I’m loving my summer schedule! It involves working less and having more fun! This week Kevin went on a week-day trip with a couple of friends to Chicago, so I figured I would take a couple of days off to spend with Finn. We had lots of fun and adventures including a trip to Mansfield (a post Father’s Day trip) and yet another day at Zoombeezi. I love that we can go to Zoombeezi for the whole day or a few hours since it is so close Finn has fun and it wears him out!
Finn and I surprised Mom and Dad with our trip to Mansfield. Dad was busy planting hostas, so Finn helped him finish up by doing some watering. Then Mom, Finn, and me headed to the Carousel Park and rode around a few times. We also shopped at a few new (to me) shops in downtown Mansfield and hit up the local coffee shop for an afternoon treat, yum! Later that night Dad and Finn played some baseball. I’ve included a video that just gives me the giggles. Finn is at a state where he sometimes listens and sometimes is pretty defiant – but he listened really well when my dad gave him the signal for a “changeup”. You’ll hear me giggle in the video. 
We had a fun pillow fight too. 
Dad had put out a lot of the plant markers we gave him for his birthday too – I took these photos to send to Kevin while he was on his trip :).
The Wednesday that Kevin was returning there was a really big storm predicted – starting basically in northern Illinois and moving toward Ohio (essentially following Kevin home!). I was really worried as there were tornadoes associated with the storms and they were projecting huge winds during the night after he arrived home. Thankfully, no tornadoes near them during their drive and they all arrived home safe and sound. And of course, we made Daddy some of his favorite chocolate chip cookies to welcome him home. 
On Friday we went to the annual Powell Festival and met up with a couple of our neighbors. We had fun listening to live bands, enjoying the food trucks, and Finn loved the kids zone play area. 
On Saturday we headed to Lowe’s for the “Iron Man” kids workshop. Then up to Mansfield for Mom and Dad’s annual Hosta Sale. It was a nice and warm day, so Finn basically put his suit on and played in a small bucket of water. It doesn’t take much! Finn was assisting with sales too, when one customer was looking for a yellow one, he took it over to her to show it to her. Starting him early! After the sale was over we helped them pack it all up and put the plants away. Then we headed out to dinner and stayed in the air conditioning!
And even though we are already well into summer, this year we’ve been talking about putting together a bucket list of summer time activities. So one morning I wrote it all out – we’ve got fun plans ahead!
Finn loves being a helper, so he and Kevin each bring up a rolling bin after the trash man has taken away our waste!
Powell’s Touch a Truck was this week too, so it was a perfect fit for learning all about policeman, firemen, doctors, and such. 
And a fun trip to the zoo where Finn saw a playful kangaroo up close and personal!
I was able to break away from work to go to Finn’s Mommy and Me day at pre-school. He was so excited to have me there with him. He took me around to all of the toys he likes to play with and we shared a quick little muffin together. It was a short time, but it was so nice to go!
Our beans started out like this early in the week and by Sunday we were ready to plant! 
Mother’s Day was a beautiful day. We spent the morning taking all of our plants outside and planting many of them in the garden. Finn loves to dig the holes and play in the dirt. We planted pumpkins, mini pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, and watermelon. 
Later that morning we headed to Mansfield for an early afternoon visit and brunch with my Mom for Mother’s day. The Bethune’s were there too and we had a fun-filled afternoon of adventure throughout Grandma and Grandpa’s gardens, a trip to the Gorman Nature Center, and the finale at Dairy Queen – of course!
This week we had fun with all things Easter, including pictures with the Easter Bunny at Polaris Mall (followed by ice cream, of course) and several Easter Egg hunts too. We also explored the Ohio Bird Sanctuary in Mansfield during our weekend roadtrip. We had fun exploring nature with Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein and the Bethune’s. 
We snapped a quick cousins Easter photo after church. Later that afternoon we were invited to Easter Brunch at Mike & Laura Pilgrim’s new home this year. It was a pleasant afternoon with the kids playing together and yet another egg hunt all on top of a delicious meal. 
Griffin also had a fun afternoon at the Franklin Park Conservatory with Debbie and Sammy this week. Always remember to slow down and smell the flowers!
And while the weather ended on a warmer note this week – it was pretty cold earlier in the week and at Millcreek we ran the water to protect the plants that were outside already. The water turns into ice which serves as an insulator to protect the plants from the low temperatures. It works really well!
And here Google put together a movie of my photos from the week. I think perhaps I should just post one of these every week, ha!