Labor Day and Brian's Birthday

Labor Day weekend was different than in year's past.  We usually always go to the Air Show.  However it was so hot that we did not.  We had some friends invite us over for swim parties so we did that instead.  It was fun hanging out with friends.  On Monday, we did go up to Cleveland to watch the Blue Angels.  We didn't go into the Air Show just watched from downtown.  Afterwards, we let the kids play in the splash pad area of Public Square.  It was so hot.  They enjoyed that!

Austin played flag football this fall.  He likes it.  He practices twice a week with games on Saturday.  He likes being with all of his friends.  Sydney is playing soccer for her school this fall.  She loves it.  She only practices once a week with games on Saturdays.  Luckily the games, haven't conflicted much so we have been able to see both football and soccer games.

Brian's birthday was during the week this year.  We celebrated on Sunday.  Austin had a birthday party that Brian took him to.  It was a swim party that was outside.  It has been unseasonably warm this fall.  They stayed a while since Austin was having fun.  We were going to go out to dinner but Brian didn't want to since he had just ate at the party.  So Brian just picked up Wendy's for everyone.  Then we had pie and ice cream.  Austin and Sydney had a great time celebrating Brian's birthday!

Sydney's 6th Birthday

The one thing that Sydney really wanted was her ears pierced.  I am not sure why but she really wanted it.  She has asked for a few months now.  I thought for her birthday she could get her ears pieced.  We all went to Claire's and they did a great job and she got them pierced.  She didn't even cry.  It hurt and she knew it was going to hurt but she was so excited.  It was cute.  She was one happy girl when it was over.

We had her birthday party on her birthday.  It's just how it worked out.  She had an unicorn themed party.  Brian did a great job with her birthday invitations.  We had her party at local indoor pool.  It worked out great.  Kids played in the pool for 1.5 hours then we had pizza and cake.  Sydney and I made a rainbow fruit kabobs.  It was fun and turned out cute.  Then we came home and Sydney opened gifts.  She got some stuffed unicorns, unicorn outfits, earrings, jojo bows, and bracelet making kit.  Then we went to a friends house to swim.  It was a hot day and Sydney had a great birthday.

On Monday, I was able to go to the school and read to Sydney's class for her birthday.  It was a lot of fun.  Sydney even read some of the book to the class.  It was a special.

First Day of School

And summer is over just like that!  With the kids in school, I have a new appreciation for summer.  It's my favorite time of year.  The schedule relaxes.  We do what we want.  Stay up late.  We do lots of fun things like outdoor movie nights and traveling.  It's great.  But all great things, come to an end and now it's time for school again.

Sydney was really excited for school.  She loves it.  Austin was kind of indifferent of it.  He likes school and enjoys being with his friends but also understands how much fun summer is.  But we were all ready for school to start and excited to see what this new year brings.

Austin is now in 2nd grade.  Sometimes I wonder how that is possible.  There is definitely more work and learning going on in second grade.  Sydney is in 1st grade.  She was excited to have Austin's teacher from last year.  We were too.  She's great.   It's nice to know what to expect.

Sydney loves reading.  Austin loves math.  Austin enjoys helping Sydney.  Sydney also helps Austin with reading at times.  They are enjoying their new desks this year.  They have all their own school supplies on their desks.  I am so happy we did the addition when we did.  For them to have their own space to work is priceless.

We are hoping for a great school year!

Myrtle Beach and Hershey Again

We drove down to Myrtle Beach for a long weekend to visit Brian's family.  Usually I drive down myself and Brian fly's and joins us.  However this year, Brian drove down with us.  He worked in the car while I drove.   It's definitely not a fun drive but it's great once we get there.  Nana has a pool and the kids love that!  They swam everyday.

We went to the beach one day.  There was a stingray warning so we didn't go in the ocean much. The kids wanted to play in it a bit though.  Luckily no one got stung.  We also went to their membership pool area.  That was a big hit!  Everyone loves the pool.

We hung out at Melissa's house and the kids played in the water bounce house/slide.  That was a lot of fun for the kids.  We also went to the Pirate Voyage dinner interactive show.  That was really good!  Melissa even knew people so Austin and Sydney were in the show and so us Melissa, Jonathan, Brian and I.  Austin and Sydney won their challenge.  However us adults did not and we actually got booed.  Melissa spoiled the kids and brought them all kinds of pirate stuff.  It was a fun night.

We also went to the water park there.  It was a little rainy of a day which was perfect because it was not crowded at all.  We had a lot of fun.  Austin rode some crazy water slides.  He loved it.  Sydney enjoyed the lazy river and a few smaller water slides.

On our last night, we went to Lulu's for dinner.  They have a kids play area with water and sand.  The kids got soaking wet and had sand everywhere.  They enjoyed it though.  I was a little stressed about the mess but I guess it was worth it for them.

