A visit from the Morgans!

Over fall break we had a visit from our good friends, the Morgans, from Crawfordsville. The kids were SOO excited for them to come visit since it had been a long time since they had seen them. We went to a small children's museum here in Columbus called The Kids Commons and then went across the street to the indoor playground.

They enjoyed learning a little more about Japan, the Indiana environment, looking at all the model trains, and the way physics affects a rolling ball. There was also a room that let you exercise in a fun way with video games using dancing and an exercise bike. There were a few other areas and a rock climbing wall, but we didn't do those. Luckily both babies fell asleep at the same time for a while! They could only handle so much fun.

I had always heard about the big toilet slide at the museum, but never quite knew WHY there was a big toilet, so now I do! They have this big house that talks all about how we get water from the ground and the cycle it goes through to get into and out of our houses. It also talks about the different types of lighting, insulation, etc. Very informative in a fun way! It was hilarious to see Callie's reaction when we put her and Evy in the toilet - she thought it was so funny!

The Bubble Room! It was so cool!

To end the fun day we headed back across the street to Zaharakos, the cool 1920s ice cream shoppe! We got a lot of looks from having all those kids and only two moms, and one not so nice comment, BUT the kids loved it and enjoyed some yummy ice cream! Both the babies were getting hungry, so we took turns going to the bathroom to feed them, which seemed to help them settle down a bit, but I have to admit, it was still a little crazy! :)

Thanks, Morgans, for coming down to visit us! We had so much fun seeing you all again!

Discovering Columbus . . .

My parents and brother's family came down to visit Labor Day weekend. We went to this super cool indoor playground and then went for ice cream at this 1920's ice cream shop, Zaharakos.

There is this thing to climb on that goes all the way to the ceiling!!! I haven't ventured up it all the way yet, but Andy and Kent did. It is now Harrison's favorite place to go and every time we go to joy school we drive past it, so he always asks if we can go!

They restored this ice cream/soda fountain shop back to it's original 1920's theme. I guess it used to be a candy store first. There is a small museum on one side and the ice cream shop on the other. It is SOOO cool! It has a crank organ and original soda fountain dispensers. There is so much detail on the ceilings too. Very fun and unique atmosphere.

Andy's family and our family each got the "Big Z" to share - 5 scoops of ice cream, 3 toppings, whip cream and a cherry! They also have yummy cinnamon coke!

Columbus - here we come!

Moving was SOO easy this time! We've never had anyone move us and I just have to say that I would highly recommend it! Stress free and backache free too! They movers were really friendly and polite. I had some help cleaning from some AWESOME neighbors and had another awesome friend watch the kids so they weren't in the way. Thanks so much everyone!!!! The hardest part was once the movers had unpacked pretty much most of the inside stuff and just placed everything either on the counter tops, floor, table, chairs, beds or dressers. I felt a little overwhelmed and a bit cramped to say the least, but at least they hung our clothes in the closets. But they hung some of Kent's clothes in my closet and some of his in mine! They don't really care about things like that I guess. The kids loved getting up in the semi and honking the horn. That thing was HUGE! It was so big they had to use a small 17 foot U-haul to shuttle everything from our apartment and storage unit to the semi, so we didn't even see the semi until it showed up at our house in Columbus. They pretty much filled it to the brim with all our stuff though! We got rid of A LOT of stuff, but still have a ton. I guess with 4 kids and 11 years of marriage behind us, that is to be expected. I can't believe how many boxes marked "toys" there were! And of course those were the ones unpacked first. :) It was like Christmas all over again for those guys. Lots of toys that had been in storage were so fun to play with again, but sadly, a lot of them have gone back onto the shelves or in the toy box, only to be forgotten. I took a box full out to keep for when Callie is a bit older so we would have room for all the toys they play with now, so in about a year or so we will have to go through and get rid of all the baby toys.

Why not use the empty boxes as forts? The kids had a ball doing this until Kent said they were taking up too much space and had to be thrown out. Party pooper. I kind of agreed, but didn't want to be the bad guy! :)

I am glad to be mostly settled in and am going to enjoy not having to move again for quite some time!

An interesting discovery . . .

So the kids and I decided to have a picnic lunch at one of the parks a lady at church told us about. After running a couple errands, we made our way through town (looking at a map) to the park. We finally found it. It was sort of hidden back away from everything and seemed kind of deserted. I was kind of confused where the entrance would be because on the map it is a huge area, but we found an entrance with a sign. So we drove in, but didn't see any playground. There were some softball fields and a circle drive with a few cars parked in the parking spots. A couple different guys were standing at their cars. This sort of made me wonder - hmmmm, I've seen this scenario before. I think we just may have stumbled across THAT park in Columbus - if you catch my drift. I noticed that all the parked cars had a guy sitting in the driver's side and when we pulled out, there was a car with 2 guys in it. Yeah, that's what I mean. I stopped and asked one of the guys who was outside his car if there was a playground and he said no, not at this one. There is one down the road near the bus station. OF COURSE there wasn't one! They wouldn't mingle at a busy park with lots of kids running around! I'm sure there were a few chuckles and comments about the lady in the minivan and kids asking if there was a playground at that park. "She definitely isn't from around here!" I followed the guys directions, but still couldn't quite find the park, so I stopped at a fire station to ask directions. I was asking about the name of the so-called park I was trying to get to and the lady told me there wasn't a playground at that park, but there was one just down the road at a different park. She kept a straight face, but she was probably getting a kick out of my inquiry too! SO, I learned a little more about the Columbus area. Where TO go and where NOT to go! I always have fun figuring out a new area - so many things to discover!

