Tuesday, July 31, 2018

July Overview

We had a busy month!

David and Laney on the 4th of July.

We watched the Bexley 4th of July parade from a friend's house. Eliana's friend Sam was on a float in the parade for the swim team he is part of!

We ended the day with a trip to the playground

Some days Laney thinks she doesn't need a nap.  But then she passes out playing with her phone haha!

One day a week we watched Eliana's friend Adele. We went on a hike at a metro park and were looking for fossils.

BFFs

Hiking by the river.

We went on a very rainy wet Retzner Family camping trip to Clifty Falls State Park in Indiana. Laney and Hannah are enjoying the puddles.

Eliana brought her bike to show off how she learned to ride without training wheels this summer!  When Eliana was learning, she rode up and down our street over and over. While she was riding and I was running next to her, her younger siblings would chase after on foot while cheering "You're doing it Eliana! You're doing it!" It was so sweet!

Trying to stay dry while camping.

Back in Columbus - our favorite bee at Fancyburg Park. As seen here and here


A trip to the zoo. We are riding the dinosaur boat ride, which is much easier this summer because Laney can walk. Nonwalkers are not allowed on the boat, so last summer we could only go on the ride when David went to the zoo with us. This summer we can do it whenever we want!

T-rex at the zoo!

Will wanted to spend his birthday money on dino toys from the zoo. I'm a sucker and agreed to get everyone a dinosaur toy. (Laney has a baby triceratops in her lap you can't see).
Look at my big guy!


Eliana loves to pick flowers and then put them together in a new creation. She made this one for me.

Ice cream time


Eliana had her friend Violet over for a sleepover!  Will got booted to sleeping in my room, which he didn't mind in the least.

Eliana did a week of art camp where she made this shirt, among many other crafts. She had a blast!

A trip to COSI with Adele.

Checking out the doctor's office at COSI



And of course we spent lots of time at the pool!

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Hocking Hills Vacation

Three years ago, my whole side of the family rented a cabin in Hocking Hills for vacation.  It took a few years, but we finally made it back!  In 2015, there were 3 kids ages three and under and one on the way.  This time, we had 7 kids ages six and under plus one on the way! Despite all of our crazy schedules, we managed to get a family from Colorado, two families from Indiana, and two families in Ohio in the same lodge for four days and three night.

We rented a humongous lodge for us all to share.  My favorite part of the lodge was the bunk bed room which had 4 sets of bunk beds in it!  What a great place for cousin fun!  Eliana, Will, Claire, and Hannah all shared this room (Will was the only one who wanted to sleep in the top bunk).  This resulted in some late bedtimes, but lots of great memories.  The weather was beautiful but hot!  With so many little kids, we did not do a ton of hiking, but we did play lots of games, eat tons of cookies, watch movies, roast marshmallows, and celebrate a birthday. I love these times with my family!

My dad with the youngest grandchild - baby Naomi

Will doing some baby yoga with Naomi

Lots of pj time on the trip! We strategically placed my parents in the bedroom next to the bunk bed room. So in the mornings when the kids got up, they woke up Grandma while the parents got to sleep in!  As the babies woke up, we would usher them into the kitchen with Grandma and the kids, then head back to bed!

Hannah, Eliana, and Will playing Paw Patrol Bingo

Eliana loves babies! She was happy to get to feed Naomi.

Hannah, Eliana, Rosie and Will swinging on the porch. Will doesn't like to have his picture taken.

Eliana with her Godmother Aunt Rebecca
Our hike to Ash Cave. Your choice for the hike was a paved trail or the creekbed.  Will choose the creek.

Checking out the sandy cave. Rosie is not a fan of water!

Laney heading towards the waterfall.

Eliana and Will splashing in the shallow pool by the waterfall.

Great family photo of Michael, Melissa, and Claire!

We did one other family hike to Old Man's Cave.  We managed to get everyone in a group photo! Lots of kids in backpacks. Some had to abandon the hike early, but we were all together for a few minutes!
We celebrated Will's 4th birthday on the trip with cupcakes and ice cream.


Laney thought her cupcake was better than her spaghetti.




We ended the trip with a family picnic. We bribed the kids with ring pops to get this picture!

Ring Pop Power!

Best family photo!  David asked a little bit ago if we should try to get some professional family photos taken since we haven't in a while. I said, no, the last time we tried, a different kid was crying in every picture. This is what our family photos are going to look like for a while! This just might be our Christmas card photo this year. At least we keep things real.

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Will's 4th birthday



 My strawberry lover has finally found a cake he likes - French Strawberry Cake.  Probably because it has a pound of fresh strawberries inside it!