October Phone Pics

October brought some beautiful weather, Fall festivals, a belated birthday lunch with my mom, hikes in the woods, park time with friends, a trip to North Carolina for Pop Pop's memorial service, and trick-or treating.

Olivia's 5th Birthday!

This year, Olivia's birthday fell on a Saturday, so we decided to have her party on her actual birthday. This made for a very fun-filled busy day! We started off the morning giving her the presents from us at home, which were a brand new bike complete with a bell and basket to replace the $5 used one she had learned to ride on and a Disney Princess watch.

Next up, First Watch (her favorite) for breakfast with my parents, where she got a giant chocolate chip pancake.

The fun continued with a surprise from my mom: a ride in her friend's convertible! Olivia is always talking about she wishes we had a convertible and how she wants one when she grows up. My mom was able to pull some strings and the mother of one of her former tutoring clients offered to make this wish come true. Olivia had a great time!

We finished off the day with a party at our house with family and friends! She is one lucky girl and we're lucky to have her. It was great fun celebrating her!

September Phone Pics

September was another super busy month for us. Olivia had her first full month of school and she and I celebrated our birthdays (5 and 32, respectively). We also made an impromptu trip to North Carolina to see my Pop Pop one last time and say goodbye. Ever since his stroke in March, his health had continued to decline. We were there when he passed away on September 11. As sad as his death makes me, I am grateful we were able to see him one more time and that he was surrounded by loved ones as he died. Here are some pictures from September.

checking out the dew on a spiderweb

bowling over Labor Day weekend

Alter Fest

Holiday at Home parade

Greek Festival

too much fun at Greek Festival = many hours of
waiting at children's and five stitches!

suture removal day

Natalie's first art class

apple picking at Monnin's fruit farm

what 64 apples looks like

last night as a 4 year old ;(

Vicki's Wedding/Detroit

We headed up to Detroit to celebrate the wedding of Vicki, one of Yusaku's friends from DePauw. We had never been to Detroit before and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it was. Our hotel was right along the river and we had an AMAZING view from our hotel room!

can you spy Olivia?

We didn't go the ceremony, but went to the cocktail hour and reception, which were beautiful. Despite, skipping a nap that day, Natalie managed to hold up fairly well. The kids made it through the toasts and dinner to get to their favorite part of the evening - music and dancing. They stayed up way past their bedtimes but had a blast!

Before heading back to Dayton on Sunday, we checked out Belle Isle's Nature Center and stopped at Eastern Market for a delicious lunch from some food trucks. It was a huge, awesome market!