The Stream

 Anna was the one who pushed to go to Dan and Laurie's house this summer. We were all happy to go, but Anna had some serious conditions. She wanted 2 full days at the stream. I cut into her 2 full days with going to Rickett's Glen, but we still went to the stream on Saturday and Sunday before we left for home.

 

This time we borrowed a steam spot from friends of Dan Laurie's who were not using their cabin that weekend.

 

 Dan asked if anyone would be interested in kayaking. He had no idea that Josiah has been talking all summer about wanting to kayak. Dan borrowed kayaks from another friend. 

Josiah was thrilled.

Aliza enjoyed kayaking too, but I failed to get a picture of her!

Anna spent a lot of time looking for crawdads with Dan on Saturday. This one got a ride!

Jeremy was in the water Saturday and Sunday, but on Sunday Isaiah did not leave Jeremy's side.

I had my turn on the kayak also. The water was really cold and the temperature was just perfect to sit comfortably by the water. I enjoyed watching everyone play and explore.

The Hike

 Last year a friend posted pictures from Rickett's Glen State Park and I decided that I needed to go there. The children decided that they needed to go to Dan and Laurie's house this summer so when we figured out that the two were close together it became a combined trip. 

Dan and Laurie met us at the park and we did the Falls Trail. The Falls Trail itself is a little more than 3 miles What I did not realize is that we would have to walk a mile plus to the trail and a mile plus back to the parking lot. It became a long hike! But 17 falls in 3 miles was worth it!

    

The first half of the trail was all downhill. It was over a thousand feet that we descended. Anna needed to hold my hand to go down that uneven stone steps. It was pretty neat to start at the top of each fall and end up at the bottom looking up at it.

 About halfway, where the two creeks merged, we stopped for lunch. The children could not wait to take their shoes off and walk in the water and explore. It was about then that I realized the second half would be all uphill.

We found a letterbox!

 

 

And then Isaiah started getting tired. He would sit down wherever he thought was a good spot and took off his shoes. At this moment I had told him to count to 30...he said 120. He started counting...at 60 he told me he was halfway and at 110 he put his shoes on. At 120 he was up and ready to go a few more steps.

Jeremy chewed on birch branches because they taste like root beer. Josiah and Aliza tried it too. Nothing quite like walking with the guy that has leaves hanging out of his mouth!

After the stops got quite frequent, Dan put Isaiah on his shoulders. Isaiah rode for a few minutes and then was ready to walk. I think Isaiah got 3 rides to get him through to the end.

Anna got pretty miserable during the last 2 miles. Conversation distracted her and kept her moving.

Isaiah also lost a tooth in the second half of the hike. He wanted to eat an apple and his loose tooth was bothering him so he asked his Daddy to pull it. That's the second tooth Jeremy has taken out for Isaiah.

This was a beautiful hike. It was the longest and hardest hike we've done as a family so far. It was worth the effort though! 

We stopped at the closest ice cream joint and then the children promptly fell asleep for the hour and a half drive to Dan and Laurie's house.

Unexpected Gift

During Bible study last week, a friend casually mentioned that her parents are gifting her new appliances and did anyone need a stove or fridge. I’ve been in her house and knew that the appliances she was replacing were considerably newer than mine. So I said, “Yes! Me!”

The next afternoon her parents were so generous to deliver the stove, fridge and microwave to our house. Jeremy and William brought them in the house that night. 

The new refrigerator is smaller than our old one. I hesitated about downsizing. Jeremy figures out that our fridge was purchased in 1996. He said a newer one would be more energy efficient. So we decided to just see if everything would fit in a smaller fridge. I was surprised that everything fit easily! 

The microwave came to us not working. My friend’s parents almost wouldn’t give it to me because they were worried about anyone messing with an electrical issue. Jeremy looked at it this weekend, changed a blown fuse and it worked! And then he installed it! I was out of town on Saturday and was super surprised when he sent this picture. 

Now, assuming our addition continues to move forward, I have newer appliances to move into the new kitchen. 😀

