Tag: family

August Create Date

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You may recall that one of our June adventure dates was to an art installation called Otherworld. We really enjoyed exploring all of their rooms, but my personal favorite was one with a variety of plush creatures. I am told it is called the Land of Schnoop. Anyway, Otherworld is starting to offer classes, and the first one was a class to design and build an Otherworldly creature! Not only were Keith and I interested in this opportunity, but both kids were excited to sign up, too.

The first step we had to complete was deciding what our creature would look like. They had precut creatures if you really didn’t want to do that part, but they encouraged everyone to try to sketch one out. Everyone has a different creative process, and it turns out that some of our family could sketch out a design and some of us needed to have pieces to play around with to really make design decisions. Both completely valid.

  • sketches l-r: Charlotte, Autumn, Micah

Our next step was to choose fleece for the main body of our creature and felt for the details. As I said, they had some precut options you could also play around with to get ideas. It was at this point that we had to start sharing 2-3 pairs of scissors for 6 people, and while it wasn’t terrible, it would have been quicker if everyone had their own pair.

Once all your pieces were cut, you had to attach the features to the fleece using sewing, hot glue, or a combination of the two. We did discover that the combination got tricky if you tried to sew through the hot glue – it was pretty tough to get the needles through. They also had some scraps of fake fur if you wanted to accent your creature with some of that. This step went very smoothly with plenty of glue guns and needles for everyone.

The last couple steps were really where the bottleneck of the class happened. It is quickest to use a sewing machine to sew the front and back of the creature together, but Otherworld only had one sewing machine for the 25 or so people in the class. And yes, you could hand sew, but the class time was supposed to be only two hours. And the Emigh family was hungry. So, the kids ended up having their creatures sewn and stuffed while we were there. They sent us home with more than enough stuffing for Keith and me to finish ours as well. I think this was just a result of it being their first class and them not knowing what to expect. I am relatively sure they expected to have more teens and less adults in the class, but everyone really enjoyed it and made amazing creatures. We LOVE ours!

  • Charlotte
  • Keith
  • Autumn
  • Micah

We would 100% recommend future Otherworld Makes classes and will definitely try to make it to more in the future. A great experience for our family to make things together, and very reasonably priced at $10/person. Thanks Otherworld! If you have been to Otherworld, what was your favorite room? Let us know in the comments!

June and July Family Game Night Recap

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Our family has had a fantastic summer filled with musicals, new experiences, festivals, friends, and lots of fun. The one thing we did not do this summer was have family game night. When we had a night free, our kids wanted to spend time with friends or just relax, so FGN fell to the wayside during this busy, active season. Now that we have a little more free time heading into the school year, I fully expect FGN to resume. The closest we got was giving away some games we no longer use in June and giving Micah the Monty Python Fluxx game as a show gift in July. Both are pictured below for your enjoyment. 😉

June Family Adventure Two

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We had 2 family adventures in June! It was wonderful to have the opportunity to spend so much time together and we had an amazing time at COSI. We were really there for the fossils in the Dinosaur exhibit because of a Geology 4-H project, but we definitely explored more than that. I was really excited for the Jim Henson exhibit, and it did not disappoint! So, without further ado, here is the full report. 🙂

When we first arrived, we had to wait for the group of 4-H members from our club to get out of the Chemistry Live show, so we hung out in Gadgets. I was happily surprised with how much fun we had trying to make devices that would fly in the wind tubes they had. It was great!

After meeting up with our friends for a photo, we ended up checking out the WOSU exhibit. We especially had fun with the lights that break up your shadow into different colors.

Our next stop was the Dinosaur exhibit. We all learned some new things – I know we were never taught that some dinosaurs had feathers! Lots of cool fossils to explore, too. I think our budding geologist really enjoyed it.

Finally, it was time to check out the Jim Henson exhibit. I have ALWAYS been a fan of The Muppets and Sesame Street. I also really enjoyed Labyrinth and The Fraggles. So, seeing the beginnings of the muppet-type characters and seeing actual puppets and costumes and sketches and writing from the shows was amazing! I am so glad the exhibit came to Columbus so we could check it out!

We would definitely all recommend checking out both COSI and the Jim Henson exhibit. The exhibit is only here until September 2nd, so you should make plans to see it soon! Definitely worth the time and entrance fee. If you have already been, what was your favorite part? Let us know in the comments!

