June in the Country

Last weekend we make a quick trip up to Akron for Michael's cousin's wedding. I knew beforehand that it would be an outdoor wedding on a farm, but I wasn't prepared for how absolutely beautiful the venue would be. If you're ever looking for a shabby-chic elegant wedding location, the Conrad Botzum Farmstead in Akron is for you.

The wedding itself was in a field with the sun setting to our left, and the reception was in an old barn, with the original floorboards and rafters. Combine that with the evening lighting, and there's no way the photographer could have taken a bad picture that day. Because the bride and groom were stunning as well.

The bride had the doors specially made just for the occasion. I loved them. What a neat idea for the wedding party and bride to make their entry through. And the flowers were spectacular.

I borrowed this one and the next from the bride's Facebook page.

In the background you can see the barn where the reception was held. 

It may not look like much from the outside, but...

...the inside was so dressed up. It made for a beautiful contrast to the old barn structure and original wood beams and floor.

Did you notice the chandeliers hanging in the barn doorways?

But the wedding isn't about the place, it's about the people. The bride and groom have so much energy and spirit. It was a joy to watch them together.

The checked shirt was a nice touch.

Congrats, Greg & Amanda!

We enjoyed a night out, catching up with family.

And Adam had a great time spending the afternoon with Aunt Karen and cousin Hillary.

