All American Weekend

We had a great Labor Day weekend, filled with lots of fun things.  It started with the Wayne County Fair.  We decided we would try to go on Saturday.  The day did not look like a good one for exploring – rain, rain, rain.  We waited it out, hoping it would stop.  Late afternoon, it dwindled off, so we loaded up in the truck and headed out  When we got to the fair, we decided the truck was the best idea as the parking lot was full of mud and ruts from the day’s rain. 

We took a picture by the fair entrance,

met friends showing and visited their animals,

    

and strolled around. 

We grabbed food favorites – Ott’s Coffee, gyros, ravioli, kettle corn… and pizza for Angele. 

We saw some of the school art work and 4H projects displayed. 

         

It was a good night without the earlier rain.  I think Angele was a bit overwhelmed with all the people, the lights, the choices…. and the noise of the tractor pull!  But she enjoyed it as well.

The very next day, we headed to Cedar Point.  We met the Michaels up there; Mariah was having her senior pictures taken, and then they were were going to enjoy the park.  Amber and Ava were up there to take the pictures, so we had a fun crew to hang out with.  And Christi was so generous gifting us their free passes for the day! 

We started big this year with Gatekeeper!  Angele was a good sport and jumped right on.  I think it was more than I was ready for to start, but when we came back to it at the end, I enjoyed it more.  From there, we trekked from coaster to coaster trying it out.  We even learned to use the skyride as a means of transportation.  It always has such a great view!

    

Some of the group rode Iron Dragon, Ava’s first coaster!

    

While we waited for them to get off the ride, we sat by the newest ride, Siren’s Curse, Madison sat intrigued by it.  It is a tilt coaster – the track actually tips down and connects to the rest of the track while the cars sit on it.  So, you are pretty much perpendicular to the ground waiting to drop, hoping the track truly did connect.  I had said there was no way I was going on that ride.  But… Madison said, I think I want to try that one.  And I heard myself say, I would do it with you.  So, a group of us got in line and boarded the cars. It was slightly terrifying, but worth the ride!  Maybe in my top 3. 

We also ventured to Maverick, which we had not had a chance to ride the last time we were there.  It was a very fast moving ride.  I think I liked it, but I am not sure. 

Random fun pictures:

    

We had fun on the classic cars

        

and the Cedar Downs Racing Derby.

    

Jeremy and Angele finished the night with Millennium Force, while the girls and I went to Valravn that had just opened back up not long before. 

    

*There was one downspot to the day when we headed to go ride Gemini… Hallowed Weekends had started so all the spooks – people dressed up with intent to scare the park attenders – were out.  Ellie was petrified and quit walking.  Madison and Angele crossed the archway to that area and turned around.  People (not just us) were crying and the spooks were relentless.  We managed to drag everyone to Gemini only to find it was broken down.  We snuck over to Frontierland which was haunt free.  The girls pulled it together when we rode the Mine Ride --- numerous times.  It was not a welcome addition for us, but it was something that we now know about.

It was a good day – filled with new adventures, food, rides, and lots of walking!

The last All American activity was a Guardians baseball game.  Jeremy had 4 tickets from his Velosano ride, so he took the girls.  I stayed home to go grocery shopping and chill.  The night was beautiful for a game.  There was a slightly frantic hour or more where Ellie had a super high blood sugar and only 10 units of insulin in her pump that required a call to the on call nurse who submitted a prescription to a nearby pharmacy that Jeremy had to go to and get supplies from.  It worked out, but it made for a less relaxing evening for everyone.  But she was safe.  Everyone saw the game.  And they made it home.

We were not necessarily rested after our long weekend, but we did have a lot of fun!

Our 20th Anniversary

Feels like a pretty big year – 20 years.  I am not sure that 2006 feels like that long ago until I think of all the things that we have done in the past 20 years.  It has been a journey.  Learning to live together, to share space, to make decisions, to work to keep a house running, to raise children, to communicate needs and wants, to trust that you are both doing the best you can, to grieve, to laugh, to comfort, to receive comfort, to encourage, to move, to serve, to worship… all the learning!  It can either produce bitterness or forgiveness, joy or anger, pridefulness or humility in you.  I think I have experienced all of those, some for longer seasons than others, and some are easier to feel than others.  It is a commitment to continue to learn from one another, to get to know one another, and to encourage one another to keep growing. 

