The Big Trip Home!

Dear Friends and Family,

First, let me apologize to anyone I did not see on our big road trip home this year.  I had great ambitions about a month before the trip to reach out and plan a time to see everyone, and then before I knew it, the trip home was upon us, and I realized that I totally dropped the ball. That doesn't  mean that I didn't want to see you. I thought about everyone I was missing the whole time I was in town, but I couldn't figure out how to arrange a meet-up with such short notice. I promise to do better next year!

We began our "odyssey" two weeks ago.  I had just received news on Tuesday night that my newest nephew had arrived! When I saw the message and pictures on my phone I instantly teared up thinking about how my little brother was now a Daddy! Graham Preston Strategier was born on June 27th, and knowing that I would see him on my drive the next day made our trip even more exciting!

All of you praying for our drive made the trip wonderful too! We had great driving weather and very little traffic. We arrived in Columbus to see my brother, Kyle, sister-in-law, Ryan, and baby Graham at the hospital around 6:00pm on the 28th. I told my kids that Graham was only 24 hours old so we needed to keep our distance and just blow kisses in his general direction across the room. However, when we entered the room, Kyle welcomed us with big hugs and then Ryan encouraged us to take turns holding Graham. They were so laid back. Ryan spent 30 hours in labor then finally delivered Graham via c-section. I thought she would be more than exhausted for any prolonged company, but there she was, smiling cheerfully, encouraging the kids to climb up next to her for a snuggle and a piece of Graham's birthday cake!

One happy Aunt, meeting the adorable Mr. Graham Preston Strategier! 

Claire was all smiles too!

Ryan's parents were also there. They were so welcoming, and loved snuggling their newest grandson.

Uncle Kyle and Aunt Ryan got Claire her favorite teddy bear when she was only a few weeks old, so Claire insisted on picking out a teddy bear for Graham!

While we were there, they treated Graham for his jaundice with a bilirubin light. They didn't have this for my kids. I thought it was so cool! 

The kids smile at their swaddled and masked baby cousin.

Hugs and kisses good-bye to their wonderful Aunt Ryan!

After our visit, we continued on to Dayton, Ohio to see the Baker Family! My sister and brother-in-law hosted us for two nights and Claire and Will loved playing with their cousins - even doing slumber parties in their cousins rooms! It was great having a room all to myself and then getting to gradually wake-up to the sound of their playing in the morning. Katie took us to one of their libraries for some summer reading activities and then we spent time at their park and water park playing. It was a great time!

Will was SO excited to trade Pokemon cards with his cousin Noah!

Bedtime stories with Aunt Katie!

Cousins all playing together.

Will and Ellie played really nicely together!

Cutest back seat ever! 

Claire and Noah make buttons at the library.

Look at these monkeys!

The monkey bar girls!

I kept trying to capture how cute Will and Ellie were on this visit. They were really sweet playing together - even buddies on the playground!

A quick stop at Chick-fil-a for lunch before we headed down to Northern Kentucky on Friday! The kids were excited to eat at their own kid table! (Katie and I were excited to eat at our own adult table too.)

We headed straight to Dad and Dixie's house for a visit and dinner.  The kids LOVED exploring their amazing garden. It was fun seeing the garden so mature since we usually come when it's just starting in May or early June.

These kids love to help water the plants!

Claire helped Dixie harvest some cucumbers and shishito peppers!

Later that night we headed to Giles and Gina's house and got settled in for a few day stay. They live in a gorgeous home with an amazing yard and pool. It was like visiting a resort! Giles and Gina are also incredible hosts so they made us feel so welcome. Chris flew in for the weekend and Sara, Matt, Makayla, and Victoria arrived that night as well.  

The next morning we all gathered for a memorial service to celebrate the life of my cousin Bo who passed away in February. It felt good to see family, exchange hugs, and to share prayers, stories, and grief over losing Bo so soon. Sara led the service. She has an amazing talent for presenting God's word in such a positive way. There were tears, but there were also smiles seeing the kids and reuniting with loved ones.

Mark and Landon!

Benny plays with his Grandpa (my uncle Dave).

Sara and I were so happy to see our Aunt Karen, who we love so much.

After the memorial service, Giles and Gina hosted an incredibly fun pool party back at their house.

Claire, Victoria, Makayla and I all pile onto the giant Unicorn/Pegasus float! 

Chris and Will had fun spraying us or trying to flip our float!

Matt found a nice spot to relax with one of Uncle Giles' famous margaritas!

Aunt Sara gets in on the pool fun too!

Sara was (jokingly) sorry to see the Bellinis come to an end! Giles happily serves and Dixie helps pass them out!

Fun Aunt Gina takes a dip to cool off!

Sara and I are happy to smile with our always fun Uncle Giles!

Uncle Dave plays with Benny in the pool! 

The Collier Family: Mark, Benny, Landon, and Lindsey

The perfect sunset for an evening of volley ball fun!

Hugs with my cousin Lyle!

 On Sunday, my friend Tara arranged for a Mass to be said in Bo's name at Mother of God church, where Chris and I were married and where Bo was baptized. Our family had the honor of bringing up the gifts and Grandma made sure she got to take her turn as Lector that weekend as well. It was a very nice Mass.

Many generations of our family have been a part of this church. Grandma still remains involved!

