Hiking with Jedis

 Today Benny has his friend Eric over to spend the day with us, and in all actuality Eric is all the kids' friend, as they get as pumped for his visits as Benny does. We headed to French Park, one of our favorite hiking places. Today, instead of just bringing along boots they also brought their light sabers so that they could be Jedis in the woods. Even Mere, although I ended up carrying hers and Charlie's the majority of the time.

 First stop, the swings. The boys ran ahead of us and our (Mere's) short legs and they were doing "supermans" on the swings as well as rocking side-to-side.

 Meredith is obsessed with playgrounds and will point out everyone she sees. She has the amazing ability to see them off the side of the highway when we're traveling at 65 mph.

 After the swings we decided to take a new way into the woods, which gave us a great new part to explore.

 This is their first Jedi pose. Luckily the water wasn't as high as the last time we were here. Fingers crossed for no slipping into the creek!

 This is their second Jedi pose. Meredith wanted to get in on the action.

 I like that the boys can be problem solvers, trying to figure out together how to get through the creek. But then, I am a mother, and on top of that I am a worrier. I kept trying to channel Kevin as Meredith and I hiked alongside the creek.

 I love surprises! I was so excited to find this beaver carved on the top of a tree that had died. It is so cute--someone left a couple of other animal figurines to keep him company.

 I reckon someone set this here purposely, but it was neat to find a rock shaped like Ohio!

 This is something that I'll have to research more into, but we found this plaque on the ground. My first thought is that it's a marker for the French family's pets, but who knows.

Unfortunately, we only made it as far as the usual starting point for us. That is ok though, as the trail there leads up to the lot where we parked. The kids did end up getting a little wet and I think at this point they were starting to get hungry. Regardless, this sparked in us enthusiasm for exploring other corners of this great park!

Happy Groundhog's Day

 

Phil may have seen his shadow this morning, but if this is the winter we have ahead of us, I'm ok with that. There's nothing like the sound of baseball coming through my *open* windows, although it worries me that if we're having a mild winter, does that mean the spring and summer will suffer because of it?

A Handful of Shots

 One day soon this will end. Probably next year, when Charlie goes to kindergarten and I throw him in the shower every night with the big boys. For now, we'll capture these two water monkeys and all the mischief they get into while taking a bath.

 Benny and Charlie were proud of the Lightning McQueen puzzle they finished. I tell you, those puzzles that change the picture depending on what angle you're looking at it (the term is escaping me at the moment...) are not easy! They have a Star Wars one featuring Darth Vader that had me stumped before I realized I was attempting to put a "light saber" piece in a picture of the "Death Star."

 Meredith is the best little helper you could ask for. She's always wanting to join in on whatever household activity I'm doing at the moment.

 Here, she is helping to make some really delicious pumpkin bars!

 This is a picture of me with my niece and goddaugther, Maggie. We celebrated her 1st birthday with a "Winter 1-derland" theme. Too cute.

Happy Birthday, Magnolia Jean!

The Old West Festival

Last Saturday Louie and Benny had a soccer game way out on the east side of town. Friends of ours with sons on the team suggested that we go to the Old West Festival afterward because the field isn't far from it. Great idea!

We needed to wake the kids up earlier than usual to get them out the door because it's a good 35-40 minute drive and the team is supposed to be there before the game starts at 9am. The first couple of steps on our to-do list for the day were done when we get a call saying that the game was canceled because the field is under water.

It stinks because we all could have used some more sleep, but it ended up working for the best because we were able to get the kids there in time to be deputized by Dodge's sheriff. The festival has a permanent town built and the kids were impressed with all the buildings and the people in their costumes.

We first saw a cancan show which the kids did not like that much. Truth be told, the parents didn't like it too much. One by one we filtered out of the saloon. Some of the shows were canceled, including the horse shows, because of the soggy fields. But there was plenty for the kids to do and see, with their favorite being The Pickled Brothers show.

Erik and Travis juggled fire batons, swords, and some stick with spiky things on the end; ate fire multiple times and swallowed a sword at least three times; both took turns lying on a bed of nails and Travis had the largest man in the audience stand on his chest while doing so. Eric had the man jump up and down on the area below Travis's belt. This brought lots-o-laughs from our boys sitting front and center.

At high noon there was a shoot-out on Main St. I use "shoot-out" in the loosest terms possible. The men who put on the show were probably in their 70s and maybe they have been doing this for quite a while and at one time it was a really good show. However, when you leave the excitement of the Pickled Brothers show to see a shoot-out, what we got did not leave the kids wanting more. Eventually it got to the point where we had to slip away and go to a booth that sold wooden weapons. Each of the kids got a pistol and they were happy.

