The big 5-0

This is Jeremy’s year.  I mean, it is really just another year, but it is a milestone.  Since my sister-in-law did a big shindig for my brother, I felt like I couldn’t be a slacker.  Nate’s was a surprise party, but I didn’t have it in me to pull that off.  So, Jeremy and I talked about whether he would like an open house or just a special family outing.  He said open house might be fun here at our house.  So, I tried to curate a guest list where I invited people closer to him, but didn’t invite the whole church – that is very hard!  I also wanted to invite some friends of his from college, but I figured many wouldn’t be able to come because they lived at a distance.  I started with coney dogs as the main dish, and at the last minute, switched it up to meatball subs – and I am so glad I did… no one wanted leftover hot dogs! 

The girls were so helpful in helping me get everything ready.  Friday night we knocked out slicing vegetables in less than 30 minutes.

And then had a dance party to finish out the night.  Angele was trying to teach the girls the steps to Beat it by Michael Jackson. 

The next day, we did cleaning, moved tables and chairs so they could go outside, and then rerouted them inside when it looked like rain, put up cross net for people.  Jeremy did an excellent job weeding, mowing, and putting up the volleyball net.  I prepped all the other food and showered at the very last minute.   They also went through pictures to put up as a walk down memory lane, and they put up all the decorations. 

Meatball subs, veggies and dip, potato chips and Smith’s French onion dip,

and pies… apple, cherry, and pumpkin made by Steph R, and chocolate pudding and peanut butter made by my mom.  Also, grab and go chocolate chip cookies and rice Krispie treats made by me. 

I have few pictures of the actual people who attended the party.  Greg and Maggie and their kids (Elena and Nora) came from Columbus and someone took their picture with Madison and Ellie.  That was so nice of them to make the trip. 

Mike and Anja and two of their kids also came from Columbus.  Mike was Jeremy’s roommate after college and they are good friends.  I am so glad he took the time to come; it is a long drive. 

Sometime during the party, it was discovered we had a bat in the compost trash can.  Jeremy put his skills to use and rescued it and was entertainment for the kids.

    

We had about 50 people total, so there was a lot of in and out and some just settled in and enjoyed the night.  The kids braved the outdoors between the rain showers. 

All in all it went really well and makes me want to do this kind of thing more often.  It is so nice to just get people together.  In this case, it was to celebrate a really cool guy!

On Sunday, we went to The Barn restaurant in Smithville to celebrate a little more.  While there, we drove past Jeremy’s parents’ old house and it was as if they knew it was his birthday!  It was kind of a neat coincidence. 

 

Here’s to another half century with this fun, history loving, trivia master who does so many things to keep our family going.  I am the stingy drill sergeant who keeps all the things in order while he challenges me to have fun, to be flexible, to spend a little of our hard earned money, to enjoy things a little more.  It helps our kids know balance, and I appreciate it.  Thanks for the gift you are to me as a husband, to our kids as a dad, and to those around you that you give and care for unselfishly.

Bake Sale

It has been a tradition almost every year since we moved here (2011) that the girls have had a bake sale with Ellie and Annabelle (the neighbors).  For a couple years they collected money for the humane society in a paper cup.  Last year, they donated half of their profits to Jeremy’s VelaSano ride (cancer research).  They decided to continue that tradition this year.  Jeremy even got a steal of a deal on t-shirts for them to wear!

Ellie baked about 2 weeks ahead of time with my mom to make 72 cinnamon rolls. 

Then, the rest of them put in a lot of time baking on Wednesday – chocolate chip cookies, raspberry cream cheese cookies, brownies, funfetti cupcakes, double chocolate muffins, gluten free cinnamon muffins, gluten free brownies, double chocolate chip cookies and sno cones (not baked, but part of the sale).  It was a spread!  Then, Jeremy’s aunt, Marianne, contributed granola bars, more muffins, and a puff pastry treat, since David, Jeremy’s uncle will also be riding with him. 

We found that day 1 (Thursday) of the Buy-Way sales is the best day.  The tent and the signs went up on Wednesday night.  The girls set up shop on Thursday morning.  I had to go to my first day as a teacher, so I missed this year’s sale.  We had no idea if they would manage to sell it all.  But the flow was steady despite the clouds.

They raised over $400 for Jeremy and they each made some spending cash as well.  It is so fun to see how they continue to do this and take on more responsibilities every year for it to happen.  So proud of this team!

Special things

Madison, Ellie, and I all had specific things that were exciting and specifically pertained to us.  (Jeremy’s is coming up.) 

Ellie was invited for Bailey’s birthday to go to an Otter experience along with their friend, Maylynn.  They were in a room where Asian otters would climb around on them and they could pet them.  It looked like the girls really enjoyed this unique experience!

              

Madison wanted to get her second piercing on her ear.  We paid for the first hole for both girls, but said the rest was on them.  She used some money she earned from dog/house sitting this summer to get her second hole.  They look nice and I am sure she will enjoy changing them out when she can. (I know, not a very exciting picture.  Her studs are small, cubic zirconia set in gold.)

