Tag Archives: Ohio

The Rest of the Gang

May 25, 2023 steph 2 Comments

Although this weekend was primarily all about celebrating Hayley’s HS graduation, there were of course other folks milling around the house in Marysville! All three of the older girls (including Hayley) were busy working jobs or finishing up other school activities. The boys were, well – 9 and 12-year-old boys. More interested in those video games or playing outside with friends than hanging out with ol’ Grams and Pops (who don’t understand what all those buttons on the controllers do). We get that – we really do! We did get to one of Reis’s games

which was fun (and he had a couple of good plays and hits), but otherwise we were content to have them join us for an occasional card game.
But this little girl

was unencumbered with end-of-school activities or jobs or even electronics. We painted rocks

and jumped on the trampoline (ok, that was not a “we” – just a “she”!)

(I’d like to clarify here that our little Everly chose her outfit this day. I think she was going with an all floral theme, accented with (of course) mismatched socks. Mom was quite surprised at her wardrobe choices, but hey – you’re only (almost) three once!)
but most of all she was always ready to give me a snuggle!

Our time there was short, and this is a very busy family! But we were able to enjoy some great family dinners and some late-night card games and good conversations! Sunday after church and a special lunch with The Graduate (before she was off to another party), we were able to squeeze in a quick visit with our other Columbus family – Lara, Herbert, and Alex. Though short, it was still a sweet visit! Before everyone went off to work and one of the last days of school (and we set off for points East and North), we managed to get one picture of Alex – who has just completed 2nd grade!

These years are going much.too.fast!

We’re looking forward to a slightly longer visit in mid-July, so it won’t be that long before we see these guys again. And maybe on that visit I can figure out those buttons on the video game controllers!
Or maybe not!

Family – busy or not – we sure do love ’em!

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Adventure

Missed Four Days

May 23, 2023 steph Leave a comment

So much for “Every Day in May”.
But the reality is that 3 of those days (counting today) involved this –

or this

and the other two days involved ball games and card games and graduation and trampolines and … well, you get my drift! They were busy days filled with all of the very best things = grandchildren! (OK – it was quite lovely to see their parents too!)

Two days to get to Columbus. Two days in Columbus. Two days back to the Cabin.
Hopefully, it won’t take two days to get caught up with life (and this little blog!). I really do appreciate your patience!
Till tomorrow –

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Adventure

Sometimes

September 15, 2022 steph 2 Comments

Sometimes when I’m at the cabin (as mentioned in the previous (long ago) post) I have a true spurt of blogging. And sometimes when I’m at the cabin I don’t open my computer for anything other than stuff that requires my immediate attention (are any checks going to bounce?, the SOWER newsletter, Cabin business itself). Obviously, the latter was true for those past two weeks. So while I’m hopeful that I’ll backtrack to some Cabin adventures in the days to come, right now I think I’ll just stick with the here and now.
After a long drive from the Cabin to where our RV was parked (Bradford, VT to Bradford, PA), we were finally reunited with our girl after a good solid three weeks.

The plants had not died, no small rodents (or large ones for that matter) had taken up residence, and all in all, it just felt good to be home. We brought in the perishables and what we needed for that night, and pretty much fell into our own bed. Ah…..
But the traveling was not over! The next morning, after doing a bit more unloading (so much stuff, so little room….), we started our ol’ girl up (it was a little rough, but she finally started purring), and we took to the road once again. This time we were heading for our family in Columbus.

Monday night was dinner with our daughter and family (my only picture is of Alexandra – too busy catching up to snap more! And no, she’s not actually poking out her mother’s eye!).

Tuesday we moved up to Marysville for a visit with our son, Toby, and his family. And we were swept right into their busy life!

When you put together two high school daughters (each with jobs and babysitting careers but only one with a license), two boys who play “Fall Ball” but in different age leagues, band, life groups, dance troupes, school and a two-year-old, your color-coded calendar is bound to look like this –

And just to make the week a little busier, the in-laws show up, park their house in front of your house, and then Toby and Gary take off at zero dark thirty on Wednesday for a four-day men’s retreat in upper Michigan.