What happened a bit later was the highlight of the day for everyone, including those who we didn't even know. Our four kids, along with the five little ones we came with and a group of kids that just happened to be on Main St. with their weapons, started their own shoot-out. A couple of the kids acted as organizers, but it was so neat to see them make up their own teams and rules and they put on a show for all in attendance. No parents were telling them where to go or what to do; no fighting over who was being mean. It was just kids getting into the spirit of the old West and loving every minute of it.

Even my lil' Annie Oakley got into the spirit of things, although her gun sounded more like Han Solo's weapon than a cowgirl's (PEW!PEW!PEW!). We'll work on that.


*Feel free to share your spellings of a laser gun's sound.

~Homecoming~

The tilde on either end of "homecoming" are our wings of happiness! Daddy is finally home and we couldn't be any more excited about that. After a night of talking to Kevin on the phone while he had a layover in LAX, I got a call from him at 6:30am saying that the plane was taxiing at CVG.

I woke up the kids and we jumped in the van to go down to pick him up. I didn't realize how easy it would be to get the kids out of bed. They jumped up and put their sandals on and were out the door. Promising them that we'd take Daddy out to breakfast afterward probably didn't slow them down.

Kevin was already waiting outside the terminal by the time we made it down there. He went through customs in Los Angeles, so that helped sped things along. Standing outside wasn't too bad for him because that morning our humidity was almost non-existent, especially compared to what he's had to deal with the last month.

We went to IHOP for breakfast, as promised. Then we spent a lazy day swimming and relaxing, all in the company of our favorite guy. He even treated us to a dinner of pulled pork that he whipped up himself. Man, are we spoiled!

Later, I'll post some pictures from his trip. They are very interesting! But overall, his observation of China is that it really isn't all that different from our life here in the US. Of course, the details and customs are a bit different, but day-to-life really is pretty similar.

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."
--Mark Twain

A Backyard Picnic

This was on June 30th, during the week all four kids went to VBS. Turns out, even though Meredith continues to point to the church and say, "MY school!" every time we pass it, she only lasted 30 minutes before someone called to say that I needed to pick her up.

When we got home we decided to make it special and have our peanut butter bagels, fruit and vegetable sticks outside on a blanket. It was a very warm day, but thank goodness for the tree that provides a nice shady area.

It was a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon, but the kids wanted to get in the water, so I brought out the water snake and hooked it up for them.

This picture cracks me up! All of Meredith's swim suits were at Grandma's so she went in her diaper and she was in heaven. Do you see that look on her face? She is surely a water baby.

All the while I laid on the blanket and read the newest addition to the Anne of Green Gables series. Life is good.

Clifton Gorge and Young's Jersey Dairy

Friends invited us to go on a day trip to the Yellow Springs area of Ohio. It was about a little over an hour away and we started the day at Clifton Gorge, which was a short walk from the Clifton Mill.


There were definitely some spots on the trail that were less safe than others. I always liked exploring on my own as a kid and try to allow my kids to do the same, but today was not one of those days!

Charlie has yet to grow his big boy legs, even though the day we went was he and Benny's birthday. On this day he was officially 4-years-old.

It is a gorgeous area of Ohio, one I would imagine that many people who have never been here (and maybe some who don't travel around the state much) would be surprised to see. There are regions of our state that aren't corn fields. There are caves and hills and many beautiful landscapes. I love living here.

This was our stopping point. We had walked about an hour to this bridge and...no one had any idea how long it would take if we continued on the path. A local we ran into on the trail offered to take our group in the back of his pickup to the beginning of the trail, but we just decided to turn around and go back the way we came.

This did not make the group of boys + one girl happy. There were lots o' complaining and I ended up carrying Charlie a good portion of the way. But...there was light at the end of the tunnel.

We went to Young's Jersey Dairy and everyone picked out their own ice cream. Louie got cookies 'n cream (he's just like his dad; he finds a favorite and doesn't branch out from there); Charlie got bubble gum; and Benny got chocolate. I got "Cow Pie" and I recommend it highly. It has all different types of chocolate in it, as well as pieces of toffee. Regardless, from the looks on the kids' and moms' faces, you cannot go wrong with any choice you make. Especially after a long, hot walk!

The Most Wondeful Time of the Year

For many of you who know me, you may think this is contradictory, but I absolutely love the relaxed pace of the summertime. Yes, I schedule things entirely too far in advance and I can be wicked-good at planning out each minute of the day. But when it comes down to it, I like the kids (and me and Kevin!) being able to wake up when we're ready; go to bed when we feel like it; play whatever game interests us at the moment; go to the park when it's warranted; or go swimming whether it's 10am or 6pm. I just love summer.

