Tag Archives: parade

July 5, 2015

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This week we had several fun family outings. The days seem to pass and we keep busy with various “adventures” as I like to call them. Pictures can make things appear like life is grand and happy and all roses.  And while we certainly have fun, there are sad times too. Those times aren’t captured in pictures, but they are there and they are real. Oftentimes people will ask how we are doing. The truth is at times we are fine and at other times we’re sad, really sad. And hurt. And we miss our son, Nathan. Our family has experienced extreme pain and sadness. Yet life continues to go on every day. So we are choosing to make happy memories. I can tell you that after our experience I certainly have a different perspective on the privilege of being a mom. I by no means get everything right, not even close, but even in the midst of a tantrum I’m reminded of what a blessing Griffin is to our family and the miracle God has given us in him. And I want to have fun and enjoy what is around us.  Which brings us to this weeks adventures. I’ve been working less lately and I had the week off and Kevin was home most of the time too. We went to the zoo, Red, White & Boom, a 4th of July parade, and a trip to Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein’s for the 4th. It was a busy and full week which I find is good for me, in particular, to keep the sadness in the back of my mind. DSC_0080We listened to our first-ever “keeper talk” for the rhinoceros. Griffin was able to touch a real horn from the rhino at the zoo, which had fallen off long ago. DSC_0074 DSC_0082 DSC_0083 DSC_0088 DSC_0089 DSC_0092 He had a good time on the statues of the various animals at the zoo too. He was being a bit goofy. DSC_0095 DSC_0100 DSC_0105 DSC_0109 DSC_0118 DSC_0126 DSC_0150 DSC_0152It was a crazy weather day as it went from nice and sunny, to torrential downpours as you can see below. Luckily we were close by to take refuge in the tunnel that goes from one side of the zoo to the other.  Yikes!  During a break in the rain we headed indoors to the aquarium where we were able to see the keeper feed the fish and check out other animals we hadn’t seen in quite awhile. DSC_0160 DSC_0161 DSC_0166 DSC_0176 DSC_0183 DSC_0186 DSC_0189 Finn kept wanting to walk with the fish and the stingray. He would get up next to the glass and walk along the glass with the various creatures. He loved the big turtle!DSC_0193 DSC_0197 DSC_0198 DSC_0199 DSC_0204 DSC_0211The lions are always sleeping during our visits! Finn gave them a high five anyway. DSC_0223 DSC_0234 DSC_0237 DSC_0240 And of course the petting zoo. Finn has a real love of animals. He always wants to see them (“pees may i doe see dem?”) and pet them. So we played with the goats for a bit and watched the chickens eat. DSC_0270 DSC_0271

Since I’m behind in getting the posts online this is old news, but Finn has a few new outdoor toys. He’s still not totally sure about his motorized car. He drives it for short distances, usually, and then gets out to put things in the hood (balls, chalk, etc). He needs the pillow behind his back so he can reach the pedal!DSC_0277 DSC_0280

We also spent a lot of time outside working in the yard. Kevin ordered 6 yards of bulk mulch that we figured would be enough to mulch all the gardens in the front of our house – but not so! We used 6 yards just in the bed by the street and half of a tree in the front yard.  Wowza. We did it all really quickly as Kevin would dump and I spread it out. I had spent about 3 hours in the morning weeding the garden as it was a travesty. I wish I had before photos of the mulch piles and the garden!!DSC_0286 DSC_0285_20150701_213814 DSC_0283Kevin made amazing progress in our garage 🙂 He hasn’t parked his car inside since our remodel began last year. He spent lots of time and sweat emptying out this place.  Now it’s so spacious and nice!  Wish I had a before pic of this too 😉DSC_0288DSC_0290DSC_0291Red, White, & Boom is always something we look forward to each year. Three years ago on the day of Red, White, and Boom I found out I was pregnant and told Kevin shortly before we headed out for the festivities. It’s always a time for us to reminisce. this is the third year in a row we have gone down and enjoyed hanging out on the lawn, taking food, and watching the fireworks. We tried a new spot this year which we didn’t end up liking as much as Bicentennial Park, but we had a nice time. We stick around for the first 12 or 13 minutes of the fireworks before we high-tail it to our car to beat the traffic. We had a nice view and luckily the weather cooperated and cleared up from the rain which was around most of the early part of the day. IMG_20150703_192659992 IMG_20150703_193542115 IMG_20150703_195634642 DSC_0295 DSC_0300 DSC_0303 DSC_0305 DSC_0306 DSC_0308 DSC_0312 DSC_0317 DSC_0331 IMG_20150703_203434945 IMG_20150703_211250 DSC_0341 DSC_0348 DSC_0358 DSC_0363The next morning we woke up and headed to the Hilliard 4th of July Parade where we were able to hang out front of the church office for New City Presbyterian, the church plant our friends James and Laura are starting. It was a warm and sunny day and we had a great spot with friends, food, and coffee! Finn was pretty shy at retrieving the candy that they toss out (and there was a lot!) but warmed up to it after a bit. He moreso wanted to go inside and dance to the music that was playing!IMG_20150704_092112283_HDR DSC_0378 DSC_0392 DSC_0400 DSC_0411 DSC_0408After the parade we headed to Mansfield for a cookout with mom and dad prior to their big trip to Alaska. We had a tasty meal and enjoyed hanging out. Finn went on a ride on the mule with Daddy and PaPa and later we all ventured around Mansfield in the van to show Kevin (who actually drove it all) a lot of the parks and fun places in Mansfield (we went by a few run down areas too). Dad is always keeping busy and his latest thoughts and activities involve figuring out a way to have a community Apple-themed festival utilizing a public park. We spent the night and went to church and Bobby E’s for some lunch after too.  Just prior to leaving Finn had a bit of an accident, which led to a quick wash down in the utility sink in laundry room! Silly boy.  DSC_0418 DSC_0420DSC_0424 DSC_0427 DSC_0432 DSC_0439

