College Friends Reunion 2016

A couple of weekends ago, we met up with our college friends in South Bend, IN (the best central location for all) and stayed at a 'historic house' we found on airbnb! One couple had to cancel last minute, but we were able to video chat with them one night so we could all share what's been going on since we all last met (almost 3 years ago - yikes!).  

We all had a lot of fun, and Bean still asks to go play with her friends "at that house in the basement".  I think the take away from the weekend is that the kids had a lot of fun playing together and the parents had a lot of fun hanging out; but next time, maybe we should ship the kids off somewhere else - haha! 

While we were together, we ate a lot of food - we all chipped in and brought different snacks and were responsible for a different meal.  Donuts, cookies, and chips were constantly on tap.  We laughed a lot, played some board games (did I mention that kids make adult hang out hard?!), talked a lot, and the dads even provided the moms with a kid free outing!  Us ladies hit up a local chocolate shop, got to have some uninterrupted conversations, and feasted on muffins/cookies and gourmet chocolate coffees/drinks -- yum! 

The house had 5 actual bedrooms, but then another room with 3 more beds! We could've added in at least 2 more families - easily! (For the record, there were 3 families - 6 adults & 8 kids)  The house had 3 levels - 4 bedrooms & 2 baths upstairs where we all slept; a main floor with living room, sitting room, kitchen and bathroom; and a basement with another bedroom, big open room, and another bathroom.  The kids loved to run around and play in the basement or with toys that we brought in the living room while the parents hung out.  The kids did well playing unsupervised (there was enough tattlers to come up and tell us when something was happening that shouldn't).  At first, we were afraid to let Bean run around with the big kids on her own, but she eventually was allowed and did very well. 

(Kids running around in part of the basement.)

(More basement shenanigans.)

(Jared reading the kiddos a Children's theology book before bed.  All the kids (except babies and Bean) slept in this room together.  Bean was sad we made her leave the kid room to sleep in our room, but with her potty training, and not sleeping long in a bed on her own, we weren't sure how it would go with her in there.  The first night, she ended up having troubles all night and screwed around in bed with me for 4 hours in the middle of the night, but did much better the next night.)

(We tried to strap the Go Pro onto Libby's head and supervise basement shenanigans that way.  But the camera only lasted a couple minutes on her head before she was over it.)

(Meal times were always like feeding the animals at the zoo.  A lot of survival of the fittest mentality for the weekend!)

(We stayed up late one night playing games after the kids went to bed.  Notice Jared laughing uncontrollably while the others are not amused??  That's because Jared was intoxicating the room with a potent smell.)

(Mitch was trying to wave the air back tot the offender.)

(We tried to take a group photo as we were leaving the house.  It took entirely too long and lots of coordination and attments, and in the end -- this is the only picture of all of us!)

(Where are the Ackermans?!)

(Oh there they are.)

(After we checked out of the house, we headed to the local mall and ate lunch together at the food court before we all bid our farewells.)

Now the question is, when's the next reunion?!

RAAA!!! (Robinson/Ackerman Adventure in April)!

A couple weekends ago, we met up with our good friends from college who now reside in OH.  We have done several meetups with them around Ohio and this time chose to go to Homes County, known for its Amish community.  We rented an amazing cabin via airbnb and loaded up our weekend with lots of activities and fun!

Steve took a half day on Friday so we could head to Holmes County at a leisurely pace.  Good thinking on his part because we had to do some unplanned "potty" stops and a couple of planned site seeing.  We stopped in Mansfield at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary and also went back to Malabar Farm to do a little hiking trail before making it the rest of the way to the cabin.  We left the house and headed on our journey during Bean's nap time.  We had grand plans of her napping before our first scheduled stop, but she had other plans.  We got to hear lots of whining and "I don't want to sleep!" for the majority of the afternoon.  

(Unscheduled potty stop.  I thought traveling while in the potty training period would be rough, but it was nice with the little potty.  We would just pull over, let her do her business, or in this case just attempt, and then be on our way.)

(Looking at the birds at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary.  They rescue "imprinted" birds - basically birds that can't survive in wild due to human contact.)

