the Little Ladies Soft Serve food truck, good for a treat on the last day of school – so we were able to go see her in “real life” and say thank you later that evening!
To celebrate the end of the school year we had a water-slide pizza and ice cream party at the Bolan’s house. These kids are ready for the summer!
May brought several trips to Mansfield to help Mom and Dad begin to prepare for their move to Dublin. We went up Memorial Day weekend to help clean out all kinds of things that one accumulates after 40 years of living in a home! The Bethune’s joined as well and we established a good system of Amy and Andy feeding out things from the basement workspace window to Kevin and I who were in the backyard loading the Mule. Then we drove the loads to the front and filled up the dumpster. We got to be pretty good at tetris-like packing that thing! The kids thought it was really cool to be up in the crawl space and help empty out things as well. Lots of giggles and chatter in there.
While in Mansfield, at the end of our workday we headed for a short stint at the Infield to celebrate Graham turning 11. Woah – that’s getting old!! This was also Reid’s first time that he is big enough to drive the bumper cars on his own – he was pretty excited. We also played some putt-putt and Griffin hit up the batting cages.
Later that evening Grandma and Grandpa had a little coin sorting activity for the grandkids. This “helped” clean out Grandpa’s coin drawer :). they were all pretty excited to sort and then count up their “earnings”. Woah!
It was a nice weekend spending time with everyone together at 1179 Pearce Drive for one last time. It was also sad! So many good memories in this home. It is hard to imagine Mom and Dad living elsewhere and not returning to Mansfield to visit or for the holidays. On the other hand, being only 20 minutes away is going to be really great! I walked around and tried to capture the outdoor gardens and hostas that Mom and Dad have tended to and hybridized for so many years. I keep teasing them that they can now come garden at our house :).
The boys always love riding on the Mule when visiting Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Grandpa likes to go on fun adventures through the woods behind their house. Griffin got to drive and there were a lot of giggles from Reid and Griffin. You can check out the video for some giggles.
And here is where Mom and Dad will be headed – Wind Rose Way in Dublin, just a short 20 minute drive for us and and 5 minute drive for the Bethune’s!
There was a very nice article written in the Hosta Journal on the Beilstein Family Hostas! I’ve included it here. It even has some nice photos of plants in the family plot 🙂
And here are a few to wrap up June. Matching PJ’s, a visit from Haya and baby Summer, and a celebration for Chris Howard’s 50th birthday complete with a really cool cake!
Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein and the Bethune’s joined us for a birthday dinner for Reid and Grandma and Grandpa Armstrong visited a couple days later too. This boy was flooded with birthday celebrations!