We had a great time there!  Then we drove to Hershey to try and make up some of the rain days from July.  We went that evening after we arrived at our hotel and it was great.  We rode several roller coasters as a family.  We even got to ride the racing roller coaster which was a big hit for everyone.  I am usually not a fan of roller coasters but the kids were having so much fun it made me like them too.  Poor Brian had to ride the Hershey Tower like 3 times with Austin.  We are not a fan of that ride but Austin absolutely loves it.  I have to say my favorite was the racing roller coaster.  But Comet and Super Dooper Looper is cool too.

Then next morning we checked out of our hotel, then went to the Park for a bit.  Again we started with roller coasters.  Then we went to the water park  It was insanely crowded.  In fact, Austin and I waiting like 45 minutes just to ride one slide.  Unfortunately we didn't get to do much.  Then we had to drive home.   It was a great family vacation though.

End of Summer Fun

Brian had to go to China for a week at the end of July.  It's not ideal for him to be gone during the summer but it had to be done.  Austin and Sydney get so sad when he leaves.  They miss him.  It's hard.  I try to keep them busy while he's gone so they aren't as sad.

I took them down to the Science Center.  We had a lot of fun.  We don't go there as much as we should.  Austin loves it there and Sydney likes it too.  They had a duck tape exhibit which was a lot of fun for them.  They made shoes, hats, and smiley faces with duck tape.  They played in the tape slide too.  We watched the bubble show and Sydney was even selected to go up on stage.  She was so excited.

We also went to Cedar Point while Brian was away.  Austin enjoyed riding the big roller coasters.  Sydney had fun riding the eagles and things in Planet Snoopy.  We definitely used our passes a lot this year.  During the week, we also hung out with friends which is always fun.

Once Brian got back from China, he's always jet legged.  He makes sure he stays up during the day to try and get back on normal schedule.  The kids said they wanted to put a roof on the playground so the weekend he got back they worked on that.  I thought he was crazy but like he said, it kept him awake.   Then we went back to Cedar Point to the waterpark on Sunday.  Austin wanted the family to ride the family waterslide which we did twice.  It was fun!  It was very hot so it was a great day for the waterpark.  The kids also used their small pool a lot this summer.  It was worth setting it up.

Austin and Sydney went to cooking camp for a week in August.  Austin loves cooking and Sydney was old enough to attend as well.  They had a lot of fun.  They made several different types of cupcakes.

We went to annual Wine and Gold night at the Cleveland Zoo.  We love that event.  The Cavs rent out the zoo for season ticket holders.  Sydney loves to get her face painted.  We ride the train.  We get free food and drinks.  The zoo was set up for Asian Lateran festival so it was cool to see that too.  We also saw the new Asian animal exhibit.  We had a great family night at the zoo.

Hershey

This year we decided to get season passes to Hershey Park instead of Sesame Place.  We loved Sesame Place for years but we feel the kids have outgrown it.  Especially for as far as it is for us.  Last year, we had a great time in Hershey and we wanted to go back for several days.  Melissa and the boys met us in Hershey on Saturday evening.  Our plan was to go to the park, however it was raining heavy so we decided not to do that.  We went to Target and then to Friendly’s for dinner.  Jonathan was supposed to fly to meet us however his flight was cancelled. 

On Sunday, we went to Hershey Park.  We rode the Super Dooper Looper which is an upside down ride that all kids can ride.  They love it.  Then Austin went to the Hershey tower.  He rode the Kisses one first then the Reeses one.  He loved it.  I am not into rides but I did ride the Kisses Tower with him.  The little kids rode kiddie rides.  We got a meal plan with a drink package.  Austin and Sydney enjoy picking the drink.  Then Jonathan arrived from the airport. 

We then rode the Comet roller coaster.  That is a wooden one.  It was fun.  I thought it was a bit intense however Austin quickly reminded me that Millennium Force is intense and Comet is not.  Then it was back to Super Dooper Looper and Hershey Towers.  Austin even rode the big Hershey Tower with Auntie Melissa.  He loved it!  They even did it again. 

It rained for a little bit.  We used that time to eat lunch.  Then after lunch the kids played in puddles.  We tried to explain to keep their feet dry but they did not listen.  Graham even sat in the puddles.  We rode the water ride since everyone was already wet. 

We rode some cars.  We also enjoyed Trail Blazer roller coaster.  However Sydney cut her finger on it.  She needed a band aide which fixes everything.  We were making our way towards the back of the park when we realized it was going to rain again.  We did not notice with too much warning.  Then it started to pour down rain.  We took shelter under a table umbrella until it slow down a bit.  Then we decided to leave the park for the night.  It was after 9pm anyways. 

By the time we got to the car, we were very wet.  However all and all we had a great day at Hershey. 

On Monday morning, we went to the park around 10am to find out the park was closed due to flooding.  We were shocked.  We did not realize the park would be closed.  It was a bummer because it was not raining either.  We had several hours of no rain.  We were hoping to take advantage of it.  We went to the gift shop since we were there however so many other people did too! 

