Weekend Rewind

Last weekend the kids and I had some fun. Friday, the kids had their last day at their homeschool co-op. When they came home, we headed to the store to pick out some things for Father's Day to send over to Gabe (can't tell you what we got because he reads the blog. Hi honey!). We went home for dinner and then afterwards headed out and supported my nephew at his baseball game (they won!).

I'm trying to teach the kids about saving and spending their money wisely. We had already had dinner so I let them know I was not buying them snacks and junk food at the concession stand and if they wanted anything they would have to buy it with their own money. They both opted to spend a dollar on a Sno cone.

Saturday, we went to visit some baby chicks at my brother-in-law's mother's house. We had gone the previous week when they were just a few days old. The kids love animals and I love that they do.

Noah LOVED watching them.

After the kids had enough chicken love we headed over to my old high school's town park for their annual fireman's festival. The selection of rides was sparse but we still had a good time. And seeing old school mates is always fun too.

On Sunday, my parents left to go camping for the week. The kids and I enjoyed the beautiful evening outside. Noah's pants ended up filthy so I took them off and let him run around half naked before I took him in for a bath. It made for some cute photos. :)

This upcoming weekend is looking to be another good fun filled one that I'm sure you'll hear about. :)

Making the Adjustment

After living back in Ohio for the past six weeks, reality is starting to set in... and set in hard. We do not live in Arizona anymore and never will again. All those things that we always thought we would have time to do and kept pushing to the back burner, the places we wanted to go, gone. It's too late.

This was our fourth cross country move so therefore I was sure it would be easier. HAH! It's not. The kids and I are staying with my parents and that in itself is a challenge all its own. Just finding room to put our stuff or store it is a difficult and slow process. The moving pod we used is currently at a local U-Haul (10 miles away) and I've only gotten a quarter of it emptied. I'm having to separate our things between three houses and loading and unloading it all on my own.

Our moving pod still with tons left. Oy!

Another adjustment that many wouldn't think much about is that a quick trip to the store is no longer actually quick. In Arizona, everything was less than 15 minutes away. Now, 15+ minutes is a normal time and distance resulting in a "quick" trip taking at least an hour... IF I'm alone and get in and out of the store fast.


The weather. Can I talk about the weather?! Thankfully, we are not into the hot and humid days yet but we have experienced a few days like that and it was not pleasant. Not pleasant at all. Come July, you'll probably be able to find me on the floor in a puddle of sweat camped out in front of a fan trying to find some sort of relief. I won't even mention the winters because I'm just going to hibernate this year.


The time change, oh the time change! Arizona does not do daylight savings and boy do I miss that. It made bedtime SOOO much easier. Daylight was always over by 9 pm at the latest during the summer. But here, the kids are still trying to stay up later because duh mom! There is still light outside. They're having a hard time with that adjustment.


I really hate to sound like I'm complaining or ungrateful so I'll just move on to the GOOD adjustments.


I can see my family more than once a year! I love love love to see the kids playing with their cousins. I grew up in a large family with literally hundreds (not exaggerating at all, my parents came from families of 12 kids) of cousins and I can still remember the family get-togethers where we would all play hide and seek, kick the can, tag, and all those other fun games that we played until dark and even after.

There is room to roam. People have yards with room to play and run and you can't look directly into your neighbors' yards/houses. That was probably my biggest complaint about Arizona (or at least city) living. The yards were teeny tiny and even if you lived in the Arizona countryside, you didn't have beautiful green yards (unless you worked HARD at it) where kids could run barefoot without having to worry about stepping on things that would hurt you. That's the other thing. In Ohio, we don't have to try to grow grass. It just does! We had to water our yard EVERY day in Arizona if we wanted any hope of a green yard.

I could prattle on and on about the adjustments I'm making or the differences between the two places but I'll spare you or turn it into a whole post in itself. :) My point was that things aren't going according to how I thought they would (do they ever?!) and making these adjustments is taking a little longer.

Enjoying the Weather

Ohio doesn't have many beautiful days so when it does, we make sure to get out and enjoy them. I love the fact that I can shoo the kids out the door when they need to run off some energy or when boredom begins to set in.

I'm glad that they have been adjusting well to country living. Noah just absolutely LOVES it! He could spend all day outside if I let him. He had his first experience with puddles recently and I eventually had to drag him out of there kicking and screaming. After a spring rain, the driveway had plenty of puddles to find and play in and he took right to the wet and dirty mess. Walked up and plop! Sat right in the middle of it. I undressed him and let him have at it.

Swings are also a favorite.

Our little climber.

And when we want to get out of the house, we head to the park. Noah is now at the stage where he is able to climb the playground to the slides and come down on his own. All I have to do is make sure he doesn't jump off any openings in the playground and then catch him at the bottom. My sister and I recently got together with our kids and our niece she was babysitting at the park. The kids had a blast swinging, running, playing, riding scooters, and just being kids.

Those who built the park added in a sledding hill that is perfect for rolling down in the warmer months. Or as we used it for... running up and down to make sure they got out every last ounce of energy. :)

I really hope this 75-80 degree weather holds out for a while longer. This mama is not ready for hot and humid weather without the comfort of an air-conditioned house!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. My nephew is part of tournament baseball team playing twice a day on the weekends. That week they were playing an hour away meaning those of us watching the games had a lot of sitting around and waiting to do. Luckily, they happened to be playing just a few miles away from a close cousin so between games, we stayed with her and her family and turned it into one big sleepover party.

The remains of a great night.

We had such a good time! The kids stayed busy riding four wheelers and playing outside enjoying the beautiful weather. With the kids happily occupied, the grownups were able to sit, relax, and talk. We barbequed chicken and grilled hamburgers along with fresh veggies for dinner and then s'mores for the kids and wine for the grownups for dessert.

With all the fun and just enjoying our time together, I completely forgot to get any pictures! Not until the next morning did it even occur to me. Ah well, it was such a good time so there are no regrets. Here are the pics I grabbed. This was the morning after a late night so the kids were relaxing while watching morning cartoons; about the only time they held still. Hah.

Despite going to bed between 11 and 12 the previous night, all the kids were up bright and early at 7am so us grownups sleepily dragged ourselves out of bed to make waffles and cereal for breakfast. Shockingly, Christian slept until 9 but Alena slept all the way up to 10!

After breakfast, the few of us who were going to the second day of tournament games headed out while the rest stayed behind to relax and play. My nephew's team won their first game! But with only a 20 minute rest before their second game and playing the previous year's champs, they couldn't rally for a second win. So we headed back to the house for lunch, naps, and a little more playtime before heading home.

My nephew batting.

My nephew also pitches.

My bro-in-law and nephew doing some father and son napping. :)

All three kids fell asleep on the way home after an awesome weekend. Success!
How was your Memorial Day?