(There was a building you could go inside and try to feed/touch the birds.  Steve was successful in getting a bluejay to come and sit on his hand.  Bean did her best at being still, but she's a toddler, and the birds didn't tend to stick around her too much!)

(Hiking around Malabar Farm! Last time we went, we had sought out the "Jungle Book Trail" but failed in finding it.  This time, Steve did better research and found exactly where it was.  The trail was full of different plant types and potentially animals. We didn't see any animals, but saw some of their scat.)

We got to the airbnb place just a little bit before 5pm. Literally 5 minutes from the location, Bean fell asleep.  So we looped back around and drove away 10 min, then drove back.  She at least got a little nap that would help with the long evening ahead with friends.  We got to the cabin and fell in love with it.  It was 3 levels, lots of decks and beautiful scenery.  Had a nice fire pit set up and a hot tub! We took advantage of all that place had to offer!  Our friends arrived just a little bit after us.  We threw hot dogs on the grill, the kids played outside with bubbles, and eventually we enjoyed a fire complete with s'mores!

(After dinner and some ouside play, parents were already for a break - haha! Thankfully Yo Gabba Gabba gave us a nice 22 in break before it was time to go outside and enjoy some s'mores.)

(View of the fire pit area from one of the decks.  And yes -- there were 2 fire pits!)

(The kids did very good sitting and staying away from the fire.  I think the bribery of marshmallows sealed the deal.  But once that novelty wore off, the kids got a little restless and sealed their fate for bedtime :).)

(She's had a s'more before, but doesn't remember.  She couldn't understand how this was like a cookie, and didn't really eat it.  But yet she loved each individual part - the chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker.  And for the adults -- we kicked our s'mores up a notch with Reese cups.  I don't think I can ever go back to just chocolate.)

(The cabin had some interesting decor -- stuffed bears and  mountain lion.  Mitch tried to perfect his bear/selfie photo, but lighting wasn't in his favor.)

On Saturday, we had a lot planned for the day.  We started our morning off with a delicious breakfast buffet (because when you are in Amish country, you hit up all the food you can!).  From there, we headed over to a farm that boasted of it's safari animals.  We chose to ride on a wagon through the animals and were able to feed them during the ride.  The animals were all sorts of diffeerent ones (we didn't even know most of the species) - but notable ones were llamas, deer, girraffes, some sort of buffalo, yaks, emus, and some crazy ones that looked like camels/moose hybrids.  The journey started off well with llamas, but quickly fell apart as the animals swarmed the wagon.  Kids were screaming, parents were laughing, everyone was crying (from either terror or laughing).  It was the best adventure ever! 

(Bean got to practice up on her big sister skills with their new baby!) 

(Bean loved the animal experience.  She laughed and was very determined to feed every animal.  Our friends' kids on the other hand were terrified.  Lots of screaming and crying, which made the whole experience all the more fun for all the parents.)

(Feeding the zebra.  So apparently, you were supposed to put the food under the bench and not feed the zebra by hand because it had teeth.  Bean missed the memo and felt the teeth - but it didn't hurt her.  We did get to pet them, though!  Other animals had no teeth and would open their mouths and you just threw the food down in their throats.  Lots of gross long wet tongues were waving all around.)

(Some animals were very aggressive and would try to get into the wagon and would take the feed buckets from you.  Alice had her hands full with her babe and daughter and this animal - maybe a cow? - grabbed at it.  I had to snatch it back and tugged the bucket from the animal.)

(Wilson was less than impressed wihen the animals would come up to the wagon and try to get on.  That's when the shrieking would begin.)

(Libby was in meltdown and wanted off.  Bean just wanted to feed more animals.  Moms were loving the emotions.)

After the ride, we walked around the farm a little and even got some free homemade ice cream - yummmy!  We deemed it time for naps and did some driving around.  We split up for a bit and met back together at a little shop known for it's "fry pies" and petting zoo.  We loaded up on snacks - fry pies, cookies, cheese, sausage - and saw more animals.  These animals seemed lame-o after the safari ride of terror.  From there, we headed to dinner -- another buffet! They just kept getting better and better.  

(Not only did Bean get a nap in, but Steve sneaked one in too.  We had some time to kill until we met back up, so we parked and I got to enjoy a quiet car.)