May 31, 2015

DSC_0037It was really nice to have a long weekend! We began our Monday by making our 3rd annual trip to the Powell Memorial Day Parade. This year we got a nice spot on North Liberty Street. We took our wagon and chairs and had nice seats. Griffin got plenty of candy too – I think every person that walked by threw a handful at him!  He’s very cautious when going into the street to get the candy too.  And at the end the policeman got out of his cruiser and photo bombed us! Later that afternoon we spent some time in the backyard. Finn was feeling pretty adventurous climbing up the ropes of the hammock along with running to see Lily. DSC_0007 DSC_0018 DSC_0019 DSC_0010 DSC_0021 DSC_0025 DSC_0028 DSC_0032 DSC_0040 DSC_0039 DSC_0042 DSC_0043 DSC_0044

Always wanting to do what daddy is doing….DSC_0047 IMG_20150525_182650682 IMG_20150525_182811775 IMG_20150525_182936171_HDR IMG_20150525_184234904_HDR IMG_20150525_184830395 IMG_20150525_184932805_HDR IMG_20150525_185023473

We had a peacock in our yard this week!  Finn and I ran inside to get my phone so we could snap some photos. We were within 8 feet of our bright blue friend.

IMG_20150527_191835391_HDR IMG_20150527_192327029Finn and I went out together for dinner on National Hamburger Day – to Culvers, of course! My little stink bug also loved helping me with my caramel cashew concrete mixer.  Mmm.

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Grandma watched Finn on Friday, and as you can see, they had lots of fun. She brought him Krispy Kreme do do’s for breakfast. He was so happy and goofy at 7:30 in the morning!FullSizeRenderSaturday morning daddy brought Finn breakfast in our room. None other than some dodo’s that grandma had brought the day before! He was in heaven. And he didn’t want to have his jammies on either – when I went in to get him he was half undressed and kept saying he didn’t want to wear his jammies, he wanted to be “nu nu”. IMG_20150530_075719468

Here is Finn taking a selfie on Saturday morning 🙂IMG_20150530_101533589 And here he is getting some good exercise with Lily. The dogs haven’t had their “blue ball” in quite awhile!IMG_20150530_102253129

Saturday we spent the afternoon on a last minute trip to COSI, having fun with Graham, Rowan, and Greta. IMG_20150530_140917404

 

IMG_20150530_142230885 IMG_20150530_144210982 IMG_20150530_145317931 IMG_20150530_145348910 IMG_20150530_145605474 IMG_20150530_150843809 IMG_20150530_153014464 IMG_20150530_153844436 IMG_20150530_154412028 Daddy wasn’t able to join us since this is the weekend they are “cutting over” to the upgrade that Kevin has been working on for months. Monday is the go-live date so all weekend long the transition is occurring which means he is frequently on the phone getting updates and dealing with whatever may come up.  Here Finn and Rowie are sitting together and behind them is the building Kevin’s project is based out of (the tall one in the center!). Kind of cool!
IMG_20150530_161235264_HDRDaddy was able to meet us for dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse, and by the time we had just left the parking lot – Finn was asleep!  He hardly ever sleeps in the car! And he went to bed at 7 pm – super early, but he hadn’t had a nap today. It was a full day!IMG_20150530_183521146_HDR

 

May 31, 2014

DSC_0548Get ready for photo overload! It will come as no surprise that I had a wee bit of trouble narrowing down the photos this week, which means there will be many for you to see!