Yes, friends – for the first time that I can recall, I’m the one ‘home alone’ and Gary is the one off having an adventure! It’s a new experience, to be sure. Thankfully it’s a quick walk across the lawn to hang out with some pretty great grandkids and a super sweet (and very organized) DIL! No guarantee I’ll get pictures of all those kiddos, but the one I’m spending the most time with is doing a great job of melting my heart!

I’m pretty sure we’re both where we’re supposed to be. 😊

The kids are all home from school – I better get in there before they start dispersing again!
Thanks for stopping by!

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Adventure

O.H.I.O.

June 12, 2021 steph 4 Comments

So Ohio was great! We were so excited when we learned late last year that an Ohio ministry had joined our SOWER family! And especially pleased that it was only about 45 minutes from our Ohio kids. Not in the same direction, mind you, but still. We didn’t make any weeknight jaunts (we are, after all, working folks during the week) but during the weekends we did manage to get in a couple of sporting events,

a Kentucky Derby Party

a lovely family Mother’s Day gathering

and even a purple manicure from an experienced technician.

Oh, and did I mention there were some fun games on the deck

and some lovely snuggles.

Being able to work at Heartland this May was especially fortuitous because it coincided with our oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation!
Not sure where the years have gone – but we were delighted to be able to share in the festivities. Although we weren’t sure we’d be able to actually go to the ceremony with all of the COVID restrictions, at the last minute the family was granted a couple of extra tickets so 6 of us (7 counting the daughter in the band and already there) were able to be there in person.
OK, it was kind of a far away in person sort of thing, but it was still thrilling to see this young beauty take this momentous step.

(Pops stayed home with the boys and the baby and watched it on the TV!)
I loved watching the three oldest girls interacting together down on the field after the ceremony –

But I think maybe this one is my favorite!

Because, well, they’re sisters! And God made each one of them delightfully different!
Another highpoint of our time in Ohio was our last day when the whole clan (except Ellie B) came up to OUR Place for a picnic!

We took a fun hike

and the kiddos had a great time playing in the creek!

After we stuffed ourselves and folks began to pack up for the trek home I even remembered to get some group pictures before we said our final (for this time) good-byes! (Lord willing, we’ll be seeing them all in July at our Family Reunion at the Cabin!!!!)

Man, I love these guys! I think we might just have to volunteer at that Ohio project again!
The next morning we packed up and hit the road. But more on that later……
I know this has been long, and more than a little photo heavy, so thanks for persevering to the end! I did spare you from SOME of the photos, so if you’d like to see the rest of the set, you can check them out HERE!

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Adventure

Ohio Days – Part Two

September 16, 2020 steph Leave a comment

Our long weekend in Ohio wasn’t just about getting that basement ‘suite’ finished off. It was about getting to see our family, of course! After that oh-so-brief meet and greet with little Everly when she was all of two days old, it was wonderful to get more acquainted with her.

With so many willing arms to hold her, I was glad to get any opportunity to cuddle with that little cutie. For me, one of the high points was getting all of our Ohio family together for a Sunday afternoon picnic at a local park. There was a great obstacle course that all the kids really enjoyed while we older folks just moseyed along to watch.

Yikes – that was pretty high, brave little one!
Everyone safely maneuvered the course and we even got a chance for a group picture –

Of course, the two girls on the left go with the adults on the right and vice versa, but you can see we were quite the crowd. (Even a few over the ‘no group larger than 10’ COVID restrictions. Shhhhhhh)
At the end of our picnic time the girls began a quick game of “Get the Hat on the Baby” –

Oh the joys (or dangers) of being the sixth child! With both Mom and Dad supervising the game, I think little Everly rather enjoyed the attention.
🙂
It was great to spend time with the kids as they were all getting back into their fall schedule. School is looking different this year for both families, but everyone seems to be making the best of it. With everyone growing up so fast it makes me ever so thankful for Zoom and FaceTime and texts with pictures and phone calls. (Yes, dear children, that was a not so subtle hint to CALL YOUR MOTHER!)