Over the Summer, Part Two: Cousin Visits

We were lucky enough to see 3 sets of cousins in Ohio this summer...

Grandpa took everyone to a Clippers Game.

It was a pretty hot that day.  Greg's sister Adrianne, who is visiting from Texas where it's much hotter, noticed how happy everyone was.  And she mentioned that we must like summer in Ohio.  I hadn't thought of that before.  Winters are very difficult here with no sunshine, so people are excited to be outside and getting vitamin D on a summer day! 

Nana took everyone to the Science Museum and they all stood in the line to be shocked (Yoda is a little worried about the shock, he's playing with his belly button!)

(This video is about 13 seconds long, the shock is at the very end)

Giant checkers.

Mimi and her little cousin bond over My Little Pony.

Parker and Yoda bond with cousins over card games.

Nana and Grandpa sent them to laser tag.

Yoda introduced them to his fish. 

Mimi and H did quite a bit of baking. 

Parker still loves trains :)

Lots of fun with Nana's toys.  

Dress ups. 

More games.

And swings!

Over the Summer, Part One: Cedar Point

We hit Cedar Point for the first time as a family.  Both Parker and Mimi have gone with Orchestra though, so they were able to give us some ideas of what to do and what not to do.

For our trip I did VERY LITTLE prep.  This is not like me.  I want to make the day great for my kiddos, get our money's worth and generally not regret anything.  That requires preparation.  For our trip to Orlando I checked out 2 or 3 books!  So the night before I looked up all the websites with advice, took it all in and we went for it the next morning. 

For all of Mimi's reading challenges, she works really hard in school and won a free trip, so we just HAD to make it happen this summer!

So she was free, and the rest of us got in with a little discount.  That made me decide that we would pay the extra $10 to park close to the gate, totally worth it.

Another extra we paid for was a wristband that allowed us to get free drinks all day, that was $12/a person, but also, totally worth it!  They even have a wristband that allows you to get free food all day, that was $30/a person.  We only got 3 of those, but since we could share, we literally had more food then we could eat all day long!  

Cedar Point is known for it's giant roller coasters, but they have lots of old rides and small rides.  We had fun and will likely go again next summer with all our new knowledge.  The biggest advantage was going on a week-day, no crazy long lines, either a minimal wait or no wait at all.

 

glass 1/2 something

Greg, "You're kinda a 'glass half full'"
Val, "I'm more realistic, you're more optimistic."
Yoda, "What are you talking about?"
We explain the idea of glass half-full vs. half-empty to Yoda. 
Mimi chimes in, "Well, glass half-full means it was only poured with half of the amount of liquid it can hold.  But glass half-empty means someone drank half of it."
Miss Mimi, our little scientist! 

South Yard

There were 3 big, overgrown bushes on the south side yard.  I left them alone because there's more on our to-do list, then time to do any of it. 

Finally I mentioned my idea and Greg started taking out the bushes last summer.  It took SO LONG!  Week after week he or I would hack away at the limbs and roots.  Then I picked up every-single-rock, which also took way too long.  

I didn't get a good before photo, but see how many rocks?! 

Here's one of the root-things finally out of the ground. 

Then we were left with this...

I moved some bricks, dirt and rocks around.  Planted some grass seed and this is what we had for a while...

And now we have this!  A pollinator garden.  Lots of butterflies and bees buzz through.  I have more to plant, but it's going very nicely this summer.  Hopefully next summer will be even better! 

My goal is to never have to do anything once it's all established.

Discovery

Mimi, "that man is in a hole in the street?!"
Me, "yes, that is why it is called a man-hole-cover"
Mimi, "mind blown"

First Day 2019

Last of Utah

Dad took the kiddos shooting.  Mimi preferred the rifle because the result is more accurate. 

This is the giant puddle that Greg drove through and he thought it was pretty cool.

Last few moments at the lake

Leaving Utah 2019

Years ago we put this place on our to-visit list, and we finally made it!
Dinosaur National Monument is so fun.
When they discovered all the dinosaur fossils, the main archaeologist decided to stop digging and just build a structure around them and have people come and see them. 

Here's the giant wall of fossils embedded in the rock

There are more fossils around the grounds as well. 

After we left the dinosaurs, we drove to Omaha, NE and had the yummiest dinner food at Don & Millie's.  We aren't always successful but we try to find fun, local places to eat.

This place fell in our laps!  A detour forced us off the road and practically in their parking lot!  We were SO happy... we went back for seconds... we had the Cheese Frenchee. If you're ever in Nebraska, find a location if you can :)  Here's a description on RoadFood.com...mmmmmm! 

Then we headed to the Church Historical Sites at Winter Quarters.  The stories of the Pioneers are beautiful and moving.  I'm so glad we finally visited.