Trip To Ohio

Summer has begun much later than what we're used to this year. The girls have only been officially out of school now for 2 weeks. This week has been especially long. We've encountered a lot of rain here in New England.Late last week, we decided to take a quick trip back to Ohio to surprise Duane's dad for his 70th birthday. We left at 4pm on Wednesday and arrived in Rochester, NY at 11pm. We stayed the night in Rochester and woke early to find a Bruegger's Bagels nearby and a Starbucks too! We hit the road and arrived in Columbus around 3pm. Duane's dad answered the door and was surprised to see all of standing in front of him. We enjoyed relaxing that evening with his parents and the girls had a blast running around exploring their yard. Nana and Pa have a huge tree swing that the girls took turns pushing each other in.

The next morning we got up and met some of our good friends Bryan and Joleen Fenstermacher and our friend Greg Varner at Northstar Cafe' in the Short North, a small hip area near downtown Columbus. http://www.thenorthstarcafe.com/ After grabbing breakfast on the go, we headed over to Goodale Park. Already people were staking their claim on bits of lawn for that evening's fireworks, "RED, WHITE, AND BOOM!"

That evening we met up with my brother David and his wife Jenny and their two children Auggie and Olive.
Auggie loves singing in his cup so he sang for me while I video taped him. These moments make me so sad that we live so far away. I wish we had more moments like this together. But for the past 6 years we haven't had the opportunity to live near family. I am jealous at times of those who have family that live near them. For whatever reason the Lord has led to be apart. I think it certainly helps me to really savor the moments I am near family.

The next day was the 4th of July. We originally planned to get up and head to a local parade but Duane and I were completely exhausted. We had been going strong for 3 days straight and were feeling the affects of little rest. So we took it easy that morning and prepared for family to head over. Duane took me out to lunch that afternoon and we had a GREAT time. We felt like we were dating again. We went to Chik-Fil-A and Duane discovered the restaurant held the 2 most important loves of his life: Food and Jesus. I was laughing so hard, I couldn't keep from crying. These times remind me why I fell in love with him. I think so often we are inhibited by our children. Sure, its OK to be goofy with them but I think we reserve our true selves when they are around.

When we arrived back at Duane's parents home, we found my parents and an even greater surprise: my grandfather! I was so excited to see him!

I joked with him that this is one of the first trips I've made in the past 3 years that I didn't have to go to the hospital to see him. I was so grateful to see him but also reminded by how fragile he is. He is walking with a cane now and is experiencing memory loss. I had to stop myself from crying when he told me the same story right after he finished it. I love this man as my own father. He helped to raise David and I in some respects and he was the man I chose to walk me down the aisle at our wedding. I'm so thankful to have had that time with him. We sat and chatted by ourselves for over 45 minutes with an occassional interruption by the children wanting a snack. :)

Duane's sister and her family came over not too long after we arrived. Duane was in charge of the grill and we ate in the back yard. The kids had a great time running around, playing in the fountain and swinging on the swing. I believe it was a great time for them to connect with their cousins too. Jena came to me crying later that she didn't want to leave she was going to miss her cousins. Unfortunately we were headed back out of town early the next morning.

We enjoyed sparklers and a few fireworks Duane's dad had stashed away. The kids also loved their glow necklaces.

The next morning came quickly and we were back on the road again. But this time we headed to Niagara Falls to spend the night.

The girls loved seeing the falls and Ruby especially took her cues from the older girls as she exclaimed, "Ohh, Ahh!" The girls told us that the hotel we stayed in there was the best one they'd ever been in before. We watched a bit of "Dog, The Bounty Hunter" with them, which was a very special treat and we ate muffins in bed. Maybe that's why it was such a huge hit.

Our trip the next day was a rough one, only emotionally. The girls were tired of being in the car and my nerves were fried. Duane was a tropper and drove almost the entire way home. Were we ever so glad to see our home!!! I was a freaking genius before we left and cleaned the entire home so we'd come back to a nice and clean house. But looking around now, 2 days later...maybe we need to go away again.

It's been a great start to a wondeful summer, so far.