We couldn't turn down an invite to a local firefighter demonstration! Adam is interested in just about anything to do with firemen and firetrucks, and I'm interested in just about anything to do with ice cream. Clearly this event was made for our family.
Adam had a blast exploring all the different era fire trucks. Kids had a chance to use a real fire hose to put out the "flames" of a house. The fire department lit a car on fire and demonstrated its response and how it puts out the flames. One of the fire trucks was available for painting. And did I mention there was ice cream?
Sam was only really interested in the bounce house.
click to enlarge
It was a very organized, fun event. We left before the pie eating contest (oh darn!) and we'll definitely look for this again next year!
Not to any place in particular; just, you know, around. Busy with kids, afternoon parks, therapies, soccer and piano. Busy with work, little bit of traveling. Busy with Life. And maybe you missed reading new posts. Maybe you didn't. But, a lot happened this summer. A lot of cool, interesting, beautiful, special things. No big beach trips or European vacations for us. But lots of family time, old friend time, new friend time, explorations and developments.
Sam, oh our Sam. He deserves a post of his own for all the mind-blowing things he's surprising with us with lately. I forget that he's almost THREE, but in my mind he's still clinging to my leg and nuzzling in my lap. But in just a few weeks he'll be off to preschool. Our big boy. Our hearts are so full of this little being.
And Adam. What a mind in that kid. The other day he described a color Lego he was looking for as the color of the "inside of a banana". His little 5-and-a-half year old brain may not know this color as, say, beige or off-white, but he created this beautiful description to tell me the color he was needing. I'll post about him, too. He's our big Kindergartener now. (And the coolest things about it are the bus and recess.)
Highlights of our summer as follows:
This girl. Oh my, this little girl. Niece Annabelle Lynn arrives and time is flying too fast. I've already missed bunches of her growing -- she's already rolling and giggling and smiling -- and I don't like it one bit!
This man. My husband is the best at finding little adventures for us to go and explore locally. It's one of the things I love most about him -- his excitement to just Go. Explore. Find. Create an adventure out of an ordinary Saturday when I may want to stay home and catch up on laundry. But he drags me out and I never regret spending the day, usually outside in the beautiful weather, with the 3 of the most important boys in my life.
This job. I'm grateful for my work and the work culture that puts employees first and allows me to balance home with career without too many demands. Occasionally I travel, and this summer brought me to Chicago. M took me there 15 years ago for a Reds-Cubs baseball game, and we returned 10 years later with our 11-month old after Christmas to see the city in lights. But I hadn't really looked at the city itself or introduced myself to the skyline or really felt the city life like this trip. A riverboat architectural tour by myself was really awe-inspiring. Chicago, you won me over. But next time someone else drives me there.
These people. People who make it a point to be a part of your life. People who check in, not just with what you are doing but how you are doing. I'm so grateful. They may never know how much I appreciate them all for making the time and effort and the distance to be with us.
This community. This summer our city really shined with the MLB All-Star weekend. We loved exploring the redesigned riverfront and taking part in some of the festivities. We also made a point to take in local events, fun attractions and new establishments in the surrounding community.
These boots. If you've been paying attention, you may have noticed that Adam hardly went anywhere this summer without this Crocs snow boots. These were definitely his footwear of choice, even in 90-degree weather. Go ahead and look back. Hiking, fishing, parks, and yes, even the water splash pad. As my sister said, "those dang boots!"
Between the excitement of my trip away and all our company here, we filled in the rest of the summer with local events and short trips, such as...
Hueston Woods State Park and Pugh's Mill Covered Bridge
National Museum of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton.
A Whole Lotta Backyard Fun.
Splash Park and Playgrounds
Said goodbye to a good man, visited family and passed on tradition.
Renaissance Festival
RiverFest and the Rubber Ducky Regatta
Canoe Trips
Circus
which didn't go over as well as hoped. And, according to Adam, adding bikes and a chair to the tight-rope act "is not a good idea."
And in between all of those there were neighborhood walks, trips to the library, time with friends and family, another Reds game, family naps, swim lessons, speech therapy, home projects, etc. We did manage to pack it in this summer but had a great time doing so!
(This was basically my lazy way of catching up on all the things I neglected to blog about over the past several months. It's heavy on pictures and light on commentary, but who doesn't love looking at pictures of my kids?)
Continuing with our busy summer.... Phase 1 was Europe, phase 2 was Florida. No, no, we didn't travel south... they all came here! We are so blessed to have wonderful friends and family that are dedicated to keeping relationships alive (and who also love to travel). Adam had such fun with all the boys who came to visit!
First up was my friend Sarah and her boys Brennan and newbie Aiden, who I was delighted to meet for the first time. We spent a day at the aquarium but mostly just hung around the house.
