Ode to Upper Arlington

Oh Upper Arlington. If we could just take you with us we would be oh so happy. As it stands, there can only be one UA, and we have been so fortunate to call this marvelous community our home for the past 5 years. In what other city can you read in the crime beat section of the local news paper about a grilled cheese sandwich mysteriously being dropped down someones laundry shoot? Who wouldn't want to live in a place where that is what keeps police officers busy? (Okay maybe the Provo police have similar encounters…)  

We have loved every walk down the beautiful tree lined streets. We have loved bumping in to friendly people, like the Nice-Day-Isn't-it-Guy. We have loved the fabulous parks and libraries. We have loved the cardinals, bluejays, backyard bunnies and the "jumpy-squirrells."  We have loved the festivals, fireworks and parades. It is truly a beautiful place. I can't think of anyplace I have seen more people out riding tandem bicycles, more happy dogs at the weekly dog parties at the park or more beautifully manicured yards and homes.  If that doesn't sound like heaven on earth I don't know what is!

 From the time we moved onto Ridgeview road in 2009 we feel in love with Upper Arlington. It has been a very good home to us. While we are looking forward to many aspects of our move out west, we will very greatly miss living in Upper Arlington, and I don't know if we will ever love a neighborhood with quite as much depth as we have love this one. Yes we have had it good. We have been within a very short walk of playground, an excellent library, the grocery store, restaurants, the farmers market, just to name a few. In fact, I have walked to my eye doctor, dentist and hair stylist! And a lovely walk at that! It really has a quaint little small town feel. Its like living in Pleasantville. It is going to be a sad goodbye. This has been the first place we have called home. Our children were born here. So we want to add it to the family archives. 

Upper Arlington has been home to two little cute Golden Bears. 

(One is more willing to smile for the camera than the other)

Thomas Bear

And Caroline Bear. 

side note: This may be the first time I have ever made t-shirts to correspond with a blog post! Ha ha

Another side note: One of our all time favorite Thomas memories was leaving the UA high school regional finals game and Thomas saying, unscripted, "Hooray for the Golden Bears!"

Our favorite street, Henthorne.

Spring time in Upper Arlington is my favorite. The trees are exquisite. 

Come along with us on one of our almost daily walks, we will show you around. 

First stop, Tremont Elementary. While we never had any kids go there, we did quite like the school. They have lovely little gardens the children tend to and nice playground Thomas used quite frequently. 

And its a lovely little school to boot. 

 Next stop: Northam Park Playground. I don't even know how many hours of my life I have spent here. Lets just say A LOT! The sandbox alone probably adds up to a full month of my adult life. :) Thomas has made lots of friends here, played hard and had a lot of fun times.

Another little cutie trying out the playground. And look in the background! Thomas is finally starting to get comfortable with the slides. 

Right next to the playground is the Upper Arlington Library. It is one of our favorite places to go. There were times in Thomas' and my life here that we literally went to the library every day. Since Caroline was born, we don't go quite as frequently. More like 2 times a week. I love this library.  And so do my kids. 

I hope these sweeties always have a love for books and learning.

Gotta start 'em out young. 

Time to head back home.

This has been great little home for us. 

The backyard is wild, but its been nice to have a place to run and play with the kids. 

We will miss seeing little woodland creatures roaming in our yard. Farewell Felix, Jumpy, Jensen, Fairfax, Jarvis and whatever random name clint has given to any woodland animal. :) 

We have had some lovely neighbors and friends here. This is Ursula and her dog Holly. When we first moved in Thomas would look at Holly from across the street and Holly would stare back at him. They were very equally interested in what the other was up to. We called Holly the "Orange Dog" for quite awhile, until we met Ursula and she properly introduced us to Holly. Ursula just turned 93 years old and is a feisty but warm lady. I wish we had met her sooner!

We had to take a picture of Holly before she got her annual haircut!

Thomas loves Holly! 

This is our neighbor that lived right directly behind us, Jean. Thomas loved Jean, and Jean loved Thomas! She was always so fun to talk to at the fence while she was working in the yard. She was such a lovely neighbor and was always doing the most thoughtful things for the kids. 

Upper Arlington! What other place can you make $25 at a lemonade stand? How cute are these little faces? Who could resist? I overheard Thomas saying to passerby's, "Would you like some lemonade PWWEASE?"

Thomas has had so many wonderful friends around the neighborhood. It has been fun to get together for playdates with Lincoln, Gordon, Eva, Theo and now little Caroline is joining in on the fun!

Here are our good friends the Fieldings, Clark and Cece. Is this really the best picture I got of them? 

The Bardsley's have been one of our closest friends here, and one of the first families we met after we were married. They lived right across the street from us on Ridgeview Road for a few years when Grace was just a baby. It has been fun to see their family grow. Thomas gets along really well with Grace and Luke. We took a last hurrah camping trip our last weekend in Columbus and had so much fun. We will miss them!

And the Glenn's have been like family to us. I would be lost without them! Thomas and Lincoln have just had this special bond since they were babies. I will really miss seeing them play and grow together. They have made it to the ranks of life long friends, like many others we have met out here in Columbus and we are lucky to have them!

There have been so many good friends and people out here if I posted pictures and stories about everyone my blog would be a mile long. Too many to count and list. We have been greatly blessed by so many special and wonderful people. Now I don't want this blog post to read like a eulogy! It probably already does! It is more like a tribute!

Lastly, while we have been in Upper Arlington 5 years, we have been in Columbus 7 years for me and 8 years for Clint. We have loved it! And here are some of our favorite spots.

Jeni's ice-cream has long been one of my very favorite places in Ohio. Its close enough by us that we can go anytime, but far enough away that I don't go all the time, which is probably for the best. Actually if Jeni's was within walking distance to our house I don't think we would be moving back to Utah. 

 And from an early age, Thomas recognized that Jeni's was what ice cream is meant to be like.

 We have loved going to the Metro Parks as a family. This picture is from the Slate Run Farm, one of our favorites. It has been fun to really explore the landscape of Columbus and find the beauty here, even when it is so different from the majestic beauty of the west.

I have really come to love the landscape here in Columbus. The green trees and grass, the calm rivers and even the gray sky. It has been hugely influential to me in my art practice.

Other things not pictured that we will miss- Northstar burgers and pancakes. Going on outings with the kids to the zoo and COSI. The Columbus Museum and the Wexner Center (although after having children I haven't been able to go as often as I would have liked). And I know Clint has loved studying and working at OSU, and I did too.

It is strange to think that 7 years ago I packed up my white pontiac and grove across the country with my mom to attend graduate school at Ohio State University. Now, 7 years later, I'm packing up my same white car, this time with two carseats and a husband to head back to my mountain home. I have gained the world in my time here. I will be forever grateful for the time I have had to live in Columbus, Ohio. It has truly made me a better person. I feel it has changed me to be a little more down to earth, a little more open minded, a little more  easy going and a little more accepting of things/places/people that are different than what I was used to. I couldn't have chosen a better place for my children's first years of life. Part of my heart will alway call Ohio home.