We didn’t know what to do, however Brian thought it would be cool to do the Caverns near by.  We went there and brought tickets.  While waiting for our tour, the kids did a sample of mining for rocks.  Then we went on our tour.  It was interesting and Austin and Sydney enjoyed it.  Cam and Gram were a bit young for it and wanted held a lot.   They left the tour a bit early.  Austin and Sydney were cold during it but will likely remember it. 

Then we went to Chick Fil A for lunch so the kids could play.  It was sometime for them to do.  Then we came back to our hotel and went swimming.  Afterwards we went to Chuck E Cheese.  It was a surprise for them.  Austin and Sydney loved it.  Especially because Auntie Melissa got each of them 2 hours unlimited card.  They had a lot of fun.  Even the adults played some games since it was an unlimited card.  It was a great night.  We made the best out of the situation of the park being closed. 

We decided that we are going home early.  With all the rain, it makes it challenging for doing the park and we didn’t know if the park was going to be open.  Melissa and Jonathan decided that were going to check out Washington DC early too.  We went to Hershey Chocolate Factory in the morning.  Then Melissa and family left to go to DC.  

We decided since we have passes to go into the park for about an hour.  It was raining but the kids did not mind.  Brian and I tried to stay dry with umbrellas. Austin and Sydney rode the little carousel that Sydney really wanted to ride.  Then they did the scrambler.  Austin rode the big pirate ship.  Then we walked for Austin to ride a roller coaster with Brian.  It was raining so they got wet.  They enjoyed being in the front car in the rain.  Sydney wanted to ride the water ride.  However Brian and I did not want to ride it.  Austin said he would ride it with her.  They loved it and got soaked.  Luckily I had a change of clothes for them in the car. 

Austin convinced us to allow him to play a game for a stuffed animal.  He won a stuffed Hershey bar and then played again to win Sydney a stuffed Hershey Kiss.  They had fun and were happy with their stuffed animals. 

We left and park and kids got changed.  We stopped at McDonalds for lunch and then drove home.  It was only about a 5 hour drive however it seemed much longer.  When we got home, Brian took the kids to the drive in.  I was happy to stay home and grocery shop.  I needed to unpack and clean up the house.  The kids enjoyed the drive in.  They even got concessions because we didn’t have time to go to the store before the drive in.

Sydney lost first tooth and July Summer Fun

Sydney had a loose tooth and she was so excited.  Austin has lost 6 teeth and Sydney none but finally she knew it was her turn.  She had a loose bottom tooth for a few days before it finally fell out.  The interesting thing is when it fell out she did not notice.  She was going to bed and then she realized her tooth was gone.  Unfortunately we never found it.  Brian even took the drain apart hoping to find it from her brushing her teeth but it was never found.  However the tooth fairy still came that night and gave her $5.  She was so excited!

The kids went to Cavs basketball camp the first week in July.  Austin loved it!  Sydney enjoyed it too.  I was proud of her because she went without knowing anyone.  She even met a new friend for the week.  However the timing of the basketball camp was not good.  Lebron announced the night before basketball camp that he was joining the Lakers.  Austin was devastated.  He cried for an hour.  That made us sad too.  Sydney was also a bit sad but not as much as Austin. She didn't enjoy the games like he did.  Austin loved the playoffs.  He loved to scream and be into it.  He liked fan fest downtown.  Brian and Austin really enjoyed it.  They know how lucky they were to experience it for all the years but they are going to miss it terribly!

We also took the kids to see fireworks with some friends.  They enjoyed watching them.  They got a balloon animal as well.  Sydney got a unicorn and Austin got an emoji person.  Those are their favorite things right now.  They played in the bounce houses for a bit too.

We went to the 4th of July parade.  It was very hot this year!  We found a small piece of shade.  It was a good thing.  The kids sat up by the street under an umbrella.  They got so much candy.  It was ridiculous how much candy they got.  We always have a good time there though!

Austin and Sydney started doing the Home Depot kids workshops again.  Austin requested we start doing it again and I looked it up for them.  And we went that Saturday.  Austin really enjoys it.  Sydney has also gotten good at using a hammer.  They enjoy projects like that.

We also went camping at their favorite campsite Yogi Bear.  They have a great pool with a slide and diving board.  Brian taught the kids how to dive.  They had a gaga pit that Austin played with the older kids.  He used to be shy but now he's fine just going to play with other kids.  It kind of makes Brian and I sad how he doesn't need us as much anymore.  However it's great seeing him interacting and playing with other kids.  They had crafts that Austin and Sydney enjoyed.  Sydney also liked the movie in the barn (even though it was so hot).  We had a great weekend camping there.

Sydney also learned to ride her bike.  She was not as interested in riding her bike much.  I really wanted her to learn to ride 2 wheel bike.  I would tell her this summer she was going to learn.  Austin and Sydney decided together that he would teach her.  She didn't want Brian or I to do.  Austin did amazing with her and taught her how to ride a bike.  They spend an evening in the driveway and she learned.  It took a little bit but she finally got it.  We were all proud of her and Austin too for teaching her.