Tag Archives: reunion

October 6-15, 2019

Griffin really enjoyed outdoor soccer this fall. His confidence grew a bit each week and he really ran hard out there zooming after the ball. He had some nice passes and even was able to score. I really enjoyed watching him play (when I wasn’t finding a YouTube or Netflix show for Reid, or chasing Reid, lol.

Kevin and I went out for a date night to dinner and a Mercy Me concert with Chris and Sarah Manning. Crowder opened (and Micah Tyler but we didn’t get there in time to see him!) and he was really enjoyable also.

On Sunday we were outside enjoying the day and decided we wanted to burn some energy. We sprung a surprise bike trip on the boys and didn’t tell them where we were going until we were about to leave. We took a nice little bike ride across Jewett and through Calumet Farms, then throughout Worthington Hills and we ended up at the Hills Market down at 315 and Worthington Hills where we had lunch at Subway and ice cream treats from Hills Market. We knew we would be cutting it close with the weather as rain was on the way. Just as we finished lunch and were getting ready to head out in hopes of beating the rain a downpour ensued! So, we hung out under the covered patio at the shopping center and let the rain pass. We made it back up the b-i-g hill at the entrance to Worthington Hills and then eventually back home. It was fun! Just a whee bit nerve wracking going down the big hill toward 315, but Griffin stayed right beside me and did a fantastic job controlling his bike and speed.

Donuts with Dad was this week, however, there was a random fog delay the morning of, so it was postponed a day. Unfortunately, Kevin was headed to a conference in North Carolina so he wasn’t able to go with Griffin on Wednesday. Instead, he took Griffin to Tim Horton’s and picked up donuts to have a home. It was a win-win :). When Dad is away, we will play! Just kidding, we go out to eat once a week after swimming or gymnastics – this week we ended up at Culver’s.

Griffin is continuing to enjoy school. The bus ride may be his favorite part as he can trade Pokemon cards and various other things with his friends along the route to and from school. Next up: recess and math. This kid is doing awesome with his math skills. He is constantly crunching numbers in his head or outloud – addition, subtraction, multiplication. He is crazy about numbers. I was able to flex my time at work and volunteer to help with raffle tickets for the raffle baskets as a part of Fall Fest at lunch one day this week. We weren’t able to go to Fall Festival at Tyler Run this year as Kevin’s reunion was the same weekend. So instead of the money spent on a wrist band for rides, etc., we gave Griffin money to buy raffle tickets to drop in the raffle boxes during lunch. As it turns out – he won the ART basket! I had volunteered at lunch and then gotten home and a short bit later my phone rang “Tyler Run”. I was nervous for a quick second thinking it might be the school nurse again – but it was a friend of mine telling me Griffin had won a basket! I was able to go pick it up and have it at home by the time he got off the bus. Earlier in the day I had gone over to school to walk in the Fun Walk through the school neighborhood. It’s a fun day that I look forward to each year.

Friday afternoon we packed up and headed to Enon for Kevin’s Greenon High School 30 year Reunion. The weather turned rather yucky, but we forged ahead and took Griffin with us to part of the high school football game (in the rain!). He enjoyed watching them play and it was fun to get him the fun hot dog, skittles, and gatorade from the concession stand. Afterward, we took Griffin back to Grandma and Grandpa’s and Kevin and I headed to meet up with his classmates and Taylor’s Tavern. It was a fun evening meeting many of Kevin’s friends and listening to so many stories.

Saturday there was a gathering the The Bogey. There were a large number of people, yet a different group than Friday, who came. We spent several hours talking with Kevin’s old friends. There were also numerous yearbooks which were so fun to peruse and see pictures of Kevin back as far as 5th grade! Then on Sunday there was a tour of the High School (they will be razing it within a year as a new one is being built) so we took the boys on a walk through of Daddy’s old hallways and then they raced a lap on the track before we headed home.