Me, Sarah, sister Kim
Adam, cousin Jake, Brennan
Adam loved playing with the boys. Clearly shirts are optional.
rainy day at the Aquarium
Adam was not taking an eye off Mighty Mike.
Adam with Aiden and Brennan
Sam thought Brennan was hilarious.
Not long after we said goodbye to them (all to soon), cousins Emma and Austin came in town from Jacksonville. This is always a fun time to get all the cousins together.
Soft serve ice cream cones... maybe not the smartest idea on a hot night.
"Mommy, help."
cousins Emma and Sophie with Sam
All the girls want to hang with Sam.
All the cousins, minus 1 -- Austin, Emma, Adam, Sophie and Noah / Hailey, Carter, Alyssa and Sam.
Annual head shot
Grandma was here, too!
And lastly, in August, my friend Christie and her two little ones made the drive to visit. They travel with their own bouncy house.
These two had so much fun.
Rainy day at the movies to see Planes: Fire and Rescue.
We topped off their week with our second-annual crab boil. One of my favorite new traditions! And of course I didn't manage to get a picture of all the kiddos together, but we'll be seeing this family again in a few short weeks when they come back for Thanksgiving. Can't wait!
Summer is winding down. Can you feel it? Fall is in there air around here, and we're loving it! Cool evenings, windows open, perfect football weather. We've had a busy summer, so it's about time I start recapping some of the fun things we've did. We've had visitors from Florida and trips to Europe and active children in swim lessons and speech. We continue to explore local events and love on our city. We'll miss the long daylight and spontaneous backyard baseball games with the neighbors, walks around our home, or simple backyard play.
But in my attempt to keep things posted here chronologically, I'll start with that trip to Europe I mentioned. This was the ultimate girls' trip with just my mom and sisters. And I would be remiss if I didn't publicly thank and appreciate my Mom for this wonderful gift to us, made possible by my Aunt Barbara. I'm going to take a moment and give her a proper tribute...
My Aunt B was one of the most genuine people I knew.
She cared deeply for animals and adopted pets from shelters and humanely trapped and released rodents in her house.
She cared deeply for nature, was an avid hiker and camper, had a compost pile, and picked up litter along the side of the road.
She was a pioneer for women's sports, joined the Title Nine fight, and is in the New Jersey Coaches Hall of Fame.
She volunteered with Meals on Wheels and county beautification projects.
But most of all, she cared for her family deeply. I still remember how she once lovingly reproached me for not acknowledging family birthdays because it is important to tell and show people you care -- Family is #1. But I don't think I honestly knew how much family meant to her until she was gone.
She was a fighter, fighting her way through a 13-mile half marathon to honor my mom's battle with breast cancer, unaware that the same disease was also attacking her body. She'd fight the cancer herself, but we'd lose her the next year. She has been gone four years now.
Aside from a wonderful legacy, she also bestowed generously on her family. I remember being awe-struck when I learned of the sum she left me. I don't say this to boast. I say this to revere. Because of her incredible gift, we were able to purchase the home we love. Because of her gift, my sister and her husband were able to start TurningPoint church. Because of her gift, my mom (her sister) was able to take her daughters on this 10-day, unforgettable, European vacation. The trip appropriately spanned over her birthday and we kept running into Barbaras along the way.
We left our hearts at home with our husbands and kiddos, flew out to Rome overnight on a Thursday, arrived in Rome Friday morning, survived the crazy Italian traffic, dropped our luggage and hit the pavement immediately to see all we could.
We'd spend the day and the next in Rome and Vatican City before boarding an Oceania cruise throughout the Mediterranean to Barcelona, where we got to spend a very full day with dear friends of ours from Florida who live there now. My favorite places were Vatican City, Florence, Santa Marguerita/Portofino, and St Tropez. Such a fantastic trip, and I fell in love with Italy all over again.
After 10 days I was happy to get back home to my family, but I still love looking through pictures. My breath still catches on the beauty we saw and captured, and if Michael will let me, many of these will be enlarged and plastered all over our house.
Thank you, Mom, for the most incredible gift! It was unbelievably special to share it with you and my favorite ladies!
Michael is really good about looking up local events and getting us out of the house for mini family outings. We've been known to pack up the car, load the kids, start driving and then look at each other and ask, Where are we going? We really enjoy checking off landmarks and events that this great city has to offer, like past visits to Findlay Market and Carew Tower, our annual Reds games and recent visit to the Basilica. As we are in the midst of a beautiful Fall here, I thought I'd look back at a few other summer events we shared Downtown this year.
Park along the Ohio Riverfront. Adam had to do the entire maze.
Activities at movie in the park.
Burlington Flea Market
Special trip downtown to buy an official Cincinnati Reds ball cap.
It was a great summer, and although it all didn't happen in Cincinnati, it's still fun to remember the highlights...
It's easy to say goodbye to summer when Autumn is so gorgeous. Nothing beats Ohio in September/October (except maybe January in Florida)!