June Family Adventure One

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There is a new art installation experience in Columbus called Otherworld. This has been on my radar for a few months and we actually bought presale tickets a couple of months ago. This past Saturday we were invited to Otherworld for a birthday meet up. We were very excited to go and check it out!

We spent a good amount of time in the lobby before going in. I do not want to give away all the fun you will have, but I will highlight some of our favorite things. Here are a few photos from the lobby and entrance.

Once inside, there are So. Many. Rooms. It took us a good hour and a half to fully explore all of the different parts of this amazing place. They have done a lot of really cool things and there is an incredible attention to detail. You can tell that there are plans to expand as some of the rooms are “just” really amazing murals. The only thing we struggled with is that the light is very low throughout, so our eyes were pretty tired when we left. Here are some sneak peaks at the many, many rooms awaiting you at Otherworld.

Overall, we had a great time exploring. It was really fun that we could touch and interact with everything in the rooms. There are puzzles and little surprises throughout which we really enjoyed. We look forward to checking it out again in a few months to see if there is more to discover.

May Family Game Night Recap

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As I mentioned in my other May posts, this was a busy, hectic, crazy month. When we were home for a rare evening, someone was always grumpy or sleepy or had to study or needed a mental break. So, we only had one Family Game Night (FGN) in May. Which is still better than nothing, but I am disappointed that we couldn’t make it work. Most likely we will do better in June – we will have less rehearsals after Charlotte’s Web closes on the 16th, so I am hopeful.

On May 25th, we decided it was now or never. The plan was that Charlotte would study for her test and then join Keith, Micah and me, but it went a little differently. When Charlotte joined us, Micah must have felt his obligation was fulfilled and he ditched us to play online with friends. Keith and I still had a wonderful night playing with both our children, just not at the same time.

The first game we played was 5 Minute Dungeon. Keith and Micah had played this game with friends, and they enjoyed it so much that Micah gifted it to Keith for his birthday. It was not a 5 minute game as the name implies, but it was fun once I got the hang of it. We beat the first dungeon, but we ended up losing the game in the second dungeon. I chose to be a ninja character (because NINJA!!), but had I understood how the game play worked and how the characters’ powers would be used, I may have chosen a character with a more useful power. Knowing the Micah is a fan of this game, I am sure it will be in rotation for future FGNs in our household. I do have to say that just shoving all the cards to the side gave me anxiety about having to sort them out later…

The second game we tried was a Christmas gift to our family from my brother’s family. Phone Phever is a game that uses your smart phone for a lot of the the questions; sometimes it is optional, other times not. You are racing the other players to get the latest, greatest, new smart phone by answering questions. We finished the game, but I doubt that the three of us will play it again. It seems like a game that young teens will like, so we will have Charlotte and her friends try it out.

The next game Keith, Micah and I played was The Oregon Trail Hunt for Food card game. This game was pretty simple once we got through the rules. Unfortunately, we all ended up dying before we could deliver enough food back to our camp. I believe one of us died from dehydration, one died from getting lost, and one died from a snake bite. No dysentery, so I guess we had that going for us. 😉 I feel like we will most likely try this game out again.

After Oregon Trail, Charlotte joined us and we lost Micah. Keith and Charlotte found a Friends Trivia Game at a thrift store last month, so we decided to give it a go. It ended up being pretty fun, and I was pleasantly surprised how many of the questions we knew – thanks Netflix! Keith managed to beat us out at the last minute, but it was definitely neck and neck for the win. I have a feeling that Charlotte will want to play this again, but it will have to once again be without Micah because he is not a big Friends fan.

Have you ever played any of these games? Do you have any games you think we should try? Let us know in the comments!

Mental Health Month (Part One)

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Since May is Mental Health month, I have received permission for the following (extremely long) post. I hope it helps give a face to Anxiety and Depression and it makes someone feel less alone. Please know that even if we are not close, I am here to listen and support any of you. ALWAYS.

Last night was a crazy one for our family. Charlotte had her last Middle School choir concert, Micah had the last orchestra concert of the year, and it was my father-in-law’s 82nd birthday. So, we made a plan to meet my in-laws for dinner. After dinner, Keith attend Charlotte’s concert and then they would meet me at the high school to see at least the last combined orchestra song. (We did the opposite last year, so that helped us decide.) My father-in-law went with Keith and my mother-in-law was to meet me at the high school.

