Cincinnati (3.5 years old and 23 months)

Brian goes to Cincinnati once a year for work.  We go too since we love to travel.  We drove down Saturday afternoon.  We stopped at Chic Fil A for dinner.  The kids loved that because of the playground.  Chick Fil A does a great job with costumer service, cleanliness, and always having a playground.  Then we went to our hotel and checked in.  After checking in we decided to take the kids swimming in the hotel pool.  Now the kids are older and enjoy swimming, a hotel with a swimming pool is a must if we are staying any length of time.  It was a fun night.

Sunday was our day at Kings Island.  We got there about when it opened.  We went to camp Snoopy (the kids area) first.  We rode on the helicopters that went around the Camp Snoopy area.  Then Austin and Brian went on the roller coaster. Sydney drove some cars.  We were some what disappointed because there were only about 5-6 rides that Sydney could ride.  She is 33 inches.  The kids still had fun.  After riding several rides, we went for a walk around the park.  During the walk, the kids took a nap in the stroller.

During nap time Brian and I walked over to the water park to check it out. We decided it was worth it so once the kids woke up we took them to the water park.  The water park was very nice. I enjoyed it more than the dry rides.  We played for a couple of hours.  Sydney even enjoyed going down the water slides herself.  She was a little hesitant at first but Brian got her to do it and then she loved it.  We had so fun.

After the water park we rode the train. Austin really loves trains.  He talks about riding a train a lot.  Then we went up in the Eiffel Tower.  Sydney was a little scared of that. Austin didn't have any fear.  We finished our day at Kings Island riding a few more kiddie rides.

We realized we should of packed a cooler for lunch. The price of food in the park is ridiculous.  We decided to leave the park and find dinner on the way home.  We wanted to eat at Friendly's however there was not one near by.  We ended up at Ruby Tuesdays.  It was not the best choice. The kids were not well behaved and the food was just okay.  We have no plans to return there anytime soon.  It was a fun exhausting day.

On Monday morning we took Brian to work. Then the kids and I went back to the hotel. We went swimming. The kids had life jackets on so they could swim everywhere.  We swam for about an hour then we got dressed and checked out of the hotel.

I took the kids to the children's museum and the natural history museum for the day.  The Cincinnati children's museum is awesome!  I really love it there and so do Austin and Sydney.  They really like the ball area and the water play.  The construction site is cool too. We played there until about 1 pm. Then we went and had some lunch at the museum entrance.  After lunch we went to the National History Museum.  In there the kids got to play in sand and explore a cave.  They were a little scared of the cave but enjoyed it.  They had a lot of fun.  Then we went and picked up Brian and drove home.

The next weekend was Solon home days.  It's a carnival with rides and food.  We went with Lisa, Keith, and Kaitlyn. The kids got a pass for the rides.  They rode the rides all evening.  It fun to watch them ride the rides.  We are taking them so many places because before we know it they will be too old for a lot of these things.  Our outlook is the kids are only young once so let's do as much as we possibly can with them.  We are all enjoying it.

Unfortunately Sydney is entering into the terrible 2 phase.  She is loud and screams a lot.  She likes things her way only.  She will have tantrums now.  It's so sad.  Luckily she is still the most lovable girl.  She loves hugs and kisses.  She will say hi to Austin until he finally says hi back.  Sydney still sleeps on her floor most nights. She likes to arrange the blankets however she wants them.  She will tell me exactly where to sleep too.  Some nights she will want rocked to sleep too.  I am enjoying that because soon she will not.  She goes to bed between 9-9:30 pm and gets up around 7 am.  That is the same for Austin but Austin almost always gets up a little bit earlier.

4th of July (3.5 years and 22.75 months)

Before kids, we would have a movie night in our backyard several times in the summer and once in the fall.  We haven't been doing it since the kids have been so young.  This year we thought we would give it a try.  Austin is old enough and Sydney does everything Austin does so we thought it would be fun.

We had about 15 people come to the movie night.  It was a nice turn out for our first movie night in a long time.  We watched Frozen.  The kids loved playing with glow sticks and playing on the swing set.  Mostly the adults watched the movie.  Austin and Sydney had a great time!  We are so glad we did it.  We hope to do another one before the summer is over.

We love the 4th of July.  Our favorite fireworks are in Fairlawn.  We try and go every year.  We know exactly where to park so we don't get stuck in traffic.  A band plays music before fireworks and the kids like listening to music.  This year Austin and Sydney ran around a lot.  They were not as interested in the music.  They had glow sticks too.  It was a fun night. The fireworks were awesome.  We bring ear protection for them and they enjoy the fireworks.  It was a nice family night.

Donnie, Cheri, Zach and Maggie came in for the 4th of July on Sunday night too. On Monday morning I went down to my parents house with the kids.  Donnie, Cheri, Zach and Maggie came over too. It was nice to see them.  We decided to go down to Amish country for the day.  We went to the Smuckers farm first, then to Amish stores, and then for lunch at the Amish Door.  This was the first time Austin and Sydney have been down to Amish country.  We had a great time.

Dean came into town on Tuesday morning.  We met everyone for dinner that night.  Then on Wednesday we went to the zoo.  It was great because Brian met us at the zoo for a few hours that day too.  Austin and Sydney are really enjoying the zoo these days.  Brian got some awesome pictures of Austin and Sydney feeding the giraffes.  And the bear was in the water which he got some good pictures of that too.  We all enjoyed the zoo.

On the 4th of July, we all went to the parade.  Last year just Brian, I, and the kids went and we sat at the airport.  That worked out well for us.  So we did it again this year.  We got donuts in the morning and met everyone down there.  It's nice to have the airport field for the kids to run around. The parade was great.  The kids so way too much candy.  They had fun getting it though.  Going to a parade with little kids is so awesome.  They got to see firetrucks, trackers, horses, go carts, etc.  It's one of my favorite traditions.

Then after the parade everyone went home.  The kids took a nap. Everyone came up to our house for dinner.  We enjoyed to hanging out at our house.  I am so happy that they all came up from Texas.  We don't get to see each other often but I enjoy the time we do get to see each other.  It was a great week.  After dinner they went back to my parents house.  And then they went back to Texas on Saturday.

Since we had so much fun at fireworks in Fairlawn, we decided to take them to Solon to see them.  We had never seen them before there.  It was very crowded.  We ended up at a school which worked out because there was a playground for them to play on while we waited for fireworks.  Then the fireworks started and we enjoyed the show.  Traffic was a disaster but they kids fell asleep in the car so it worked out.  We had a great holiday week!

Unfortantely Mike's sister and law passed away from cancer.  The came up for the funeral.  They spent the day with us.  We went to Home Depot so the kids could make an project. They made a bug catcher.  It is so cool that Home Depot does this every month.  Austin and Sydney really like it.  They enjoyed placing the stickers on the bug catcher.  Austin couldn't wait to go catch some bugs!   That evening we went to Burger King for dinner so they could play on the playground.   Austin and Sydney enjoyed spending time with Nana and Grandpa for the day.

Sydney is talking more and more. It's hard for others to understand her but Austin, Brian and I can understand almost everything she says.  There is never a quite moment in our house.  They are always talking or screaming about something.  It's nice that Sydney is using her words now.