Catching Fish...and a Snapping Turtle!

It took considerably longer to find worms than it took to find fish in Piqua! After a fruitless search for worms in Grandma and Papa's parched garden, we drove around Piqua looking for an open bait shop. At last we found success at the local drive-through and scoped out the perfect fishing hole. In less than five minutes, Kaitlyn and Claire simultaneously caught sunfish! Kaitlyn went on to catch a couple more...and a young snapping turtle! 

King's Island

Fun in the Sun

After 10 hours in the car the day before, the kids were ecstatic to play outdoors with friends. We spent all of Saturday with Jen, Jack and Kathryn, and we had a blast! The kids raced Power Wheels (and ran into a few trees), played baseball, splashed and swam in the pool, made sand castles, and had a delicious picnic. I think the kids will be a little disappointed to return to our boring old yard in a couple of weeks...the Kottmyer's yard is a kid's paradise! Follow all of that up with Cassano's Pizza and a cone at Young's Jersey Dairy, and you've got a perfect summer day. Thanks for a great day, Jen!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Although I spent the majority of my birthday driving 10 hours to Ohio, I must admit that I was feted quite nicely for my birthday.

A day early, Matt and the kids treated me to an Indian feast for lunch and a perfect barbecue for dinner. Then I got to open my presents--two beautiful necklaces from the girls and some fine wines from Matt.  Bright and early on Friday we took off for Ohio. The kids did their very best to behave, and all in all, I was amazed by how well the trip went...thanks, in part, from some well-timed calls from family and friends. When we arrived in Piqua, I blew out the candles on a homemade carrot cake that Dad Hartings baked for me. Yum!

Then, on Saturday, we got to spend the day with Jen, Kathryn and Jack--swimming and splashing, racing Power Wheels, playing baseball, and picnicking out back. Oh, and did I mention that I got a homemade marble cheesecake for dessert?! I may need to buy new clothes before I head home.

Thanks for all of the birthday love. So far, my thirties have been grand.

A Walk in the Woods

Rewind: on Memorial Day, the family took a thrilling, three-hour hike along Clopper Lake in Great Seneca Park. We took off early, before the heat and humidity set in, and packed four backpacks full of snacks to keep the kids motivated. They did a great job! Carrying their own packs, the girls hiked the whole time, and Jack made it most of the way. We saw blue gill, turtles, robins, a snake (thanks to Kaitlyn's keen eyes) and about fifteen different kinds of mushrooms ranging in color from deep purple to fluorescent orange. It was a great time, and we can't wait to do it again.

Jillian and Alex's Wedding

We actually celebrated Matt's birthday a day early this year, as we were traveling to Jillian and Alex's wedding in NJ this weekend. Back in our SoCal days, Jillian and Alex consistently amazed us with their culinary prowess and willingness to babysit our clingy girls (ok, mostly Jill on the latter!) They are two of the warmest, most generous, and well-matched people we know, and it was an honor to be there to celebrate their wedding day...especially as participants! Kaitlyn and Claire were ecstatic about their roles as flower girls, and Matt was quite touched to be asked to read from Paulo Coehlo's The Alchemist during the ceremony. It was a perfect weekend, filled with good friends, delectable food, and plenty of love and laughter.

Congratulations, Jillian and Alex! We can't wait to officially welcome you back to the East Coast this summer!

Look Who's 34 (not me!)

Matt turned 34 this week, and the kids were super excited to celebrate. Not only did we have to bake the customary rhubarb pie and make hand-made cards, we also had to decorate! Kaitlyn was a little disappointed that I didn't have a festive theme in mind, but she rebounded and came up with some ideas of her own. She made him a special tie (out of paper, carefully drawn, colored and cut) and affixed it to his chair. Then we festooned the chandelier with crepe decorations leftover from the girls' party. They also wanted to shred up a package of construction paper to scatter as confetti, but I felt the line had to be drawn somewhere, and I chose there!

Always a good sport, Matt donned his tie for dinner (dry-aged steaks and fixings) and presents. He's now the proud owner of a 50s-style snow cone maker, a cookbook, a book on the science of cooking (can you believe there's one he hasn't read?!) and a book on brewing...the actual brewing equipment coming soon. Maybe next year we'll try the whole luxury car with a red bow on it thing...or just make an origami tie!

Happy birthday, Matt (Daddy). You're the best!