Good Ol' Rocky Top

You can't drive to Tennessee without that song bouncing around your head - especially once you start seeing the peaks in the horizon (and feel the waves of nausea clutch your gut), without singing this song!
Our great friends, the Sayres, asked if we were interested in an impromptu long weekend, Spring Break trip to Chattanooga.  I've been to TN quite a few times but never to Chattanooga.  What a great city!

I always have some high hopes for the kids' school breaks.  We'll do this, that, I'll take them here, there...
and I almost always fail...and they sit around bored or watching too much television during their breaks.
And then I feel guilty...I tend to be a bit of homebody (really, I am), so when Jennifer asked me if we'd be up for a short trip to visit her friends in Tennessee, my first though was "nah".  And then as my week slowly dragged along, I wasn't as concerned about taking a long weekend...I figured it was a great idea! (And it was!).

We made it there on Saturday evening just in time to catch an hour (who knew they closed at 10PM?!) in the swimming pool.  And then lots of settling in, so it was 1AM before we all got to bed. The kids were pretty wired!


The Tennessee Aquairum was great, especially for a rainy Sunday afternoon.The overly priced, me not smiling picture below, not as nice!

Here the kids were tossing pennies into the wishing pond - Silas told me: "I know what you wished for...30 bottles of wine".  Close...I was wishing for 30 bottles of wine PLUS a few minutes of complete silence.

I loved watching the jellyfish - I could have sat there for hours (with that wine that I wished for) and just vegged.  It's very relaxing to watch them.

Ella and Abby were ready to strike a pose pretty much anytime.  The boys were more difficult to get to stop for a picture.

I wish I  had caught more of Si's face here - he was reaching in to touch a hammerhead shark!

The friends that we visited had an awesome backyard.  They live on Signal Mountain, which was much different that I thought living on a mountain would be like.  They had a flat backyard with lots of room to run around and play ball.

I think that the kids could have spent the entire weekend in the pool and hot tub and been very content. (Ignore Ella's Addam's Family face above!)

There was a new baby in the house - baby Samuel let Ella hold him for awhile. He had quite the audience.

 

  Our last activity before hitting the road was going back up Signal Mountain to Signal Point. It was beautiful!

Herbie was Samuel's big brother, and boy is he adorable.  And very chatty!

The girls started walking on the Cumberland Trail and I started to follow, worrying that they'd get lost.

Herbie then started following me and before long, the 6 of us were doing some impromptu hiking.

It wasn't far but it sure was steep!

Jen and the kids!

After this, we loaded back up for the long drive home.  It was so fun spending time with friends, and spending some uninterrupted time with my own kids.  (Thanks Jen for the invite!).

More Winter Adventures

A couple weekends ago now, we took another winter adventure to Mad River Mountain - to take the kids skiing for their very first time.  I was not 100% on board with the whole deal - it was cold, expensive and I woke up feeling quite cruddy that day.
After we got up and moving though, it turned out to be a great day (and still way expensive)!
Ella and Silas started with 2 hour ski lessons.  First time on skis and the instructors showed them how to do all the basics.
While the kids were in their lessons, Justin forced me to go down the hills too. I would have been happy to sit inside and read.  We started on the easiest of the  non-bunny hills.  I did fine, though I'm sure I looked as confused going down the hill as I look in the photo below...


The 2nd time we went up on the lift...it didn't go as well for me.  I was concentrating so hard on "keeping my tips up" as the sign says...that I forgot to "unload" - and had to jump off (which basically was fall out) of the lift seat before it headed back down the hill.

We were able to watch a little of the kids' lessons as we'd ski/fall down the slope by the lesson area. 

Ella and Si were both awesome - both were totally ready (mentally) to hit the slopes as soon as their lessons were over.  And the lessons didn't really cover that much.  They didn't use the lifts, didn't go down anything but the bunny hill and really didn't even learn to stop all that well (as Silas proved on his first run down the hill).
Ella was really amazing - she had no fear at all and was doing the expert runs after about 4 or 5 times down the green runs (the ones that I was still doing). 
I definitely imagine that we'll be back here a lot next year. Especially if the weather is like this winter!