Joy Dare::July

7288. 4 blankets finished

7289. Isaiah has had a good attitude

7290. Talking homeschooling

7291. A house full of children

7292. Aliza has the best day with friends

7293. So many stories at the end of the day

7294. Tshirts made

7295. Passion fruit peach tea

7296. Flowers for my birthday

7297. Isaiah and Sean playing

7298. Anna sitting with the ladies

7299. 4th of July hamburgers and hotdogs

7300. Sunday activities

7301. Ice cream cake

7302. Anna’s heart

7303. This is 41.

7304. Jeremy truly surprised me

7305. Aliza cooked supper

7306. Children who love their Daddy

7307. Amazingly smooth travel day

7308. The pool opened just in time

7309. Hiking and exploring

7310. Ice cream on a hot day

7311. Air BnB that is just right

7312. Survived the heat

7313. Some of our favorite Ohio places

7314. Making Aliza laugh hysterically 

7315. A much nicer temp for a day outside

7316. Sitting beside Grandma

7317. Josiah conquered something he was afraid of

7318. Hugs and tears

7319. Amazing travelers

7320. Being able to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa

7321. Home.

7322. Jeremy.

7323. Virtual church for nights when we just get home

7324. The Grace Case

7325. A nap

7326. Mundane life routine

7327. 19 years married

7328. Children old enough to stay home alone

7329. Signed contract

7330. Cool morning air

7331. Anna practicing dance again

7332. Talking to a lot of people about homeschool

7333. Anna riding with me

7334. Josiah telling me all about tractors

7335. Aliza’s compassionate heart

7336. Taking care of Isaiah

7337. A couple hours alone at home

7338. Date night!

7339. Morning with Jeremy 

7340. Supper with Aliza and Anna

7341. Sitting on the dock

7342. Anna wasn’t feeling great and wanted me close by

7343. Mowing grass

7344. Morning with friends

7345. Slow afternoon

7346. New cookbook

7347. Reading

7348. First cut zinnias

7349. Jeremy’s calm steadiness

7350. Rain

7351. A little swimming

7352. The cold water of the creek

7353. Relaxing

7354. Exploring

7355. Saying yes even though we didn’t have proper swimming attire

7356. Sending my friend a smile

7357. Taking Aliza to dance practice

7358. Delivering food

7359. Doing Renee and Anna’s hair time their satisfaction

7360. Anna happy after her dance practice

7361. Putting lesson plans in the binder

7362. Slept later than usual

7363. Doing errands with the boys

7364. Good attitudes

7365. Outdoor dance recital

7366. The girls were so happy

7367. Janell was here to do Anna’s hair

7368. Rainy day

7369. Josiah put the cubes together

7370. Brian was ready to talk

7371. That excited-nervous-scared feeling

Dance Recital COVID Style

What a gift it was to redeem some quarantine cancellations with a mini dance recital. The recital was held in an outdoor pavilion at a church. Each class had a time slot such that only one class arrived at a time. That class entered on one side of the building. When it was their turn to dance, each family gathered around a cone placed 6 feet apart. 

Each class danced one of their pieces which was re-choreographed to be socially distanced. After the dance the girls were given their certificates and trophies and the families promptly exited around the other side of the building back to the parking lot. 

Aliza was in the first dance of the afternoon at 3:30. She did her jazz dance to Rain On My Parade. Aliza is so fun to watch dance. She has so much expression. Her joy shines through the whole dance. 

This was year 7 of dancing for Aliza!

Aliza stayed and sold water with the youth group for a fundraiser. To say she loved every minute of that would be an understatement!

At 7:00 we were back for Anna to do tap and Anna and Renee to do jazz. Anna was SO nervous and excited. She smiled the whole way through her dances. 

Ending pose for jazz, Anna is in the middle making a ❤️ with her hands. She said that was her idea. 

Anna finished her 3rd year. 

The evening ended with Cook Out shakes. It was a big afternoon but worth all the effort and emotion. 

Aliza stayed until the very end. I picked her up at 9:00. To say she was tired and hot would also be an understatement!

This World

This story needs to be recorded just because it shows how much our world has changed. 

It looks like we are just normally eating Popeyes.

On our way home from Jeremy’s parents house we decided we wanted Popeyes for lunch. We get a family size meal and divide it out. Only the drive through was open. Since we were traveling, we wanted to eat somewhere since it would be a bit complicated to share food in the car. There was one outdoor table at Popeyes—in full sun with heat index close to 100 degrees. We passed up that option and decided to use the food court in the mall adjacent to Popeyes. 

We all wore our masks and carried our food in (feeling like I’m breaking the rules). All of the tables were 2 person and were set up 6 feet apart. There was a large sign saying that tables were not to be moved per CDC guidelines. 

We are a family of six...sharing chicken tenders and fries for lunch. So guess what I did? I broke another rule..I pulled three tables together. We sat down, took off our masks and ate lunch. 

There were no other people eating when we arrived and by the time we finished, maybe 4 tables were being used. 

After we finished eating, we separated the tables and began the bathroom routine. By the time, a security guard arrived and started talking loudly about he had been called because tables had been moved. He was too late—the tables had already been returned to their spots. 

What country do I live in? Who was so concerned about a group that is obviously a family eating together that they called security? Why did the mall think only 2 person tables is reasonable—not even families of 3 or 4 can eat together? 

I would have thought bringing food in from outside would have been the bigger issue with the security guard than moving tables. 🤷‍♀️