RAAA!!! (Robinson/Ackerman Adventure in April)!

A couple weekends ago, we met up with our good friends from college who now reside in OH.  We have done several meetups with them around Ohio and this time chose to go to Homes County, known for its Amish community.  We rented an amazing cabin via airbnb and loaded up our weekend with lots of activities and fun!

Steve took a half day on Friday so we could head to Holmes County at a leisurely pace.  Good thinking on his part because we had to do some unplanned "potty" stops and a couple of planned site seeing.  We stopped in Mansfield at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary and also went back to Malabar Farm to do a little hiking trail before making it the rest of the way to the cabin.  We left the house and headed on our journey during Bean's nap time.  We had grand plans of her napping before our first scheduled stop, but she had other plans.  We got to hear lots of whining and "I don't want to sleep!" for the majority of the afternoon.  

(Unscheduled potty stop.  I thought traveling while in the potty training period would be rough, but it was nice with the little potty.  We would just pull over, let her do her business, or in this case just attempt, and then be on our way.)

(Looking at the birds at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary.  They rescue "imprinted" birds - basically birds that can't survive in wild due to human contact.)

(There was a building you could go inside and try to feed/touch the birds.  Steve was successful in getting a bluejay to come and sit on his hand.  Bean did her best at being still, but she's a toddler, and the birds didn't tend to stick around her too much!)

(Hiking around Malabar Farm! Last time we went, we had sought out the "Jungle Book Trail" but failed in finding it.  This time, Steve did better research and found exactly where it was.  The trail was full of different plant types and potentially animals. We didn't see any animals, but saw some of their scat.)

We got to the airbnb place just a little bit before 5pm. Literally 5 minutes from the location, Bean fell asleep.  So we looped back around and drove away 10 min, then drove back.  She at least got a little nap that would help with the long evening ahead with friends.  We got to the cabin and fell in love with it.  It was 3 levels, lots of decks and beautiful scenery.  Had a nice fire pit set up and a hot tub! We took advantage of all that place had to offer!  Our friends arrived just a little bit after us.  We threw hot dogs on the grill, the kids played outside with bubbles, and eventually we enjoyed a fire complete with s'mores!

(After dinner and some ouside play, parents were already for a break - haha! Thankfully Yo Gabba Gabba gave us a nice 22 in break before it was time to go outside and enjoy some s'mores.)

(View of the fire pit area from one of the decks.  And yes -- there were 2 fire pits!)

(The kids did very good sitting and staying away from the fire.  I think the bribery of marshmallows sealed the deal.  But once that novelty wore off, the kids got a little restless and sealed their fate for bedtime :).)

(She's had a s'more before, but doesn't remember.  She couldn't understand how this was like a cookie, and didn't really eat it.  But yet she loved each individual part - the chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker.  And for the adults -- we kicked our s'mores up a notch with Reese cups.  I don't think I can ever go back to just chocolate.)

(The cabin had some interesting decor -- stuffed bears and  mountain lion.  Mitch tried to perfect his bear/selfie photo, but lighting wasn't in his favor.)

On Saturday, we had a lot planned for the day.  We started our morning off with a delicious breakfast buffet (because when you are in Amish country, you hit up all the food you can!).  From there, we headed over to a farm that boasted of it's safari animals.  We chose to ride on a wagon through the animals and were able to feed them during the ride.  The animals were all sorts of diffeerent ones (we didn't even know most of the species) - but notable ones were llamas, deer, girraffes, some sort of buffalo, yaks, emus, and some crazy ones that looked like camels/moose hybrids.  The journey started off well with llamas, but quickly fell apart as the animals swarmed the wagon.  Kids were screaming, parents were laughing, everyone was crying (from either terror or laughing).  It was the best adventure ever! 

(Bean got to practice up on her big sister skills with their new baby!) 

(Bean loved the animal experience.  She laughed and was very determined to feed every animal.  Our friends' kids on the other hand were terrified.  Lots of screaming and crying, which made the whole experience all the more fun for all the parents.)

