Cincinnati

We had a very nice weekend in Cincinnati to visit Liz and Van in their new home. The house is lovely, but I seem to not have any photos of it. I have lots of pictures of cute kids, though! Here are Henry and Clara having their first Cracker Barrel experience on the way to Ohio.

 We got to spend a little time with Vivian Friday night when we first got in, and then she was ready to play the next morning when we all got up.

 Vivian was very interested in what these big kids were doing in her house.

 On Saturday, after breakfast, we went to a fun little pumpkin patch/amusement place. There was a corny (excuse the pun) puppet show. (Carrie- you can kind of see the ex-Showbiz puppets in the corner here!)

There were also some rides, the kids and Liz and I tried out this monkey one. Clara thought it was creepy and hilarious that we were inside the monkey. 

 We tried to get some pictures of the cousins together. It was a challenge to get them all looking in the same direction at the same time, but this one is pretty cute.

And here's a nice picture of our charming hosts.

After some disappointing football we went out for a fun dinner at Joe's Crab Shack.

 

It was a late night and we all tried to sleep in a little the next morning. Liz made sure I saw this sweet little sleeper before she awoke, though. It was a struggle not to pick her up and just snuggle her.

Sunday morning we had another first for Henry and Clara- their first breakfast at Big Boy!! I don't know if I've been to a Big Boy since I was a kid in California.

  
After breakfast we went to the Cincinnati zoo, which was really nice. 

 I'm not actually reaching out to rub this man's belly. I was petting the snake.

 We didn't get a picture of the naked mole rats, which were our favorite moment at the zoo, but these manatees were a close second. They were monching on some lettuce. It was mesmerizing.

 After a long afternoon at the zoo (and a long weekend of hosting her cousins!) Vivian was getting pretty worn out, so we said goodbye to them and then we made a couple more stops that Liz guided us to. We loved this guy in the night hunters house. The insect building was very cool too.

 

It just didn't feel right to leave Cincinnati without going to Graeter's, so we went a bit out of our way and stopped for some ice cream before we finally got on the road to head home. It was a long, late drive, but the ice cream helped.

Thanks to Liz, Van and Vivian for a fun weekend!

Hellooooo? Anyone still out there?

I've been lazy about blogging, I guess. Sorry if you've been anxiously waiting by your computer. Here's what we've been up to. Last weekend my mom came in and stayed with the kids for two nights so Pete and I could go visit Liz and Van in their new Cincinnati home. Honestly, it was jst nice to have a car ride together without worrying about whether the kids had snacks or were stealing toys from each other. Liz and Van a renting a very cute little house. After settling in we got ready for dinner. Here we are in the back of Liz and Van's car, driving across the bridge into Kentucky.
They took us to this funky little joint on the Licking river. It has apparently been there for ages. The floor is so warped that when you get up to walk to the bathroom you feel drunk because it's hard to walk straight.

The food was all Cajun and quite delicious. We even had some frog legs. Well, Pete and Van had frog legs...I had just the one.
The next morning Liz had choir practice and Van was sleeping in a bit after a week away on business. So Pete and I found the Hyde Park neighborhood and wandered around.
Here's a picture of the cute street. We checked out several stores and spent some money in a nice bookstore. (Though they had hosted a Sarah Palin book signing and Mitt Romney was their upcoming guest. Boo.)
Then we had some late breakfast/lunch at the Echo cafe. Pete ordered (and enjoyed) the Hot Mess.
Later that day we went to a Reds game. We sat in the $7 bleacher seats. It was so nice to go to a game and not have to fuss with parking and crowds and crazy ticket prices.
The Reds didn't do so hot, but we had a good time.
We even got free little turf grower door prizes. We brought ours home for the kids and they are now growing real baseball field grass on the windowsill.
We had some pizza Saturday night in the Mount Adams neighborhood and then went to Graeter's ice cream, where Pete and I picked up a cooler of ice cream to take home. We chose 6 different flavors and we're still enjoying them. Best souvenir ever. We were very excited to get back to see the kids and share all of the fun treats with them. They did very well with Mom, but I think they were pretty happy to see us return....and not just because of the ice cream.
On a completely different note, we had our district "celebration" dinner tonight. We used to call it an appreciation dinner, but due to budget stuff we now have to pay a bit for our dinners, so they can't really call it that anymore. In any case, it's always a nice time. Here's my friend Lainie who lives down the street. We carpooled and enjoyed the Sycamore Lane wine.
And here's me with Colleen, Laurie and Kerri. We all received our 10 year pins! Hard to believe I've been in the district that long.