Good-by-o to Ohio

It is crazy to think that we are done with Matt's internship. That time flew by. We loved our time in Ohio and loved the company he was with. I am so proud of him and all his hard work. We are going to miss the friends we made there and will always look back on our great memories.

It is crazy to think that we are now 2nd years in the MBA program, Cooper will start Kindergarten in 3 days, and we will have a newborn in 8 weeks or less! Life is coming at us fast!

I had no idea a cookie could hold so many sprinkles! And yes, he did eat the whole thing!
The Clippers game.
This is the same kid who wouldn't let go of me WITH arm rings on last summer. We went to the pool almost everyday.

I am going to miss the cool weather we had there (Bloomington has a heat advisory today :(). I am also going to miss having time to do whatever we wanted all day long. My dudes start school on Aug 12! We will be jumping right into busy life, a stark contrast from our lazy summer!

BTW my neighbors little yappy dog was jumping on my leg and I thought it was going to rip my $80 tights so I bent down (no small task at this point) to pet it. Next thing I know, I had chomp marks on my hand that broke the skin. GRRRR!

I ended up having to get a tetnis shot and have to be on some antibiotic so Rocky doesn't come out with RABIES! The chances of my kids having a dog is diminishing rapidly!

our FAIR share - Union County Fair

The Union County fair was hot, dusty, stinky and very EXPENSIVE but OHHH so much fun. Did you ever wonder why you have to pay to get in the door and THEN pay for everything you do once inside? I sure did. Do you think Coopers snow cone was all natural or what?
Ruby and the royalty. I hope her highness doesn't loose something from bending over!
Speaking of healthy snacks, this horse was eating a Kit Kat right before we took this picture.
SUGAR!

FRIED BOLOGNA????? Don't worry, we didn't try it. I did enjoy my peach dumpling, they wrapped a peach in pastry, bake it and serve it a la mode! YUM!

The Highlight: The Happy HOOKERS booth: a bunch of grannies that crochet blankets with their "hooks" and donate them to worthy causes.

All OHIO Bike Fest

While most of you were thinking about the saints arriving in Zion yesterday, we were thinking about Hell's Angels. Marysville is known for 2 things: Scotts and Honda, Honda has a manufacturing plant here. To compete with Sturgis, the big motorcycle rally in South Dakota, Honda does what they used to call Honda Homecoming. Now it is the All Ohio Bike Fest. Well lucky us, it is gong on this weekend.

There were all sorts of vendors selling motor cycle wares. We tried on all sorts of biker garb, sure wanted some chaps for Rockys birth! I loved the confederate flag hat, it will go great with my confederate bikini that I walk around town in. Who is proud of me for trying on hats in public?

The best part was the parade of motorcycles at dusk. They shut down the main drag and all the bikers cruise down the street honking their horns and flashing their lights (thank heavens that was all they flashed, I was a little nervous!) People had all sorts of crazy things on their bikes; a dog, Santa, and my personal favorite a giant cross that was all lit up.

Another GREAT week in oHIo!

We had the privilege of hanging out with some B-town friends this weekend, Beth and Jessica. We went to the Easton Town Center, a ginormous outdoor mall that is spectacular. Remind me next time I want to take my kids shopping NOT TO! I almost had a panic attack when Coop started doing roundhouse kicks in the stemware department of Crate and Barrel!

We go swimming almost everyday, some days even twice. I heart water aerobics right now. The weightless feeling is AWESOME.

Matt and I even got to go on a DATE this week! We went to the fanciest restraunt in Marysville, I had crab stuffed trout. YUM! We also found a roadside icecream stand that makes their own icecream sandwhiches. I am getting plenty of icecream!

We went to COSI again for Farm Days. They had tons of HUGE John Deer equipment for the kids to climb on. We saw a Grand Canyon IMAX movie. I miss red rock country and have such great memories of being there with my family.



Yesterday was fun filled from dawn to dusk. The best part is that Daddy came! He has been working his can off at his internship. I am so proud of all of his hard work. We met the Browns and the Reeses at the Columbus Zoo. What an amazing zoo! We have now been 2 times and still haven't seen all of it. It was heavenly to be with friends! We feel so blessed for all the friends we have made in this past year.


After 6 hours in the zoo, we walked next door to a darling little amusement park. I was bummed I couldn't go on any rides but that was quickly erased as I watched my amazing little family play together.