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-6

A little flashback…

             

On our anniversary this year, we had lunch/brunch at Gigi’s Cafe in Marshallville.  It is a nice little spot to go. 

Then, after the Ediger vacation to Sandbridge (will be posting that in the coming week hopefully), we took a Thursday night to stay at St. Paul’s Hotel in Wooster.  It was a nice room when we finally got it… accidentally opened the door to our assigned room where it looked like someone had been taken in the rapture as their clothes were left in a perfect pile on top of their shoes!  We quickly closed the door and headed back to see if they could get us a new room.  While they worked on that, we headed to have supper at Basil, an Asian restaurant downtown. 

We came back and officially checked in. 

But headed back out for a bite of ice cream, strolling in downtown, and just sitting in the square enjoying the shade and the breeze.  It was a beautiful evening. 

*This was the first time our girls had stayed overnight by themselves –ever!  We have left them many times, but with friends for grandparents.  So, it was a growing experience for them, and it opens up the door to more opportunities for us in the future to get away a little.

The next morning we enjoyed a continental breakfast delivered to our room. 

Since it was drizzling outside, I didn’t want to walk around to shops, so we pretty much just came home after checking out.  But this was a good, quick getaway to just take time for each other. 

Advent: Week #2

Day 7: Bake a tasty treat. This was a switch-a-roo day.  I had intended to take the girls to Search for the Christ Child at Oak Grove as we had done when they were little.  But the JHY had an activity planned at the same time.  They went caroling, which sounded like a pretty good activity.  So, we made chex mix for the first time ever – and I think we are addicted!

Day 8: Attend a choir concert.  Madison had a choir concert.  It is always a great concert.  I appreciate that Mrs. Carr still feels comfortable including actual Christmas music, not just holiday music. 

*Ellie’s choir concert happened the week of Thanksgiving.  They did a great job, and Ellie was in a small trio of people singing a different part at one point.  I wanted to just include the pictures at the same time as the other concerts.

    

Day 9: Attend a band concert.  This one is Ellie’s band.  They had a combined 6th-8th grade flash mob style performance of “Mama Mia” during the show.  And Ellie and her two friends (Maylynn and Bailey) came out a few seconds? minutes? prior to everyone else; they stood there and handled it like pros.

    

Day 10: Check out library books.  We love holiday books.  When the girls were little, we would get all kinds of picture books.  We did get some of those this year as well.  If they are at the house, we do read them.  But they also both picked out a mystery book to unwrap from the library as well.  I don’t think either one of them liked what they unwrapped, but it was fun nonetheless. 

Day 11: Visit the Humane Society.  About 2 years ago, the girls bake sale raised money for the humane society.  It was about time we took the money to them (21 some dollars).  We decided that while we like seeing animals, we all leave a little sad because we can’t save them.  But there were some cuties there – including these little kittens!

    

Day 12: Go to Columbus to stay with Greg, Maggie, Elena, and Nora.  This was the preview from the escape room.  They were very excited.  We left around 4pm.  Madison picked up some drive time and drove us all the way there!  We had a delicious meal of meatball subs and salad.  We had a nice evening of reconnecting.  Unfortunately, I have not pictures of the night.

Day 13: Christmas shopping and lunch with Sophie!  It is always more exciting to shop in Columbus, even if the stores are pretty much the same.  We had gifts to pick out for Yoh cousins, for Ediger cousins, for each other.  We pretty much got it all taken care of.  We met Sophie at her apartment she moved into in November.  It is a nice place, and she seemed like she was settling in with her job (an RN on the oncology floor at Nationwide Children’s Hospital) and in her place.  We took her out to eat at Cap City Diner as the snow started falling. 

    

We finished a relaxing meal and watched the snow continue to fall.  By the time we pushed through a few more stores, roads were snow covered.  Jeremy said he was “up for the challenge” and we headed home – at 35 mph.  We got home 3-1/2 hours later and appreciated our warm beds.  Church was canceled the next morning, so we eased back into the day.