Before we left dinner, Micah ended up in the bathroom for a long time. He eventually came out and walked right out the door, clearly not in a good place mentally. I grabbed both kids to get them to their schools by call time and told Keith I would update him when I could. We dropped Charlotte off and I tried to get Micah to open up and let me help him with whatever he was struggling with. It had already been a rough week at school for his anxiety because of a final robotics project Monday and an AP Calculus exam yesterday morning. Micah had not been in orchestra at all this week because of these conflicts, so he was worried he wouldn’t be able to get his music or his violin. So, I calmed him the best I could by reminding him his teachers are very kind people and I’m sure they would let him get what he needed. Just to be sure, I promised to go home and get his other violin and bring it back. He went in doing okay.

I texted him when I was ready to return to the high school to see if he was able to get his violin and music. He replied he did, but now he was paralyzed by his thoughts in the bathroom again. I talked him down, told him to find a trusted orchestra teacher to let her know he was not okay and I was on my way to help. I arrived not knowing whether he would be waiting for me or if maybe they were able to get him warming up.

I walked in and texted him I was there, got my mother-in-law settled in a seat, and he texted he was in the lobby. We spent he next hour in a side hall. I tried literally everything I could think of to get him to go be with his orchestra – reminded him he has survived 100% of his 5 years of concerts so far, nothing bad has actually ever happened to him while playing his violin, he is a talented kid and can do this, etc… We used meditation, grounding techniques, deep breathing, lots of tissues, and I finally told him all he had to do was sit up and tune his violin. Next we had to go to the lobby. We spent most of Symphony 1’s concert working on going into the auditorium. Finally, Symphony 2 was literally leaving to go on stage. I looked at him, told him he had no more time, he had to do this, and bless his beautiful heart, he went.

My beautiful, brave child grabbed his violin and went and performed. I was broken in a million pieces (but I did not cry the whole time with him because I am not only an empath, but also incredibly stubborn), and my heart was bursting with relief and pride and love for my broken child. He looked confident and prepared on stage and no one would have ever guessed what his last hour had been. YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO SEE WHEN SOMEONE IS NOT OKAY. If you saw me, talked to me, or hugged me last night, you probably didn’t know I was walking around shattered. If you saw my child after the concert, you probably got an awkward smile.

So, I want you to know that I see you, and I will struggle with you. I know what it is like to try to be strong enough for two people when you are really breaking into a million pieces. I know what it is like to have your child say things like “I wish I was never born” or “I wish I could go to sleep and never wake up.” I know the grief and fear and doubt and guilt. And I know that we are all doing the best we can. Micah is in counseling and on medications. Overall, things are getting better. But it is still a terrible, dark thing he is dealing with, and it is one he has to battle alone. But you know I will be there fighting to get to him. So please be kind to us.

April Family Game Night Recap

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March may have been rough for Family Game Night (FGN), but we are back on track in April! Even losing internet the evening we were planning to play an online family game didn’t phase us! It was a good month for games.

Our first FGN was April 12th. We were going to play Jackbox games using our television and cell phones, but our internet went out. So, we decided to take it on the road to the FGN event at two.fifty.four, the new youth center in Gahanna. We took Seven Dragons and Quarriors with us. We also enjoyed using their ping-pong, pool, and foosball tables. We really enjoyed that evening and will most likely be going back to two.fifty.four soon!

  • What luck that we could just pop down the street to this!
  • Seven Dragons
  • Quarriors
  • Ping Pong
  • Pool

Our next FGN was actually on Easter with Keith’s parents. We went to Marion for dinner and then sat down for a couple of games. We played Tsuro – Keith’s Dad took everyone out the first round and I think Micah won the second. It was our second time playing this game with them, so I think they enjoyed revisiting it. Then it was time for some smack talk in Uno. It was a really long game with lots of me remembering that I alter the rules some when I play with my clients… It was a really fun evening and I think everyone is looking forward to doing it again.

  • Tsuro
  • Tsuro
  • Tsuro
  • Tsuro champion!
  • Uno

May is looking to be a little crazy, so we will have to see how everything works out. I am sure we will at least fit in a couple nights with our kids. 🙂

March Family Game Night Recap

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Well, as expected, March was a super busy month. Our family involved in two different shows with two different tech weeks made for a very tight schedule. When we had time to have family game night, one or more of us was just not feeling up to it. So, we only have one game event to recap here. It’s a good thing we had extra game nights earlier this year! We also have not had any game nights involving my in laws this quarter, so we will need to figure that out for April.

On March 26th, we took Micah and 4 of his friends to Tabletop Game Cafe to celebrate his birthday – finally. The high schoolers had their own table and, as far as I know, only played two games. Betrayal in the House in the Hill and Kids Against Maturity (a more PG version of Cards Against Humanity). They seemed to have a great time with both of them.