Yesterday the boys got out at 12:30pm and we went to a friend's for a "water party" consisting of water guns, a sprinkler, water balloons, and a game of "chase the deer in the park behind the house." It was a perfect way to end the year!

Last night, Kevin and I were getting the house and yard ready for a busy weekend of cookouts and celebrating Meredith's birthday and the kids played baseball into the twilight, with one of my favorite backyard accessories lighting up the night for them (my globe string lights--thank you Joe and Erin!).

They went to bed two hours later than usual and I wish they would have slept in a little more, but as I type this, one by one they are waking up and heading downstairs to watch Spiderman, from the sounds of it. It'll take about a week, I'm sure, but soon they'll be taking advantage of sleeping in, if for no other reason than that the activities of summer wears a body out!

City Mouse, Country Mouse

On Saturday our "friends from the farm" came to visit us. It's not like Trent and Nick don't go to the city and it's not like my kids aren't familiar with a rural setting, but the two families do live fairly different lives.

Good news: kids will find things in common and play together no matter what.

We took our friends to the Museum Center and we all had a great time. The favorite part for our guests? The Cincinnati History Museum, with the miniature replica of the city and its neighborhoods and historic landmarks with working trains and street cars. And that is the picture that I captured above.

They were excited about this picture (and running around the streetcar), but unfortunately our camera doesn't have the ability to clearly show that.

This was the first time that I had been to the Cincinnati museum since my Grandpa passed away and it was a bit tough. I have so many good memories of our outings there, especially on this street car where Grandpa and Bennie the volunteer worker sat here and talked of their memories riding the street cars while living downtown. With as many trips as we took down there, I really wish we did more of them. I guess you can never have enough. I just feel like I have more to learn from Grandpa, know about him and his life.

Anyway, enough of that sad stuff. We went through all three areas, ending up at the Children's museum. Amazingly enough, I think that part might have been the least favorite of the kids! We left after that to go home for lunch. Nick and Louie have March birthdays so for dessert the kids decorated their own cupcakes with lots and lots of toppings! Hard to see?

With lots of sugar comes lots of smiles :)

Controlled by the Weather

I've written before about how I do my best to not listen to the weather report because more often than not the forecast tells us it's a bad idea to enter out into the world, and then the day is over and no impending doom as occurred.

Today we decided to venture out and take a walk around a lake with some friends. It's a potentially dangerous idea because if you're on the opposite side of the lake when it starts to rain there's zero place to go for cover. The forecasters were using words and phrases like "torrential," "moving rapidly" and "positive omega forcing," none of which I'd like to be caught in.

Fortune was on our side, however, and we had a delightful walk and the kids even got to run around the playground before we went home for lunch. So, I'm done with it. I do like Larry Handley, but I think I'm going to skip the weather newscast from now on.

St. Patrick's Day, Revisited

Non-traditional SPD meal of hot dogs, mac 'n cheese, grapes and green milk

I didn't get many other St. Patrick's Day pictures of the kids from St. Patrick's Day, but I did get a few stories out of them. Charlie went out to the playground with his class and while they were away a leprechaun came into their classroom, wreaking havoc but also left them gold coins that were actually chocolates!

Louie's class did some sort of math and science activity that involved rainbow sherbert and Skittles. Hmm. They had a good time, but I never got the full story on what they were doing.

Benny's class had stories, made special hats, and then did a categorizing activity where they each got a bag of Lucky Charms cereal and had to see how many of each piece they had.

Below are the highly anticipated pieces that the boys did in the Art Fair. These were taken before the kids got there, so no photo ops for the artists.

Benny's hand-flower-heart

Louie's magic mold fish with sand and shell

This was earlier in the evening, too, but by the night's end all the students made their impression on the Picasso quotation.

Family Dinners

One of my favorite things in the world is having family dinners. It's not often that we don't eat together as a family, but so often it is rushed; or the radio is on in the background, making it a noisy meal; or there are those who are starved or not hungry, so that makes themgrumpy. There are many things that can detract from how nice a family dinner can be.

Today's dinner was one of the ones that I really cherish. The kids are all getting along, taking turns talking. They eat their meal without complaint, but not so rushed that they talk with their mouths full. Kevin and I get to have a discussion with the kids about the day. It was really nice.

I guess it's all the other days that makes meals like this stand out and make me appreciate them for what they are!

A New Start

Today starts Lent and with it I am going to make myself commit to writing at least a blurb each of the following 40 days. Things have been hectic around here, but I'm only hurting myself (my poor memory) by not recording things about our days on this blog.

