Happy Birthday to Dad!

Brian's birthday is August 23rd and it was the first year in a long time that it wasn't the first day/week of school for the kids which has meant it kind of got thrown in the mix of all that other busy stuff in the past. Not that he even cares, but birthdays are my favorite and I like Brian to feel extra special on his birthday just like he always makes me feel. He is the best and I don't think we tell him enough, so his birthday is always a good chance to do that.

He had to leave early in the morning because it was his second day of teaching, but I made sure to get him some breakfast, send him with some treats for his office and let him read his birthday cards so he could start his day off knowing how much we love him-

That morning Eve and I got to making his favorite German chocolate cake to have later that night. She was a great little helper! 

The kids were so excited to see Brian after school, so we headed Bridge Street Pizza in Dublin to meet Brian for dinner. Our original plan was to go to Chuy's (Yes, there is one in Columbus!), but it was too far of a drive and Brian wasn't excited about spending his night in the car so we did what the birthday boy wanted and got some delish pizza at this local pizzeria-

It was tiny and we were the only ones that dined in, but the pizza was fantastic and we will definitely be back to this one!

Eve was kind of acting like a cat and rubbing her face all over Thad and even though it was weird, Thad was so cute to let her do it. I love those two!

After dinner we walked down under the bridge that Bridge Street Pizza is named after and had a fun time on a beautiful night in Dublin- 

I love how green it is here! 

After an hour of skipping rocks we headed home to open presents and have cake and ice cream!

We sure love this 34 year old guy and hope we can make his wishes come true, especially because he has worked his booty off and made all of ours come true!

On Saturday night I planned a date and it ended up being a ton of fun! We headed to German Village down in Columbus and planned to eat at a burger joint called The Thurman Cafe, but when we got there at 5:30 p.m. there was already an hour wait! We decided we didn't want to do that and headed to Schmidt's for dinner. I was planning on going there for dessert, but it worked out that Brian had been wanting to eat there and schnitzel sounded great to him! So we headed up there and were not disappointed with the charm of that area!

 We enjoyed a delicious dinner of lots of different sausages and ordered our 1/2 pound cream puff to go because we couldn't eat another bite, but we weren't leaving without one of their famous puffs!

To finish off our night we headed to The Book Loft after Kim Barney recommended it and we were there for almost 2 hours! It is an old building with 32 rooms full of books! We wandered around the whole thing and left with $70 worth of books. On the way home we talked about how it's stupid that we even watch TV at all because of how amazing books are...there are so many in the world with so much good inside of them! We continued to talk about how much content in general there is to consume between, TV, movies, social media, podcasts, news outlets, etc, etc, etc...There is a lot of bad, but so much good! The stop at The Book Loft was a good reminder to dust off my Audible app and get to reading again (because I can't sit with a paper book and finish it w/o falling asleep).

What a fun, unique date night I had with my fun, unique date! I love that guy so much and am so glad for any moment I get to spend with him.

Happy birthday to my best guy-

I can't imagine the last 17 years without him!

Yep, I've loved this stud for half of his life and I'm so happy I get to love him for forever more. He is the peanut butter to my jelly, the flip to my flop, the hokey to my pokey, the wi to my fi, the salt to my pepper, the love of my life!

Happiest 34th birthday, Brian Monsen!

First Day of School in O-H-I-O!

The first day of school finally came and went in Ohio and it feels like a small weight has been lifted off us all. It was kind of the last hurdle the kids (and mom!) needed to jump over before they could settle in and feel like they could really say/feel that they love Ohio. And guess what, they do love it! I know we're only a couple days in, but even at the Walk Through event the day before school started we could all feel how awesome it was going to be. The administration and staff all gave off great vibes and even though Wes' teacher took FOREVER to get around to meeting everyone, she was so sweet. And Thad's teacher was so fun and bubbly the second we walked in the door and made him feel so comfortable so fast! Her and I are going to get along well!

After Dad gave the back to school blessings that night the boys couldn't fall asleep because they were so excited, but we finally made them turn their reading lights off at 10:30 and they fell fast asleep. Brian had to head to the OSU orientation that morning so he couldn't join us for our first day of school traditions, but we started the morning off with rainbow pancakes before walking to school together-

After breakfast and some lounging...yes, we get to lounge now that school doesn't start til 9:10!!...We got out the door for photos before heading to school- 

 Here come the Monsen boys, 1st and 4th grades!

I sure love these handsome brothers and their excitement for learning and meeting new people. I didn't get any push back from either of them and I am so incredibly grateful for that! It makes getting them to school every day so much easier. Our theme for this school year is "Doubt Not, Fear Not" and as I remind them of this frequently and they ponder it themselves, I know it will help them overcome any obstacles they feel are in their way.

Eve was not super happy that she didn't start school the same day, but was very excited for them anyways. 

The boys will get bussed to school most days, but we live pretty close and they only have to cross one neighborhood entrance to get school so I wanted to do the route with the at least one time before they ever ride their bikes. The first day was the best day because I wanted to go to the school and take pictures and I didn't want to deal with traffic, so it was a win-win...Well, not so much for Wes, he REALLY wanted to ride the bus, but I told him he could do it for the rest of the year and we would just do it one day. PLUS, he would ride it home! He whined a bit on our walk, but we made it and I got those pictures I wanted- 

And look at these cutest lockers that each kid gets! They were so excited about getting these and I have to admit that I think it's pretty cool, too! 

Ms. Morris and Wes

Good luck to this fine lady! I Wes was being a little shy with her at the walk through and before school started, but we reassured he it would not remain that way. This boy is so full of smarts and joy and spunk and I'm so excited for his first grade year!

I love Mr. Thad's sweaty back from our walk to the school...It was not a cool morning!

And there Thad goes with Ms. Babner. I know he is going to have such a fun year with her!

And Eve found a locker with her name on it and thought it was the bees knees!

She is going to rock Kindergarten when it's her turn!

Eve and I had a fun day together while we waited for the brothers to come home and we so excited when we saw the bus drive by!

 

Look at how cute they are that they started running when they saw me. I love them so much! They came in and told me all about their wonderful days over some fresh homemade cookies (another first day of school tradition) and were so relieved that they happily made it through the first day of school  in Ohio.

They have eagerly gotten up for school the two days following and I just don't think we're going to have much of a problem getting these two to school. Wes can sleep in until 7-7:30 and Thad loves that he can hang out and not rush out the door every morning. It's really nice for me too! I can be up, exercised and showered before they leave and then have the whole day ahead of me. Woo hoo!

Wes wore his tiger shirt yesterday and I love it the most out of all the school clothes-

ROAR!!

He was also pretty pumped to be able to ride the bus TO and FROM school for the rest of the week-

I love Thad being the big brother and grabbing Wes to remind him to wait for the go ahead from the driver. He is the best!

And Miss Eve wasn't as mad about them going to school because she got to start GYMNASTICS!

We got this outfit at Walmart the first day of school and she wore it the rest of the day and put it on as soon as she could yesterday! She is so excited to learn flips and jumps and all of it. I didn't get any pictures of her first day because I was talking to the other moms, but she did amazing and loved every second!

If that face doesn't say, "I LOVE GYMNASTICS!" I don't know what does! I have a feeling we are going to spend lots of time in here over the years.

And there you have it with our first day and week of school in Ohio. We are so grateful to live in a wonderful area with wonderful schools!

"Doubt Not, Fear Not"