a visit to ohio

A week and a half ago, we went to visit our friends, the Allens, for the first time since they moved away. It was my very first trip to Ohio!

Kaya had been saying for weeks on end that she was so excited to see Mia, so I was really anticipating watching them meet again. They were a little shy around each other at first, but their reservedness turned to pure joy very quickly. I loved seeing my little girl so very happy.

Katherine made some delicious homemade pizza!

We spent most of the time we were at their house out in the yard. My girls thought that sliding down into a baby pool was pretty much the most fun idea ever!_MG_429508042016collage1 _MG_4290

Popsicles on the porch at the end of the night made for some happy girls!_MG_4307 We went to the zoo (which will be another post, since I took too many pictures to include here), played some Blokus, laughed over the oddness of the Olympic opening ceremonies, had Chinese food, and made amazingly-huge brownie sundaes when the kids were asleep. It was so refreshing to see our good friends, just relax, and spend time together.

On Saturday morning, Katherine and Matt watched our kids so we could visit the Columbus LDS temple. We haven’t been to the temple since last October, so this was a treat for us. I love the temple and the peace I feel there. Somehow, when I’m inside, most of the things I spend my time worrying about on a normal basis don’t seem to matter all that much._MG_4361 It doesn’t hurt to have a pretty studly date, either. 😉_MG_4363 IMG_20160806_111408It was a very small temple (maybe even tinier than our chapel building back home), but it was, of course, perfect._MG_4364The gardens seemed extra beautiful, too._MG_4365 _MG_4371

We headed back to their home and stayed until just after lunchtime. I’m learning that my kids just don’t seem to do well with traveling- they seem to have an exponential increase in meltdowns and tantrums when we’re not at home, so they were more than ready for some naps on the drive back.

The only cool way to drive home is with pink sunglasses. Obviously.

We had such a great time. It’s not easy having friends move away, but I guess the silver lining is that eventually, you have friends in all different places to go and visit!