Last night we had our annual Mardi Gras gathering. The weather was mild and we spent part of the night outside, the boys playing baseball and Grandma and Grandpa making up probably the best shrimp I've ever had--coconut-beer-battered shrimp. If I can get the recipe from my mom I'll share!

I don't have any pictures from the night (which, when that happens, is probably a reason I don't blog more often), but we did pull out the video camera to catch the girls in their first film shots together. I think. We definitely don't video the kids enough!

In years past we have gotten a King Cake, but this year we did sundaes instead because Charlie won a giant sundae basket at Lou and Ben's school FunFest. And Joanie came out the winner as she had the baby in the bottom of her bowl. Well, she actually ended up biting the poor thing's leg :)

OH! And I'm very excited to share that Gracie asked me if I wanted to be Maggie's godmother. I am very honored and cannot wait for the big day!

No Shadow! No Shadow! No Shadow!

We here at Casa Llena are big believers in the powers of the groundhog. Hooray that he didn't see his shadow today! We're counting down the days until Opening Day for the Reds; we're praying that the ground starts to thaw so the flowers can pop up; and we're itching for the moment that it's warm enough to open the windows full-time.

Thank you, Mr. Groundhog.

Such a nice day

Saturday was Kevin's semi-annual paintball trip, so the kids and I made the most of the day on our own. We started with Louie's basketball game. The team has two groups that take turns playing every other quarter. How cute is the little girl with basketball ribbons in her hair? She also has matching gold socks that go up to her knees and she's a pretty good baller!

Louie is cheering on his team.

Sorry for the "non" action shot. If the kids are going to be playing sports we should probably invest in a camera that takes good action shots. Not too exciting when they're standing still, but it's better than the blurry ones I got!

So many kids at the game! Here is a picture of Meredith with her friend, Audree. Sometimes it seems more time is spent corralling the kids than watching the game!

The newest addtion to the bunch--Alivia. She's so sweet with the shock of hair that is permanently standing on end. Just jealous, I am.

After the game we played out in the snow. I have to admit, Saturday's weather was perfect snowman-building weather for me! I don't have much tolerance for cold and wet. Part of that has to do with me not being properly outfits for such occasions. I wore gym shoes, jeans and a jacket for this (relatively) mild day, but I had the kids all bundled up. Mere's not too excited about this.

How much longer before they're not "stairsteps?" Do you like how they've learned to do this without even being asked?

Charlie was so proud of himself that he made a snowball. It was perfect packing snow!

They boys delight in being able to do things they normally cannot, like launch things that their brothers.

Louie was so bummed that his "snow gun" broke before I got a shot of it. (Ralphie from The Christmas Story.)

Do you see his mischievous look? He soon realized that the bigger the snowball, the shorter the distance it went.

Meredith was wearing Charlie's old snow boots and they didn't allow her much movement because she kept falling down. Too big. Soon, I went to get her gym shoes so she could enjoy her time outside. She did, for a few minutes, before she decided a nice, warm bed beckoned her.

Successful snowman! The boys had fun finding all its pieces. They included a golf club for him. Then, tried to hit snow golf balls. This is not recommended. Either a club and/or snow ball will inevitably hit someone in the face.

The rocks used for eyes and mouth are from Louie's rock garden--the one he made with stones found when we were in Cape Cod.

Benny fell and he couldn't get up. (Randy from The Christmas Story.)

Charlie licks ice found in a downspout (Flick from The Christmas Story.)

Normally, when the kids want to go outside to play in the snow there is probably 3x more time spent layering up than is actually spent in the snow. Today, fortunately was different. They were outside long enough to make the snowman, a fort, and plenty of snowballs to throw at "the enemy" (plastic lawn chairs scattering around the yard).

When we went in we had lunch and, of course, hot chocolate. Benny and Charlie passed out on the couch and Louie spent the afternoon making paper crafts from the book he got from Santa. He made some really cute stuff, including: a penguin bookmark; a gift bag; and the favorite of the day, a paper airplane. Apparently, I was never taught the proper way to make an airplane. The directions in this book were foolproof and they flew across the room with no trouble at all. When the others woke up, they each had to have their own plane. They made them with decorative paper and put googly eyes on, then raced them.

We had nachos for dinner and played a card game of "Chase the Ace" before watching a Chip 'n Dale cartoon and then headed to bed. As nice as the day was, it was brought up more than once how much we wished Daddy could have joined in the fun.


*All the Christmas Story references happened on their own, amazingly with no prompting from their mother.