Last year when Finn was about 10 or 11 weeks old we went to the Powell Memorial Day Parade. It was cold and raining. This year was a completely different story! It was sunny and 80 degrees! There were so many people there and we even ran into our friends, the Eilermans! Many people brought their dogs and Finn loved being able to pet a few of them (and a pony in the parade – see below!). We headed to Rita’s Italian Ice in Powell for a sweet treat to top off the morning.  In the afternoon we headed to the Mihocik/Kessler Memorial Day cookout. We had a fun time and Finn loved having free reign and wandering about amongst so many other kids. DSC_0529 DSC_0537 DSC_0539 DSC_0556 DSC_0554 DSC_0562 DSC_0566 DSC_0572 DSC_0575 DSC_0579 DSC_0582 DSC_0589 DSC_0596 DSC_0608 DSC_0619 DSC_0622 DSC_0624 DSC_0625 DSC_0627 DSC_0631 DSC_0640 DSC_0647 DSC_0653 DSC_0661We are loving (me especially!) having a garden right off the edge of the patio. Finn is such an outdoors little guy. He LOVES to go outside to check on the plants and help me water them (and the indoor plants too). In fact, he oftentimes picks up the watering can and pretends to water the houseplants. He does that pretty much everyday! And outside he keeps himself occupied by stacking the empty pots. He loves to dig in the dirt and also loves that Lily is out and about on the patio and in the yard. He says “yilly yilly yilly” to get her to come back over to him. It’s the cutest thing, really. DSC_0718 DSC_0716 DSC_0713 DSC_0708 DSC_0642

Amy and I had been tossing around the idea of going Strawberry picking with the kids. I found Mitchell’s Berries in Plain City, literally just barely outside Dublin, so we gave it a try on Friday morning. Finn and Greta picked some berries and helped themselves to plenty of samples during our adventure. And Graham and Rowan had a good time too – RoRo was my little shadow, coming up to me and saying “whatcha doing Iggy”, “can I help Iggy”, and of course wanting a taste of my lemon-water (“what’s that Iggy”). It was a fun morning and perfect weather! Sarah, Audrey, Samantha, and Mary Lou joined us too. DSC_0762 DSC_0749 DSC_0753 DSC_0763 DSC_0736 DSC_0733 DSC_0769 DSC_0771 DSC_0772 DSC_0780 DSC_0786 DSC_0793 DSC_0799 DSC_0803 DSC_0804 DSC_0810 DSC_0813 DSC_0817 DSC_0820 DSC_0827 DSC_0831It was the Memorial Tournament week this week too which is always a fun time. Friday night we had a slumber party here with Debbie and Sammy as Debbie was so kind as to stay at our house to watch Finn so we could go out in the evening. However, the plan changed throughout the day so Debbie and I headed to the Tournament in the late afternoon with Finn and Sammy while Kevin and his dad did some major demolition to the former dining room! They were on a tight schedule to get things ready for the dry-wall people to close-up phase one of the new kitchen. We had a lovely stroll around the golf course and then came home and the boys had some dinner followed by a bit of fun with bath time! And Saturday morning Finn was pretty excited to see Debbie and Sammy and be able to play for a short while before they had to leave. photo (21) photo (22) DSC_0842 DSC_0852 DSC_0867 DSC_0871 DSC_0914 DSC_0923And Sunday afternoon Finn spent a few hours with Cameron while we were at the Tournament. He really adjusts well to staying with anyone and was totally good with us leaving after the initial shock of major kisses compliments of Clarence, the Howard’s dog! IMG_20140601_181552777 IMG_20140601_182337492For the first time I witnessed Finn actually climb something other than the stairs. Here he is, looking all proud and yet also checking in to see if he should be doing what he is doing! We put this box near his playpen so I would remember to take it to work and sure enough he found it and hopped right on top!DSC_0941And a few other shots from the week, here Finn is dancing and snacking while on a recent trip to the mall. And Finn and Sammy are checking out the monkeys and lions at the zoo!IMG_20140531_155811993photo (24) photo (23)An update on the remodeling progress.  Kevin and Jim have made a ton of progress. They demolished the tray ceiling in the former dining room and Jim did tons of electrical wiring in the ceiling of the new kitchen as well as wiring for all of the appliances. Jim also re-wired the Radon pump on the exterior side of our house so the electrical line wasn’t running on the outside for half the length of the side our house. Plumbers were here to rough in the plumbing for the kitchen sink and the gas line for the range.  The drywallers came and hung the ceiling in the new kitchen and the small walk-in utility room. They also finished the walk-in pantry. DSC_0890 DSC_0888 DSC_0928 DSC_0929 DSC_0663 DSC_0664 DSC_0665 DSC_0887 DSC_0949 DSC_0950 DSC_0954 DSC_0948 DSC_0945DSC_0692 DSC_0694