Balloon Festival 2014

The boys and I took in the annual Findlay balloon festival again this year. Cameryn and Avery also came down to see the balloons. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any balloons in the air this year. Although it was beautiful, perfect weather, the balloons cannot take off if the ground wind speeds are greater than 10mph. I swear to you, I bet there were gusts of 12 mph or something because there would be no wind, then a few gusts and that was it. Oh well...We did our best to keep the kids entertained while we waited for the glow at dusk. They rode ponies, played frisbee, colored, ran around, had snow cones. Once it got dark out, they did glow some of the balloons, but it wasn't as coordinated as it had been in years past. A little disappointing, but what can you do? I also discovered that going on Saturday night vs Friday night, like I have in the past, has some major advantages. They have fireworks on Saturday after the glow, so most people stick around. If you want to leave right after the balloon glow, life is much better on Saturday than on Friday!

This was a major moment - Avery voluntarily came and sat in my lap. My first response - selfie! to document the occasion! The boys photobombed my selfie with Avery, though!

And 3.2 seconds later, she's done and outa here

The Cicada Killing Bee, versus Me!

Haha! I finally got one! I was in the bedroom, with the door/windows closed, and heard this horrifying noise. It sounded a little bit like a cicada, but extremely loud and not quite right. I went outside to make sure the boys weren't doing something and I saw it - a cicada killing bee going to work on a cicada. It was a horrible sound! Well, the bee was a little tied up, so it didn't do anything when I dropped the top of the toilet tank (which was sitting on the deck, long story) on top of it and it's prey. Haha! Victory was mine! One less bee the size of my thumb in the world. And I put the cicada out of it's horrifying noisy demise. 

Summertime Backyard Fun

Since it's safe to touch the water (for now), we needed to get our summer sprinkler fix!

Playing In the River, or Just Throwing Rocks

The second to last 'mommy day' for Ben before school started, I took the boys down to the river to play. They really just threw rocks into the water. We had to make a rule of no throwing rocks bigger than your hand. We started off on our side of the river, then got lunch and ate at Sidecut and played in the water some more on that side. The boys had a lot of fun!

A Friendly Neighborhood T-Ball Competition

The second to last t-ball game, we played against Austin's team. The boys had fun playing. Austin's facial expressions while batting are priceless!

A Quick Backyard Photo or Two

I wanted an up to date picture of the boys together for a memory book I was making for our last day at Sharon's so I asked the boys for a quick picture in the backyard. They cooperated to the best of their abilities...

Would You Like A Kale Shake - I Mean A Glass of Water?

The aquapocalyspe of 2014, Toledo Ohio. I seriously thought it was some kind of FB joke when I woke up Saturday August 2 to news that the water was toxic and don't touch it! Ben had woken us up at 6am, and for once, thank goodness he did! After some fact verification and mild cursing, I pushed Adam out the door to get water, since we had none in the house. He got some of the last cases of water in Bowling Green at 6:30 in the morning. (BG was not affected and P'burg was already sold out by then). It was some good times. Tiffany and I still did our 5k, but did not drink any of the water that was not directly from a capped bottle. We were a little nervous about showering after the race, but luckily by the time we got home, they had said it was safe for adults to shower (which was a good thing for everyone involved!) This picture is from the Toledo Blade, taken in front of the Toledo water intake in Lake Erie. That kale protein shake looking stuff in the glass is 'water' from the lake. It's more like a little bit of water with your algae.

Mommy's First 5K!

August 2nd, my neighbor Tiffany and I ran a 5K! It was the first time I have ever ran a 5K. I randomly decided to do it this summer when my zumba instructor went on maternity leave and I knew I needed a good filler while she was out. And I talked Tiffany into doing it with me! We did a couch to 5K program that required us to run 3 times a week. We had a few weeks that were a little rough, but we made it all the way through the 9 week training schedule and ran the entire 5K! We may not have broken any land records, but we still ran/jogged the entire 3.1 miles. We are thinking of doing another one or two this fall!

Pre run

Post run - yay! We both survived!