Holiday Weekend-ing

For as long as I can remember (and I think even before I was born) my Moms side of the family has gathered at my Aunt and Uncles house for the Fourth of July weekend.  Tents are pitched on their five acres, frogs are chased, rockets and fireworks launched, water balloons popped, games played, shoulders sunburned, baby birds observed, food enjoyed, bubbles blown

and, lawns mowed with an elephants help.

Slate Run Farm

Yesterday, we took a trip to Slate Run Farm which is about 45 minutes from our house.

We saw horses.  These two are Marcus and Maude.  There were two more (Sailor and Kate).  The boys and Mike were a little afraid of them but I was eager to pet them!  This of course led to Mike making fun of me for being the girl in elementary school that drew horses, read about horses, went to horse camp and had a Lisa Frank horse trapper keeper (yes, I did all those things!)

Saw lots of 3 week old lambs.  One even came out to play with us; it was leaping and having a good time.  The farmer put it back in it's "play pen" just as Ray was about to tackle it!

We also saw lots of piglets.  These were Rays favorite.  They were very active running around in circles.

Inside the farmhouse the boys loved playing with the marble track.

We packed a picnic lunch but ended up having to eat it in the van because it was VERY windy!  Our plates were blowing away even when we weighted them down with bananas, the peanut butter jar, etc.

This was a fun trip and I'm sure we will do it again sometime.  If you are in the area I highly recommend it.  To top it all off it's all FREE!

Road Trip Round Up

If you have been reading, last week I alluded to the fact that Mike and I were going on a road trip.  We left Thursday night around 4pm and drove and drove and drove for about 7 hours until we arrived in Grays Lake, IL (about an hour North of Chicago). 

Why in the world did we go there?  Mike was having a turbo kit installed in his car.  Yes, that is the truth.  Yes, we drove three states away to have it done.  Yes, there are auto shops in our area.  Believe it or not, it was actually cheaper to drive to IL to have it done by someone what actually knew what they were doing and had done it before than to have it done here in OH by someone who had never done it before.  If you want to know exactly what this little "turbo kit" does you'll have to ask Mike because I don't really even know and he has told me several times.  I do know that when he tested it out I was thrown back in my seat pretty good so, I guess it does it's job...

What did I get out of this trip?  Time with my hubby.  I read three books (Diary of a Wimpy Kid**, Annotated Alice in Wonderland, and The Modern Quilt Workshop).  We went out to dinner.  I napped.  We listened to NPR.  Spent the night in a hotel.  Ate breakfast with a state auditor from IL in the hotel.  Stunk up the waiting area at the car dealer by eating hummus.  Drove through Chicago twice (one of my favorite cities).  Saw the Sears Tower...

Ok, this random picture of the "Sears Tower" is for my brother because when we were kids and would go to Chicago I would always try to convince him that this was THE Sears Tower.


** I think everyone should read Diary of a Wimpy Kid because it was seriously funny!  I was honestly laughing out loud and was getting some funny looks from the other customers in the waiting room.  I love that it is set up like a kids journal/comic book and gives real life examples of why middle school is so awkward.  I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

The Fortress of Solitude

Sometimes I just really need to leave the city limits. This morning we had been out and when we pulled in the driveway to come home I just wasn't ready. I turned to Mike and told him that I needed an adventure today. Being the awesome husband that he is, he understands what I mean. So, we headed for ....

An hour away from home.
Not knowing that we would find The Fortress of Solitude.
And while we weren't in solitude, there is something sweet about just being in the midst of creation.Standing under a rock to dodge falling icicles can bring things back in to perspective. See, I'm not so big after all so, my "problems" can't be so big that God can't handle them.
I love the signs of spring. The reminders that all things are made new.
And this is one of my favorite things in the world.

Lights, Cookies and Parade - all Christmas!

The past few days we have done lots of pre-Christmas things!

Friday night, we went to the Zoo lights with my husbands family. They really stepped it up a notch this year compared to previous years. Sam was a little disappointed the animals were "sleeping" but Ray was completely in awe of the lights!

Saturday night, the boys (Mike, Sam and Ray) made chocolate chip (pancake) cookies. I made oatmeal raisin.

Sunday morning, we finished up our Christmas shopping. Mike referred to it as our heathen shopping since we skipped church to finish up. We stopped off at Mike's parents on the way home to let the boys play with their Christmas train. On the way home, we noticed that people were starting to sit roadside for the holiday parade so, Sam and I dropped off Mike and Ray (who was sleeping) and had an impromptu date at the Holiday Parade. I love the rare times when I get to give one of the kids my full attention - we had a blast!
The kids have also taken to watching the movie Elf (click for a great scene) and we've been rocking out to Sufjan Steven's Christmas albums (click link for one of my favorites of his).

Happy (pre) Christmas!