After getting back from the skiing, I ended up over at Hayden Run falls to check out how frozen they were. A photographer friend had taken an awesome pic on Monday and by Tuesday, they were already starting their thaw.




By the way, you may have forgotten that we actually have a 3rd kid - Mason has been busy with work (he's working at Meijer in the deli and they are working him quite a lot) and with school.  In May he will finish his first year as a college Freshman.  It's been quite an adjustment (probably for all of us) but that will have to be saved for another post...

If You Can't Beat it...Join it

This winter seems to be never-ending. It continues to be so cold and snowy. So finally, this past weekend we bundled up and went sledding. It wasn't TOO terribly cold out...around 25 degrees I think, which compared to the zero and negative temps we've had, that felt pretty good.

We went to the Battelle Darby Creek park and it was great. Not too crowded. We hadn't been there in years.

Ella started off wanting to stand on her board going down. She actually did a pretty great job!

We ended up in the van for a hot cocoa break. Good thinking Dad!


I even went down the hill a few times, mostly with Justin but with Ella and Silas too.


The scenery was pretty.


Ella's wipe-outs weren't so pretty.


I wish I had gotten Silas going down on his belly in a Superman pose. It was pretty good.








I think we're going to try our hand at Mad River Mountain this weekend. That may be a bit much...for me at least!!

2014

21 days into the new year and not one blog post. It's been awhile. I struggle to find the time and energy to keep it updated.
We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. This winter has been crazy with so much snow and Arctic vortex weather. What the hell is that all about!?




Silas turned 8!!! Like always, there were a number of birthday celebrations and finally this coming weekend he will have a few friends sleep over.



I have been working like a maniac to get things cleared out of the house. I went thru round 1 of the crawl space. As in the stuff piled in the center that made walking in there near impossible. I've trashed, donated, sold, repurposed...it feels great to finally get to it. I bought this beautiful table to put in the entry way.
I love it!

And then found these 2 tables for $10 for the pair so i replaced my big white bedside tables. It looks so much less cluttered!


I found the floor again in my office and am excited to go down there and work now. Which is good, because there are a lot of changes going on at work and I will be down there a lot!


Silas has been building lots of stuff to knock down with dominos and spending much less time on the games. He is a builder and will spend hours building just to knock it all down.


I've been doing a photo challenge called 100 Happy Days. 100 posts on random things that make me happy.

And Silas just woke up puking...to be continued :(

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August: Just the Facts...Trying to Catch up again!

There is no doubt that I've missed a ton of things since the middle/end of summer...so a few catch up items.

1. In August, Mason had knee surgery.  A little cyst on his knee that was rubbing against his IT band.  Not really that noteworthy except that I like him in his little hospital cap and gown :)

 

He was on crutches for a week, the cyst was benign and he milked it as much as he could for that recovery week.

2. In August we also managed to squeeze in one camping trip.  We had hoped to go more this summer but with soccer, surgeries, work, etc...it just didn't happen.  We headed up to Dillon State park for a Saturday night trip.  It was quick but we still had a lot of fun. It was MUCH closer quarters than what we were used to - that wasn't as cool.  Especially when the neighbor spouses started screaming at each other.

We used our new orange tent from Sam's that we got in the spring. Justin hates the tent.  and it's kinda awkward to get in and out of.  But I like orange. 

 Sitting around...

Bored and playing with the metal roasting skewers...probably not a good idea.

Family walk.  Nice way to end the superfast trip before heading home.

3. And then it was Back To School.  Wow, the summer flew by!

5th grade for Ella and 2nd grade for Silas.  

They are getting way too big...and beautiful/handsome.

As many times as I see this throughout the school year, I never tire of seeing them holding their daddy's hands walking to school.  

 

This will be Ella's last year at Darby Creek and that makes me VERY sad.  I love my munchkins being 2 minutes away from me during the day. I think it will be a big adjustment for both next year not being in the same school.

4.  And speaking of SCHOOL - Mason had his orientation at Capital in August (seems like a million years ago now).  Dad and Margie went with him and both loved being on campus with him and seeing all the school stuff with him!

And he officially became a College Student on August 26th - and I warned him that as long as he's living at home, he'll get 1st day of school pictures! (Same grouchy morning face that I've gotten since 6th grade!!).

So that is the short and sweet version of August!

September coming soon! :)

Elijah Ryan Michael Love

Elijah Ryan Michael Love, 9, son of James and Amanda Love, has gone home to be with Jesus on September 8, 2013. He was born in Columbus, OH on December 15, 2003.

He was a 4th grader at Beacon Elementary School in Hilliard. Elijah enjoyed the outdoors. He was a child of God who loved everything that God created. He enjoyed fishing, swimming and riding his bike. Elijah was always curious about the world around him, asking questions and taking in information. His big brown eyes and beautiful smile will be forever missed by all who loved him.

Other family includes, siblings, Aliyah and Jordan, maternal grandfather, Ryan J. Casey, maternal grandmother, Lisa (Mark) Ridings, paternal grandparents, Sharon and Donald Parker, great-grandparents, Frank and Patricia Kennis, John and Patricia Casey, Bonnie Lou Bowles, uncle and aunt, Greg and Tracy Miller, cousins, Brooklyn and Jaden Miller, Casey Mers, many other aunts, uncles and cousins who he loved dearly.

Visitation will be held from 10:00am to 12:00pm, Monday, September 16, 2013 at the Potters House, 3220 Lowell Drive, Columbus, OH 43204, where a funeral service will begin at 12:00pm, following the visitation.

Burial will follow in Hampton Cemetery, West Jefferson, OH.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Love Family Fund at any Huntington Bank.

__________________________________

On Saturday night, September 7th, Justin and I were coming home from my 25th class reunion.  About 2 minutes into our drive home, he told me he had gotten a call from Margie, and there had been a terrible accident involving Mandy, Jimbo and the kids...and that Elijah hadn't made it. Impossible words to comprehend - I was still feeling festive after a wonderful evening with many friends that I hadn't seen in years and years.  And while I was laughing, hugging, toasting, chatting and having fun - Mandy's family had been hit head-on...and Elijah didn't make it.  "No" and "impossible" were the only words I could manage, over and over.

And it still doesn't seem possible. Over a month later - Mandy just got out of the hospital, we've packed and moved them out of their  house, Aliyah is with Lisa, Mandy and Jimbo with friends, Jordan with his mom.

Impossible.

Community support, family and friend support - has all been tremendous.  Beacon Elementary has had fundraisers, a few of Mandy's high school friends have arranged fundraisers and the Angels for Elijah page.  Beacon had a little memorial for Elijah after their walk-a-thon.  All the kids from the school blew bubbles up to the skies.  It was beautiful and heartbreaking.

A brief video of the bubble blowing :)

We made picture boards for the funeral - and then another set so that Manda and Aliyah could both have copies of them with them.

I'm sad...so sad to think about what Mandy, Jimbo, Jordan, Aliyah, Lisa, Mark, Ryan...are all going through especially.  I'm sad to think about Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, first days of school, last days of school, birthdays, bedtime tucking in, and everything else that will make everyone's hearts ache.

The OBX Beach Vacation 2013

We made it back to the OBX this summer (in July) and we were so happy to be back!  Missing last year made for a LONG wait but it was worth it. 
It got off to a slightly rocky start because a) the traffic was terrible getting into Corolla...and b) I had to get into it with the cleaners about an overflowing toilet and the general state of "cleanliness" of the house.  But after that, we moved along and had a great trip.

The weather was very nice all days except one.  We got our ocean time, our beach time...ice cream, shopping, crabbing, and some great dinners as always.

Ella and Silas both are now fearless in the water.  They go out and ride the waves, dive in, flail and swim.  I love that all 3 kids are strong swimmers and enjoy it.

We were super close to the grocery stores and shopping as well as the multiple ice cream stores and wine shop with a wine tasting :)

 

 We got a lot of use out of the pool, as usual.  The kids loved it as did most of the adults too!

 

 

This year we added Sarah, Brian, Barrett and Tara and Steve to the trip - so we bumped it up to a 6 bedroom house.  Plenty of room for everyone though. 

I miss the days when I had the energy to stay up blogging the trips in more detail...guess I'm old and tired now.  It's still wonderful to get to spend a week with the family and relax and just hang out.  

Maybe I'll catch a 2nd wind in my 50's...