Aedan: 62 Months, Week 2
Owen: 20 Months, Week 4
Originally, we thought that Ben was flying back home on Sunday from Salt Lake City, but his flight was actually scheduled for Monday. We were all a little sad when we found out, but we were still really looking to Ben finally coming back home. It had been a long week without him. However, with it being the last week of school, and the official beginning of summer, we kept ourselves busy over the weekend playing outside a lot. I also let Aedan sleep with me on Saturday night, and Samantha was going to sleep with me on Sunday night. I figured they would enjoy having that time with me before Ben came back home. They are pretty easy kids to sleep with, and it was cute to see how Aedan was curled up in bed with the blanket pulled up to his chin. He cuddled with me a few times throughout the night, but we both slept pretty well together.
Aedan was really excited about wearing his special zip-up tie for church on Sunday. He picked out his outfit all by himself, and I took a picture of him to send to Daddy. He wants to wear a tie like Daddy does so they can match. Isn't he a cutie?
Here are some of Ben's last pictures from Salt Lake City. I was excited to hear what he thought of his experience and if it's something he would like to do again next year. The money is nice, but it will be interesting to see if he thinks it's worth the money to spend all this time away from home, working all day long.
Sunday was a busy day, as I planned for one of Samantha's best friends from school to come over to play during the afternoon. We were just finishing up lunch when Marek and his mom arrived. Samantha was super excited to have him over to play. They went to her room and played with astronaut stuff for awhile. I finished cleaning up lunch and put Owen down for his nap. I got to sit and talk with Marek's mom while the kids played, and it was so fun to watch them interact with each other. I don't think I realized just how good of friends they were. They played very similarly, didn't get into fights, worked together to solve problems, and were very creative in the games they played. I wish we would have invited him over to play sooner, instead of a week before we were getting ready to move away. After awhile they decided to go play outside, and they quickly got into spraying each other with water guns and the hose, even turning the play set slide into a water slide. Marek's mom and I loved sitting in the kitchen watching them play, hearing their laughter, and watching just how much fun they were having together.
Once it reached 4:00, it was time for Marek to go home, as they had already played for three hours, and we had small group to go to at 4:30. Before they left, I made sure to get a picture of the two of them together. Here is Samantha and her best friend from Sault Ste. Marie, Marek. I hope they keep in touch. They were both super sad to say good-bye, making comments about how they might never see each other again, and how they wished they could play together one more time. As Marek walked down the street back home, he walked backwards while holding his mom's hand so that way he could wave and shout good-bye to Samantha the whole way down the street, until he could no longer see Samantha. It was so sweet.
For small group on Sunday night, we met at the Heidman's house. We didn't have the study questions, so we just watched the video and talked about the passage in James. We had good conversation, and it went pretty well. I have enjoyed this small group, and I hope that we can find another good church with small groups that we can join so that we can get to know people better.
We stayed a little later than we probably should have that night at small group, and I had to get everyone ready for bed on my own again. I was looking forward to having Ben back the next day so our routine could get more back to normal. Samantha slept with me on Sunday night, and I went down and checked on her after a little while to make sure she was sleeping, and she was laying on her back with her leg bent out to the side, the way she always sleeps, snoring away. She was definitely looking forward to having this night to sleep with me. I enjoyed waking up in the morning with her by my side and talking with her for a few minutes before we both got out of bed.
Monday we didn't have anything planned, as we had a pretty busy weekend. However, since it was the first official day of summer break, I asked the kids what they would like to do, and they mentioned swimming. I decided to message a few people to see if anyone was available, and the Heidmans and Carrillos were able to meet us at the Comfort Inn pool for some swim time that morning. It was a little crazy getting everything together and taking the kids on my own, but it was a fun way to spend our morning when it was chilly and rainy outside. The water wasn't as warm as it usually is, but the kids still had fun swimming around and playing on the big cupcake float that we brought along. Most of the adults and babies stayed in the hot tub, and it was fun to just sit and talk with friends.
After getting our fill of the pool, we went home to eat a quick lunch before getting Owen down for a nap. I hoped that he would be awake by the time we needed to leave to go pick up Daddy from the airport. That day Ben and I were talking back and forth with trying to figure out what was going on with our closing. Everything was still on hold, and we were trying to decide what to do about whether we would still move out of our house the following Monday as planned, or if we would have to keep our stuff in storage for awhile. It was a little frustrating not knowing exactly what was going on when we were a week out from moving, but all of this was out of our control. It was weird to think we had one week left in Sault Ste. Marie before moving to a whole new state.
