Thompson Visit Day 3

Last day, Columbus Day. Can you believe Jake and Em had school? No big deal though. I showed the Thompson kids around the great Burg of Perry while we waited for their favorite people to get out of class. We explored the 577 Foundation and played at Fort Imagination.

She's a punkin'

I picked up the big kids from school so they could keep up with Grace and Tucker at the park. Jake showed his impressionable cousins all kinds of ways not to play on the playground.

Not too cool for a jungle gym.

Bon and I took shelter under the shade of the trees. It was a rare, sunny day - too bright for us pasties!

Yes. They're related.

I don't know that I've ever seen Tucker laugh so much. That Jake sure had his number! They played lots of tag and stuff that boys do.

That's just fun right there!

Even Emma played. I caught her attempting a few tricks on the bars. Things weren't working as they once did...oh well!

"Mom, I need to ge back into gymnastics."

Love those freckles. Love that strawberry blond hair. Love that girl!

After gorging ourselves on a yummy Italian meal at Biaggi's, we drove out to MacQueen's Orchard. We picked dozens and dozens of juicy apples.

Checking for worms?

Every once in awhile we'd have to sample our harvest, just to make sure we were getting the good stuff.

Don't lose a tooth Gracie!

Tuck was good at getting the apples that were low on the trees,

As you can see from Jake's apple cheeks, we had a lot of fun.

He's catching up to his mama!

Sisters or same orthodontist?

She's NOT catching up to her daddy!

Sweet family. Do you have to go home so soon?

I had to keep reminding Jacob to set a good example. Tucker was sure watching him!

2 of the Colyar Clan's 4 grandsons

You can't pick apples without climbing a few trees!

I can see a bit of Bonnie in him.

Jake's almost too big for Dad to give him a piggy back ride these days...

We finished the evening off with some donuts and cider. Since it was mild outside, we tried an apple cider slushy rather than a hot drink. Yummy!

Cute girls!

What a beautiful way to end a perfect weekend!

Thompson Visit Day 1

There's a reason you haven't heard from us in awhile. We've been too busy having fun! My sweet sister Bonnie flew across the country with her cute kids in tow to visit us a couple weeks ago. (She loves me). Their stay was all too brief, but we did our best to show them a grand time.

Grace wearing Emma's old Halloween costume singing "Love Story" by Taylor Swift.

Grace and Tucker ooze musical talent, so their playtime involved a lot of performing. We pulled out the fog machine and strobe lights from our Halloween boxes to add a little atmosphere. The smoke alarms only went off once. It's fine.

Tucker was solid on the drums

You'd think that Grace would outshine her brother since she's a little older and a girl. Not so. Tucker is quite the musician! That singing voice just might take him places...

He's already got a cool rock star grin, don't you think?

Jake has a fan.

The first full day we had with the Thompsons we spent in Grand Rapids, Ohio. The winding drive along the river showcased the fall color desert dwellers miss. In town we ate at our favorite pizza joint and walked along the canal. Folks were busy preparing for the Apple Butter Festival, so we got a sneak peek at some of the attractions without having to deal with the crowds.

We snuck into this playground, but got kicked out 10 minutes later. Rebels.

I had warned Bon about possible chilly weather, but she must have brought the Phoenix sun with her. The weekend was perfect for playing outside. We wrapped up the afternoon with an ice cream cone at Mr. Freeze. It was was their last weekend of the season, so Bonnie planned her trip perfectly.

Love this girl! She sure spoiled her cousin Gracie. Whether it was baking cupcakes or painting in the fort, Emma had the activities covered.

Kalahari

For the second half of the week we should have been camping, we went to Kalahari. This 173,000 square feet indoor waterpark was an ideal way for our pasty white family to enjoy swimming and such. We didn't have to worry about a base tan or multiple sunblock applications. 

Floating down the lazy river

Kalahari is a hot spot for weary Ohioans in the summer, but we didn't mind the crowds too much. There was plenty of people watching to do while we stood in line for the slides. We only had to cover Jake's eyes a couple of times...

Jake thought it was sooooo funny to pull me under the waterfall.

For the most part we tried to stick together. It was more fun that way. We found that our favorite water slides were the onew we could ride with all four of us together. "The Family Flush" is what we called it.

Our trips down the lazy river weren't that relaxing with Jake around.

The boys tried surfing, while Em and I watched from sidelines. (Rushing water and swimsuit tops don't mix). We all enjoyed the gentle bobbing of the wave pool though.

Don't drink the water!

Not an hour after we all left the wave pool, the lifeguards evacuated it. The reason: poo. Needless to say, we didn't go back after we watched some poor employee going after the offending floater.

You've gotta look out for hippos around that place too!

The next day, we tried some of the outdoor activities at the resort. We were so proud of our acrophobic Emma when she tried the ropes course. She found she really liked the zip lines that zigzagged across the park.

No fear!

On top of the world!

We skipped the rock climbing wall because we were tired, but on the way out Emma stopped at the petting zoo. Fortunately, we didn't take any extra animals home with us.

Our little Snow White

Now we know where to go in the wintertime when we're sick of all the snow - Kalahari!

Chicago 8/2/11

The plan WAS to camp in the Upper Peninsula. Mother Nature had different ideas. A freak heat wave hit the Midwest early in August and we realized that tent camping in 90% humidity wasn't the best way to enjoy Rick's week away from work.