Their game of Betrayal was the longest I have ever witnessed! The haunt started early and lasted forever!
They had a great time!

At our table, Keith, Charlotte and I played Love Letters a couple of times. This is a quick game that we really liked. Not complex and pretty fun.

Next we played Catacomb. Catacomb ended up being a lot of set up and learning, so we only played one encounter. We really liked the game play, though. Flicking disks at your enemies is strangely satisfying. We plan to watch a little gameplay on YouTube and then give it another try with all 4 of us.

No photo of the board set up – I was definitely not “on my game” that day!

The last game we played was Apples to Apples. It turned out to be a little rough for Charlotte because Keith and I have so many more years of inside jokes, but we all enjoyed this one, too.

Another easy to learn and play game – definitely less frustrating to Charlotte.

We also found a game we want to try next time we are at Tabletop – Sagrada. It is a dice game with only a couple pages of directions, so I think it could be a hit with our whole family. Charlotte is especially excited to try it.

Have you tried Sagrada or any other game you think we should check out? Let us know in the comments!

February Family Game Night Recap

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As expected, our Family Game Nights (FGNs) have slowed down a bit for February. We were, however, able to fit in two and thus meet our goal. It is really thanks to Micah deciding that he would love to spend his birthday evening playing games with us. Whew!

Our first FGN was Super Bowl Sunday. We aren’t huge football fans, and we definitely didn’t have any team we were favoring. So, we got set up to play a few games and have a few yummy snacks. First up was Dos Rios: Valley of Two Rivers. Keith and I had played this one before, but it was the first time for both kids. First up, they enjoyed stacking their meeples, casas, and haciendas.

  • White tower
  • Red tower

Everyone seemed to enjoy the game play once we got going. In the end, Charlotte prevailed with an excellent use of strategy, but everyone had a good time. We enjoyed some chocolates from Christmas, some Hello Panda green tea treats, and some Bhuja Snacks Cracker Mix. (We also had Little Debbie Valentine Cakes, but did not end up eating them that evening.)

  • Dos Rios game board
  • Sees Chocolates
  • Hello Panda Green Tea treats

To finish the evening out, we decided on Fluxx because it can be a quick game. Unfortunately, that was not the case on February 3rd. It was a long game with many rule changes and a couple times shuffling the deck. We were all quite relieved when Keith won, which is generally not the case.

  • Fluxx with so many rules…

Our second FGN for February was on the 24th for Micah’s birthday. We had to order a couple of cords on Amazon Prime Now and noticed that Betrayal at the House on the Hill was on sale for almost half off. We couldn’t pass that up and naturally decided to give it a whirl right away. Since it was Micah’s special day, and because Charlotte and I were right by The Cheesecake Factory on Polaris, we decided to get cheesecake to celebrate.

  • Cheesecake Factory and games
  • Our house almost complete

Keith and Micah had played Betrayal at the House on the Hill before, and our whole family played Betrayal at Baulder’s Gate in January, but this was the first time Charlotte and I played this version. We liked building the house better than building the Baulder’s Gate with all the different colored doors. We had unfortunate luck with our haunt this game, however, so Micah’s Zombie Lord ended up killing all of us. Keith and Charlotte were cornered in the basement and I was a 9 year old girl, so we didn’t stand a chance. We will definitely be adding this game into our rotation and are very excited to have gotten it on sale. We did not end up playing Fluxx, Micah’s other choice, because Charlotte was done and wanted to FaceTime and text with her friends. Since Betrayal took about 90 minutes, we let her go. Overall, a great evening. Can’t wait to see what games we will play in March – maybe we’ll have a Family Game Night at Tabletop over Spring Break.

February Mini Adventure

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Years ago, on a trip to the North Market, our family tried some Bubble Tea. At the time, we didn’t know how to order and if you know anything about me, I am a super picky drink person. I do not tolerate sweetener in my tea well. I do not like surprises when I am drinking. So, I’m sure you see where this is going, it was not a good Bubble Tea experience.

Today, we tried a new location of Bibibop that just opened in our area. When we walked in, we saw that there was also a Bibitea shop in the same space! It was finally time to have someone really take time to explain it to us, and we all walked out with Bubble Tea that we love. I cannot recommend this Bibitea shop enough! The ladies let us try various things and made sure we really liked what we were getting ready to buy. Excellent service and product. We will definitely be back!