Samantha was getting on my nerves that Monday. She was not listening well and was causing problems with Aedan. Sometimes she acts like she doesn't have to listen to me at home and does things she would never do at school. Plus, she was tired that day from going to bed late, going to the bathroom at least twice overnight, and waking up super early and not even trying to go back to sleep. We just can't be doing this every day this summer, or she's going to have to nap or something, or we can't do things later at night anymore because she doesn't let herself sleep enough. It's hard because we have so much going on right now with getting ready to move. I know that Samantha is feeling things more than we realize. We are trying to be sensitive to her feelings, but at the same time, we need to make sure she is still being kind and respectful and getting adequate sleep.
Everyone was excited to go pick up Daddy from the airport. We really missed him being gone for so long, and it was so nice to have back with us again. We went back home and hung out for awhile before deciding to go get pizza in Brimley one last time. We hadn't gone out there for pizza in a while, and it was good, as usual.
As we were going into our last week in the U.P., we had a few "last" things we wanted to do before moving. Going to Mackinac Island was one of those things. Tuesday's weather was supposed to be beautiful, so we decided we would take our chance to take our day trip there. We still had the free boat tickets that Ben got from his student, and the kids were excited for the fun day ahead.
Here we are riding the boat over to the island. The kids are enjoying a snack as we ride.
Our first stop on the island was the Butterfly House. We went there last summer, and we figured the kids would enjoy it again. Last time we were here, Owen was a baby and was asleep in the Ergo taking his morning nap, so he didn't get to experience any of the butterflies. Samantha loved walking around and pointing out all the pretty butterflies that she saw. Aedan wanted to match all the butterflies he saw to the butterfly guide they were given. We had to keep Owen from running around too much and watch him carefully so that he wouldn't touch any of the butterflies or accidentally step on one.
Outside of the butterfly garden, there was a small area with some reptiles in cages as well as a little hedgehog walking around in its exercise ball. The kids thought the hedgehog was the most fun to watch.
After the Butterfly House, we walked back down to the main area to get some food for lunch at the Pink Pony restaurant. I had heard good things about it, and I wanted to try something different for lunch. We don't go to sit-down restaurants with the kids very often, but we were able to sit out on the patio right by the water, and the food we had was really good. The kids did pretty well waiting for their food, and I was glad we decided to eat there.
After lunch we walked over to a place to rent bikes, and got ourselves ready for a ride around the island, one of our favorite things about going to Mackinac Island. Samantha got her on bike, Aedan rode on a seat attached to Ben's bike where he could help pedal if he wanted to, and I pulled Owen in a trailer behind my bike. He was pretty excited about sitting in the trailer, as you can tell by his adorable smile in these pictures. Man, is this little boy a sweetheart; his little face just melts my heart.
Daddy got the kids these Woody and Jessie shirts from the Disney Store when he was out in Salt Lake City, and they decided to all wear their new shirts that day. They were so cute all matching together, and I love that they still enjoy matching each other. It will make me sad when Samantha loses that innocence and doesn't want to match her little brothers. Most days Samantha and Aedan will chose outfits that kind of match each other in some way, and it makes me smile. It is so sweet how Aedan has his arm around Owen's shoulder. I love these three precious kids of mine.
Here is everybody trying to skip some rocks, and then some more rock throwing.
As we continued to ride our bikes around the island, the kids were having fun singing and talking as we rode. Aedan kept singing, "I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky," with his arms spread open wide to the side. I love that his personality has come out more, and he's not just a shy, quiet boy anymore. He's such a fun, crazy five year old. Samantha did an excellent job biking around the entire island on her own, not complaining once. She is such a good bike rider and really loves doing it. After awhile I could hear Owen in the trailer behind me singing, "It Is Well," which is the song we sing to him before putting him to bed. I joked with Ben that it sounded like he was putting himself to sleep. Then, a few minutes later I couldn't hear any more noise from behind me, and he had fallen asleep. He stayed asleep as we stopped for a bathroom break about halfway around, and continued to sleep for awhile after that. As we rode, I brought up the rear, and I just loved looking around at the lake surrounding us. We had a beautiful, bright, sunny day with blue skies all around. It was awesome to see the Mighty Mackinac Bridge in the background, and with this being most likely the last time we will be here for a long time, I was just letting myself soak in all the beauty.
After making our way all the way around the island, we dropped our bikes off and walked back down into town. I stopped on the way to take a picture of this beautiful lilac bush.
Here is Aedan up on the top deck with the bridge in the background. And the same thing goes for him. This little boy has been home with me for the past five years, and now he will be going off to kindergarten in the fall. I know once he starts school time will go by even faster, so I want to soak up this time with him as his personality comes out and we can encourage his interests and help shape him as he grows and learns.
We had a super fun day trip to Mackinac Island. The kids were in great moods and had a blast. We were blessed with beautiful weather, and I'm so glad we were able to make this trip one last time before we moved.
On Wednesday morning Samantha had her 8 year old well child checkup, and Ben took her this time, since I am usually the one that takes the kids to the doctor. She was 52.75 inches tall and 70 pounds. Wow! I couldn't believe those measurements. It's no joke that she has grown a lot lately. Everything else checked out good for Samantha, and Ben was able to bring up her issues related to getting up frequently at night to go to the bathroom, as well as her general feelings of worry and anxiety. It's hard to know how much to be concerned because there is a lot going on right now that is up in the air, so it's understandable that she would have those feelings. It's just concerning to us how it affects her physically with needing to get up so often at night, not being able to fall asleep, and then being tired because she did not get enough sleep. Ben and I also let ourselves worry too much and have anxiety, Ben probably more than me, so there's a good chance it could just run in our families, so the nurse practitioner, who also happens to be a good friend of ours, recommended we get the book, "Anxious Parent, Anxious Child." She said it helped her when dealing with similar issues with her son. Ben and I decided we would order that book and read through it together once we get settled in Pennsylvania. In the meantime, we will try to be as patient with Samantha as we can while she is dealing with these extreme feelings about moving to a new state and leaving all her friends and everything familiar to her. This is and will be a hard season, so we just need to be there for her to meet her emotional needs.
That afternoon, after getting Owen down for his nap, we had fun plans as our friends Savannah and Schuyler came over to play. These kids, especially Samantha and Savannah, have gotten really close over the last year. Samantha would often say that Savannah is her best friend. They have a lot in common, and I could see them staying good friends. Savannah even brought Samantha a best friends' locket with each other's picture inside. It was so very sweet, and Samantha wore it every day for days after that. All the kids had a great afternoon playing in the house together while it rained outside, and I had a chance to sit and chat and drink coffee with their mom, Melissa. It really was a lovely afternoon with good friends, and I am so glad we were able to work this last play date in. :)
As we were getting dinner ready that evening, Owen decided it would be fun to hide himself and play peekaboo from inside the refrigerator. He was so pleased with the new game he discovered.
Thursday, June 13th was the kid's last swimming lesson, and we decided to go over a little beforehand so we could eat dinner at our favorite hamburger place over there, Stackburger. Here are some videos from their last swimming class. Here is Owen jumping into the water to Daddy, and Aedan getting out of the pool to get a life jacket.
Here is Samantha doing a spin jump off of the diving block.
Here is Aedan riding around in the inflatable boat and then jumping out into the water.
Here is Samantha jumping in off the rope swing; you can even hear her making the Tarzan noise as she jumps in.
Here are Owen and Daddy in the beachfront pool together enjoying some extra play time since it was the last class.
Here is Aedan going down the blue slide. He is the only one in his class with a life jacket on because he is the shortest one and couldn't quite touch the bottom standing up yet, so his teacher made him wear that as a precaution. Aedan only went this one time and then chose to swim around in the water and talk to his teacher instead.
Here is Owen playing in the water sprayers.
And here is Samantha jumping off the diving board. She is so brave and confident in the water now!
And here is Owen playing with the water sprayers again while Daddy tries to keep up with him. It's not that we are worried about him falling in the water as much as we are worried about him getting too much water near his ears. We have ear plugs in his ears, but we still feel like making sure he doesn't fully submerge his head, so we have to watch him a little more carefully now that he has tubes in his ears.