I made arrangements to go to visit my college roommate, Rachel, in Goshen.  It had been a long time (over 6 years because that is when they moved and I hadn’t see there new house!) since I had been to her place.  She and her family were just getting back from a 15-day trek out West, but she made time to get away/take a break to hang out with me.  I stopped to see Molly, one of my housemates after college, in her new place in Bluffton.  It was nice to stop and catch up with her for about 2 hours.  I got in around 5:30 to enjoy fish tacos with Rach and her husband; her boys were off doing sporty things with friends.  Then, we stayed at her friend’s mom’s getaway house just down the street.  It gave Rach a chance to leave behind responsibilities and also her family to not tiptoe around us as we sat and talked. 

    

We toured around Goshen on Wednesday and enjoyed live music during dinner and then grabbed ice cream at The Chief afterwards.  I left around 9am on Thursday morning.  We pledged to see each other more often, but we both know how that goes.  It was so good.

Farewell to Junior High

My kids are officially out of the building I teach in.  Ellie celebrated her final finales in May for 8th grade.  She had her Spring Fling dance.  She invited Kinslee and Bailey over to get ready – hair, dress, a bit of food.  Heather, Bailey’s mom, came over for hair support staff.  It was fun to have her here to chat with as I curled Ellie’s hair and she curled or straightened the other two’s hair.  In the end, they all looked beautiful and ready for a fun evening out. 

    

After the dance, Ellie headed to LincWay with a “few” friends – a large group of 7th graders joined her, Kinslee, and Mary there.  A group of moms sat in the next room chatting and observing the laughter and lightness of the girls.  (I snuck over for a few pictures because I have no shame!)

   

That evening, she invited Marita over for a sleepover to end the night.

Before the last day of school, Ellie worked really hard to bake cookies and create beautiful notes for her friends.  Each note was thoughtfully written; she has a big heart, full of encouragement. 

8th grade Celebration – a finalizing of one phase of life, certificates, one final band performance, a slide show of memories, hugs, tears, and pictures with friends.

Farewell, Teachers: Mrs. Greer, Mrs. Walton, Ms. Aumend, Mr. Dillon, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Johnson

Presentation of certificates by Mr. Jackson:

Final band performance:

Family Farewell… well, really you’re stuck with us!

    

Farewell to 7th grade friends to share the building with – Alaina, Amelie, Maddie, (Ellie), Josie, Janie, Marita

Farewell to 8th grade friends for the summer – Bailey, Maylynn, Harper, Mary

    

I am again so excited for this next step for Ellie – as she spreads her wings in high school, as she discovers new friendships and preserves the ones that matter, as she tries out new experiences, as she accepts new challenges, and as she finds her place in this big world!  I believe she is built for love, for relationship, and for courage.  I am so proud of the way she is growing leadership skills and testing things out – organizing Bible studies, navigating friendships through conflict, embracing hard things, laughing with friends, and sharing stories with family.  Time flies …. First day of kindergarten to the last day of 8th grade

    

We love you, Ellie!

Advent: Week #1

I didn’t know if the girls would want to continue our Advent tradition.  They are getting older and busier, so it takes a lot to commit to making life a little more full.  But they reminded me about it about a month ahead of time, and so I worked at creating a calendar that would work with the other things going on.  Many of the traditions are the same, but I tried to mix them up and add a few new ones.  So, here is what happened (with probably less pictures than in the past):

Day 1: Cut out and bake cookies.  This one continues to become easier as the girls get older.  They know how to mix up the dough, roll it out, and cut it up … even take hot cookie sheets in and out of the oven. 

Day 2: Frost cookies.  Sometimes I invite friends for the girls.  This year, that was not the intent.  However, we had a surprise snow day!  They went sledding at the firehouse with the Combs girls who then came back to hang out and frost cookies. 

    

Day 3: Write a letter…. actually, I just want them to write the blurb about themselves in our Christmas letter.  So, they did. 

Day 4: Escape the (at home) escape room.  I found a free escape room online with the puzzles and clues to use.  It was fun to watch them work through them in excitement.  The final gift was a preview of Day 12 of Advent – a trip to Columbus to stay overnight with Greg and Maggie’s family!  They were very excited!

         

Day 5: Attend a festival.  We went to the Dalton local businesses open houses in the evening.  I forget how long this can take – all the different shops are open with various foods and fun things to look at.  We cut it short to go watch Paxon play basketball – a win against Wooster! 

The next day the festivities continued in Dalton with the Holiday parade.  We saw our friends the Treischs at one point.  They JHY from Salem also made a float and passed out candy.  I don’t have a picture of that, just video.

Day 6: A dramatic night out.  This was a new one this year.  I got tickets to the Ohio Shakespeare’s Christmas production – Every Christmas Story Ever Told.  It was on a small stage, and we were in the third row.  There were only 3 actors.  It was funny and fast and a good way to spend the night.