Owen Learns to Ride

 Owen learned to ride a two wheeler bike! The last of our kids to learn! He’s put it off for a long time with fears of falling and fears of failing. His body is more than capable and has been for many years. It’s incredible how powerful the mind can be. We were getting bikes out yesterday and I told him to grab his rollerblades so he could ride the trails with us. He hopped on this tiny bike and simply started to ride. He surprised himself more than anything that he could balance! So instead of rollerblades, we packed the little bike and went riding on the trails. He was a little wobbly at first, but as he gained speed he learned that balancing is easier when you go faster. He is so very proud! Each of the kids got a bike a couple years ago at Jaxton’s bike shop, in Rush. I never got Owen one because he couldn’t ride. I told him once he could learn to ride, we would get him his own bike! Well, now it’s time! Next time Jaxton comes home we will go pick out a bike for him. Proud of this boy Conquering his fears!

G & G Hutch

 It was wonderful to have Grandma And Grandpa Hutchinson come visit from Utah. They are so very special and they try very hard to visit as often as possible. They came to visit last Thanksgiving, again in January, and again for the graduation events. I’m so grateful for them and for their efforts in building relationship relationships with each kid in our household. We love them very very much!

Cooper’s Grad Party

 We celebrated Cooper’s graduation on the Saturday after the ceremony. This way, Grandma And Grandpa from Utah were able to attend both events in the same week. We spent a lot of of the week getting the yard prepared and Nate has worked so hard. Our backyard is beautiful. We have a brand new deck that we finally installed with patio furniture, flower pots, and the fountain in the pond. We planned for 100 people or so as an open house style event. So many people from Cooper’s life showed up for him on Saturday. People from church, work, school, Simplx, YMCA, friends, from his childhood days all the way through his high school community. What an amazing thing it is for a community to come together and literally send off a new graduate out into the world with both emotional friendship support as well as solid monetary support. I know he is grateful for those that showed up for him. And I think he feels even more financially stable to head off to Spain.

Graduation 2026

 Cooper has officially graduated from high school. How can that be? Where has the time gone? He was nominated from his class to be the 2026 graduation peer speaker at the ceremony.  My mom and dad, Grandma And Grandpa Hutchinson, flew in from Salt Lake City for the graduation ceremony and Cooper’s grad party this weekend. That was special to have them here this time. This group of kids that is graduating is a special group. Nate has coached many of them in basketball since middle school and Those players hold a very special plate in his heart. They all are doing amazing things and spreading across the country and the world.

Cooper speech was phenomenal. He usually procrastinate, and he did the same with his speech, but he worked hard on it and couldn’t get it down to less than 25 minutes. He had a lot to say and a lot to share. He shared the story about Boy Scout, summer camp, and eating minnows with the older Scouts. He shared the shame and guilt he felt from that experience. He was able to bring that story around and learn a significant light life lesson from that experience. He was able to understand that his perspective as a child was so limited And narrow. He also experienced quitting something and encouraged the group not to quit because of fear or embarrassment, but to push forward and keep going. It’s very mature for him to be able to take an experience that impacted him so intensely and be able to turn it around and find a life lesson out of it. I’m a proud mama! 

The graduates walked across the stage and took their diploma and we clapped and cheered. Cooper has had some amazing mentors at the high school. Those teachers have stuck with Oak farm high school for a very long time now and their presence has impacted the high school significantly. Cooper can call upon any of those teachers as references, mentors, and seek advice from any of them, and they would happily support him.

The graduates include : 

Ryan Kochanski- Bowling Green

Derek Hale-Purdue

Sully McCreary- US Marines

Reid Kaiser-Miami University of Ohio

Ivy Whitmer- Trine

LillyWhitmer-Trine

Lily Mosher-Grace College

Anna Pelance

Olivia Miller-Kent State

Claire Davidson-Butler

Pearston Matney-Trine

Porter Lowe-Trine

Ryker Elias-Tennis for ?

Jennifer NanSamba-Grace College

Cooper Routsong-Academia Guiu in Barcelona

Chicago BLS

 Cooper had an appointment in Chicago to apply for his student visa in Spain. Believe it or not, we have to travel to Chicago, the closest hub for Spain student recess. Cooper Kayleigh and I took the train from Waterloo to Union Station in downtown Chicago. We walked the city streets on a beautiful morning.

Cooper’s appointment went well. He said there was a lot of students there and they were behind schedule. He had to go in to the department all by himself with all the correct documents in hand. Everything went pretty smoothly and we will hear back in 6 to 8 weeks that they have his passport stamped with the student visa. Then Cooper will have to go back to Chicago and pick it up! 

Since we were in Chicago, we decided to take advantage of the city! We found some neat trails along Lake Michigan, and the kids rode Lyft Bikes for almost an hour while I sat in the park and read my book. Kaylee and I visited An authentic Chicago coffee shop with fancy drinks. I got a tiramisu cold brew and Kayleigh got a dragon fruit blast drink.

It was a fun time with these kids. And a successful trip!

Messy Games 2026

Messy games 2026 was another hit! It was the last messy games of all time for our family. That is a milestone! 13 years of messy games and this will be our last.

Owen has been so excited about messy games! He brought home rice to cook up for one of the games. The third graders got to play in the games and choose them and he was so thrilled to be a part of that planning process. He wanted to cook the rice two days ahead, just to make sure it was done, but I didn’t get to it till the night before. 

I signed up to be an extra helper. Instead, they assigned me a group of 11 kids to lead from station to station. We had a blast! Owen was with his Close friends, Alex and Cameron and Parker. Here are some fun pictures of the day!

 

Butter Slip n Slide

Bubble gum relay

Pie In The Face to the teachers

Oatmeal balance beam - yuck!

Baseball: mashed potatoes at home base. 

 Spaghetti at 1st base

Canned peaches & beans at second base

Rice & butter at 3rd base

Jello Fidget find

The classic sundae hair salon