At the beginning of the week, it was just me and the kiddos. I try to send Danny pictures throughout the day so he can see what we're up to. Here's a quick, "deuces, love".
We started off the day watering the flowers and picking weeds. They're eager to help at first, but quickly lose interest. I don't blame them!
After lunch it was time to wash the cars. We're really lucky to have some generous friends, co-workers, and neighbors. One of Danny's co-workers gave us her daughter's old Barbie Jeep Power Wheel around Cadence's birthday. A couple of weeks ago, the kids were riding in it down the street and our neighbors decided to give Colin their son's old blue Jeep Power Wheel. Now our kids have 2 Power Wheels! Thanks, everyone, for the hand-me-downs! It is a blast watching the kids race down the street. The entire time I spent washing the Traverse, Colin spent washing his new Jeep. It was adorable.
We spent the remainder of the day playing in the pool. I wish all days were as laid back!
Vacay day #2 "good morning" pics to Daddy
We spent the early part of the day shopping for the first day of school! Our goal was to pick out an outfit and a new backpack for Cadence. The kids were well-behaved while shopping, so McDonald's for lunch was their treat.
We spent the rest of the day at the Powell Splash Pad. The grand opening was around Memorial Day, so this was the first time we visited the splash pad. The kids had a great time! And, boy, was it hot that day!
The train tracks are nearby, so we saw several trains go by while we were there.
Colin's favorite part was using the sprayer.
Can you tell they were wiped out?
We spent the next morning packing up mom and dad's RV and bringing Scarlet to the vet for her "hotel stay" so we could be on our way to Hocking Hills! This was my view, looking back at the kiddos, during the ride there. It was a nice, inaugural trip with both kids (the last time Colin rode in the RV, he was 3 months old and slept most of the ride). It's about an hour and a half drive from our house, so not bad at all.
We spent a few days near Hocking Hills with some "posh" camping. I've never been "real" camping before (you know -- with a tent, no running water, no electricity), so this was good to me! The campground offers all different types of sites to camp. You can have a primitive camping experience with just a spot to set up a tent and a campfire, or you can stay in one of the air-conditioned cabins they have on site. There was a gift shop, with fudge that they make on-site, that included all types of camping goodies and souvenirs. I was able to pick up a toothbrush (I forgot to pack one) and we grabbed some sunglasses for the kids (forgot those too; now each kid has close to 5 pairs at home). We visited that little shop often during our stay. Close to our site, there was a pool, a playground, and a nice bathroom/shower house. We were really spoiled!
Here's a pic of our sweet set-up! We spent the afternoon getting situated and had fun with the kids at the pool.
We all actually got a pretty good night's sleep and got ready to head to the hiking trails for Old Man's Cave. You can check it out the site here: Old Man's Cave
It's a good thing we all got a decent amount of sleep because we had an exhausting day! Mom called the campground ahead of time and asked their thoughts on riding to the trails from the campground with our bikes (since we didn't bring a car with us) -- they advised that it was NOT a good idea. We thought, "It's only 4 or so miles, we can handle it!" This was the most difficult bike ride I have ever been on! From what I can remember, it was worse than San Francisco (and that place is hilly!). I think towing a kid behind you made it worse. The lady from the campground wasn't lying -- it was extremely hilly, the road was winding, and there wasn't a lot of shoulder to ride on. Most cars that passed us were courteous, so that helped. The sunshine and the heat did not help! I walked up the hills and pushed my bike (which was pulling Colin) -- Danny (Superman) biked up all the hills while pulling Cadence. I thought I was going to pass out! Mom's bike had a flat tire, so she and dad walked all the way to the trails from the campground. It was a LONG trip!
Here are the the kids at the campground ready to go!
After we made it to the hiking trails, we rested for a while and waited for mom and dad to show up. Danny actually rode back a little to find them (we didn't have any cell service there). Luckily, there was a pavilion to chill out and a gift shop to check out while we waited.
Yay! The moment we were all waiting for!
Even though the trip there was rough, it was well worth it! The caves exceeded my expectations. It was just so neat to be there! Check out all the pics below! I compiled a bunch from everyone's phones.
It has been a super dry summer, but we found a little bit of water. There weren't any majestic water falls, but it was still beautiful!
I didn't get any pictures of them, but we even saw a couple of snakes swimming around!
That day, we TOTALLY earned our s'mores.
On Friday, we took a stroll around the campground to check out all of the different sites and stopped by the gem mine. The kids had SO MUCH FUN "mining" for gems. I think we spent a total of 2 hours there! Cadence was super excited to find all of her gems! I have strict orders from her to find a nice vase or container to house them.
Near the camp shop, they had beautiful, flowering bushes and a few hummingbird feeders. I've never seen so many hummingbirds at once!
I think we wore them out!
Happy Birthday smooches to my mama! Thanks for a great trip!
When we got back from Hocking Hills, my brother (aka, Uncle Mike) was waiting for us. He decided to take a break from Boston for a quick trip to Ohio. Here's Cadence modeling the shirt he brought for her (with her fake glasses). Too cute. She looks so grown up!
Along with the potty-training came the big boy bed! We finally converted the crib to a toddler bed. We weren't in any hurry because our kids have always been content in their crib. Neither one of them has EVER tried to climb out! I know -- we're lucky! We figured if Colin needed to go potty, he needed to be able to get out of bed easily! He's done a great job in his new bed. I'm on the hunt for some cool, new sheets!
I went back to work on Monday and Danny stayed home with the kids. He sent me this sweet picture of the kids praying with the stuffed animals before their tea party.
Danny had the duty of bringing Cadence to her school for the meet and greet before classes started. Before they left, the kids built a Lego stable for Cadence's Barbie horse. They were very proud of themselves. I must add that there are no yellow Lego blocks touching any blue Lego blocks. Boo, M*ch*gan!
First day of school post coming soon!
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