Kate Got Married

My super-duper awesome, nerdy, happy, righteous friend Kate got married to her wonderful Canadian love in Ohio in September.

We actually flew into Virginia to attend her wedding in the first place, back in July. My sweet friend had planned a 7-11-2015 wedding. International paperwork fun kept them from getting sealed then but the kids and I drove up to Manassas for the reception anyway and had a great time.

We visited the nearby national battlefield. When Anna asked what a shot on display was for we read about how it was meant for cannons but I also slipped in how I used to toss those things for fun too. The field to run in was such a great break from our 4 hour drive.

I was a little worried about going alone but the kids made the trip great. And Anna really took care of herself at the wedding. She quickly found friends and spent a bit of time in the nursery playing with them and the babies but also ran around with them dancing and exploring. Isaac was a trooper for being dragged to a wedding but I was grateful to reconnect with a few cool people from college.

I had a fun trip and gained some confidence being the lone parent. But I could have used his help getting the bags into the hotel! He makes my life so cush.

Well fast forward from July to September. We had closed on our home and the floors were getting put in and Kate let’s me know she’ll be getting married in Ohio, where medical school has taken her for a bit. So Jacob and the kids and I made a weekend trip over a few states to be with her on her very special day. 

I attended the sealing while Jacob watched the kids. It was very sweet and I’m so so very happy for Kate. I love the spirit in the temple. I’m grateful for the reminder of eternal families and the sweet thoughts from the sealer about treating your spouse like they are royalty. 

But as life with kids now is for us, we spent the majority of our time entertaining them. We found a ton of cool places to check out, several children’s museums, the huge Columbus zoo, and we may have even hung out at Chuck E Cheese on a Saturday.

We drove up on Friday and stopped in Charleston, WV for a picnic lunch and a children’s museum. The museum had the best kid crawl area ever, small and twisting, places to hide but also places to peek. Plus there was a ball pit, so basically my kids were in heaven. 

Our first stop in the state of Ohio was at the Longaberger basket, as seen on How it’s Made. It was too cool not to see in person.

Saturday we had the sealing then we hit some sites. The town was packed! There of course was a home football game at The Ohio State so wow. But the zoo had the most magnificent big animals. A lazy lion right up against the glass, bears everywhere! It was a big zoo, we definitely wore ourselves out walking around but the kids liked the petting zoo and the aquarium where there was a scuba diver presenting all about the tank they were in. 

We then drove to Dayton where there was a children’s museum. The kids napped on the way and had a great time there. Recycling truck and pizza making, climbing and whatnot, even a cool tree house for bird watching. It was very cool. We had a wonderful time running around. I even saw a roadrunner in a diorama. That place had a little of everything.

Sunday we kept the trip home low-key. We made a stop for food and a stop for a hike. The walk was perfect. A flat, short little walk speckled with benches and views. Isaac found plenty of sticks and “balls”/nuts to play with and Anna kept trying to make the hike a run with a race or tag. Anna played a trick on me. She told me that she saw a crocodile, Dad shushed and said don’t scare it, so as Isaac and I caught up to the sneaky two, Anna snapped me in her reptile jaws/arms. We love getting outside together.