(There was a very large horse at the petting zoo that the girls enjoyed looking at.)

(You know, just riding a chicken outside the Berlin Farmstead Restaurant.  Wilson was fearless; the girls on the other hand had nothing to do with it. Plus the sun in their eyes made for an overall photo fail.)

(What better way to end off a day of fun, laughter and food?? In a hot tub of course! Thanks Alice for braving it with the kiddos.  I couldn't get in due to being pregnant, waaahhhh.  After the kids went to bed, the parents got to enjoy the tub sans kids or "pk" (post kids) as we called it.  I did put my legs in for the adult time! We also got to play a games pk, too!)

We didn't have a set check out time for our airbnb.  So we had a leisurely morning of playing and packing up.  Once we got all loaded up, we said farewell to our cabin and headed to our last buffet at Chalet in the Valley.  We thought we could either order from the menu or choose to do the buffet, but Sunday's are set buffet.  It ended up being amazing (again, every buffet got better!).  This one had mostly german offerings -- sauerkraut, sausage, etc; but also had typical mashed potatoes and noodles.  And it was all delicious. 

(I tried to stage a photo with Bean and the mountain lion, but it was a fail due to lighting - theme of the weekend.)

(Group photo at Chalet in the Valet after eating!)

(Man is it hard to coordinate photos with kids! This is the best we could manage.)

We said our goodbyes after we ate.  But lucky for us, we will be seeing our friends for another friend weekend soon!   We again had high hopes of Bean sleeping on the way home.  Instead, we discovered we had an Ariel cd in the car that we got the joy of listening to over and over and over (and we still listen to it every time we get in the car now. ugh).  I guess her days of napping every day are coming to an end.  I was hoping it was just a weekend trend, but now that we've been home she's had a random day here or there where she just lays in bed and never falls asleep. 

Easter Celebrations

Easter this year was done a little bit differently than we've done it in years past.  First off, we weren't even sure we were going to visit my family until we were actually in the car headed to Indiana on Thursday night.  And the other big difference is that Steve had to work at the plant on Easter Sunday, meaning we had to cut out of Indiana and miss out on my family's actual Easter celebration.  I was bummed to miss out on dressing Bean up fancy for church, miss out on family dinner and big Easter egg hunt; but we made the best of it and had little celebrations of Easter through the weekend while we could.

We had hesitated on going in for the weekend because some of my family member's were sick.  Some had been on medicine for awhile, some just starting.  We weren't sure if we wanted to risk sickness.  But we decided that it should be safe and we'd make sure to keep our distance and wash our hands a lot.  Our plan apparently worked because Easter has come and gone and we are all still healthy - whew!

Friday was pretty low-key. Bean helped me make resurrection buns for Steve (a tradition started by his mom that we enjoy passing on to Bean.  She didn't like eating them, but did enjoy the making part!).  Bean got lots of attention from grandparents and got to do whatever she wanted.  I welcomed the spoiling because it gave me a break to just relax and hold adult conversations.  Bean got a little stir crazy, so Ahm (my mom) put her to work helping to make cookies -- Bean LOVES to help baking! Later in the afternoon, my sister Amber and her girls came over. We set the girls all up to dye some Easter eggs together.  Bean loved it and would drop her eggs into the colors, which inevitably broke every egg she put in the jars.  My mom was involved in their church's Good Friday service, so we tagged along to listen to her sing.  Bean got to hang out with the other toddlers in the nursery and of course had a blast - she knows no strangers.

(Helping to make the resurrection buns.  I had already made them up the night before, but they needed rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar.  She loved to, "roll, roll, roll"). 

(Egg dying is always an intense process.  The girls had an assigned number of eggs, but somehow Bean ended up with a lot extra - thanks Emily!)

(She tried to mimic the other girls by using the spoon to put the eggs into the color, but it was used more as a dropping device which aided in the egg cracking.)