3rd time is NOT a charm!

So, we've gone down to Columbus house hunting 3 weekends in a row and yesterday we found a house that Kent loved and I really liked, so we made an offer. But, to be honest, I knew we weren't going to get it b/c it was a little out of our price range and we weren't willing to pay the full price (or anywhere near it!). They countered, but hardly went down at all, so it's a no go. I really want to find a house that meets our needs, but I just don't think there is one out there that meets ALL our needs/wants in our price range, so I'm sure we will need to do some compromising. But at the same time we don't want to buy a house just to buy one either. Ugh! It is so frustrating! Last time I checked, we had 2 people in front of us on the waiting list for the town home, which is what we may end up having to do if we can't find a house by the time we need to move down there - IF we can get in by then! It is so frustrating because Columbus seems to be out of the recession and there have been a lot of homes that I think would have worked for us, but they all end up pending when we look at their website. It's probably b/c Cummins is in their hiring season and so lots of people are moving there and trying to find a house in the same price range as us. I know things will work out in the end, but time is running short. I know the Lord is looking out for us and we just need to have patience, but waiting is so hard! We have always had things work out perfectly timing-wise every time we have moved, so I know it will this time too, but not knowing ahead of time is just so dang annoying! Another one of life's trials I guess. It would be so much easier to only have to move once, but that just may not be an option. Kent's work will pay for temporary housing for 2 weeks once he starts work, so he may have to do that, but I just want to be able to get down there and get settled in before he starts work. Why can't I have my way all the time? :0) It's just not fair. Life just isn't like that though, huh? Boo to the unknown and waiting. I guess when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Freshly squeezed please.

Trip to Columbus

It was a bitter sweet experience. My poor baby wasn't feeling good at all the whole time. Her first illness. She started getting sick Sunday I think and by Monday started being really congested and then last night having a fever of 104! I was kind of scared, but luckily I brought infant Tylenol and Kent gave her a blessing. Even though we stayed in this really cool, modern hotel, the Indigo, we didn't have a very restful night with a fussy baby. Luckily we didn't have any kind of appointment this morning, so we were able to sleep in. I had to give myself a smile because early this morning Kent was nice enough to take Callie for awhile and let me sleep some, but she started getting fussy again after a bit. Kent tried everything for quite some time, but she just wouldn't stop fussing. I felt bad for the people next to us! Anyway, I told him to bring her into me and as soon as I snuggled her up to me on the bed she fell fast asleep. I guess she just wanted her momma! I felt so loved and needed (and not just for a source of food!). I love those moments. She still is congested and slightly warm, but nothing like last night, thank goodness. After she eats she get so congested that sometimes she throws up a ton of milk and all the mucus stuck in her chest. She cries every time after she eats because she gets really gassy and has lots of painful burps stuck in her. I feel so bad for her and wish I could just take all the discomfort and pain away. It is so sad to hear her wimpering and fussy cries and know there isn't a whole lot I can do about it. I hope she gets over it soon! She looks so miserable with her watery eyes, runny nose and sad countenance here. Her baby acne doesn't improve her looks at all either! My poor little girl!





So, anyway. My parents watched the other 3 kids while we went to Columbus to get more familiar with the area and see what kind of housing we could find. Kent's future employer, Cummins, graciously paid for our hotel room, which they upgraded to an awesome suite. I was kicking myself because I didn't grab the camera before we left, so I didn't get any pictures of our room except on Kent's phone, and I don't know how to get them off. But if you click on the hotel link then you can at least see the cool lobby. They even have a resident pup named Miles! We ate dinner at this Bistro with his boss and co-worker and their families, which was one of those fancy-shmancy restaurants that was really expensive and had stuff on the menu that I didn't know how to pronounce or what it was. One where the presentation was creative and that they didn't just plop the food on the plate. It was pretty good, but I still was hungry when I left. It could be that I am a nursing mom that makes me have a huge appetite though.

We found an awesome house for rent that would be the same amount as a townhome with 400 sq. ft. more and a big yard, but it has a retaining pond with a sloped yard and no fence. Not my idea of safe with a 3 year old who loves to go fishing running around! So, we'll probably go with the townhouse that has a detached garage across the parking lot for all our storage. Both were in the school district that we wanted and the ward we want to be in as well. There aren't many houses for rent at all in Columbus and we had to get on a waiting list for the townhouse.

I guess Cummins pretty much owns Columbus. Out of the 40,000 people in Columbus, probably about 5,000 work for Cummins! And if you don't work for Cummins, then you are probably married or related to someone who does. They have this really cool recreational area for Cummins employees with camping, fishing and a sports complex available. We will definitely be taking advantage of that. Plus we are within 2 hours of 3 big cities with lots to do - Indianapolis, Louisville, and Cincinnati. There are lots of big lakes and rivers for Kent to enjoy fishing as well. Columbus has all the major necessary stores - Target, Kohls, JCPenney, Walmart AND a mall! I'm set! Plus the Edinburgh Outlet Malls are super close too! Brown County and Nashville are right down the road as well. I love Brown County. I think I'm going to really like the area.

So, even though Callie wasn't feeling good, we were able to get to know the area a little more and figure out what we like and don't like. We also found a couple really yummy places to eat. That's always a plus. :) Thanks, Mom and Dad, for watching the kids for us!