climbing Mt. Plesant with G'ma and g'pa young

The girls spent a few days over the summer with the Young grandparents, and they always came home with stories and adventures. This last time, they came home with that--but also with a framed picture for me of the girls climbing Mt. Pleasant with them! I could not believe it!!

I have no idea what prompted that idea--and clearly the girls (in flip flops and dresses) weren't prepped for it, but according to grandma they did amazing and everyone had a great time. 

Now when we go to Lancaster, the girls can say and will always remember climbing that with them--and Grandpa took the pics to prove and commemorate it to boot!

'Jahn' girl cousin visit

Dad's side of the family didn't do their annual visit in July this year, it was late August instead--so things were a bit different. Kaylyn was already in school and Kinleigh was in daycare, and with all the moms working, we really had to shuffle to be able to all see each other!

At least on one Friday night, it worked that the girls could all get together, and Amara and Cora had a blast. They are so used to being the only girls, with 8 boy first-cousins, that they were in heaven. They ate popsicles, ran, played tag, chased fireflies and laughed, a LOT. I hope we continue this time for them--for to them to do this every year, even if that's the only time we see them.

OLPH festival

The OLPH festival is a blessing and curse. For days, we drive past all the rides and attractions--so the girls get excited and there's no way to NOT go, BUT it's just up the road and it's super fun, and I love that we can go on Friday. Needless to say the kids were excited--and we got there right at the 6pm opening time. We got our wristbands and went straight to the kite swings. 

The game-plan was to get through all the rides they wanted to ride, before it got slammed busy, and then double back if there were ones they loved--there were some really cool ones this year, so that part was great! 

Amara wanted to ride the big spinning ride, which she JUST was tall enough for too--so she did that while Cora and daddy hit the big slide and games again. They also had the child ID booth set up at the school, so we popped in there to get those updated (the girls are the SAME weight, lol and just a few inches apart) but they both loved their new drivers licenses! haha

We stayed about 2 hours, and as the girls got sick of waiting in lines, we grabbed a funnel cake and headed out. It was great to get in and out of there before it got too nutty--it's a decently priced event really, and the girls can pretty much run on their own. With all the teenagers there, Eric and I were talking about how old they girls will have to be before they could do alone...Eric's answer? "30" haha, dad.

daddys bday

we have officially reached the age of embarrassing daddy at the local mexican restaurant :)  For daddy's birthday, of course we spoiled him at home--and we did pies for him, but we wanted to take him out too. 

The girls were all about his presents too--which seem to be getting bigger and more functional, but he loves it too. Happy birthday daddy!

chef night

Our friends Joy and Adley found a really neat class for kids that was perfect for back to school--about teaching kids how to pack healthy and creative lunches. We got signed up and got Amara's new lunchbag for the year and headed up ready to learn.

The Commissary was a super cool place--they host food truck events and lots of classes for kids and adults alike. Before even starting the class, Amara was already asking to sign up for more classes. http://www.thecommissarycolumbus.com/

Adley and Joy got started on a waffle/ peanut butter/ honey kind of sandwich and some homemade tail mix together--

Amara was assigned a mexican tortilla rollup and she was THRILLED to get started too. 

all the kids were working on their teams, and then Ad and Amara swapped their lunch box contents. The class teacher, was from Hot Chicken Takeover and she told us a lot about using binto boxes, freezing things ahead an gave us tips of things to do at home on the weekend to add some diversity too. 

I was so glad Amara wanted to do this and is excited about being in the kitchen with me. I want to really keep this momentum going for her and finding more of these maybe even with Eric --he has his eye on a pasta class coming up. haha

Daddy day pool visit at DFAS

After a summer full of water, and some big splash visits--Eric decided to bring the girls over to the pool on base for something different on one of his days with them. 

I was at work, but I was happy to get the phonecall and rushed over to the pool to meet them. The water was chilly, but they didn't care. They love the shallow end and also the diving board--Eric just loved that they can swim alone now.

Amara heard an ad for water Zumba (like Hilton Head) so we might make it back--and i'm sure we will next year. What a nice perk and visit and great fun watching my little swimmers!

girls day

One of the last days of the summer, I was lucky enough to have the girls all to myself, so we did a lot of fun things :) We had the LATEST start date in the district, so we ran the town pretty much all by ourselves!

First thing--we took the opportunity to visit the GCCCC where Cora will be starting as a Ladybug with Ms. Emily very soon! Cora and Amara both liked the classroom and Amara was hamming it up at her old stomping grounds. 

Next we ran over to Chuck E. Cheese for playing and lunch! Most kids are already in school so we literally almost had the place to ourselves. We played for hours, ate pizza and played games too. 

The girls danced with Chuck too before we headed to cash in our tickets!

Back at home we had some low key activities--for Cora, we put on some acrylic nails, very fancy!

Amara and I worked on the playroom--where out the front window we spotted the cutest little fawn watching her! love those nature moments!

At the end of the fun day, on the way to gymnastics, we saw the most beautiful end-to-end rainbow i might have ever seen. Amara took this pic out her window for me (quite the shutterbug) and it was just a simple perfect ending to my time with these girls and the summer together. 

Daisy troop 2252

It occurred to me one day to look into girl scouts for Amara and after a little digging, I was lucky to find a troop starting up at the Naz. They had only had one meeting, so timing was perfect--it was summer, and Amara was excited. 

