Nana comes to town

Ryan and I have moved 5 times in our 6 years of marriage, and my parents have helped us with every single one. However, the difference with this cross-country move was that my mom wasn't on this end of things helping me move in and get set up here. I was sad not to have her help and insight, and her ability to get projects done in no time. I admit that I'm an emotional and sentimental girl... and I've been feeling like my new home here just isn't complete without my mommy and daddy to come see it! Thank goodness I didn't have to wait too long, though, because my mom came out for a week visit and I loved having her here!

She flew in last wednesday evening, and I her and my brother's family over for dinner. I selfishly wanted her to see our place right away even though she was spending the first few nights at Ben's house. :) I made Ham Sliders (because she's obsessed with swiss cheese) and they were yummy! 

Cute Ava

On thursday, Amanda, my mom, and the kids and I went to Slate Run farm and metro park. The kids loved running around together, and especially enjoyed watering the vegetable garden with buckets that we filled up at the pump. They thought that was really neat. The park just down the road from the farm is so fun and a really huge, green area! Tons of trees and a pond... Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I see how beautiful it is... but it's only because I'm comparing it to the sad desert I knew before this. ;)

Friday was the day we had planned to go to the zoo, but the weather men kept saying how stormy it would be. It ended up not being stormy, so that was a bummer... because we didn't ever get to the zoo while my mom was here. Boo. While my mom hung out with Amanda and her kids, I was able to have a couple Henderson friends (Erica Karren and Marci Mortenson and all their boys) over to play for the morning!! 

Their husbands are doing residencies in Dayton (1.5 hours southwest of us) and they both had a training session at the hospital here for the morning. So the ladies and kids came with them and played at our house for a few hours. It was so nice having them and being able to catch up. I don't know about them, but I felt like I needed a little social familiarity after missing all my close friends these last few months.

That evening Amanda and I found babysitters for our kids so we could go out as adults! Ben's birthday is July 10th and Ryan's is the 28th (both turning 29), so we celebrated their birthdays by going to the Cheesecake Factory. It's almost a 30 minute drive, but well worth it, and the men were able to meet us there straight from work. Thank you Mom for dinner AND cheesecake!! So yummy. We were all beyond stuffed by the end of the night. :) After our kids were all in bed, Ben and Ryan watched a man movie at our house while I went to play games and have girl talk with the women-folk at Amanda's. I love living so close together!!

As you may know, the saturday tradition for my parents is to go out for a burger for lunch. We recommended a place we had tried recently (Inferno Burger) and I think it was a hit with everyone! They really do have awesome burgers there, which is such a relief since I'm so far away from TonyBurger and Smashburger! haha. Ryan was able to come since he didn't work until 4pm that evening, so it was nice to have him around for a bit too!

In the afternoon we played over at Ben's in their backyard and inside with play dough. The kids were enjoying all the fun things my mom was creating: a pig, snowman, baby in a basket, etc. :) She's so fun.

Logan's first time in a swing and he loved it!

My mom moved into our house saturday evening, and Ryan worked through the night. I was glad to have my mom's help getting kids ready on sunday since Ryan was sleeping. That evening, for dinner, we celebrated the guys' birthdays... again... and did actual birthday cake for them. The meal itself was amazing though, with grilled chicken, basil and avocado pasta, rolls, and an incredible chocolate cake my mom made! Seriously amazing, and so easy. If you want the recipe, let me know. 

I can't exactly remember monday... we must have just hung out and let the kids play inside because it was so hot. Oh and it was the last time we were able to have everybody together for dinner so Amanda and I made pizza (which included toppings from our own garden) and we enjoyed the chance to be together. Why is it that the only activities I remember this last week involved eating? haha! I guess it's easy to remember good food, right? :)

On tuesday, we had this great idea to take the kids to the Scioto Mile fountain in downtown Columbus, which apparently is awesome. Amanda even checked online the night before to make sure of the hours of operation. We drove there (25 minute drive) and it was BROKEN! They were in the process of repairing it. Can you believe that?! We joke a lot in my family that most things I try to plan seem to fall through, or that I'm bad luck and bring bad weather with me, or droughts (hence the current drought in Ohio), etc. And this is just another one of those experiences to add to my list. :( So annoying. The kids were way bummed, and frankly so was I. We ended up back at my house with our pool and sprinkler... but it just wasn't nearly as much fun. 

Our next door neighbors (the only ward members in our area) also came and Grace really likes sweet Anne who is just a little older than her. 

After naps we met up at Target to walk around... because let's face it, we all love walking around that store! Even Grace asks to go there.

On wednesday morning (yesterday), we took the kids to the little Pickerington library to let them do puzzles, play in the activity area, and read books. Then we went to Amanda's to eat lunch and take some pictures. Isn't Amanda's playroom decor so cute?! Somebody please "pin" this. hehe. It was a perfect place to get some cute photos with Nana!

The one below is too cute not to share... Grace's "lean" and Ava's hand in front of Logan's face. I love it!

I drove my mom to the airport after naps yesterday, and that was quite the adventure at first. We did finally make it, AND I got myself home again... which is a big deal because I am not one to feel comfortable driving long distances in a new city with confusing freeways, etc. 

We had such a great week with my mom in town! It was a new experience "sharing" her with my brother's family, but it worked out well being able to spend mornings and afternoons mostly together and split up the nights. I still feel bad that the zoo and the fountain outings didn't pan out, and I know my mom's torn meniscus was no fun for her, but we still made the most of it! The kids especially loved having "Nana" around. Grace cried as we pulled away from the airport and she realized she couldn't go with Nana. She also said to me during lunch today (out of the blue) "I miss Nana". :( We miss love you, mom, and hope to see you again really soon!! And you too, Dad.