September 2019

Richard tagged along with a family to see his man-crush play baseball in Cleveland for Labor Day so the girls and I headed over to the Solano's for a BBQ.  It was kind of weird to spend the holiday without Richard but it has been too long since he's been able to watch baseball.

Brooklyn finally got to start preschool!  It was so hard for her to wait a few weeks after the older girls started school. It's still only three days a week but she is loving it!

Brooklyn also got invited to a princess birthday party. Her cousin gave her an adorable Belle dress and she felt very fancy and grown-up headed to her first friend party. 

There are definitely some perks to being the only one home with Mom.  When Brooklyn and I were at Costco, we saw the cutest rainbow cat sleeping bag and I just couldn't resist getting it for her. Her sisters spent a lot more time snuggling with her than normal so they could enjoy the super soft, warm sleeping bag too!

Richard's birthday has slowly been getting more low-key every year as he has transitioned from student to full-time employee.  It stinks being an adult!  But we tried to make it fun for him and I made him a giant chocolate cake with cookie and creme filling and also bought him Spikeball, which we have spent a lot of hours playing. 

 

Brooklyn had been asking to go to a splash pad all summer and it never seemed to work out.  June was too cold and rainy, we were gone almost all of July, and August flew by before I knew it!  Luckily, Ohio didn't know that summer had ended and it was definitely still summer weather all the way through September!  So I finally got to take her to a splash pad and we were the only ones there!  It was really fun to spend the afternoon chasing her and watching her make up dances in and out of the water. 

I also got to go to her preschool field trip to the apple orchard. They had a lot of fun activities set up including giant slides, tractor ride, bouncy area, oversize bikes and Brooklyn's favorite, the corn box.  I finally had to drag her out of there when it was time to go. It was the perfect way to spend another crazy hot fall morning!

One day, Brooklyn had the idea to write a book about moms. I told her I would write the words and she could draw the pictures. I had no idea it would be so amazing!  I was impressed with how she put everything together and it was the sweetest book ever. This is definitely one I will be keeping forever!

I guess Richard caught baseball fever again because he decided to use his birthday money to take a few friends to see another game! 

Because the weather had been so hot, the splash pad decided to stay open longer than normal.  We definitely took advantage of that and took all the kids back one Saturday late in the month. Even going at 4:00, it was still hot enough that they could run through the cold water with no problem!

Brooklyn and I went to play at the Conservatory one day when she didn't have preschool.  It's fun to see how they change it for all the different seasons and holidays.  I guess we had a little too much fun because she passed out on the way home! She NEVER does that so I know I did a good job running her around.

We went to a fall festival at the very end of September but it definitely did not feel anything like fall! We were still dripping with sweat in 95 degree weather with 80% humidity!  It was nuts but we still had a lot of fun with bouncy houses, face painting, balloons, carousel rides, crafts, corn maze and more. Columbus has the best festivals for families!

August 2019

I finished the Diamond Dotz I got for Christmas and I was so happy with the results.  This is definitely something I would do again, I think the end project looks so pretty!

The girls had three days of Activity Day camp and they had a blast!  One day was crafts, games and activities, one day was learning about safety from two police officers and the last day was outside fun with slime, water games, and rockets. They were so sad every day when I came to pick them up.

We took a tour of the chocolate factory here with a few ladies from the ward. Definitely not as cool as Sweet's but it was fun to show the girls how everything was made and share some extra things with them that I had learned from Dad.  And of course, the best part is getting to eat a buckeye at the end!

We wanted to go for a walk one Sunday evening and for some reason, Kaylee thought the door to the garage was locked so she turned the lock before she closed it, completely locking us out of the house.  Richard thought he had left our bedroom window unlocked, but it was really high up and hard to reach even on a ladder. He could tell it was unlocked but couldn't get the screen out or push the window up.  Luckily we had access to all the tools in the garage but it still took almost 45 mins to get back into the house.  I guess we have trained Kaylee a little too well to make sure the house is locked up ;)

The girls started school and were super excited about it. Last year they weren't so sure about this new school and it was a big adjustment from their last school but they have grown to love it. Big 4th and 2nd graders!

We have been trying to convince the Solano's to do Hocking Hills with us for a while and we finally got the chance to go the weekend after school started. It was gorgeous and I think we honestly could have stayed there all day.  One part that was especially fun for me was when we got to the waterfall, which has a small lake formed underneath it.  Kaylee and I climbed up to the ledge that forms a U around the waterfall and explored up there while the rest of the family stayed down and played in the water. Unfortunately, our trip ended on a very sad note when we saw a bunch of paramedics gathered around a hiker who had fallen off a big cliff. He later died and it was a very solemn ride home, thinking about him and his family who would now be so sad on the same day that we had been having the time of our lives.