We jumped right into our first meeting with the leader, Michelle who is a teacher and is GREAT with the girls. Amara was fast friends with Grace and Gracie, listening, participating and learning their pledges and procedures.

Just a few weeks later, there was an outing--and the other leader's horse farm. The girls enjoyed learning about pet grooming, seeing and riding horses, feeding goats and an awesome bonfire too.

They also had an "animal outing" to Darby Batelle Creek--where they continued to bond, to learn about plants, animals, and friends all around us. The girls were really well behaved and so cute together (and Cora tagged along on this one too, which she loved.

I think this is really going to be good for Amara--we already talked about maybe having our own troop--but she loves this one too, so we will just see!

putting up the corn

So after the girls picked and ate all they wanted, Eric and I (and dad always helps us shuck it) got busy on freezing. The girls are always all about it and eat their weight in corn on those days--we love it.

Cora got caught with her hand in the "cookie jar" more than one time--from taking whole ears, to stealing the prepped bags!! so of course i snapped a pic of her :) I hope she finds the humor in this as much as I do!

mal and mik bday

The girls were thrilled to be invited to Mallory and Mikayla's bday party at world of bounce--they were asking about it for days! They really do play well altogether and the location is close, which is a huge bonus anymore. 

The Frabott's always have lots of cousins and friends at their parties to play with, which makes it fun--and this time, they recognized Ms. Kim from VBS there with her daughter Lauren, who has become friends with Mal in school.

As always, the girls played and ran themselves silly--they had fun playing with their buddies before everyone headed back to school and in the air conditioning!

And when it was time for cake and singing, Cora jumped right up to sing and lead and Amara dove into ice cream :) The girls got a chance to sit together and did the 70mph wind tunnel game altogether in the game area before we took off too, which was pretty hilarious. Happy bday ladies!

girls picking corn

As with the last few years, the girls (especially Amara) really wanted to get in on the corn-picking game with the boys. Amara was over there at least 2 nights picking with them! She sold a few dozen to her friends from school, etc. 

The boys were picking 100 dz ears a night--so there was plenty of time for her to be out there--she loved being with them and was cracking them open and eating in the field just like grandpa. 

The older boys were all about speed, but Jason was really sweet and took his time with her and was genuinely working with her, it was sweet. 

Cora didn't get too far out in the thick of things. She didn't want to get all buggy and put on special clothes, but she watched from the sidelines. I love that it's like Christmas in the summer for all of us! We had burgers and corn at their house and it was really amazing, for so many reasons. 

Lorraine's birthday party

We were thrilled to hear from our pal Lorraine (from Carissa's childcare) about her birthday party this summer! She invited us to lake Chaktaw (near London) and we were pumped for days. 

When we got there, rain was threatening, but it didn't stop the friends from getting out and splashing around together. 

When the rain did come, we headed inside for cake and presents, but after some minion cake and punch they were ready to get back outside. 

Loraine was such a great host --she was sharing her party with a friend, but we really had her all to ourselves. She showed us the ropes and they played together for hours with no issues at all. 

After the rain, presents, eating, etc. we went back out for a little more lake time before the trip home. They didn't want to leave and if it wasn't a school night the next day and had the drive, we would have stayed all day. Katie promised to have the girls back out again though--so that helped and we all sure hope it happens!

VBS at Bethel Lutheran church

We missed a few vacation bible schools in June between vacation and other commitments, but we were thrilled to be able to sign up for the VBS at Bethel Lutheran under the direction of Kim Leonard Miller.  The theme was race to God, and the kids loved all the race themed decorations when they arrived. 

Amara clicked with her leaders, Sarah and Ry-Ry (who I was filled in were boyfriend and girlfriend by Amara) and Cora was enjoying all her crafts in the pre-school room too--where Amy Zimmerman was her leader! small world--

Every day the girls had different activities and crafts that all tied back to verses and biblical lessons. They tie-dyed, had races outside, had a water day, and lots of singing and crafting too. When I'd pick them up, I'd get to hear about all that was packed into their three hours there, before rushing Amara off to art camp in the afternoons. 

On Sunday we went to the services, which focussed on the youth program and what they had been working on as a team--some amazing missions in Detroit, then we stayed for a fellowship chicken lunch, and mom came too. It was a great day and week, and program and I know the girls are already looking forward to it next year. 

its alive art camp: Columbus museum

Passing Ms. Kozman (Amara's art teacher) once in the Spring, I learned about the art camps at the Columbus museum of Art. Having looked into them--it sounded like the "it's alive" week would be perfect for Amara. They focused on all different kind of activities and scenarios during the week. Each day Amara came home with arms full of projects and loads of stories. 

On Friday, the kids got to do a show for us and it was kind of an animals in the zoo "skit" of sorts--we started off in one of the large rooms and the teacher, Kat, narrated a dialogue the kids had written. 

Back in the classroom, we were treated to light snacks while we browsed all the zoo animals. The kids had built their own habitats--Amara was a giraffe hybrid who was underneath a table in full makeup and costume and surrounded by her elements. She was totally into it. 

After that, we looked at the rest of the projects and talked to her teachers a little more. It's so great to see what other people see in your kids at events like this and get to see a different side of her. 

One of my favorite parts of the week though was exploring the museum with her each day. Whether we had a few minutes before or after camp, she'd sneak us off into an area of the museum that she had explored with her group. One day in particular, we snuck into a quiet area and build a miniature house with leftover materials. I loved watching her be so meticulous and creative and though she was focussed, she was completely in her element.