Adventures in Ohio: Caverns

We've been to caverns before and have enjoyed them (except for Lindsey in Carlsbad). So we decided to go to Ohio Caverns since we haven't been to them before. The drive though the open green country was nice, even with Eric behind the wheel. Before our cave tour started, the kids played around on the grass and panned for gold. Inside the caverns, we saw some pretty cool formations. The kids were all very good and didn't touch anything. Colton liked to point to the stalatites. We had been on a search before we left for a baby carrier because strollers weren't allowed in the cave. We found one, only to find out just a little bit into the tour that Colton didn't like the carrier, the dark, or anyone else besides me. My arms got a workout from holding that little guy throughout the caverns.

We ended up being the last tour of the day, so we were the only ones in our group with our own personal tour guides. We had a fun time seeing the caverns. I was pretty amazed by them because things looked so cool.

Adventures in Ohio: The River

As a fun stopping point in the middle of shopping (I think that's what we were doing), we decided to make a stop at the river. We walked down the hill to the river. It was a beautiful view, albeit stinky according to Lindsey (she couldn't continue because it stunk too bad and went back to the car). We just hung out by the river, enjoying the scenery and tossing rocks into the water (and nearly missing each other's heads). Colton was completely happy sitting on the rocks, occasionally tasting one of them.

Adventures in Ohio: Anthony Thomas

This was one of our smaller adventures, but it was the yummiest, by far! There is a candy factory, Anthony-Thomas, that is just a few minutes away from G & G's house. We've always driven past it, and have eaten Buckeyes from there, but never been to the factory. Eric discovered that we could take a tour of the chocolate factory. So, we headed there.

We perused the candy shop, eyeing the ginormous Buckeye, until our tour started. We walked on the catwalks, above the machines and melted chocolate. It was fun to see how some of the individual chocolates were made. Nobody found any humor in me singing, "oompa loompa doompa dee doo." After the end of the tour we each got a Buckeye and picked out some things from the candy store - there's nothing like 5 kids loose in a candy store!

Adventures in Ohio: Berrypicking

When Eric and I were first married, we went to Ohio every winter. We finally realized that there's a little more to do in the summertime, so we've changed our visits to the summer. Not only is it so pretty (I love the greenery), but I have now realized that summertime is also farmers markets time! I love fresh veggies and fruits. This year we went when the raspberries, corn, and some peaches were ripe. When I learned of a farm where we could pick our own berries, I immediately planned on going there. I couldn't talk Eric into picking berries, not that I thought he would, he won't even touch berries in a plastic package! I took Logan, Spencer, Kaylen, and Colton to pick raspberries. We had such a fun time. The heat and humidity was a little bad, but the scenery and the raspberries made up for it. Each of us got our own wooden container to put our berries in. We could eat as many as we wanted while we picked. Spencer was determined to fill his basket up. As he would move around to the different bushes, I would hear hilarious comments from him. One time he exclaimed, "Jackpot!" when he found a bush loaded with berries. We ended up with 3 containers of berries for $10. It was a great deal. The only thing I would have done differently would have been to take Kaylen's basket from her before we drove back to G & G's, because on the way home, she managed to take a handful of berries and squish them in her hand, resulting in white shorts with red polka dots!

Getting to Ohio Not Non-Stop

Oh. my. gosh.

This has to be on the top of my "worst travel experiences" list. This ranks right up there with getting stuck in Hawaii (our flight got cancelled, the airlines didn't care if we got re-booked, and running through the airport at 1:00 in the morning to try to catch our flight, kids in tow) and our last flight to London (I took sleeping medicine just as we took off from Charlotte, only to be woken early because we were landing in Philly to change planes, resulting in a vomiting reaction to the medication while on a tour in London because I didn't get the sleep needed for the medicine).

Anyways, so we decided that we'd go to Ohio. It was fairly last minute, so the non-stop tickets weren't available or at a good price, so we got tickets stopping in Chicago. Our flight went great to Chicago. When we got off the plane, our first clue should have been all the people lined up everywhere, along the moving walkways, walls, and anywhere else. All the flights leaving Chicago had been delayed due to weather. We were told our flight was delayed by two hours. We had a leisurely dinner at the airport with the kids. Then we explored the airport as much as we could, trying to kill some time. There wasn't much to do in the airport. I think the highlight of the airport were the Blues Brothers statues. We sat and waited. We waited forever. Eric pulled up on his phone the satellite weather which showed two huge storm systems over Chicago. There was tons of thunder and lightening. What started as a two hour delay, turned into a five hour delay. Lightening was detected less than three miles from the airport, so that was a major issue and created a further delay. The kids were super good. Colton crawled around on the yucky floor. Kaylen and I walked the airport, with Colton in the stroller. I raced her walking while she ran on the moving walkway. I do have to say, that I love ipods and Nintendo DS. They saved me.

