Cross Country fall finale

Kyle and Emily finished off the fall season of cross country. They both enjoyed the season, the sport, and their team very much. They worked really hard and ran to their heart's content. Both talk of running more in the spring and with cross country next fall. 

Emily and her teammate running together

Kyle after he got trampled at the start. It's hard being an elementary age kid running with middle schoolers who are much bigger than you. Kyle learned that even when you get trampled, you get up again and start running. And that they aren't going to start the race over because you got trampled. 

Kyle, Emily, and a few of their young teammates (ones in elementary school) ran a JO race together / appropriate age / gender divisions after the team season was over. It was a fun experience for the kids to actually run against kids their own age and see where they stack up. Both ran hard, had fun, and did well. 

Ohio

This weekend, my grandma passed away at 91. My Uncle John (her youngest son) went on a road trip to clear his head. He ended up down in Raleigh so he stopped in for a visit. Aaron immediately took to him and declared him his best friend. One of my earliest memories was probably about the same age as Aaron when Uncle John came over to our house, picked me up after my nap and took me in his hotrod car over to the pool. That memory has stuck with me. Anyhow, Aaron hadn't seen Uncle John for almost 2 years (last time was when we drove through Ohio on the way home from Thanksgiving and Kyle got so very sick and Aaron was 2 at the time) but you would have thought they saw each other every day. 

Storytime

Aaron, Emily, and I drove up to Ohio to attend my grandma's funeral and made our first stop in Columbus at the Hofbrauhaus. My dad, Kristin, and I at at the Hofbrauhaus in Germany when we first went to Europe and have some great memories there. The kids and I met up with Uncle John there. And Aaron was right at home with Uncle John. He just climbs right up to him to be near him. 

Aaron saw the band at the Hofbrauhaus and he points and says, "look at the wizard!". 

The house that I grew up in until I was 7. 

In an attempt to have a little fun on the trip before the heavy parts (and in between long drives), we spent the morning at COSI. This is a fabulous children's / science museum. The kids got to take apart a computer. That was fun until Emily sliced her finger on one of the sharp metal parts. 

They toured history. 

Emily delivered the news. 

Emily lifted up a car. 

And the kids whispered to one another from 100 feet apart. 

Washington DC

This weekend we went to DC to visit family. We had a lot of fun exploring DC, eating delicious food, and enjoying family. 

We went to the National Zoo and saw the pandas getting popsicles. Jeff has an amazing video of the mama and baby panda getting their popsicles. 

Aaron loved hanging with his cousin. 

The kids loved hanging with their great-aunt. They loved helping make carrot cake, a honey tasting, and just being in her company.