Saying Goodbye to Ohio!

First off, Tyler has had a countdown to the end of residency since the beginning of the year.
He captured his last second of work....

Our last few weeks were busy.  The kids were excited to stay up late a couple times and catch fireflies; something that we will miss once we are back in the West.  

We invested in a new DVD player for the van before our long road trip.  

Tyler got it all installed one evening.  

The kids were mesmerized.

The moving company came and went in two days!  

They packed our stuff and hauled it away.  

It was quite the chore to get the truck up by our house. 

Our first experience with having professional movers! (It was a good one)

All our stuff fit into half of a semi!

The driver was so kind and let the kids each sit in the truck and toot the horn a few times before he drove off.

"Sleep whenever, sleep wherever."  

That has been the motto for the last month of being "homeless." 

After the movers left, Tyler left to go on a high adventure campout with the Boy Scouts.  That left me several days at home with an empty house.  We stayed busy visiting our favorite places one more time!

Donut run with Cara and kids. 

Visiting Shawnee State Park and the Nature Center. 

They always have critters to hold.

A fun little hike.

A beautiful site to see!

And last of all.... creeking!

 
The boys got brave and slid down the rock into the water, which was really only waist deep on them.

We had an opportunity to swim and play at a friends house one evening.  Ellionna just loves jumping on the tramp by herself.  Do you notice her guilty face? She just peed on the tramp.

I will have to find pics of Tyler's adventures with the Boy Scouts.  This is the only picture he captured.  They stopped at a place for lunch on the way home called "Hillbilly Hotdog."  Their hamburgers are famous! 

One of the last Ohio sunsets I captured. 

 We enjoyed an evening at a luau celebration with Tyler's co-workers.  

Jarod and his fiancee, Stacey, were the hosts.  They always go all-out!  These were the center pieces.  They picked the wild day lilies that morning from the side of the road.

 
As I gather up all the photos taken from our devices, I know I did not capture as many pictures as I wanted with the people that we love and will miss so much!  It was a lot harder leaving our church family and friends than I ever imagined.

The kids with the Ekin girls and Gabby Collis. 

 (Also known as the BEST babysitters!)

Makenzie got real close to Meghan Johnson over the last year.  

They were in the same Cirque D' Art dance group.

        Jen and Jen :)                    

 Cara.... This girl never ceases to amaze me!!

Her daughter Grace is just as spunky as Gavin.  

They had a love/hate relationship.  

Luckily it ended in love!!!

Gavin and the "Candy Man"

Bro. Brown loved our spunky and impulsive little guy.  He said Gavin reminds him a lot of what he use to be like as a kid.  Bro. Brown was always so patient, kind, and giving to our family!

Tyler with Bishop Cox.  These guys were like two peas in a pod.  They had soooo much in common and got a long so great!  Tyler served as Young Men's President the whole 3 years we were in Ohio.  Bishop was always there to support Tyler in so many ways.  We will miss him and his wife, too!

Hilda Spence and Gail Duplain are two women that I hope to pattern my own life after.  They are woman of faith, love, and service!  They both have served my family in so many countless ways.  We have so many good memories with them and their families.

We spent a lot of time at this building!!! It sat on a huge hill that we used for slip n' sliding and other activities.

We left Ohio after a fulfilling day at church.   

Thank you Ohio for being good to us!