Saturday was a pretty packed day.  We started the morning off with putting new Jamberries on Bean (I'm getting pretty good at it and can do it in around 30 min when I'm focused) - per her request.  We finished up just in time to head to my aunt's house to crash their family Easter.  My mom wasn't feeling the best, so it was just my dad, Steve, Bean and I who crashed their lunch.  We didn't plan on staying long, but they roped Bean into hunting eggs with them.  One of my aunt's grandchildren couldn't come and they let Bean have her eggs. Bean had a blast (it was her first real hunt where she understood what was going on).  Thanks Nana for letting her participate!

(Waiting for the egg hunt at Nana's house.  She was a little lost at this point on what an egg hunt involved or the purpose of the bucket everyone kept telling her to hold onto.)

(Counting eggs with daddy to see how many more she needed to find.)

(I finally got to meet my cousin's baby Jessie!  Hannah and I were super close when we were younger and would spend the summer's at each other's houses.  It was a little surreal for me to see our kids sitting and playing together.)

After the hunt, we had to say goodbye and Steve/dad dropped Bean and I off at a baby shower.  There, we met up with my sister, her girls, and my mom.  It was getting late in the afternoon and Bean didn't get a nap in.  It was starting to show and she was melting down (could also have done with the fact that she didn't eat much at lunch and was now on a sugar high from candy).  We finally called the shower down when Bean was losing it.  My sister and her family stopped by my parents' house very briefly so that Bean could have a little egg hunt with her cousins (they did a bigger hunt with the other cousins and my brother on Sunday).

After they all left, we just spent the evening entertaining Bean and trying to keep her happy (she only napped like 5 min in the car).  She did extremely well and earned herself a movie.  Once the movie was over, it was bedtime.  Woohoo!  She had had a rough couple nights at my mom's on Thursday/Friday. Both nights, she ended up in bed with me.  Saturday must have really worn her (and us) out, because we all slept in later than usual.  I woke up in a panic because I knew we needed to hit the road for Steve to make it into work (and I still had to pack).  We pulled together quickly, said bye to my family, and headed eastward towards home.  We made it to our house in time to eat a quick lunch, before Steve had to go to work.

(Best way to distract Bean from how tired she is is to strip her naked and let her paint.)

(And painting quickly turned into playing in the colored water.)

(And then mayhem broke out and she colored herself, which secured her a trip to the shower.)

(She wasn't happy about the shower part, but I bribed her with being able to watch a movie once she was out.  She really didn't want the shower, but the thought of a movie finally won out.)

Steve only had to go in for a few hours, so he got home just around the time that Bean woke up from her nap.  Once she was up, we took her outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and let her find some Easter eggs and enjoy the contents of her Easter basket.  We then feasted on a pizza for our Easter dinner :-) and introduced Bean to "The Magic School Bus" which is currently on her favorite shows list.

("Bubbles!" "Chalk!" "Eggs!")

("There's anudder one!")

Even though our Easter was all done differently this year, we are still thankful that we get to experience the joy in the true meaning of Easter - Christ died for our sins so that we no longer have to live as slaves to sin.  We are thankful for his sacrifice and look forward to teaching Bean all about what her Savior has done for her.

March Boondoggle

I had never heard the term "Boondoggle" until Steve started going on random "business trips".  Some business trips are necessities and some are "helpful" but you get perks along with the trips.  The latter kind of business trips are deemed "Boondoggles".  A few weeks ago, I created my own Boondoggle which aligned with a work Boondoggle, and we headed out on a week long trip!

Bean and I headed to Indiana on Thursday morning. I had volunteered to help out my old piano teacher with a contest she's involved in every year.  I extended the trip by adding on some extra days to hang out with family.  Steve joined us on Friday night once he got off work.  We had two separate cars for the remainder of our Boondoggle, but we purposefully planned it that way.  We stayed at my parents through Sunday afternoon, soaking up lots of family time!

(Pile-up on Ahm's bed -- dog included!  Bean has it figured out that if she doesn't like what's on the tv in the living room, she can convince Ahm that they should lay in her bed and she gets to pick whatever she wants.  My nieces apparently didn't mind Bean's pick and joined in on the fun.)

