More Ohio Adventures

While in Ohio, we had some other adventures. A family friend let us come visit her awesome place that has donkeys.

We got to see a baby donkey that was just a few hours old.

We spent a lot of time at her pool.

We went swimming a few times because it was sooooo hot. 

We went to Great-Grandma's house to eat all her cookies. She gave Bruce a big box of comics that she cut from the newspaper because she knows Bruce loves comics.

We visited my brother, Dan's, backyard farm. He has a goat and alpacas...

...and chickens. 

We visited my brother, David's, house and hung out with his posse too. He also has chickens, kittens, a dog, a trampoline, beehives, play set, and a gigantic garden. The kids loved playing with their cousins. I loved going for a long run with David; he knows every road around, where all the dogs live and their temperaments, and where to find "water stops" (garden hoses close enough to the road to swipe a sip from). When we got home from our run, David's wife Sarah had homemade bread made into French toast with eggs from their chickens and served with honey from their bees and strawberry jam from their garden. This is what heaven tastes like.

We visited my sister, Karyn, and her family. We went to a cool creek and searched for frogs and salamanders and such. 

My brother, Chris, took Phoebe for an airplane ride. 

They flew over my parents' house and Phoebe got to steer for a bit. They flew by a hot air balloon too. Awesome!

Summer bucket list

The kids took swimming lessons this spring and they paid off: Bruce improved his skills, Phoebe learned to swim independently, and Oliver gained confidence in the water. Swimming is also on the bucket list, and we have been a few times. It is much more enjoyable than last summer when I was trying to keep two kids from drowning.

A random item on the bucket list was to make a solar oven. Bruce's fifth grade class made them in groups, but Bruce missed some of the project because of our trip to Maine and Canada. We got a book and built one out of a cardboard box, foil, black paper, and tape. We made some s'mores on a sunny day at the park and are excited to take it camping so we can make nachos or something.

Also on the list was going to an outdoor movie. We went to one at the park and they had a juggling show before it got dark enough for the movie, Zootopia.

We went to the Museum of Science and saw a cool spider exhibit. Another one checked off the bucket list.

We went to the beach with friends.

Phoebe found lots of hermit crabs.

Our friends were visiting from California. The Rodgers used to live in Boston and moved around when Phoebe was born. It was fun to get our kids together to play.

Our summer has been fantastic. Phoebe went to one week of summer camp - "animal week" run by her school and with some of her teachers. She went to the zoo and a farm playland, made animal crafts and played with many of her school friends. She was happy to see her friends and I was happy to have some one-on-one time with Oliver. Once Phoebe finished her camp and Bruce finished his internship, we packed up the car to fulfill the biggest wish on our bucket list: go to OHIO.

Happy July!

July 4: we spent the day swimming and playing at Harold Parker State Park, then stopped by our neighborhood's annual celebration (pictured above - always awesome). Scott and Phoebe went to the fireworks while Bruce, Oliver and I went to bed!

The summer routine: Bruce did a four-week internship at City Sprouts. He cared for a school garden, learned to cook, visited restaurants and food pantries and farms and other food-related places (like a chocolate factory!) and got paid $100 to do it. It was four hours a day, so while he did that Phoebe and Oliver and I visited lots of parks and libraries and such.

Pretty much all the parks have arts and crafts and bubbles and activities for kids in the mornings, so we took full advantage.

July 7: Phoebe's restaurant's grand opening. She put on our summer bucket list that she wanted to go to Rainforest Cafe, but we later found out that it closed. So I told her she should make her own Rainforest Cafe. She ditched the animal theme and instead called it "Yummy in my Tummy." She put together a menu, shopped for ingredients, and trained her wait staff (Bruce). 

We sent out invites to her exclusive trendy pop-up restaurant and about a dozen customers came. 

She really wants to do it again sometime, so keep an eye out for her next pop-up.

One thing our summer is not complete without is Barn Babies. It's like a tiny petting zoo of baby animals that come to the library. Phoebe especially loves this. 

Her favorite is the diapered goat. 

But the swaddled ducklings were a hit too.

Summer has arrived!

Hurray for summer! We skipped school to go camping, but came back for the final week of school. The kids did a lot of playing - field day, fun run, etc - but also had some legitimate business to attend to. Bruce's school had a nice fifth grade graduation ceremony. It wasn't too overdone or stuffy - no caps and gowns, dressing up was optional, etc. But each of the 40 kids have a short speech, mostly thanking teachers and such. Then the teachers thanked each kid and handed them a certificate. Bruce loved being at the top of the school and is a little sad about moving on to middle school and being at the bottom of the totem pole again.

