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!
And here are some fun videos.
Look at those blue-eyed babes! Here we are enjoying a quick dinner at Panera after swim lessons this week. Reid ate really well – he had lots of the grilled cheese sandwich and some fruit, and Finn re-fueled all the energy he burned from being in the water.
My snuggle bud Brutes. This boy just wants to be sure he’s loved!
Friday marked the third anniversary of Nathan’s birth and death. Each year when June rolls around, actually more like May 15th, all kinds of thoughts and memories become more vivid as the date is a constant reminder of losing our little boy. Each year we visit the cemetery together, say a prayer, and then have dinner together after as a family. Even though three years have passed it so often still seems surreal and the emotions can be overwhelming. We don’t yet have a headstone or a family plot stone at the cemetery – hoping we will be able to make that complete by next year. Thanks to my parents for the thoughtful arrangement to remember all of our boys, the red roses for Griffin and Reid and the white calla lily for Nathan.
Saturday began the summer baseball season for Finn. This year it is coach-pitch so it’s a step up! Griffin is enjoying it and gets so excited during the week and counts down the days until he has a game. 
After his game we were home and Reid and Kevin were napping. I had asked Finn to play on his own for awhile so I could get some bills paid and work in the office for awhile. As I was working I thought, forget this – let’s have some fun! So we headed to the zoo only to find out they closed early for Zoofari! So we quickly switched it up and went to Zoombeezi instead – thankfully Finn was wearing his dri-fit OSU gear (basically like a suit!) and I had on yoga pants, flip flops, and a dri-fit shirt too! He had a blast in the tiny tides area for a couple of hours. 
I love these smiles!
Sunday was Father’s Day, and Kevin was excited to take Finn fishing for the first time ever. They headed out (in the crazy heat!) to Liberty Park for an afternoon adventure. As it turns out, Finn caught a fish really quickly (not very realistic first fishing experience – but they clearly stock the pond from this area where they were fishing!) and he was pretty happy about it. He held the fish and then they threw him back in! My favorite part is his outfit. He had asked, “so guys, what do you wear when you go fishing?.” We told him just comfortable shorts and shirt. He was asking about getting wet and such. And then he came down in this outfit, complete with his boots to keep his feet dry. Love this boy and his attention to detail – camo for fishing 🙂
I’ve realized I don’t have too many recent pictures of Kevin with both of the boys so during our dinner at Rooster’s I wanted to snap a pic. That went as well as I thought it would, as in not well, but here are a few for memory sake. 
And this week we received Finn’s Kindergarten information from Tyler Run! He has Mrs. Menary and will be going to school on Tuesday/Friday and every other Wednesday. He is in the same class as our neighbor, Cole, so he is super excited!
Wow, I’d really like to hit the pause button! Time is just flying by and our little man is already 4 weeks old. He is changing all the time and as you can see from the first picture is continuing to show us new expressions all the time.
Brutus slithered under our bed from one side to the other one morning, despite his large size he managed to do it! I thought it would be cute to snap his photo and before I knew it Griffin was asking if he could get in it too. 
After all that I asked Finn to go pick out an outfit for Reid and he returned with a onesie that perfectly matched Griffin’s outfit. Go Bucks! And the picture of Finn’s white pants and feet, well, he took that. He’s really taking a liking to be able to take photos on my phone and after he takes one if he happens to like it he wants to show me and then has the cutest smirk. 
I’ve never been a great cook as it isn’t something I really enjoy doing. I think if I had more time once I got home from work or perhaps if I planned better I would enjoy it more. But I am trying to be more intentional about making meals and eating at home on a more regular basis. It’s kind of hard since we don’t have a regular schedule where Kevin is home at the same time each day so sometimes all of us are here for dinner and sometimes not. I snapped this pic to send to Kevin to let him know he’d have dinner waiting when he got home one night. I must say I was pretty proud of myself, having both kids and managing to make a pretty decent dinner at an early hour 🙂
We have started doing tummy time as the doctor mentioned he should be doing it 3-4 times a day for as long as he will tolerate it. I’ve noticed Reid tends to cock his head one direction when he holds his head up so I kind of re position him to get him to arch his head and neck the other direction. So far he’s usually looking to the left or the right and not much straight ahead. His little wrinkled old-man forehead cracks me up!