On Sunday after lunch, we headed (in our separate cars) to Cincinnati.  I was a little stressed about the driving alone with Bean.  The only long drives I've done with her alone, is between our house and my parents.  I know all the stops and the best places to stop and switches movies for her when she needs it.  However, this time, I'd be driving unfamiliar roads and not know where the best places to stop would be.  PLUS, she started the trip off asleep.  So I was at a complete loss of knowing how well (or long) she'd sleep or how many movies she'd need.  Luckily for me, she slept almost the whole time. She was awake the last 30 min.  I was able to reach her interactive books which kept her entertained the rest of the way -- no need to stop!

We met Scott and Ashley at our favorite Cincy hangout -- Ikea! We needed to make several purchases to make up Bean's new "big girl room".  We had warned them it would be a long trip, but I don't think they were fully prepared for our Ikea madness.  In the end, we came out with an extendable bed (it can be small for a toddler and can pull out to be a full twin), a book/toy organizer, a dresser, duvet & cover, and a wall light.  We let Bean pick out the duvet cover and wall light (let's just say, I'm a little nervous about making this room pull together!).  After we made our purchases, we headed (in 3 cars now - if you are keeping track!) to dinner at -- you guessed it -- Dewey's Pizza! Yummm!

(Even though this picture is from when we got home, Bean is modeling off the "colors" bedspread she picked out.  How am I going to make that bold confetti work in her room?!)

While everyone was at work on Monday, Bean and I just hung out around Scott/Ashley's house with Tyson.  The weather was beautiful, so we spent a lot of time out on their deck!  They have a pretty sweet set up. I was able to pull lunch together (and even blog a little) all while being able to watch Bean run around on the deck.  Once everyone was home, we spent the evening celebrating Ashley's birthday! We headed out for a picnic dinner at their local favorite BBQ joint and Ash opened gifts when we got home.

(Bean LOVED playing out on the deck.  She would find a bunch of sticks and keep herself entertained.  She also went through a phase of holding her diaper a bunch that day.  I asked her why and she just said she needed to hold it.  We've been talking to her a lot about using the potty, but she hasn't seemed interested.  Guess it is time to make her interested!)

On Tuesday, Bean and I headed BACK to Indiana to visit with friends (This is why I wanted 2 cars, so Bean and I weren't stuck at the house all day.  We were able to visit some friends and family, yet still be with Steve in the evenings!).  I was able to see two of my old roommates from college and Bean was able to play with my friend's kids and their ducks - ha! The weather was beautiful and we stayed outside nearly all day (we payed for it later with some sunburns, oops!).  After a delightful visit, we headed back to Cincy and got to the house just minutes before Steve returned home - perfect!  Scott/Ashley had run club, so we headed to an Italian version of Chipotle - Piada! We got to make our own pasta bowls.  Bean usually loves pasta, but I am never sure of what she will and won't eat.  This was a hit! When Scott and Ashley got back from running, we finished off her birthday celebration with cake - yum!

(My friend Brianna lives in the country and has a big backyard complete with swing set and duck coup.)

(Bean LOVED meeting the ducks.  Later in the day she said she was scared, but I never saw it while we were there! She bravely pet the duck and liked to chase it. She thought it was especially funny when Brianna tried to make the duck fly.)

(This kid is braver than me.  She picked up a bunch of dried meal worms and put her hand out for the ducks to eat.  I wouldn't mind the duck eating out of my hand, it's the dried meal worm part that I have trouble with!)

(My other roommate from college Julie came to visit, too!  Thanks for loving on our kiddos Julie!)

(Eating up the pasta at Piada.  I don't remember what I got.  I chose a preset dinner bowl and then added in a couple items.  It was delicious!)

On Wednesday, I packed all of our stuff up and headed to northern Cincy to visit with my aunt, uncle and cousin.  They were more than generous and showered us with love! They pulled out toys for Bean to play with and fed us both a great lunch! It was great getting to see them and catch up.  From there house, we headed home to our house.  Bean fell asleep in the car and slept almost the whole time (score again!). I got stuck in a 30 min traffic jam due to a crash.  Steve was supposed to stay in Cincy for a couple hours later, but ended up finishing early.  He left a little bit after me and I was able to inform him of the traffic jam.  He got to bypass it and we got home just around the same time.

Getting away and seeing friends and family was just what I needed!  I love our house and being a stay-at-home mom, but sometimes, even mom's go stir crazy and need their own boondoggles!