He is excited though too. We went to a middle school open house a few weeks ago and he met a few kids, saw the facility, and learned about the gazillions of programs available.

Phoebe is sad to leave kindergarten but happy to finally be a first grader. We will still see plenty of her kindergarten teachers: Val sometimes babysits the kids (she claims she loves it) and we are watching Justin's pet snake for the summer...

Domingo is a four-foot-long corn snake. I just hope he doesn't get out.

The day after school let out, we lazed about for a few hours and then went strawberry picking. Phoebe is an excellent berry picker. Bruce too. Oliver, not so much. I think he ate every one he picked and then moved on to the ones we had picked. Happy summer!

Catching up with the Raymonds

I am so behind in blogging so this is going to be brief photo-dump style. From my phone, even better. Above photo is of Phoebe scootering through the park, enjoying the last few moments of summer.

The kids didn't start school until after Labor Day, so we enjoyed the heat and free time.

Since we were gone for so long, we visited our favorite local firefighters with treats and artwork.

We saw a play at the park. The kids say so long mostly because we had an enormous amount of popcorn.

We went raspberry picking. 

We went rock climbing.

Phoebe is quite the little climber.

Bruce is also pretty good.

Oliver isn't into it yet. He put the crash pad to good use though.

I ran the Cape Ann 25k race on Labor Day. It was a long hilly course, so I thought it would be good preparation for my hilly fall marathon. I went out hard and ran a faster pace than I should have, then tanked toward the end. The last two miles were painful, but I finished in second place. That week was my highest mileage week for marathon training, so instead of resting afterward I ran a few days where I split my mileage and ran twice a day to recover. I finished out the week with a hilly 22-miler. Ahhhh, marathon training is awesome. After the race, we tried to go to the beach. The parking lots were full and they were crowded, so we went apple picking instead. 

Labor Day was also Scott's birthday, so we celebrated with cheesecake (adorned with the handpicked raspberries from earlier) and presents.

The kids started school on September 8. Bruce was excited to see his friends. Phoebe was excited to be back in kindergarten with the same teachers (last year she was a junior kindergartener). Oliver was not as excited for the start of school. He sure loves his siblings.

Our neighborhood has an awesome block party every year. Phoebe looks forward to riding the same horses. So here she is. She waited all year for this, so she says.

Our 'hood also had a touch-a-truck event. Oliver was in heaven.

A week after the race and 22-miler, I ran a very low-key BYU alumni 5k race. I ran the 4.5 miles there, ran some more, won the 5k, and ran home. The photo above was the view that morning over the Charles River. I love running.

After my run was over, I took the kids to a town family day complete with clowns, rides, and food. 

And kites too!

This is Phoebe playing after school with her best friend. They have a "monkey bar school" where Phoebe teaches her friends some monkey bar skills. They are proud of their calluses.

We went to a Red Sox game because we got tickets through the school. 

The Red Sox aren't having their best year, so we stayed just long enough to have the Fenway Park experience. And then went home and to bed!

We went to the Children's Museum. Phoebe says we have to get the most out of our membership and I agree.

Scott and I went to the Top of the Hub restaurant. It's on the 52nd floor of the Prudential Tower. Someone gave us a gift certificate so we put it to good use! We must have looked cozy at one point because the waiter asked us if it was a special occasion. "A free night," I said. And an awesome babysitter, my neighbor Rebecca.

The view was spectacular. 

We went for a hike on Mount Watatic. 

Summit! (It is not that big.)

I organized another blood drive. This photo is from when I first arrived at the church and was waiting for the Red Cross. My intention was to take a picture later when things were bustling to get a before and after shot, but alas I was so busy I forgot about it later. My kids love blood drives because they get to sit at the snack table and eat junk food for several hours until Scott gets off work. Mmmmm.

Phoebe was sick for a few days and was really unhappy about missing school. We tried to re-enact the awesomeness of kindergarten at home. Props to her teachers. That is a hard job.

On October 3, I ran the New Hampshire Marathon! We drove up the night before and stayed with Ember Smith Stokes, one of my former cross country teammates at BYU. She has three adorable daughters and a century-old

house; it was so good to see her. I miss my team! I'll write more about the marathon soon; it deserves its own post.