(Feeding the zebra.  So apparently, you were supposed to put the food under the bench and not feed the zebra by hand because it had teeth.  Bean missed the memo and felt the teeth - but it didn't hurt her.  We did get to pet them, though!  Other animals had no teeth and would open their mouths and you just threw the food down in their throats.  Lots of gross long wet tongues were waving all around.)

(Some animals were very aggressive and would try to get into the wagon and would take the feed buckets from you.  Alice had her hands full with her babe and daughter and this animal - maybe a cow? - grabbed at it.  I had to snatch it back and tugged the bucket from the animal.)

(Wilson was less than impressed wihen the animals would come up to the wagon and try to get on.  That's when the shrieking would begin.)

(Libby was in meltdown and wanted off.  Bean just wanted to feed more animals.  Moms were loving the emotions.)

After the ride, we walked around the farm a little and even got some free homemade ice cream - yummmy!  We deemed it time for naps and did some driving around.  We split up for a bit and met back together at a little shop known for it's "fry pies" and petting zoo.  We loaded up on snacks - fry pies, cookies, cheese, sausage - and saw more animals.  These animals seemed lame-o after the safari ride of terror.  From there, we headed to dinner -- another buffet! They just kept getting better and better.  

(Not only did Bean get a nap in, but Steve sneaked one in too.  We had some time to kill until we met back up, so we parked and I got to enjoy a quiet car.)

(There was a very large horse at the petting zoo that the girls enjoyed looking at.)

(You know, just riding a chicken outside the Berlin Farmstead Restaurant.  Wilson was fearless; the girls on the other hand had nothing to do with it. Plus the sun in their eyes made for an overall photo fail.)

(What better way to end off a day of fun, laughter and food?? In a hot tub of course! Thanks Alice for braving it with the kiddos.  I couldn't get in due to being pregnant, waaahhhh.  After the kids went to bed, the parents got to enjoy the tub sans kids or "pk" (post kids) as we called it.  I did put my legs in for the adult time! We also got to play a games pk, too!)

We didn't have a set check out time for our airbnb.  So we had a leisurely morning of playing and packing up.  Once we got all loaded up, we said farewell to our cabin and headed to our last buffet at Chalet in the Valley.  We thought we could either order from the menu or choose to do the buffet, but Sunday's are set buffet.  It ended up being amazing (again, every buffet got better!).  This one had mostly german offerings -- sauerkraut, sausage, etc; but also had typical mashed potatoes and noodles.  And it was all delicious. 

(I tried to stage a photo with Bean and the mountain lion, but it was a fail due to lighting - theme of the weekend.)

(Group photo at Chalet in the Valet after eating!)

(Man is it hard to coordinate photos with kids! This is the best we could manage.)

We said our goodbyes after we ate.  But lucky for us, we will be seeing our friends for another friend weekend soon!   We again had high hopes of Bean sleeping on the way home.  Instead, we discovered we had an Ariel cd in the car that we got the joy of listening to over and over and over (and we still listen to it every time we get in the car now. ugh).  I guess her days of napping every day are coming to an end.  I was hoping it was just a weekend trend, but now that we've been home she's had a random day here or there where she just lays in bed and never falls asleep. 

Fun with Cousins

My sister and her family chose to use the last few days of their Spring Break to come visit us! The stayed for only a few days, but we made most of the time -- and Bean LOVED all the cousin attention.  While they were here, we went to the Boonshoft Children's Museum in Dayton and spent a lot of time just hanging out at our house.  My brother-in-law was able to come along with them and Steve was able to take off a day to put him to work on our new project (blog post to come as it progress).  

(Bean loved playi

ng in this boat at the museum.  There wasn't much to it other than sitting and turning the wheel.)

(This museum has a really neat play area in the middle that involves lots of climbing and tube slides.  Bean was intimidated at first, but would do the tube tunnel in another area.  Eventually, she put aside her fear and made my sister take her through all the tubes in the play area.  All I have to say is that I've climbed through enough of those tubes with my nieces in the past and was super thankful my sister donned her Super Aunt cape for the day.)

(There was a little tidal pool that you got to feel some sea creatures.  I don't think Bean was ever adventurous enough to touch the animals, but I think she did splash a little in the water.)

(The museum has little rooms set up with different themes.  Bean loved "driving" the recycling truck.  Which really means, she loved hitting all the buttons that made the lights and sounds come on.)

