Hot Roddy's

So this year Jack's work party was held at the Cincinnati Zoo which was great since I had read it was one of the top zoos in America. We had perfect weather and it had been a long time since we had been to the zoo as a family. Good times!

So here in Mason, the kids are required to have sports check ups before they can participate in football. Being it was the last minute and I had yet to find the kids a doctor we rushed over to an urgent care. One of the things they check for is vision which makes sense but to be honest I couldn't remember the last time their eyes had been checked. I know they do it sometimes at the school but I really had no idea. When it was Ty's turn to read the letters out loud I thought he was goofing off when he said he couldn't read the first line the doctor asked him to read. Needless to say by the end of the appt. it was clear Ty needed to see an eye doctor. Thankfully, he was excited about the idea of wearing glasses, which I'm sure had something to do with his dad mentioning that Oakley sold not only great sunglasses but also nice frames. So after a couple hours at Lenscrafters, Ty walked out with a whole new outlook on life...

Here he is noticing what a difference his glasses make when reading from his iTouch...



I have to say I almost started crying at the appt. when they had him put on his new frames for the first time and he exclaimed "Oh my gosh Mom, I can read that over there so clearly". I thought he was going to start crying too. What a terrible mom I felt like. Who knows how long he would have gone thinking it was normal to be staring at a blurry board at school. Just so glad we figured it out now!

Cincinnati...

How nice it was to have my brother Steve as our first house guest here in Ohio. He was doing recruiting at Indiana for his company and decided to rent a car to drive down to see us for the weekend. It worked out perfectly because we had planned on doing a little site seeing this weekend so it was nice to share the sites with Steve. Now, I must admit we were not thrilled with Cincinnati. There is really nothing exciting to see. We did cross over the river into Newport, Kentucky and enjoyed lunch there but really Cinci has no real charm to it. Let's just say we've lived in or near some big cities in our lifetime and Cincinnati doesn't rank in our top ten. Perhaps as time goes by and we see more of it we'll find some hidden gems but on first impressions...not too impressed! I can say that the skyline as you come from the airport through Kentucky into Ohio is quite impressive. I'll have to catch a shot of that sometime. The stadiums are pretty much the highlight of the city.

Here is the one tourist spot in the city. It's some fountain in the city center.



Here Ty is experiencing his first grilled cheese donut. Yummy but wow, there are reasons that americans in the midwest are known for their weight issues...

It's almost been two months since the family officially made the move to Mason, Ohio. During this time we've experienced corporate housing, pool days, lots of fast food, football season, humidity, first day of school, Gold Star Chili, moving into our home, getting settled, receiving church callings, meeting new friends, continuing to get settled, house glitches, nice weather, and of course supporting Jack in his new and exciting job! Jack would probably add to the list a few restless nights and a couple more gray hairs. He would also tell you he's managed to recruit five friends to join his team at LUX and continues to get more and more excited over the work he's doing.

I'm just happy to report that after living out of suitcases for the majority of the summer including our first month here, I can finally say I'm feeling settled and that life in Ohio is good!

Football was the driving force behind getting to Ohio by the end of July. The first couple weeks of practice were brutal with the high humidity and hot temps but the boys pushed their way through it. Their team isn't the most organized or successful but the boys would tell you they love it! (Could they look any tougher or meaner?!?)



Next on the list was the first day of school! Unlike WA where the kids would have all attended the same school, Mason schools are set up differently so Sage attends what's called the Early Childhood Center for first grade and the boys attend Mason's Intermediate School for 5th grade the bonus though being they all get bussed to school. Because we were in the apartment still on the first day of school I dropped off the kids. Aside from me following Ty's instructions of pulling up behind the school alongside all 30+ buses so they could walk in door 16 which was definitely the wrong advice, all went well...My car might feel like a bus at times but that doesn't mean I get to pull up in the bus lane...



After working with decorators, carpenters, painters, electricians, flooring and door guys, landscapers, plumbers and a few others it was finally time to move in. In a perfect world this day would have been a few days before the start of school rather than the day after school started but we certainly weren't complaining! Too bad though they all decided to have their completion day be on the same day...the day the movers arrived!



Thankfully a month into the school year and we are still seeing good grades and great big smiles...and a lot more sunshine!

So on June 20th the kids and I jumped on a plane to Utah where the kids would spend the majority of their summer. The very next day I jumped back on a plane to head out to Ohio so I could meet Jack and that same weekend we'd both jump right back on a flight to Italy. Just thinking about the preparations that needed to happen to get to that point exhausted me. But how nice it was to know I was leaving the kids in such good hands and we had no doubt they would be well taken care of! So here is how the summer went down...

