This Sign Is Pointing at Our House!

So... we have BIG news. For the last several months, we've been keeping it under wraps that Brian has accepted a position at the Smucker's Jif plant which is located in Lexington, Kentucky. We are moving to the South, y'all! Although it is going to be very tough to leave our family, friends, and the home which we absolutely adore, we are excited for this move.

Now we just need to sell our house... and buy a new one... and move out... and move in... all by the end of May... of this year!

Taste Testing with Stella

To be honest, Stella wasn't much into the Spangler factory tour, but she enjoyed the taste testing part immensely!

Spangler Candy Company Tour

Both of my kids are fanatics of Dum Dums, which are made at the Spangler Candy Company in Bryan, Ohio. We've been wanting to take them on a tour of the Spangler factory for quite some time now, and with this Porter having this week off for Spring Break, we decided our opportunity had finally come.

During the tour, we had to wear hairnets. Stella was not feeling that at first!

The tour of the factory was fantastic, and we even got to ride on a trolley! We highly recommend!

Swimming at the Sauder Heritage Inn

As soon as we arrived at the Sauder Heritage Inn, our kids shared one singular mission... to get into the hotel's pool immediately. They spent the rest of the day in the water!

Sauder Heritage Inn

While Porter was on Spring Break from school this week, we thought it would be great to go on a little adventure. We headed up to northwest Ohio and stayed 2 nights at the Sauder Heritage Inn in Archbold. It is an absolutely beautiful place!

Gumdrop Castle

Porter just loves to build. I gave him some gumdrops and toothpicks and walked away. This is what he came up with:

Best Bath Ever

Shaving cream + food coloring + a paint brush = best bath time fun ever!

Stole My Heart

Oh, this girl... she stole my heart and won't give it back!

Best Neighbor

Cornfields really make the best neighbors!

Small Fry & String Bean

Both Porter and Stella had their annual well visits today, and thankfully, all was well. Small-Fry Stella came in the 36th percentile for height (3 feet tall) and the 19th percentile for weight (28 pounds), while String-Bean Porter is in the 65th percentile for height (3' 10"), the 30th percentile for weight (42 pounds), and the 9th percentile for BMI (the kid is super skinny).

Happy 6th Birthday, Porter!

Dear Mr. P-Poteropolous,

Another year down and you are no less intense. You are a relentless person in many ways. You are a relentless builder, you have a relentless love for your family, a relentless creativity, a relentless drive to figure things out, and the list goes on and on. Anything you set your mind to, you do to the fullest, no exception.

You are also incredibly smart. You question many of the big aspects of life: is God real, are my parents right, why are things good or bad? You also don’t settle for half-baked answers. Your mom and I have learned to either give you the full right answer or to tell you to ask Parker. With your questions becoming more and more challenging to answer, we’ve been deferring to Parker a lot lately.

You have also turned into a really great little artist. You have already surpassed the things your mom or I could create. I love coming home from work to find a note or picture from you. I hope you never lose that sweetness and caring for others. That, along with your drive to do things right, will take you very far in this life. I am very proud of you and love being your father. You have great things ahead!

Love,
Dagu

Porter's Birthday Cake

With all of the grandparents in attendance, we celebrated Porter's 6th birthday a day early with a yummy chocolate cake!

Check out the video below of Porter blowing out his moving birthday candles:

Oh Wow!

With Porter having today off school, I thought it would be fun to travel all the way to downtown Youngstown for a visit at OH WOW! (aka The Roger & Gloria Jones Children's Center for Science and Technology... which doesn't really roll of the tongue as well).

The kids had a blast! There was so much to do here that they ran around for almost 2 hours straight.

After our museum experience, we then headed 15 minutes down the road to see the GREATS. Of course, I am referring to Great Aunt Darleen and Great Grandma Gauder! We had an awesome day.

Check out the video below to see one of Porter's favorite exhibits at the museum:

Gorgeous Day for a Walk

What a gorgeous day for a walk in the park! After picking Porter up from school, we headed straight to Johnson Woods State Nature Preserve in Marshallville for mile long trek around the boardwalk trail.

Here's a few random pics of the kids while we were on the trail. They are both such hams!

Blu's Spa Day

Today was all about Blu. She got her bath, hair brushed and blown dry, and nails done. I'll admit, I'm a little jealous!

Here's Blu's glam squad working their magic on her coat:

Now for the nails. This is how our Sheltie gets her nails done... she lives quite the life!

Porter's Lion

I'm just loving this lion Porter made in art class at school: