Ohio is where my heart is!

 After the long 8 hour drive home our first stop in Ohio was a frozen yogurt place called Menchies. So Good!! It was quick the welcome home and I decided we had to go back a few time while I was in town. It is always fun to drive into town after being gone for a while. For all the old familiar places to stick out and the memories to come back. I love pulling into the driveway and seeing my house, then walking inside and smelling my house, after all the years we have lived there it still smells the same to me. Then my fuzzy family dog Abby gets so excited to me I think she is going to have a stroke. I LOVE coming home! It was great to see my dad and brothers. I love the men in my life.

That night we did a scavenger hunt around town with my sibling and some significant others. Elizabeth and I were on a team together and had the best time. We did a lot of laughing, most of it when I tried to pet a real duck, she tried to chew 6 pieces of bubble gum and blow a bubble with it, when I did the chicken dance in front of Lee's Famous Chicken and when I tried to explain to a Claire's employee how much my little sister loved pigs and we would be so sad if they didn't carry any pig items (Elizabeth does not actually like pigs, but we were on the hunt.) We also had to play on the playground at the park, try on mismatched shoes, find some cannon balls and ride in a shopping cart. After the hunt we went to Applebees as is McKnight tradition, it is so nostalgic for me to go there late on a weekend night. It brings back TONS of memories I have made there over the years (obviously it is one of the only restaurants in town.)
 

Sunday we all went to church together which we don't get to do very often. After church we had lunch and long family conversations. Seriously my favorite thing about Sundays. They neighbors brought over their new pet bunny which was a huge hit. I tried to get Mike to let me bring it home but he was pretty firm in him resounding NO!

While I was at home we spent a lot of time at the local pool. It was the theme of the later part of my summer... boy do I miss it!  After our long days at the pool we went home and... bottled peaches! Seriously it was exhausting. My mom go 2 bushels (100 lbs) of peaches while I was home. Since they were already ripe we had to act quick before they started to rot. I do have to admit it was fun to learn how to do. I had never bottled anything before but it felt pretty good to see this box of peaches turn into this counter full of beautiful peach filled bottles. I just wish I could have gotten a few bottles home for myself. I wanted to make some of my own when I got home to CT but the peaches in CT are to expensive to make all that work worth it. We also made peach jam which was a lot easier than canning them. I wanted to make some of that as well but Mike doesn't like Peach jam and I don't really eat jam so that idea got tossed out as well.

 

 

I know this picture is not flattering but it make me laugh. I was sooo tired from canning that I had to sit down, but in my half away state I just sat on the floor then Abby came over and knocked me down on the ground and I just submitted to her. I didn't go to bed till 1am that night. It was well worth it though

 

 While I was at home I also played tennis for the first time. My sister is on the school tennis team and awnted to get some practice in so I went over to the courts with her. My brother and his friend Nate ended up joining us for a game of doubles. I had a lot of fun, I'm not great by any means but I had a lot of fun. I am hoping Mike will play with me sometime. He is pretty good at tennis so I don't know if it would be as much fun to play with me rather than another guy but we'll see.

 We had to get a few family pictures before I left home. Grandma and Grandpa came up from Columbus to visit with me and grandma is great about taking pictures. Andrew was sick so he missed out little photo shoot but we did have one dinner where is was all 9 of us, just like the good old days. I love that when we sit down to dinner at the table everyone just naturally assumes the old spot they sat in when we all lived at home. I like that so much can change, but some things still stay the same. I love my family so much and had a really great visit. I always do. We aren't perfect and we have our moments but at the end of the day we love each other and there isn't anything better than that. My mom and sisters took me to the airport at 4am on Sunday morning. I was glad I was to tired to process the fact that I was leaving them till probably Christmas, or I would have cried like a baby, like I am now. I love living in CT and I know there is no way I will ever be able to get Mike to move to Ohio but I wish I lived closer to my mom. It is kind of funny now that I am home again I will go to target or the the grocery store and think "I remember when my mom was here with me last time, I wish she was still here." Maybe that just means I need to get back to work and that I have to much time on my hands but I don't care, I just miss my mom. So my plan is to convince my parents and sisters to move to Utah one day, which is where we hope to live on day as well. Then we can live on the same street as my parents, Mikes parents, his siblings and mine. That is the dream.... and it will happen one day. Although I think it will be called the Celestial Kingdom and not Utah.