("Help! Help! Help!" Bean got a kick out of being in the slammer.  If only they provided the parents with a lock and an hour to leave their kids in there. . . )

(Playing in the "dirt" - rubber pieces - and learning about landfills.)

(In the grocery store, Bean formed a weird attachment to the asparagus.  She dug them all out of the vegetable bin and lined them all up on the counter.  She would go around and give certain people an asparagus, and would get upset if she found it back in the bin or given to someone else.  It was weird.)

(Chris showing off his awesome dad moves in the dance room with all the girls.)

(Another huge win in the museum was the water tables.  I think I spent most of my time with Bean in the different water sections.)

(My nieces are big on playing their tablets and gameboys.  They can link their games all together and play together.  Bean wanted to play with Gabbie so Amber helped her out.  What are aunts for?!)

(Making cookies together - gluten free, too! They had an assembly line and each had a job to get it accomplished.  I think the incentive of getting to eat the cookies and Hershey kisses was their motivation.)

(Have I mentioned before how much Bean loves Gabbie??  She enjoys playing with  each cousin, but I think because they are closest in age, Bean latches on to Gabbie -- who is a trooper and allows it to happen.)

Saying goodbye to the family was a little rough for Bean.  We had to distract her with promises of movies and special treats for the evening.  Over the next few days, I'd get questions about when she'd see her cousins again.  Today (3 weeks later), she told me she was going to get to play with her cousins after she woke up from her nap.  Sorry sweetie, it may be awhile before that happens.  Between them finishing up school and baby sister coming soon, there isn't any IN trips in the works.

Kids' Christmas Family Day

A couple weekends ago, we had a family fun Christmas day.  Originally, we were just supposed to go to a P&G kids Christmas shindig.  However, Steve discovered that a nearby town was having a big kids festival with a parade, free activities and food.  Even though it was a little cold and going to be a lot crammed into in the morning, we decided we could make both work. 

So we pulled out our winter gear, loaded the car and headed to the Christmas parade.  We found a great parking spot and didn't see many people around.  We parked right along the parade route and could have stayed in the car, but since no one else was around, we were slightly concerned that maybe the parade wasn't really going to be that exciting.  We committed to the plan and decided to walk down a couple blocks to the main area where Santa was supposed to be (he would be riding in on a fire truck in the parade).  There was already a huge line (like a block long) of parents and kids waiting to see Santa! We got some hot chocolate, a cookie, and cotton candy and waited for the parade. 

(Trying to keep warm as we waited for the parade to start!  We were told it started at 9:45 at one location.  It was after 10 before we heard it coming down the street we were on.)

The parade ended up being sort of sad and sketchy, haha.  It was a bunch of golf carts with people dressed up as characters - Mickey, Minnie, Dora, Spongebob, Bart Simpson, etc.  They got off the carts at the end of the line (which is where we were standing).  Some of the characters had candy to pass out and you could get your picture taken with them (for free, not like in Europe and big cities where they want your money).  There were also different beauty pageant winners from around the area and of course, Santa! 

(Some of the characters being carted in - Olaf, Spongebob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Goofy, Bart & Homer Simpson.)

(Mickey & Minnie arrive.  Their ears were a little on the droopy side. . . )

(More characters! Buzz & Woody!)

(You can see Spongebob walking around greeting the kids as the rest of the parade came in.  There was a little band playing Christmas songs on the train.)

(Hard to see, but Santa was riding shotgun in the firetruck!) 

Once the parade was over, we walked around downtown and scoped out some of the activities.  Bean got to make a little ornament (it was just a little card on twine that she got to put different stamps on), and even decorate her own cookie.  There were gift bags and different treats at some of the stops, too.  It was cold out and we hit pretty much what we thought she'd enjoy.  We got to stop and pet some goats and see camels on our way out.  There was also a miniature pony ride, but the line was long and didn't know if she'd enjoy it.  

(We would pop into some of the shops and stops to warm up.  There was supposed to be a magician at this stop, but he wasn't there yet.  So instead, Bean just enjoyed hanging out with the giant nutcracker.)

