August

August began with a Bridal Shower for Aunt Nichole. Tim took the toddlers to the "train park" in Waterloo. Almost 9 months later (yes, that's how backlogged the blog is), Simon still talks about the train park. Unfortunately, with coronavirus in the air, it doesn't look like it will be open for play again too soon.

What could be better than watching trains pass as you play?

The pretty girls cousins were all together at the shower.

Our summer days were winding down - school was starting back up again soon. It was crunch time for fun. First, off to the lake to catch baby fish and bob around in the water.

A trip to our favorite splash pad with Aunt Bridget and the kids.

Walks, picnics, popsicles...keep the summer days coming.  (See those underwear? No, potty training wasn't/isn't going well.)

Aunt B and Uncle E invited us to spend an afternoon at the lake with them. We don't have a boat, jet ski, or kid kayaks at our lake place so it was a real treat to play with all these toys! Felicity took a bit to get used to maneuvering through the water with a paddle but once she figured it out it was hard to get her back on land.

We celebrated a 50th anniversary at the "pool park" in Coldwater, Ohio and got to swim again. 

The last night of summer break was family date night. We took the kids to the restaurant where we had our first date and told them the story of how we met. We even ordered the famous bread pudding we ate on that date! Still so delicious.

Then it was back to school...and the rush of the mornings, busy-ness of the afternoons, and earlier bedtimes. 

First Day of School 2019-20

Simon misses his sisters so much when they're gone all day. Mommy, in her third trimester, became his playmate. "Push me in the laundry basket!" "Play trains with me." "Push me on the swings!" "Let me spray you."

Mommy missed those girls more than ever! Playing at the zoo with Aunt Bridget, Elijah, and Veronica helped Simon pass the hours.

And when Mommy tried to rest, he often found her and stayed close.

Daddy found a fun app to entertain the girls...

Check out that bump!

Miriam's 4-H club worked the cruise-in and parade for the ACD Festival. Tim was pretty thrilled to work the event with her and check out all the classic cars up close.

We closed out August by adding a bit of beauty to the home. We brought in a few a Felicity's beautiful sunflowers.

Mommy finished Simon's quilt for his big boy bed...the night he decided he was done with the crib!

One step closer to being ready for baby #5 to arrive.

Baby#5moon

Before our babies are born, we like to have a little get away...we know that every baby makes things a little crazy for a season and it's been a help to us to get ready for baby by just resting together and being a couple. Tim planned the entire "2019 Babymoon". He booked three nights in three different state parks in Southern Indiana. And Sarah said, "Okay, let's do it." But actually thought, that sounds exhausting. Guess who was right.

Night 1: Turkey Run Inn 

We went out to explore after checking in. Raccoons everywhere. But the Inn was lovely and well let from the outside.

The next morning we ate breakfast and took a four-ish mile hike. Tim became half billy goat. But to get around the beautiful rock formations at Turkey Run, you need to be! We had both been to Turkey Run in the past, it's definitely one of the most scenic places in the state.

We hurried back to get showered and packed up before our late check-out. It's incredible how fast we can move without kids! Then we were off to our next stop, McCormick's Creek State Park.

Night 2: McCormick's Creek State Park

Did we say Turkey Run was scenic...well, that's because we'd never been to McCormick's Creek. We checked in and took a quick nap before checking out the property. You read that correctly: nap. Truly, this trip was turning out to be pretty luxurious! And look how pretty the Inn is!

Tim hadn't taken off his billy goat legs yet and was climbing rocks and jumping around the streams.

We split a huge, delicious ice cream sundae that night after dinner. And felt no guilt because the hiking at McCormick's Creek is pretty serious. We managed to get in about 4 miles in the morning. Sarah's always-swollen feet were actually looking good with all this exercise!

McCormick's Creek is Indiana's first state park and includes all kinds of amazing rocks, waterfalls, caves, sink holes, etc. While we were out hiking we ran into a girls' cross country team from Chicago. It was their annual trip to the park for a long run. They go through one of the caves. Tim previewed the cave for them and reported giant spiders cover the ceiling. They still went through, but Sarah wasn't sad to be too pregnant to attempt it.

Another late-check-out-quick-shower-pack-up and we're off. We made a stop in Bloomington. It probably says A LOT about us and our small town that we were a bit "overcome" by the hustle of Bloomington. It was move-in weekend for the college kids so that may have impacted the "atmosphere" of the town. But it will be a hard sell if any of our kids wants to go to IU one day...thank goodness we found a cute bookstore to distract us for a bit before we left town.

Night 3: Spring Mill State Park

Our last night was at Spring Mill Inn. We got another nap in when we arrived. We went out for dinner at a little Mexican place that seemed like the only restaurant in town...well, not the ONLY one...there was also the ice cream shop with apple dumplings. The next morning we went to breakfast, Mass, and then back for more hiking and to check out the working mill!

We got to see the mill grind cornmeal which was pretty cool. It's powered by a man-made (as in, no machinery) aqueduct and water wheel. The mill also includes a little museum of history of the site, several of the original buildings of the town with volunteer actors who demonstrate broom-making, weaving on a loom, gardening, home life, and more. We were in awe that this existed in our state and still talk about needing to take the kids back to show them!

So who was right? Tim. Tim was right about this being a relaxing, refreshing, fantastic vacation for the two of us before Baby #5 made an appearance. It's hard to pick a favorite park from the list - we'd got back to all three again today if we could.

Sarah's glad, yet again, that she trusted him to find the best for this moment of our lives. He's pretty good at doing that...he must have the Holy Spirit whispering in his ear and he's willing to follow that voice wherever it leads. And Sarah's lucky to be along for the ride.