Our Final Day

Our last day in Cincinnati was fairly quiet - the Clarks had plans that day so the kids, David, and I just hung out at the pool and spent  time with grandparents.
The kids were excited to finally have their dad around to play with in the pool!

Noah getting some more air time courtesy of David.

The other two are a bit heavier so their air time was much less.

In fact, I don't think Xander made it out of the water. He's one heavy 9 year old.

Playing monkey-in-the-middle.

As happens every summer our time in Cinci quickly came to a close. We are so grateful for the fun times we get to spend there every summer, making such wonderful memories with family.

A Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Evening

As we drove home from Cincinnati last summer I asked the kids what had been their most favorite activity while we were there and they all gave the same answer - seeing Peter Pan at the dinner theater. I told my parents that and so they decided, since the kids had enjoyed it so much, that we would do it again this summer!! The play we got to see this year was Mary Poppins and it was just as fun this time around!
We are creatures of tradition so since we had the older cousins sit with Grandma and Grandpa last year and Kellan and Noah were with us and the Clarks, we stuck with that same arrangement this time around.
We decided to take some pictures as we patiently waited for our turn to get the food.

We carefully monitored this one with his food; we definitely didn't want a repeat performance of last year's over-stuffing!

The play was a clever combination of the book and the movie and all the actors did a really great job. There are always some scenes that we as adults find a little cheesy or ridiculous but the kids, once again, absolutely loved it. After the performance the kids made sure to grab pictures and autographs.

Hangin' with the Banks family.

Bert and Mary Poppins herself!

The Perfect Getaway

After being apart for just over 2 weeks, I finally got my sweet husband back! Have I mentioned how awesome my parents are? They were wonderful enough to watch our kids so that David and I could get away for some alone time. I picked him up at the airport in the afternoon and we headed to this amazing Bed and Breakfast located in the heart of Amish country an hour outside of Cincinnati.

We got our own little cabin called Louie's Place. It was so cozy inside and, even though it was the middle of July, I still had to turn on the fireplace, at least for a few minutes.

We had reservations for dinner at their restaurant and were able to sit outside because the evening was absolutely gorgeous! As we were sitting there waiting for our food, this small animal comes running up and goes underneath one of the tables right next to us. At first I thought it was just a dog until David said with amazement, "It's a deer!" Yes, it was - the cutest little fawn, who ended up being quite friendly.

Apparently its mother had run off or died right after it was born and one of the owners had come across it just laying in the field with its umbilical cord still attached. They had been taking care of it for a couple of weeks, feeding it deer milk in the morning and at night, right when guests were eating their own dinner and breakfast. They were hoping to find a home for it at a nearby petting zoo.

We enjoyed our own meal - David got the pork and I had fried chicken. Everything was absolutely delicious, especially the mint lemonade and the tomato soup. Perfection!

After dinner we headed over to some chairs overlooking the beautiful fields and meadows surrounding the property. We spent the rest of the evening talking, laughing, watching the deer out in the fields, enjoying the light show put on by the fireflies, watching the stars appear, and enjoying each others' company.

We even took some selfies!

It was a perfect evening together.

The next morning, after breakfast, we headed out for a leisurely walk, enjoying the beautiful scenery that was all around us.

Some wild raspberries.

I love horses!

"Stonehedge", ha ha!

My country boy.

Wouldn't want to bump up against that tree! Those suckers were sharp!!

I had ordered a dessert after dinner to eat back at the cabin but had been too full the night before so I ate all that butterscotch pudding with toffee bits yumminess while I did some swinging on the front porch.

I also was surprised to see a skunk running around quite close to my cabin. I've never seen one in the wild before (though I've definitely smelled them).

This getaway was absolute perfection, from the lovely cabin to the delicious food to the amazing location to the friendly service. David and I agree that we need to go back!

Peaceful Evenings

Our evenings in Cincinnati were somewhat quiet; the Clarks would leave between 7 and 8 to go home, leaving my kids to come up with things to do on their own. We would read or play games or watch a movie, just something to pass the time until bedtime. A few evenings the kids even headed out to the pool to do more swimming. One evening my dad and I spent our pool time with them judging their different dives, cannonballs, and creative entrances into the pool. It was definitely a fun and peaceful way to spend our summer evening.

Savannah won the front flip contest;

Xander nailed the back dive;

and Noah was the king of belly flops!

"Selfies" Training

I am definitely behind the times; this whole selfie thing is something I just can't quite get the hang of. I tried to take a selfie one time so I could show David, who was out of town, my new shirt. I must have taken over 30 pictures and NONE of them turned out well. Definitely not pretty pictures. The young women leaders have even joked that we need to have an activity where the youth teach us the proper way to take selfies. Well, little did I know when I showed up in Cincinnati that I had an amazing teacher right in my own family. My sister Heidi is a pro and was more than willing to teach me a few helpful techniques to improve my selfie experience. Can't say that I quite know what I'm doing yet but I definitely got lots of practice with the cutest little 2 year old around!

Ciara was a pro!!

Yikes! Scary me, cutie patootie Ciara!

What better place to practice than hanging out with the non-swimmers at the pool?

Even Swede was willing to pose with me.

She is so like her mom!

I like this one with my cute girl.

Still working on it but I might get the hang of this one of these days.