So we headed back to the car and drove 30 minutes to the other side of the county for the P&G kids party.  Once we checked in, we immediately went over to see Santa.  Bean was excited to see him and walked straight up to him and got on his lap.  She acted so grown up about it! 

(Meeting Santa again!)

After Santa, we went to the first room where "Bean" got to stuff her own animal.  Okay, Steve and I had to do the stuffing, but she did pick out the animal.  She has really gotten into Rudolph, so she picked the reindeer.  We got to stuff one animal for her to keep and another animal to give to kids in need! Bean pretty much ran around in circles while we did it. 

After making the reindeer, we headed over to eat lunch (everything was free!) - chicken strips and mac'n'cheese.  Bean actually ate her lunch! Okay, maybe not much of the chicken strip, but she did eat all the mac'n'cheese.  She even somehow pilfered a cookie off of one of Steve's co-workers, ha! 

The last thing on our to do list was head to the craft room.  There were lots of tables set up with different crafts on them.  We just found a spot and did the craft at that table - make a little stocking ornament.  Once that was done, I went around and picked up a couple more things I thought Bean would enjoy.  She got to put some stickers on a paper Christmas tree and make a little foam Gingerbread girl.  She ended up naming the Gingerbread girl Sally (I think Steve came up with that) and Bean got super attached to her.  Sally slept in bed with Bean for the next week and got to color and play with her during the day, too.  

After the crafts, we decided it was time to head home (there was also a play room for toddlers and a room full of bounce castles and such, but Bean was too small).  We kept Bean awake in the car (30 min) so that she could take a longer nap when we got home.  Steve wasn't feeling the greatest by the afternoon.  He woke up with a running nose and I just thought it was allergies.  By bedtime, he had a fever and was achy.  I guess since I was sick (puking) the weekend before, he was allowed a sick pass, too.  It took him a few days to get over it, but he did. Hopefully we are all through the sicknesses for awhile!

Family Fall Day

Steve loves fall colors and Steve loves to travel.  Both of those converged on Family Fall Day! He did the research and convinced me that we should go to Grand Rapids, OH for the day.  I'm a pushover and said, "sure!" (even though, the thought of being in the car was not on the top of my list.  This was the weekend before our Disney trip, where Bean & I would spend 20+ hours in a car that week!) Good thing we went, because we had a great day!

Our first stop was supposed to be for a late breakfast at a cafe in town.  But we missed the breakfast menu by 30 min! So late breakfast turned into early lunch, ha! Who doesn't want a cheeseburger before 11am?! After we ate, we headed to a park where we could take a boat ride on the Miami/Erie Canal.  The workers were dressed in 1876 fashion and pretended as if we were really sailing down to Cincinnati.  It was fun and we got to learn a lot! We even got to go through a lock on the canal.  

(I know I say it a lot, but Bean is such a trooper and constantly amazes me.  First off, I am the mom who forgot to pack diapers for the day! So she went all morning/afternoon in the same diaper and never complained.  We also didn't have a stroller, so she walked everywhere - which she actually preferred.  She was constantly happy and loved playing with nature around her.)

(Bean's obsession with sticks became very apparent.  She kept picking them up and wouldn't let them down.)

(Finding more sticks.)

(Photo op along the canal!  Still holding strong to those sticks.)

(We had to convince her to put the sticks down so we could go inside the saw mill.  We had a little bit of time to kill before we got onto the boat.  We just briefly walked through the mill, but actually went back after the boat ride to see the different levels and learn about the mill.)

(After the mill, she went and picked her sticks back up.  We were in a hurry to get back to the boat area so Steve carried her.)

(What a good daddy! Those sticks were driving him crazy, but he put up with it because it made Bean happy.)

(Once we got closer to the boat, we let her walk.  I was afraid the bigger stick was going to cause her to trip, but she knew what she was doing.)

(The "Volunteer" waiting for us on the canal.)

(The boat is pulled by mules that walk along the canal. When we got into the lock, they unhitched the mules.  Once the water level adjusted in the lock, they hitched the mules back up and we continued down the canal.  After we went a ways, they actually turned the boat around in the middle of the canal and we headed back to the starting point.)

(Bean did great on the boat - especially since it was nap time! She of course entertained the people around us and would also look at the water.)