We finally got on the plane. It had to have been THE SCARIEST flight I have ever been on. I don't get scared on planes, but on this one, my hands were sweating the whole time (this happens when I'm nervous). We took off between the two storms. It was the shakiest and bumpiest ride I have ever had in a plane. We could hear the plane engine at full blast, and then it would stop and we would start to sink. This was repetitious. The kids were so tired by the time we got on the plane, that they slept through it (except Lindsey and Spencer). We finally got to Columbus at 3:45 am. Eric's grandparents and mom were awesome to pick us up. The rental car places were all closed, so we couldn't get our super-cool minivan until Monday.

This was pretty crazy, and deserved it's own post because it was so bad.

watching the rain and lightening


the Blues Brothers


not too clear of a picture, but that's pretty much how it all looked from the plane's window

Colton, sleeping through all the bumps and drops

I Survived!!

Yay! I am SO excited. I completed 2 sessions of boot camp!!!

When I was first contemplating boot camp, I wanted to do it, but was just too afraid to. I didn't think I could. Then Eric voiced his thoughts over the matter (that he too thought I couldn't do it), so I immediately registered for it. It was a fun thing to do. EVERY day, I was sore, sometimes for days after the workout, and over the weekend. It always amazed me how the instructor, Joan, found so many different ways to torture us. I do, however, have to say, that I greatly improved my arms. They are toned, and I have bicep bumps!

I think the thing that got me through class (besides the clock) was what Joan would say. I could go through class with a smile on my face because of her comments. I decided that I would note some of them on my phone right after class, and then I would share them once I completed the class. The following things are from Joan's mouth (warning: she did curse so I "censored" them):

"That was insane!... We're going to do it again."

"Chris (when Joan thought my name was Chris), you're going to work off that weekend!"

After completing a set, starting into another set: "You knew it was coming."

To me: "You're looking really lean."

"If it hurts like h**, you're doing it right."

At the beginning of class: "I'm going to kick your a**!"

"I promise, it really hurts me too."

"Do you wish you hadn't come?"

"Don't think we're not going to do it again."

"This is going to hurt like h** tomorrow."

"Look at how skinny you are Kim. Your legs!" - my favorite comment!!

It was a good experience and I would love to do it again, but now it's a babysitting issue. It was so nice to have Lindsey and Spencer watch the kids so I could complete one thing on my mental bucket list.

HB Colton

How can this sweet baby turn into this....?

I can't even believe that baby C is already one year old!! Where did the time go? He has been such a joy to have in our family and brings many smiles daily to us. I have loved every minute of having him with us. At each different stage, I would think to myself, often with tears in my eyes, "I don't want him to grow any more. I love him at this age." I have enjoyed ALL aspects of Colton. He has been such a blessing and joy to us.

We had a party at our house to celebrate Colton's birthday. Of course, I had to turn him loose with a miniature Thomas cake. He wasn't quite sure what to do with it, but got into it a little bit. I realized how gooey and greasy the frosting was, so I took away the cake and cleaned him up before he was out of control. At one point, when I had my back turned, sweet Lindsey gave that dang cake back to him! He became a smurf and was next to impossible to get cleaned. Colton "opened" presents, mostly with help from Kaylen and Logan.

this is a card made by Kaylen

Sizzlin' Saturday at the Museum

One of our summer traditions is to take advantage of "Sizzlin' Saturdays," at a museum downtown. I've taken the kids mostly every summer, since I was pregnant with Kaylen. The musem is free, there are crafts for the kids, there are special performances, and there is free ice cream. It's a fun activity to go to. I actually talked Eric into going with us, which he didn't enjoy too much. Maybe if we could have seen the hoop dancers, he would have liked it more. (The hoop dancers didn't perform this year. They are one of my favorites.) It ended up being a fun family memory, even if we did have to eat our lunch in the car on the way home and even if there are still beads rolling around in the back of the yukon from Kaylen's unfinished necklace. : )

Colton is Hungry

I am always amazed by how smart Colton is. Today he took a plate and fork out of the dishwasher, sat down, and tried to eat. It was so cute that he knew what he needed to use to eat.