Swim lessons went really well in Canada, and I'm glad that we signed the kids up for them one more time before we moved. The pools over there and teachers are just fantastic. The kids have grown so much in swim lessons. Samantha can swim full lengths of the big pool without stopping, she can jump in confidently into deep water and swim to the side, and she is even learning the proper technique of different strokes. She was one of the youngest in her class, but she learned all she needed to know and passed on to the next level. Aedan also learned a lot, especially with not being as afraid to put his head under the water. Getting him goggles really helped with that, I think. Aedan did not pass his class, but he was one of the youngest in his class, and I think it would have been better if he was just a touch taller and could have touched the bottom. Plus, his teacher said he needs to get more comfortable with jumping into the water and doing other exercises where his head and face get completely submerged. Owen technically passed the parent/child class, but he would not be old enough to start the next class up until he was 3 years old. Nevertheless, it was good experience for him to be in the water, since he enjoys it so much.
On Friday morning I took all three kids shopping one last time before moving, just for last minute things to get us through the rest of the weekend, and some supplies we would need for when we get to our new house. Then, that afternoon Ben came home early from campus so he could take the kids to play mini-golf one more time. This was a request by both kids as something they wanted to do before we moved. Here are a couple of cute pictures of the kids sitting under the waterfall. Sometimes Aedan doesn't exactly have enough patience to try to hit the ball correctly, treating it more like a hockey stick than a golf club, but they had fun spending this time with just Daddy.
After lots of going back and forth about what we were going to do with moving since the computer system at the courthouse had been hacked, we decided our best option was to keep our moving out date the same in Sault Ste. Marie. The sellers of our new house agreed to let us store all our stuff in the garage and basement, which was very kind of them because it prevented us from having to rent a storage unit and move our stuff twice. So we decided to keep our plans like normal and have the movers come on Monday morning to start packing up, finish up on Tuesday, and start driving out to Pennsylvania on Wednesday. Since one of us needed to be out there to meet the moving truck and do a walk through of the house, we bought a plane ticket for me to fly out there on Wednesday and then back on Friday. In the meantime, our family would stay overnight in Sault Ste. Marie on Monday night so we were not in the way of the movers packing, and then we would head out on Tuesday to drive down to Upland, where we would stay until we got word of when our closing would be. It was not ideal, as we would have rather just been able to go straight out like we had planned, but considering the situation that was out of our control, this was definitely the best solution.
Saturday, June 15th was our last full day to spend doing things in and around the U.P. We decided to use our gift cards for Penny's Kitchen for breakfast, followed by walking around the downtown gift shops to look at possible "U.P. souvenirs," and then we went back home to pick up Izzy so we could take her out to Point Iroquois Lighthouse. This lighthouse was one of the first places we visited when we moved to Sault Ste. Marie three years, so it seemed apt to make one last stop there. The kids love looking at the 1950s museum house, climbing the stairs to the top of the lighthouse, and throwing rocks into the water. Izzy was also pretty excited about being included on our trip. She didn't seem to interested in the water, but she loved all the new smells and trying to keep track of all of us on the beach.
This has definitely been a beautiful place to live. The water surrounding you is amazing, and summertime here is a blast, when the weather is finally warm enough to enjoy being outside. I'm glad the kids got to experience living here for a few years. These memories will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
After a rather busy morning, our afternoon and evening was much of the same. We were trying to cram as much as we could in this last week before we moved. Aedan really wanted his friend Dominick from preschool to come over and play, so I was finally able to get in contact with his mom and she dropped him off to play for a couple hours that afternoon. They played with Legos and had fun pretending to be Spider-Man in the back yard. Here is a picture of them together before he left. Aedan was sad that he would never see him again. They were best buddies at school and played with each other every day.
That evening after dinner, we invited Ken and Linda over to spend some time with the kids and then with us once the kids were in bed. They are so wonderful at pouring into our kids (and us); we will miss them dearly. Here they are doing what they do best, Linda having a heart to heart talk with Samantha, and Ken down on the floor playing with Aedan. They even brought special presents for us: a necklace in the shape of the U.P. for Samantha, a special handmade bunny for Aedan and a teddy bear for Owen, a trivet made of stones from Drummond Island for Ben, and a Petoskey stone necklace for me. All things to help us not forget our time and friends in the U.P. It was so sweet and thoughtful of them.
We had a full, fun, emotional day of "lasts" and I know the reality of everything was starting to settle in the for the kids. Our time in the U.P. has been fulfilling and meaningful, and parts of our hearts will be left there with the people we have come to know, as we move away and begin our next adventure.
(Blog about June 9-15, 2019)
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