Back in Indy

After spending a grueling 6 months in Paducah, we finally got to go back to Indianapolis. I dreamed of it for at least a year, and it was finally here! We stayed at a campground north of Indy in Noblesville. I would not recommend this place for long term living. It was rough. I'll just leave it at that.

Leaving Paducah (hallelujah!)

Living in a van down by the river.

One of our first days there Avery and I got out by ourselves. I had heard about this place. It's just like Steel City Pops. Delicious. We also went to Indy Reads and The Best Chocolate in Town for ridiculously expensive, but ridiculously yummy, truffles.

We had fun grilling out, building fires, and making s'mores.

I signed up for my first half marathon, the Indy Women's Half, at the end of September. Daniel was off on Sundays, so I did all my long runs on the Monon Trail. It's so pretty. I trained my little butt off, but on the day of the race I didn't have a babysitter. I was super bummed. I decided to run the 13.1 around the campground. Afterwards I got injured, and 2 months later I'm still not running. It's torture.

Fun downtown

 Avery got to run her very first race! It was a 1k to start off the football season. She got to run around Lucas Oil Stadium and end on the 50-yard line. I was so proud of her, and a little jealous!

We went to our favorite apple orchard, Tuttle Orchards, a couple times. We love that place! Our sweet neighbors, Addie and Easton, went with us one time. We really enjoyed playing, going on the hayride, and picking apples.

Avery got to run another race at a cool place! This was the Indy Mini-Mini at the Indianapolis Speedway. She actually got to run on the race track! It was so stinking hot, but she killed it! 2 medals under her belt!

It was unseasonably hot in September. We weren't able to find any swimming pools at the stores, but our neighbor found this slip-n-slide, and the kids had a blast! We never really got a real autumn while we were there.

The Indianapolis Children's Museum has a discount night once a month. The kids absolutely loved it! So many fun exhibits and hands-on things to do.

At the end of our time in Indy Meme and Jack came to visit. We went to Bloomington and South Bend, and showed them our favorite Indy spots. Jack had fun seeing all the colleges. It was also Jack's birthday, a perfect excuse for The Flying Cupcake! What a fun weekend we had exploring Indiana!

The weekend Meme and Jack were there Peyton Manning was being honored by the Colts. They put up this statue of him and retired his jersey. Excited I got to see it before we left.

Our very last night in Indy Daniel and I got to do something I will never forget. We got to see Garth Brooks in concert at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It was the most amazing show. To say we were in the nosebleeds is an understatement, but we could see him, and it was perfect. What an awesome way to end our exciting trip to Indy.

Four weeks before we left Daniel went to work in Jacksonville, Florida after Irma hit. The kids and I were in Indy by ourselves, but got to join Daniel mid-October. Another post on that fun...

Our Summer in Paducah

It took a lot of strength not to put a nasty adjective in front of that city in the title. I'm trying (and failing a lot) to make the best of it. So here's what we've been up to this summer.

There's an above ground pool where we live, and the kids, especially Avery love it. It's nice to be able to walk to the pool.

I signed Avery up for swim lessons. She did so well. I'm so proud of what she has learned how to do in the pool these past few summers. If only I could get Colt interested in lessons.

In June Metropolis had its Superman Celebration. It was a really fun event. I kept reading how Dean Cain would be there, but we found out when we got there pictures with him were $50. This nice Superman was free, and the kids didn't know the difference.

We are still really enjoying our church, and I'm so thankful for an awesome place to worship and take the kids. It's really been a bright spot in this dark city.

The kids went to VBS a few weeks ago. The theme was Galactic Starveyors. They learned all the songs and dances, and got to perform for us on Friday night. What a great week. One day they called and said Colt had hurt his finger. I went to pick him up and he was crying with that visor on. I couldn't handle the cuteness.

The kids and I went to Birmingham for a few days at the end of June. We had so much fun. My mom and I took the kids to Railroad Park, Vulcan, and Savages. We all went to Alabama Splash Adventure one day and had a blast. I took Avery to get a haircut, go roller skating for the first time, and to Steel City Pops. We also found the Birmingham sign and quickly found out the restaurant it's on isn't quite as kid friendly as we thought. What a fun week in my hometown.

For the 4th of July we went to St. Louis. I have been wanting to go there since we lived here in 2009. Monday was amazing. We went to this awesome restaurant, Blues City Deli, then we found some tickets to the Cardinals game that night. We sat in the BrewHouse across the street from the stadium and had so much fun. Tuesday started out fun with going to see the Arch. It's really amazing. Then we went to this fair that turned out to be a dud. Both Daniel and I said that St. Louis reminded us of 8 mile in Detroit. It was scary. The game and the Arch were awesome, but other than that I wasn't impressed with St. Louis. 

Still in Paducah. Still waiting to go somewhere else. Trying to stay positive. Thankful for this time with Daniel and the kids. Hopeful for the future. Get here fast, future.

Beach Vacation

Back in May we went to Panama City Beach. A perk of homeschool is going on vacation before the crowds hit. It was marvelous. It was sunny everyday, not too hot, and not crowded at all.

View from the balcony. They were ready to get to the beach the minute we got there.

I'm so glad both kids love the sand and the ocean. They had a ball, and the water was perfect!

We went to the pool a couple times. My little fish (Avery) loves swimming more than anything. Colt likes it as long as his face doesn't get wet.

They also love the sand. By the end of the week I thought if I had to build one more sand castle I would chew my arm off just to get out of doing it. Sorry the pictures are sideways...no patience to learn how to fix that.

There must have been a parasailing place close to where we were. We saw them go by all day long.

Another sideways picture. This is our favorite restaurant, and once again, it didn't disappoint. If only we could get the kids to eat seafood.

Daniel took the kids to do something I would never do...get airbrushed tshirts. The kids absolutely love them. I admit they are cute, but they are a little high maintenance if you want them to last.

The kids had a blast at the beach. Beach trips look much different when you have kids, and I'll admit I was ready to go home at the end of the week. But all that matters is we got to spend a week together, and the kids had fun.