Grandma takes her seat as a Lector.

Bringing up the gifts.

Afterwards, Dad and Dixie made us a delicious brunch!

Hugs with my wonderful Grandma!

 On Monday, we took Matt, Makayla, and Victoria to Skyline chili for their first "Skyline time!" Then we headed downtown to play in the splash pad overlooking the suspension bridge and to walk around the Great American Ballpark.  Dad and Dixie invited us to see their new RV afterwards, and then they made us a delicious farewell dinner.

Exploring Dad and Dixie's cool new RV!

My dad, the Grill Master!

When I think of my dad, I'll always remember him cooking goetta and eggs, grilling, or sipping on a bourbon and ice!

Dad and Dixie also made some small batch fruit vodka! It tasted delicious, and Dixie made us some amazing martinis!

On Independence Day, I took the kids to my hometown parade where I met up with my high school girlfriends and my kids learned the art of diving for candy thrown their way! Will cheerfully called to every float that passed by, "Candy please!" He ended up with quite a full bag!

My High School gang! Stephanie, Julie, Stephanie, Me and Tara!

Will is ready to get that candy!

Afterwards, we headed over to my grandmother's house where she fed us lunch, ice cream, and let the kids feed her fish. Being so spoiled by her sweetness made me remember why I loved going to her house growing up!

That evening, we headed over to my best friend Tara's house to spend two nights! Tara has seven kids and my kids got along well with all of them. Will especially got along with Olivia who is five years old. They were best buddies. Claire played mostly with Katie and Mary who are just a year or two older than her. And I was SO excited to meet the newest baby, Evalyn! She is such a doll! Tara and I had so much fun hanging out together while our kids played! They played so well together that Tara and I even had time to play cards and talk!

On our final night in Cincinnati, Tara took us to General Custer's Golf and Gulp! Little did she know that I had one of my most favorite birthday parties there when I was still little and living in Cincinnati. Tara's step daughter now works there, so we got to play free putt-putt and as luck would have it, Hannah was playing the role of Elsa for a special "Frozen" night! The kids were so excited to meet the characters of Frozen.

It was Will and Claire's first time playing putt-putt and they LOVED it! I did my best to show them how to hold their putters, but in the end, the name of the game was, "just get the ball in the hole!" Will rejoiced every time that ball fell into the cup and proudly told his Daddy that he is a very good golfer!

Claire, Mary, and Katie!

Evalyn and Katie

Claire's newest trick: Jumping off the diving board and swimming to the ladder! 

Me and my wonderful friend, Tara!

Will and Olivia!

Popsicle time!

 

These two were SO cute!

  

My "good golfer!"

Claire did really well too!

 

What a fun visit! Our final stop was Lexington, Kentucky to see a few of my wonderful sorority sisters from college and to stay a few nights with my best friend, Karen. Claire was so excited to see Karen's daughters, Hope and Emily, again too. Karen and Dave have a beautiful home that is so comfortable and welcoming. Karen's sister, Kristen, was also in town with her kids Asher and Emerson. I was so happy to see Kristen again, and Will was excited to have another boy (Asher) to play with.  We had fun visiting our alma mater, Georgetown College together, trying some specialty popsicles at Steel City Pops, swimming at their pool, and visiting Lexington's night market which plays host to lots of food trucks, music, art, and craft breweries.

Emerson, Will, Emily, Claire, Hope and Asher!

  

Kristen and Karen and I take a seat in the old Chapel chairs - so many fun times, from Belle of the Blue to Song Fest in those seats!

The best popsicles in the world at Steel City Pops!

Dave and Will take a silly picture together! It's the colonel and his chicken!

Now Claire and Emily's turn!

 

Emerson and Kristen are all smiles at the night market!

I was so excited to see Mandy again! I've only known her kids through Facebook. They are sweethearts!

Will and Asher played peek-a-boo with Connor!

And Will enjoyed playing with Chirssy. He said the other day, "I sure like your friend Chrissy!"

George, Kristen, Karen, Chrissy, Me, Mandy, and Becky
Claire, Emily, Asher, Madeline, and Elanor

Karen, Chrissy, and Me
Karen was my roommate, but we had a foursome of best friends. Chrissy and Talona were roommates too and our other half! "We missed you, Talona!"

Chocolate truffle ice cream! YUM! Claire licked her cup clean!

Chrissy and her sweet Connor! I asked many of  you to pray for him when he was born extremely early. He proves to have supernatural abilities - overcoming so many obstacles that premie babies face. 

Chrissy and Dustin are college sweethearts. They met during our first week at college and Dustin has always given me a hard time about taking pictures, begging for hugs, and encouraging him to dance. Well, he completely surprised me this visit with a BIG hug, and indulging me, not only in taking a picture with Chrissy, but a smoochie one at that! 

Are you exhausted after reading all this? I am, after retelling all our adventures. It was an amazing trip, we drove home Sunday and after 10.5 fun hours in the car (really I'm so blessed to have kids who are great travelers), we returned to a clean house, a smiling husband/father, and our familiar bedrooms. Needless to say, the next morning we felt we deserved a spa day and we all did face masks in the bathroom!

I hope everyone else had a fun holiday week. And again, thank you to everyone who hosted us and for all of you who ensured our safe travels through your thoughtful prayers!
Love,
Bethie