They are two of the most special people I know. Aunt Karen is akin to a second mom to me. I was thrilled when we discovered Hillary lived only 10 minutes from the wedding venue and we could spend time with them as well. Adam was in good hands. Thanks, Aunt K, Hillary & Brian!

~~~~~~~~~

As for the rest of the weekend, we spent it floating around seeing family we don't see often enough. 

Hopefully now that we live in the same state we'll get to see our upstate-kin more frequently.

Already looking forward to our next visit.

Saturday Drive

A couple of weeks ago we set out to discover a little more of our local area with a leisurely Saturday drive. Our main destination was Adams County, Ohio where there's a small Amish community, and we took the long way there by crossing over the river and exploring the small towns along Route 8 in Kentucky first.

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We first came across Augusta, Kentucky, a quaint tiny town right on the banks of the river. The town has a population of a couple thousand people and is only 1.6 square miles in size.


What I loved about it (aside from the fact that George Clooney lived here!) was the simpleness of it. It harkens back to small town America.


We drove through "downtown" and along Riverside Drive where larger homes face the river. We may have considered stopping for lunch except that I'm not entirely sure there was anywhere to eat. It hasn't been changed for tourism, and I don't recall seeing one franchise of any kind. It just seems pure Americana.

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If the good folks from Augusta were to go the "city", I reckon they'd be referring to Maysville. It's just a few miles east along the river and has one of the few bridges across to Ohio. I wish we'd taken more time to explore here, and I look forward to a return visit to do just that.


Maysville reminds me of a river town captured in time with original facades along the main streets and old brick structures. It appeared to have a lot more to do in the way of local shops and restaurants and bed and breakfasts.


Neither of these were our main destination but were lovely to have visited. We made our way back into Ohio.


We made one more stop in West Union, Ohio to see Blake Pharmacy, "an old style 60's drugstore with a soda fountain that is still serving five cent cokes; just like they did in 1961, serving milkshakes and sandwiches too." It was located right on the courthouse square and reminded me so much of my dad's hometown of Harrisville, WV. We sat at the soda fountain counter. We ordered a ham and cheese sandwich, a tuna salad sandwich and a pimento cheese sandwich, all with chips, a milk and two 5-cent cokes. The lunch total came to $4.50. Love small towns.


Finally, on to Amish country. Near West Union there's a small community. We drove the beautiful farmlands, explored the covered bridges (or tunnels, as Adam called them), and admired the furniture craftmanship at Millers Bakery, Bulk Food and Furniture and Keim Family Market and Deli. Adam especially loved testing out the outdoor playsets.


It may not have been our most riveting getaway, but we enjoyed the quiet family time.

Memory Lane

I grew up loving Barbies. My sister and I used to play for hours with our Barbie and Ken dolls. Eventually the dolls were boxed up and forgotten, and I assumed they were given away a long time ago. So I thought.

As we were helping to unpack boxes at my parents' new house, we came across boxes filled with our childhood toys. Yes, Care Bears, Pound Puppies, Cabbage Patch Dolls, Sylvanian animal families, Little People, and lots of Barbies. Holy Smokes, I had forgotten about most of these!

So of course, I had to pull everything out and comb through it.

I was amazed at everything Mom had saved. 

 I can understand keeping the kitchen and living room furniture...

But the Travel Agency?  Yes, we had that, too. 

Because Barbie can do anything!

Not only had my saved the dolls, clothes and some of the props, she even saved the tiniest shoes, combs, and stuff that comes along with the dolls and sets -- Barbie-sized scissors, picture frames, plates and cups, and plastic food.

We have camping equipment (complete with camper), a Juke Box, nursery furniture, and more. (Alas, no Barbie and the Rocker stage and accompanying music cassette tape.) Niece Lilly will have loads of fun playing with all these things at Gramma and Grampa's house.

But we may have to explain what these outdated items are:

And as my Mom and I sifted through all the Malibu Pink paraphernalia, Adam comes in and plops himself down with us. After looking over all the toys he only had one question:

"Where are the cars?"

That's a boy for you. 

(But, yes, where are the Barbie cars? I was wondering that myself!)

Welcome Home!

Where do you go when you want to get away? Georgetown, Kentucky, may seem like an odd choice to you, but it's our new vacation spot. That's where we were last weekend, helping my parents unpack and settle into their beautiful new home. And while it was work and we were tired by the end, it oddly felt like a vacation. It felt like we were away.

Situated on 5 acres along horse pastures and rolling hills, how could you not feel at peace when you wake up to this?

The horses belong to the neighbors, but we get to enjoy them, too.

Finally the Elder Homestead is close enough to everyone now, with room enough for everyone, too.

Can't wait to come again!

Welcome Home!

When Pigs Fly!

If you'd have told me 10 years ago that some day I'd enjoy running half marathons someday (and even complete a full marathon!), I'd probably have said something like, "When Pigs Fly!"

Well, folks. Pigs flew. I became a runner, and every year Cincinnati hosts the Flying Pig Marathon Weekend, ironically. While I know it's named after Cincinnati's "Porkopolis" from the mid-19th century when the local meat-packing industry led the country, I prefer thinking that it's named for all those runners like me that never thought they'd be waking up at 4:30 in the morning to run 13.1 miles or more on a Sunday.

Welcome to the racing lifestyle!

I was thrilled that this was a destination race for 3 of my girlfriends who came in from Florida and Illinois for the race. Together we've run multiple half marathons, 5ks, 5-milers, and even a full marathon, plus countless Saturday morning long runs. Frankly, running is just all the more enjoyable with one of these girls by your side.

These 3 girls and my sister all signed up for the half marathon. It was my intention as well, but when the fatigue of the first trimester took me over, my training took a hit. I had to come up with another way to race without racing, and finally roped my other sister and two of her friends into a full marathon relay team. This way I could be a part of race day as a runner but not put my unprepared-self across 13.1 hilly miles.

Race morning we all drove to the race start and dropped off the girls. Michael had a relay team of his own and had come up with the genius plan (yes, babe, now I agree it was genius) of skipping the shuttles and being our own shuttle. When you take the shuttles you depart super early for your transition location which leaves you with a long, lonely wait until your runner shows up. Our personal shuttle worked brilliantly.

The girls still smiling in the first few miles.

We picked up two of Michael's teammates and also dropped off Bud, their starting runner, and we set off to the first transition spot. Michael and I both had leg 2.  Angie was running leg 1 for us girls, too -- a 7 mile run that took her into KY and back to OH and then up, up, up on a long climb. Naturally, Bud came through first and Michael took off on his run. We missed Kim run through in the crowd, but not too much later Angie came through with Christie, and instead of calling it quits after handing over the timing chip, that girl kept running! Christie and I ran together for 2 or 3 miles. It was fun to be racing side by side again! But, alas, then came the split where the Half-ers go left, downhill into the shade (it seemed), while us Full-ers turn right, up hill into the sun.

My leg was just over 5 miles, and when I handed off my timing chip to Runner 3, I simply made a quick phone call and met up with our "shuttle". Super convenient!

We had one last drop-off of Michael's brother for the boys' last leg, and then it was down to the finish line to meet up with all the half marathoners who were done by this point. Congrats, finishers!

There were several personal bests in the group, which is saying a lot since the course is considerably hillier than any running trails in FL or IL. They rocked it! I have to admit, I was a little jealous that I had not put in the miles myself and gone the full half marathon distance with them. There's always next year.

Angie, Sarah, Kim, Moi, Christie & Abby - with Adam and Brenna
My new favorite finishing photo!!

Worth mentioning --

• Angie ran leg 1 and then kept running, all the way to the Half marathon finish line! She had an (unofficial) personal record! 
• Our marathon team finished in 4:55:55... can I now say I've run a sub-5 hour marathon? 
• Special thanks to Sherpa Josh for watching Adam and keeping us updated on the girls' progress
• Extra special thanks to Gramma and Grampa for helping to watch the kids back home

And the tutus, I have to say, are a must for all future races!

Snow in May?

Cottonwood is something I've always heard mentioned in country songs, particularly. I don't know for sure that I'd ever actually noticed a Cottonwood until last weekend when the Cottonwood bloomed and made us notice. When the pods burst, it looks like snow in May, and the lawn looks like a bazillion dandelion seeds blew all at once and collected in our yard.

Here's the Cottonwood tree culprit, though I don't know if you can see the puff pods on the tree in this picture very well.

Good thing we don't have allergies.

Mamas

Every Mom loves the first time her baby says, "Momma." Then that little "Momma" becomes a sweet "Mommy," which I adore even more. But before you expect it, and it takes you by surprise, you are suddenly, "Mom." Just "Mom." How are we already seeing that transition at just over 2 years old??? I thought surely we'd have two or three more years of Mommys! I am really not prepared for this.

But call me what he'd like -- Momma, Mommy or Mom -- I'll answer. Any way it's spoken, it's still LOVE. It's still NEED. It's still WANT. It's still HOME and COMFORT and SECURITY. And no matter how old you are, the title will still hold that value when heard from my son or when spoken to my Momma.

Every day is Mother's Day, in a way. Every day there is a moment when you feel completely special and blessed and so very lucky to be raising this child.

But I have to say, I absolutely love the sweet handmade gifts that come with the occasion.  :)

Or the completely unexpected and beautiful gesture of flowers delivered to my house from my thoughtful Pop-Pop. {Thank you SO MUCH, Pop-Pop! We love you!}

And.... Next year will be TWICE as special for us when Adam is a...

That's right! Come November we're expecting Baby #2 and are SO THRILLED. A Happy Mother's Day, Indeed!

Happy Mother's Day to All Those Special Moms in My Life!

You are all So Beautiful, and what a blessing you are! Love you all!