Ever since Grandpa bought the boys fishing poles for Christmas they've been counting down until they got to use them. Well that first week in Utah Grandpa, Uncle Paul, Uncle Gary and cousins Boston and Preston all headed out on a fishing trip. As you can see everyone caught something...thank goodness!!!



Since Jack and I were going to be gone for over two weeks I tried to make life easier on Grandma by enrolling the kids in a week long climbing class that went from 9-1 each day. The kids LOVED it! And the best part was Sage got to go too. They said it was one of the best camps they had ever done!!! When I returned back into town I took the kids over to The Quarry one evening for some climbing time and was able to see why they loved it so much...




After Jack and I returned from Italy, I headed back to Utah to be with the kids. Thankfully shortly after Jack was able to fly out and join us for a week. That first weekend he was in town we headed up north to spend the night at Gary and Kelly's in Brigham City. The kids loved hanging out with the cousins. They also enjoyed making sugar cookies, swimming and seeing the new temple just up the road from Gary and Kelly's place!




On the way back to Provo we stopped in SLC to visit President and Sister Lee. Although we carve out time to see them whenever we are in Utah, this was the first time in a while that they got to see the kids. It makes me so happy to see how happy Jack gets every time he gets to spend time with these wonderful people.



Next we visited Temple Square. Ty had a very sweet experience visiting the Christus where he was touched by the spirit as he studied the statue. I love these gentle reminders that show the kids what truly is important in their life. Life can be so crazy and busy that it's just so nice to have a place to go to and find peace and comfort.




A trip to Utah isn't complete without some grass hoop or some sporting activity in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard!



It also wouldn't be a complete summer without Jack taking the boys up to Sundance for some Digglering!!! I hate those darn things as it seems that every time they go someone gets injured but he still seems to be able to talk everyone into doing them year after year. This year, Paul did decide to take up his bike instead...wise decision!!! Ty also decided this year to join the pack!



While the boys were on the mountain the rest of us enjoyed Sundance!




After talking about it for a couple years we finally made it down to Lake Powell with the Cox's. Although the Cox's would claim it was the trip from hell due to a houseboat engine failure, water logged speedboat engine, flat tire on the trailer, and Sean needing staples in his leg after trying to get the houseboat docked, we would still say we had a great time. The kids loved being pulled around on the boat, Jack loved doing the surf board, I loved boating through the canyons, and everyone loved being in the SUN!!! The jury is still out on if we'd prefer to houseboat in Powell or go on a Disney cruise but we are so glad that for our first visit we got to see and experience it with such fun people!!! It truly is a beautiful place and we are grateful to the Cox's for inviting us to tag along with them. Here were some of the highlights:

Jack very excited to get up on the surf board...He led the way and then Paul and Sean followed...



The RAFT! All I can say is be scared if Sean or Paul are at the wheel. Notice I'm not anywhere to be found in these shots...




We loved how much more daring Teagen had gotten this year on the raft. It's so fun to watch these cute kids all grow out of their fears and into such amazing young men!



Yes, indeed that is Grandma on the raft. Kudos to Jack for getting her on!



Climbing the Hill! Photos don't do this hill justice. I almost passed out climbing to the top. It was tough, not to mention our feet were all burning up on the hot sand. Note to self: Next time climb it in the evening when it's a bit cooler outside and the sand isn't as hot. Sean and Deena were the first to make it up, then Ty, and then me. Connor surprised us all by climbing up the hill in record time after we had all come down. He wanted to prove he could do it just like his brother and boy did he do it fast!!!



Some fun shots from the trip!!!





King of the raft! The boys loved to have battles on the raft to see who could get who off first...



While Jack and the kids love to be being pulled I love to sightsee around the lake. I was amazed at this canyon we came upon and how Rick was able to get the boat to the very end. It was amazing.



This looks like trouble to me in every sense!!!



Poor Sean, in this photo if you look closely you can see that his leg has blood streaming down it. At this point he knew he had hurt it but had no idea how bad it was until after the houseboat got docked and Eydie rushed him to the ER!



So that's our trip to Lake Powell in a nutshell. We all loved sleeping outside on the top of the houseboat and staring up at all the stars. It is a beautiful place and we'll always remember our first trip there!

Cousin power! Unfortunately all the cousins were never together at the same time this summer but here is a cute photo of the kids with Teagen and Chaz before they had to head back to Idaho!



The kids were really looking forward to a repeat of last summer and hanging out with their friends Wyatt and Harrison. Unfortunately Harrison and the boys just missed each other while we were in Utah but thankfully they were able to still see Wyatt. We went to the pool one day and then up to their cabin at Sundance. To think these three boys were all delivered by the same doctor back in NYC...



Guess who's a year older?!?



Bye bye to our wonderful summer in Utah...