Reid is such a silly boy sometimes. On this afternoon he put Haya’s hair band on his head. She sent me this picture and I just had a chuckle. He’s a little silly entertainer. He also makes pretty expressive faces, see the picture of him sniffing my coffee one morning. I’ve signed Reid up for gymnastics which he absolutely loves. Pure joy on his face as he runs to the bell to ring it at the start of the class. We got in the car after the second week and he said “mama, that fun!”

Check out our official First Grader’s school photo! He’s growing up fast!

June 16-20, 2019

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Father’s Day 2019! After an early morning hanging out on the porch we went to church and headed to Matt the Miller for a tasty brunch. Kevin also spent time on some home improvement projects including replacing our front porch lights and installing a new Ring doorbell.

Griffin has been loving riding his new bike around our neighborhood. We are also able to go out on family bike rides with Reid in his newer kid seat that can go on either my bike or Kevin’s. We explored on a 3.5 mile ride through Calumet Farms and down through a neighborhood that ends at 315. It was a fun ride.

Haya brought Lucy again this week and Griffin was so excited. He read for awhile in the afternoon with Lucy at his side.

This week’s adventure took us to Scioto Audubon Park just south of downtown Columbus. We took Griffin’s bike and he rode about on the trails that headed to the playground area where the boys climbed the ropes and rode the slides. It was SUPER hot out so on our way home we stopped at Whit’s for a sweet treat.

Friday we went to the Powell Festival with the boys. Finally, this year the weather cooperated and it was a really nice evening. Both boys enjoyed the bounce areas and dancing to the live music at the end of the night.

On Sunday we attended the extended Armstrong family reunion which was held on the Herman Armstrong family farm. Many of the Kevin’s father’s cousins were able to attend. It was another warm and sunny day where we were able to explore the farm fields, the old barn, and some tractors. The kids had a great time catching frogs!

The summertime Lemonade Stand has been in full swing a couple of times. The kids have made a some great money this year and really love flagging people down to see if they are interesting in buying.

This week Haya took the boys to a movie during the day and they loved it. I had no doubt Griffin would, but wasn’t sure how Reid would do as he’d only been to a movie one other time when he was less than a year old. She reported that he did really well and sat for the first 45 minutes straight. That’s really good for him 🙂

The boys and I headed to Zoombeezi Bay after work one night. It is a great time to go for a couple of hours as many people are leaving at that hour. We spend most of our time in the lazy river walking or floating. Daddy met us at Graeter’s on our way home.

We explored the Delaware Splash Pad this week too on yet another really warm day. It has a nice and really big playground area and a nice splash and sprinkler area. Later that afternoon we headed to Mansfield for my 25th High School Reunion. There was a gathering at the Red Fox on Friday night, a place I think I’ve been to once or twice ever despite its popularity throughout the years. I saw old friends I hadn’t seen in 20+ years! From time to time I was apprehensive about going but knew if I went I would be glad I did. And it turned out to be a lot of fun! Saturday night was the official reunion at Dan Lew Exchange in downtown Mansfield which included dinner, dancing, and lots of conversation. I graduated with 330 people and while no where near that many people came it was great to see so many old friends and acquaintances.

Our summer bucket list included a weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Beilsteins, which we checked off our list over the reunion weekend. It was a crazy hot weekend and also the weekend of Mom and Dad’s annual hosta sale which Griffin loves to go to and help with. We’re thankful that my parents watched the boys both nights while we went the reunion festivities. Kallen, an exchange student from Brazil who was a good friend in high school stopped by my parents to visit. It was fun to show her around their yard, including the pergola which when I was in high school was the sand volleyball court. It looks very different today!

To beat the heat at the end of the hosta sale we took a trip to the Dairy Queen. We quickly ate our treats before they melted in the heat!

Kevin had jokingly told me that he would need several days to recover from all of the socialization of the reunion, lol. When we got home on Sunday Reid was in need of a nap so Kevin and Reid relaxed and Griffin and I headed to Zoombeezi.