Lake Eerie

This past weekend our friends Ryan and Sarah brought their three girls Sammy, Julie and Gabriella to meet us at Lake Eerie. It worked out great for them, since his sister lives in Detroit, Michigan. They flew there, spent a few days with them, and then we all drove to the Lake to meet at a resort there. It was such a happy, fun, reunion. One of my favorite memories was watching Reagan and Julie spot each other from across the parking lot. They ran and ran towards each other....when they finally reached each other, they stopped eye to eye and just looked at each other....no words, no hugs just stares! Moments later all the girls (and the parents) picked right up where we left off. It was so good to see them.

We went to the portion of Lake Eerie that is in Toledo, Ohio. Tommy and I were thinking, isn't there a phrase, "Holy Toledo!!!". I think we now know why! It wasn't exactly one of the nicest cities we have ever visited. Thankfully the resort was nice and had plenty to keep us busy. After dinner on the first night there, we never left the property again for the entire 4 days. We played outdoors all day and then at night, we would open the door between our adjoining rooms and the kids played their games while we played Catch Phrase. I should note that wives beat the husbands 3 out of 4 rounds! We stayed up late every night and the kids sleep until nearly 9am every morning! Glorious!!!

Girl Reunion. This restaurant was incredibly slow. I think we were in this place, at the table, for 2 hours. Thank goodness, they were so excited to be together, they did great!

Addison photography!
After dinner the first night, we headed out to roast marshmellows. Love this "Resort style camping". We just called the front desk and they lit a fire-pit for us!

Daddy and his girls checking out the lake.

Saturday we spent all morning at the pool. The guys headed out for a little golf, but Sarah and I stayed with the little fish. This is the first time my kids have seen a diving board and they loved it!

That's Reagie.....she is four and fearless. That is a 12 foot deep end. The jumped off over and over again. She is swimming so well this summer. She can swim to the ladder or all the way out of the deep end and under the rope.

My little swimmers.

Inside, the hotel had this soft play place. It was a pirate playground and they girls adored it. They used that big, blue ball as their treasure. They spent the weekend, playing keep-away with the "treasure" and whatever adult they could drag into the action!

Gracyn "Swimming" in her puddle jumper. That is the best floatation device I have ever encountered. She loves that floatie and is all over the pool with it on. It has made our summer!

Saturday evening we got cleaned up and had dinner at the resort.

Love these sweet girlies! Don't you love Reagan's flower-girl headband. She made it from pipe-cleaners at the resorts craft time. She could not be persuaded to take it off.

More Addison photography.

After dinner we got ice-cream and took the girls to the outdoor playground. There is a nature trail behind all those trees. It is beautiful and peaceful during the day. We even saw a mother deer and two babies. At night, however it is swarming with bugs....thousands off them. We made it a few feet in and quickly pursed our lips, turned around and blazed a trail of OFF to get back out.

Poor Gracyn missed this whole night. Nothing like a nap in the stroller at 8pm to get you pumped up for some late night festivities. Notice she never let go of her ice-cream cone.

Sunday was another full day at the pool.

Making a train with daddy....

Pretty Reagan.

Floating fun.

Sunday night we had another dinner at the resort and then spent some time playing outdoor games and exploring. Reagan and Julie held hands nearly the whole weekend. Sammy joined in this time.

She is funny with this jacket. It was about 95 degrees outside.

Dipping our toes in the lake. It was a little smelly and slimey...made us glad we stuck to the pool and skipped out on the "beach" swimming.

We were so relaxed here when a jet-ski came out of nowhere and splashed water all over us.

Sarah and I were up quick.....the girls don't seem to care.

I didn't take any pictures Monday, but we had a big breakfast at the hotel and then stayed indoors because it was raining. The girls had a last few hours of game time and pirate playground, while we chatted just a little more. In the late aftenoon we headed out for a yummy lunch at spaghetti warehouse and then we had to say good-bye! We had a blast and our so thankful they made the trip to see us.

Happy 4th of July

Miss Debra was a rockstar Grandma, logging 9 hours at King's Island on the 4th of July. We had a blast at the park. The weather was wet and drizzly on and off all morning, but I think that kept the crowds away and it definitely kept the temperatures cool. We rode tons of rides, with very few lines, watched 3 shows, ate 2 buckets of popcorn and Tommy and Deb experienced Skyline Chili. After the park we headed home to our neighborhood bar-b-que and firework launching party. It was quite adventurous....these neighbors aren't playing around with little fireworks. Quite illegal, but fun to watch!!! The girls told Miss Debra good-bye at 10:30 last night (her flight was very early this morning!). Then I tucked them in tired, sweaty and sticky at nearly 11:00 last night!

Miss Debra and the girls, post King's Island pre fireworks. Pardon the giant week growing out of my flower pot. My back yard is full of beautiful lush flowers, but apparently my green thumb does not extend to the front.

Tommy passing out the sparklers.
Firecrackers.

Gracyn has no shortage of attention from the middle school girls on our street. She had to have her own "Par-ka-ler!".

Pretty Reagan with hers.

Sassy Gracyn squirming around Miss Debra's lap.

Ready for the big stuff.....just waiting for darkness. Many smores were consumed during this wait.

Buddies!!!

We were sitting a little closer to the action in the cul-de-sac, till we warned by the neighborhood veterans, that we should BACK-UP.

Fun times with Fun people.....Happy 4th of July!!!

Cincinnati Zoo

We had Miss Debra in town visiting for a long weekend, which we packed with tons of fun!!! Saturday afternoon, we braved the HEAT.....probably the hottest day I have experienced since moving here and headed to the Cincinnati Zoo. It was our first trip there and we were impressed. The zoo is also a botanical garden, so the grounds are beautiful. We watched a bird show, the girls assisted in a farm animal show and we spent lots of time at our favorite exhibit....The Manatees. They were amazing to watch.

My girls squinting in the sun, as we were headed in. Gracyn is super-attached to that baby doll. It has been going everywhere with us.

My girls LOVE them some goats! They could spend days in a petting zoo. They are always worried about giving each one equal amounts of food and attention.
I think Gracyn was a little penned in here.

Here we are watching the farm show.....the announcer told them to close their eyes....Gracyn covered her ears instead.

They called Addison up to assist. She held the bell, that the goat came to ring.

Reagan went next.....that little goat jumped through her hula-hoop.

The grand finale was a chicken race. Reagan is off to a great start, but she lost a shoe.

Smart chickens stayed a safe distance behind.

Wacky Wizzle Dolphin Adventure

One morning, during our stay in Hilton Head, we embarked on a morning dolphin cruise, hosted by our favorite island entertainer, Shannon Tanner. The cruise was a great time for the kids. They got to sing, see a magic show and take a turn driving the boat. There were plenty of dolphins jumping around and putting on a great show, and Tommy and I got to view some spectacular houses......dream homes, for sure. The cruise ended in a treasure hunt back at the harbour. One lucky boy won quite a spectacular loot of souvenir treasures.

Addison kicked off the cruise by leading us in "Row, Row, Row your Boat".

Watching the dolphins with my girls. There is just something magical about seeing them swimming and jumping all around you.
Gracyn loves Shannon Tanner!

Sing-along and Magic Show time.

Reagan helping Captain Mark drive the ship.

Addison's turn.

Gracie got a turn too, I think she likes it.

Daddy and the girls watching the sights. This is moments before we nearly lost Gracyn over the side of the boat. It was a handful, keeping them all onboard! Made me re-think having a balcony room on our next Disney Cruise.