Fortunately, we had plenty of other places to check off our vacation bucket list. We hopped in the car and drove two states west to Chicago, Illinois. We dropped our essentials at the beautiful Hilton along the Magnificent Mile where President Obama has held press conferences and such. Leaving our car in an over-priced garage, we set off in a taxi to see the sights. It felt more like a thrill ride than anything. The kids and I suppressed our nervous laughter the entire way to the American Girl store.

Emma fell in love with the American Girl books and movies years ago. We've amassed quite a collection of AG books by shopping at yard sales and Savers over the years. Every time Em would get her AG catalogue in the mail, she'd pour over the pages and highlight her favorite items.We know how she pined for a look-alike doll of her very own, but Santa never did leave one under the tree.

Though she's knocking on the door of age 12, we finally got her a doll. Her name is Janie and she has glasses and blond hair, just like our Emma Janie. We spent the day lugging Little Janie around Chicago, protecting her from theft and the elements.

While at Water Tower Place we stopped by the Lego store. It was sad to realize that our kids had outgrown their passion for Legos, but we did make them pause for some photos in front of the Lego sculptures and landscapes.

Everyone was enthused about visiting the Hershey Store. The moment we stepped inside we were welcomed with free samples and free smells. They practically had to escort us out of there.

Chicago is one of those places that makes you feel small. As twilight approached, we repositioned ourselves on top of the city to get a grand view.

Clouds were already rolling in, obscuring our view of Lake Michigan. On clear days you can see several miles in every direction. We counted ourselves lucky though, because we got one heck of a show with all the lightening.

We spent quite some time taking self-guided audio tours and gazing at the skyline. When the sun left for the day, we made our way back down to ride the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier.

Riding the attractions at Navy Pier is another great way to view the city. The old Ferris Wheel is especially amazing at night.

It was mercifully cool out on the pier, with the wind blowing in from the lake. Thunder and lightening threatened to close the park down, but we managed to get in a few rides.

When we finally called it a day and started walking back, the heavens opened and dumped on us. We tried to wait it out under the shelter of an overhang, but it was no use. We had to break down and hail a cab. We arrived back at the hotel absolutely soaked through our clothes (Little Janie was kept dry wrapped in her special box). It was a perfect finish to the day's adventures!

Showing Off

Grandma and Grandpa Saunders came for a much anticipated visit this week, and we were determined to give them a good time. You could say that we did our best to show off. The car received it's bi-annual wash, the dog had her fur done, the house was deep cleaned, and the fridge got restocked. Hotel Saunders fairly gleamed for Grandma and Grandpa's first visit.

We ordered some pleasantly cool weather for the hot and weary travelers. As we walked around the Farmer's Market that first night, some of us got a little chilled. What a contrast for those desert dwellers! We dined at out favorite Mediterranean place (Zingo's) and stayed up visiting.

Great hosts we are, Rick and I slept in late the next morning. Our guests and hungry children were left to fend for themselves. We  couldn't even haul ourselves out of bed to walk Emma to the bus stop on her last day of school! Nice. We tried to redeem ourselves later by taking a scenic drive around Perrysburg. We stopped to walk around Knight Nature Preserve and test out Grandma's new knee. She hiked around like a champ!

The kids did a bit of showing off in the late afternoon at their end-of-year group piano lesson and  recital. Their teacher Michael put together lots of fun activities and awards. Jake earned special recognition for being diligent with his piano practice. Emma earned an award for keeping positive during her illness. Both kids were treated to gift certificates to Mr. Freeze Ice Cream, though our favorite treat was listening to Michael perform a Liszt piece. Wow!

For dinner we took the folks to our local Japanese hibachi restaurant, Nagoya. Coincidentally, the local ABC affiliate was there to film a commercial, so much of our meal was filmed. It was awkward to eat with a camera pointed in our direction. What if we dropped something or got broccoli in our teeth? How embarrassing! We did survive our shoot though, and walked around the outdoor mall. We paused to listen to a guy performing on his guitar and then headed home to Saunders Cinema. It was a pleasant evening to be sure (and we highly recommend Secretariat).

Saturday was a classic, humid day in the Midwest. I think the heat took everyone by surprise. We plowed ahead with our plans though. First stop: The Butterfly House.

Emma was mostly afraid of the butterflies, but she would let Daddy put this one on her finger.

Grandma almost had a stowaway.

Later, we stopped by Imagination Station to see the Bodies Revealed exhibit. It was truly fascinating, but we didn't stay long because the air conditioning had gone out in the building. The heat was suffocating, so we hit a few other spots and made our way to dinner.

How does he balance on a rope so high up in the air?

Emma made like Peter Pan on the Human Yo-Yo.

Jake almost got to the top.

Biggest kid of them all.

We made a cantilever arch.

Sunday was a slow, restful day. Rick treated us to some amazing French toast (on Fast Sunday - oops!) which made us full and sleepy for church. We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon of napping and snuggling on the couch. Emma discovered that she shared Grandma's love for cryptograms. Shelby discovered that she loved Grandpa's ear scratching skills.

One of my goals during the visit was to take an updated picture of the kids with Grandma and Grandpa. As we walked around a community garden our last evening together, Rick managed to get this shot. What you can't see in this photo are all the nagging bugs flying around the poor subjects.

The buggies were biting!

The bugs didn't bite if we kept swinging in the hammock.

We're so grateful Grandma and Grandpa made the trip out to see us here in Ohio. They were good to let us show off our beloved town, favorite restaurants, new home, and rapidly growing children. We can't wait until we get to see the folks on a regular basis again. One more year...

Emma made a wiggling new friend. 5 minutes later she fed it to the fish in the coi pond.