Monday, August 6, 2012

April Through July 2012

My parents came into town in April for a week long visit. We had a great time, and really enjoyed the great things Cincinnati has to offer.


Watching the boys play Baseball!
We had a great time at the Kentucky Horse Park with my parents. We watched the horse jumping competition, which was amazing! I would love to participate myself, however, I don't have a spare million for a horse... :(

Also at the Horse Park, we saw some great horse breeds that we were able to pet after their show. I love horses.



We had fun at the Cincinnati Zoo
The boys playing Baseball.

 Mother's Day was great. I am so blessed to have my 3 beautiful children in my life. They inspire me to be a better person daily.



This is the Purple People Bridge connecting Cincinnati, OH to Newport, KY. it was a great walk from a beautiful park in Ohio over to the Aquarium and shopping center in Kentucky.

In June we took a weekend and headed to Appleton to visit our great friends, who we miss so much. I wish I had used my camera more, but it was a great weekend, you'll just have to trust me. We met friends at the park, then more friends at the Farmer's Market, then more friends at a house party, then more at church, and dinner at a friend's house after church. Sometimes I wonder why we left such a great place, and such great people.

Following our Appleton weekend, Steve had meetings in Chicago for 3 days. The kids and I hit the town on our own. This is one of the many exhibits at the Museum of Science and Industry, which I love!

They even have a Tornado in the museum!!
The next day we walked from our hotel room to the Navy Pier. I didn't realize how hot it was going to be. The walk was nice, but we were wilting by the time we got there.

The Children's Museum
The Ferris Wheel at Navy Peir

The Children's Museum at the Navy Pier had a great chess game. By the time the boys were done with their game, Brooke was sleeping in her stroller.


The next day we walked to the Lego store and played with toys!

Welcome to Utah!! We spent 2 glorious weeks with family in Salt Lake City over the 4th of July.

We spent time in Salt Lake with cousins at my grandparent's pool, where all the kids reconnected and played together.

At Grandma Patty's house we had the slip-n-slide, a wading pool....

... and ice cream! What else is there in life?
We were able to spend quality time with Papa John and Linda.
Uncle Dave and Aunt Amie graciously granted us the use of their beautiful cabin at Lake Tahoe for a week.


Emerald Bay with Ben and Brooke
The Falls at Fallen Leaf


Hiking up the Falls at Fallen Leaf Lake
Angora Lake was gorgeous! We rented a row boat and a paddle board to enjoy it.
The rock climbing was Awesome!!
I love the life vests! It's a good look!
Brooke and Linda and I only stayed in Tahoe for a weekend, but we left all the boys to continue their Tahoe adventures for 4 additional days. Net time I hope to stay longer!

The top of Heavenly

Not to be outdone by the boys and their additional hiking, Brooke and I went up Milcreek canyon with my parents for an evening. Brooke ran the entire 5 mile hike, until she face-planted on the way down. But she was quite a trooper!

The 4th of July at Sugarhouse Park

The boys came back on the 5th of July to finish off our vacation together. We walked through City Creek and Memory Grove one day, it was beautiful.
BFFs

Memory Grove

We had a great lunch up Milcreek Canyon complete with S'mores and a water fight.

Go Real!!
Football fun at Grandma Patty's

Park City was great on our last day in Utah. The boys got to jump on some major trampolines...


...and we all got to race down the mountain on the Alpine Slide!

My uncle Scott got a new kitten just a month prior to our visit, so she was a big hit.




Ryan has always loved babies, and this year hasn't changed that. Here he is holding his baby cousin Reese.



Back to Cincinnati, OH!
Back home we have been enjoying our beautiful parks!

Our street is amazing. With all the kids on the street they put together an annual Block Party. This year there was a Pirate scavenger hunt...

...and a street wide water fight!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Hilton Head, SC


We enjoyed a great Spring Break road trip to Hilton Head Island. The weather was perfect, the sand was soft, the trees were green. It was a great week!
The drive wasn't too bad with 3 kids in the back seat.

It took about 11 hours, but the drive was one of the prettiest I have seen!

We got in just as it was getting dark, so we didn't get a chance to see the beach before settling in the night. In the morning I got the boys and I ran with them on their scooters along the bike path to the beach to see the sunrise over the ocean.

We took a wrong turn and ended up missing the sunrise, but is was a beautiful morning, and the exercise was welcome after sitting in the car for a day.

As you can imagine, we spent a great deal of time at the beach.

The boys loved splashing in the waves.

The girls loved laying in the sun. :)

We played A LOT of Mini Golf!!

There is a great lighthouse that we saw on the island.

We played in the pool... and the hot tub.

We drove 2 hours to Charleston and toured Fort Sumter, which is Ben's favorite part of the trip.

We had to take a 30 minute boat ride to Fort Sumpter, so I am not sure if it was the island, or the boat ride that was the highlight, but they both enjoyed the trip.

We also toured an aircraft carrier before and after our fort tour.

Even Brooke got into the spirit!

I can't believe how those sailors live!

I loved seeing those planes.

In the evening we took a carriage ride through Charleston to hear the history of the houses and town itself. (That was my favorite part.)

We took a hike through the nature preserve looking for Alligators, we didn't see any. :(

But on our last day we found one literally in our own backyard!!

We also took a drive down to Savannah for a day. We didn't get to see much, but it definitely warrants another trip! Look how beautiful!

We loved our trip to the south, and plan to return soon! Here are some other beach pictures added on, just because...