Our backyard adventurer wanted to climb some trees one night this week. Griffin really enjoys being outside with Brutus, typically in the back corner of the yard where there is sometimes a muddy area. He and Brutus can always be found nearby one another it seems both because of Brutus’ curiosity of what Finn is doing and because Finn loves to climb and snuggle all over Brutus. He really is a giant baby, though his bark would have you believe he is a vicious guard dog!
These pictures are all from the backseat of the van in the Target parking lot! I was running some errands and Reid needed to eat. And afterward he has the happiest expressions, well, mostly 🙂
This week was a pretty emotional one for me as it was the second anniversary of Nathan’s birth and death on June 15th. It was a date I’d thought about endlessly as it approached and also having a newborn this year I find myself thinking so many different things and how this year has been so different from last year and the year he was born. I spent the day at home with Reid and Griffin, though Debbie took Finn on an adventure for part of the day while Reid and I ran a couple of errands. I found myself full of tears many times throughout the day, especially when I arrived home to a thoughtful flower arrangement from Mom and Dad. One yellow rose for Kevin, me, Griffin, and Reid and one white rose for Nathan. After Kevin was home from work we went to the cemetery. Griffin knows he has another brother, Nathan, and he asks questions especially today when we explained where we were going. Trying to get a four year old to understand that his brother isn’t at the cemetery (though his body is) but that he is in heaven with Jesus is a hard thing. Griffin found a white flower in the grass and wanted to put it on Nathan’s grave. We don’t yet have a head stone for Nathan or our family plot so it was difficult for him to understand Nathan’s grave compared to the others there which do have head stones. I feel terrible that we don’t have his head stone yet but it is one of the things highest in our budget for the coming months. We hope to have one before winter. 
As I’ve said many times before, Griffin loves to snuggle, particularly with me. He can’t seem to go to bed unless we’ve snuggled a bit. And first thing in the morning he comes into our room and cozies right up next to me. This morning he was so cute, he just wanted to wrap his legs through mine. 
I have a to list that I’ve been adding to while I’ve been home from work. It’s my goal to mark something off my list each day. Reid’s closet has been quite the undertaking. It turns out it’s not too easy to paint without long stretches of time! On this day I had tried to put Reid down for a nap and he wasn’t really having it. So I ended up putting him in his car seat, out in the garage, and even then he’d wake up fussing. So Griffin would rock him in his car seat so I could keep painting. This went on for awhile and I had many boards and the drawer unit Kevin built that needed painted. But in the end I got it done and even Finn helped me put on the final touches. 
Here is Reid with his snuggly bear that we received as a gift this week from my cousin and her family. I love that his name and birthday are embroidered on it. 
I took both boys out for our first solo adventure this week to the zoo. It was a warm and sunny day and we were able to see and feed the giraffe’s (Finn fed Logan), get a great view of the cheetah’s, and watch the polar bear baby!
We had a long afternoon at the zoo so we rushed home to get ready for our Friday evening dinner at Cap City to celebrate Father’s Day. It was the perfect night – a delicious dinner, which Reid slept through until the end, and tasty desserts all while having fun and celebrating Kevin and the joys of being a Dad. 
Yes, Kevin dunked Finn’s face into the giant chocolate cake 🙂
Another Saturday morning spent at Finn’s t-ball game. I love watching Kevin coach the kids, especially Griffin!
After his game we headed to Enon for a couple of hours where Finn enjoyed the outdoors as he played soccer with Grandpa and Daddy. He came inside a bit of a sweaty mess!
Griffin picked out a fitting batman Father’s Day card and a bag of Reese cups because he says “his favorite dessert is Reese cups!” as we were walking through Target. He also wanted to get him a shirt and “shoits”, which he learned to pronounce shorts as shoits from Grandpa Beilstein. 
On Father’s Day we were home since we’d been to Enon on Saturday and Dad was out of town on a hosta trip. Chad Ackerman hosted a cookout at his place so we enjoyed a long dinner with good friends. The Howard’s gave Finn and Reid some awesome OU apparel and Chad and Nicole gave Finn and Reid some great OSU apparel and gear (baseball/bat/chair for Finn!) so it was a cute rivalry of the OU-OSU that we regularly have in our house already! The baseball and bat were used the entire night by all the kids playing together. 
And here are a few from this week of Finn’s adventure to Library park to play baseball with Debbie. He’s got a great swing! They also found a baby bird in our backyard and made colorful glitter slime this week. 
Here’s a throwback to a Clippers game in 2014 that we went to for Father’s Day. Look at how little Finn is and that long blonde hair! 