I am behind again. :( I have been really lazy when it comes to pulling out my real camera, but I have taken a ton of day-to-day pictures on my phone. They're not great quality, but here are a bunch from the last several weeks...
We didn't waste any time having Owen, Ava and Amanda over as soon as we got home from Utah. We sure missed them! The kids were all super excited to be together and we enjoyed some water fun in the backyard.
Jess Storts invited us all over to have lunch and play on their awesome bouncy water slide. Grace was a total chicken for the first hour and a half or so and wouldn't go near it. She finally came around after we ate lunch and only had about 30 minutes of play time left. Figures.
Amanda, Jess, and me
Logan with his ladies.
Ryan and I had bought tickets to Wicked a few months back to celebrate a late-Anniversary, and the day finally arrived! Oh it was amazing. I would see it again in a heartbeat, and I think Ryan would too. He loved it!
This pic is so weird - it looks like we're in front of a green screen...
We played in our backyard for a bit and Ryan was actually there that afternoon. ;) It was lots of fun! The freezing cold hose water was so nice on such a hot, muggy day.
Some after-dinner play time before bath and bed!
Every summer the program coordinator for the dual program (the smaller, DO group - not the MDs) hosts a BBQ in his backyard. They have a pretty nice home in the Upper Arlington area but the home is nothing compared to their incredible front and back lawns! So awesome.
It was hot... and Logan gets super rosy cheeks when he runs around.
Ryan and the 3 ladies who he started the program with last year. They are now officially "senior residents" instead of "interns". In this pic they were welcoming the 4 newest interns with some welcome baskets.
I can hardly believe it's been a year already! Two more to go... and surprisingly I'm hoping it DOESN'T go by very quickly.
These kids are so funny during meals - especially lunch times.
We celebrated Father's Day with Ryan a week late, since we were in Utah on the actual day. I made him Italian Beef sandwiches, potatoes (I think...)... I don't really remember, to be honest. haha.
I saw at Bed Bath and Beyond that they have a whole line of hard, plastic Red Solo Cups. It's kind of an inside joke with us - so I got him one and filled it with his favorite treats.
Grace's interview about her Dad.
Recently we met Amanda, Jess and all the kids at the downtown library. I hadn't been there before and it's pretty big! Lots of stuff for the kids to do and a fun story time area.
Logan hadn't been to a story time since last fall, and he was totally glued! He loved all the singing and hand actions they did. I need to take him to stuff like this more often! I couldn't get enough of watching his excitement.
I already posted a pic of Ryan and Grace eating lunch at the children's hospital, and this one was that same visit. The kids love the big animals in the "Magic Forest". This pic is only funny to me because of the particular animal I got Ryan to pose next to. ;)
We were just playing together, having a lazy afternoon, and I suddenly felt so overwhelmed with love and gratitude to Heavenly Father for these kids.
Our broccoli plant was finally making baby broccoli. I was so excited!...
And then BAM! They became monstrous heads of broccoli. They're super good too. We love broccoli at our house.
This is how I found Grace after quiet-time one day. Angel girl.
And ... I'm not really sure what's going on here. But at least in that moment they liked each other!
Between the string of rain storms that lasted over 2 weeks, there were some random hours here and there that we could bare to be outside. If it weren't for the intense humidity it wouldn't be bad at all. But on this day we went outside for a few minutes and the kids ended up splashes around in the rain water caught by our pool and some buckets on the back patio. So I thought "what the heck, I'll get their swimsuits" ... and they played in rain water for an hour. They made grass soup!
There was a short break between the rain on another afternoon so I pulled them around the neighborhood for a few minutes. As soon as we got back inside I could hear the thunder rumbling again. It felt pretty endless!... but that's what makes it so beautiful and green here. :)
Saturday mornings at Home Depot they have a children's workshop. I met Amanda there with the kids and we helped Grace and Owen build a wooden car from Despicable Me 2. They had a good time, although I think all 4 kids were crying as we walked out of there.
The littles were chillin'.
Ryan built an awesome fort! Grace is getting very good at the theatrics. ;) Logan is just grateful to be involved in whatever Grace is conjuring up.
One morning, during the string of rainstorms, Amanda and I were both so sure that we could get a good walk in before the rain started up for the day. When I loaded my kids it was sunny with just a few random sprinkles. By the time I drove the 4 minutes to Pickerington Ponds park, it was raining a bit more... And as we got 5 minutes into our walk it was getting worse and we were drenched. haha It was a nice effort, but we had to turn back and head home. At least the kids were perfectly happy with their cereal cups, finding a frog on the way, and seeing a beautiful (full) rainbow! It was a fun adventure.
The Goates kids came over to play another day that week and stayed for lunch. They're so silly when they eat together!
Her curls are intense here!
Last week we went out to City Barbecue as a family for dinner. That place is so yummy! And I love those cute kids in their glasses.
We finally had a sunny day two fridays ago so we met a bunch of friends at the downtown Scioto Mile fountains. Grace actually loved it this year, which is opposite of the last couple years. I'm so glad, because we all had a great time! Towards the end a whole bunch of big kids and teenagers showed up and one of them bumped into Grace which pushed her face-first into the spraying water. She flipped out and wanted nothing more to do with it, but overall it was a really fun play date!
Two saturday's ago, Ryan was working and I was feeling sorry for myself. So to change our moods I took the kids to Slate Run park for a picnic and an adventure. We had a great time! It was just what we all needed.
There is a pond down a short path, so we said hi to the geese and threw rocks in the water off a dock.
Later that day, I was surprised to find a "yard work fairy" had been outside weeding, laying mulch in our garden, and mowing our lawn. I was in tears to see the service and love being shown. It was a particularly hard day/week/month for me and some of our needs were filled.
The kids insisted on sitting and watching him work, haha.
Thanks again, Ben (and Amanda).
I love when Logan drives cars on my back...
Until he decides to shove his finger in my ear.
Grace asked me to paint her nails the other day and she was just too cute drying them off by the fan.
A "Timbit" (donut hole) for staying dry all night! I think we've turned a corner finally, but I'll get to that in another post. I'm so proud of her!