We had to interupt our fun for MORE FUN! Matt got tickets from work to go to the Clippers game. We had a blast! We were up in a suite with lots of yummy food and non stop Cracker Jacks! We have been singing Take me out to the ball game all week and it paid off. We sang it in the 7th inning stretch at the top of our lungs with Cracker Jacks in hand.

As we left I was exhausted to put it mildly. There was an ANGEL standing there waiting for us with a bike wagon that rode us back to our car. The looks on my kids faces was awesome!

Needles to say today I feel like a train hit me so I haven't done much. Luckily, Rocky is all over the place which is so very reassuring. Can't wait to meet him! 11 more weeks :)

Shake your booty!

My kids were asking me what was wrong with Grandma Peterson (my mom). I told them she had leukemia, strokes, heart problems, Parkinsons, etc. They asked what Parkinsons was and I told them it was a disease that makes you shake all the time. After my simple explanation, Cooper said, "Oh, like your bum shakes all the time?" It is a good thing he is so cute!

Firsts

Thanks Shawnee, I stole this!

1. Who was your FIRST prom date? Matt Vandorn

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? Almost daily, my DAD rocks!

3. What was your 1st alcoholic drink? I stuck the tip of my tounge in a spoon with a cooler in it if that counts. Not much of a drinker, OK I don't drink!

4. What was your FIRST job? Fabric Warehouse

5. What was your FIRST car? Growing up we had a "Plig Rig" aka station wagon. As far as cars that were in my name our 1990 Honda Accord that we just sold a year ago. For the record I jumped a dead dear and got air off it AND it was stolen from the church parking lot and returned to us the next day!

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? Like I would know how to even do a text!

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? Rocky, he was sitting on my bladder!

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? Mrs. Kimball at Libbie Edward Elementary

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? Washington DC

10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk? Kim Taylor, Shelli Springer, and Sherry Astin. I wish I talked with them more. LOVE them to death!

11. Where was your FIRST sleep over? Probably just at my cousin, Katherines.

12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? Matt as he kissed me at 6:30 this morning on his way to work. OK I probably just mumbled.

13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? My brother, Rob's.

14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? Remember the question about Rocky sitting on my bladder?

15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? Howard Jones with my sister in law. Go HO JO!

16. FIRST tattoo? Just know if I ever get a TATTOO that is a big red flag for a mid life crisis!

17. First piercing? My ears, for my brothers wedding.

18. First foreign country you've been to? Mexico. Senior trip.

19. FIRST movie you remember seeing? Star Wars at the VILLA!

20. When was your FIRST detention? I went to ISS on purpose in 9th grade just to see what it was like. Anyone late to class was sent there.

21. What was the first state you lived in? Utah!

22. Who was your FIRST roommate? Max, my huge golden Labrador retriever.

23. If you had one wish, what would it be? Forever Family and for Rocky's delivery to be covered by insurance!

24. What is something you would learn if you had the chance? Patience and how to make a killer pie crust!

Fourth of July Weekend

We spent the 4th in Marysville. We started the day off with a community pancake breakfast. They were the most expensive pancakes I have ever eaten! It sure made me homesick for the Evergreen Park breakfast and parade. The parade here wasn't so bad, we did score a GALLON ziplock bag full of candy. In the evening we went to a family fun day and watched fireworks in the rain. Cooper is terrified of fireworks. As soon as they started he ran faster than I have ever seen him run to the car, good thing Matt is fast!
Matt had a 4 day weekend so we headed up north. We found this yummy little place called Scooters. An order of fries was BIGGER than a basketball! Don't worry, I didn't order it! I did have some yummy ice cream though. I am now back to my chocolate loving self. I haven't eaten chocolate for 6 months. The thought of it made me want to spew. I am now making up for it.




Lake Erie was HUGE!!! I thought the Great Salt Lake was big, it isn't! These pictures crack me up because it was pretty nippy! Even with my 30 extra pounds of insulation! Cooper was very timid in the waves and Ruby jumped right in. At the end of it all she was singing, "I have the whole beach in my pants" to the tune of He's got the whole world in his hands. I think she was right!


We drove 3 hours north up to Kirtland, Ohio. It was amazing to be in the same place as the early pioneers. The stories were amazing. It was humbling to stand in the same room where church history took place. I am thankful to the early saints and for all that they endured.

*Cooper is a part of our family, he just hates being in family pitures.

PS Cast comes off tomorrow, thank HEAVEN!!!!!