July Summer Fun

We love the 4th of July and going to see fireworks.  It was weird with the 4th being on a Thursday this year though.  We only went to Bainbridge to see fireworks this year with friends.  The kids did some bouncy houses and spent most of the time rolling down the hill.  They didn't even stand in line for a balloon this year.  That was always a big hit in year's past.

On the 4th of July, we went to the Stow parade.  We always enjoy that.  It's about an hour and half long.  It was hot but not as bad as last year.  We always bring donuts to the parade as well.  Plus the kids get a ton of candy.

Cleveland had MLB All - Star game this year.  There was a color run on Sunday for it.  Austin was always a big fan of wanting to do it.  The worst part was having to get up early to go but we decided we would do it as a family.  It was a beautiful day for it.   It's not a timed race so we stayed together and went though all the color stops getting sprayed with chalk color.  It was so much fun.  The best part was at the end of the race there was a color run party and the audience would throw color packets while listening to music.  Everyone had a great time!

Melissa and the boys came up from Myrtle Beach for a week.  They stayed with us since our house is all done (well except for the bathroom floor).  We had activities everyday planned.  It was a very fun busy week!  We went to waterworks.  We also went to Cedar Point.  Melissa and Austin rode top thrill dragster, sling shot, and Milliumum Force.  Austin was so happy.  We had a move night in our back yard.  And we went to the Asian Lantern festival at the Cleveland zoo.  It was a great time for everyone.

Austin and Sydney love water parks.  We went to Pioneer Waterland for a friends birthday.  They love the water slides and the jumping floating toys in the pool.  We spent an entire day there.

Since we have season tickets to the Cavs, we had an opportunity to tour Rocket Mortgage Field house while it's under construction.  We didn't think it was going to be too exciting but it ended up being very cool!   The field house is going to be amazing when it's completed.  I am excited for the Cavs season.  Hopefully they will do better this year too!

Austin also went to Cavs basketball camp for a week this summer.  It was a full week of all day basketball.  Luckily he had some friends that went too.  He had a lot of fun!  Basketball should be cool this year.

Austin back for another hearing test

When we were traveling, we noticed Austin had a difficult time hearing.  We had noticed before but because he passed a hearing test last October, we thought he was good.  Austin says what all the time and has difficulty with letter sound combinations.  We decided it was necessary to go to back to the ENT.  Luckily they saw us quickly.  Unfortunately, Austin didn't do well on the hearing test.  It was actually one of his worst hearing test.  We had no option but to schedule for ear tubes.  This was not ideal but he has to be able to hear.  The doctor is putting in a T-Tube this time (longer set of ear tubes).  Surgery was scheduled for August.

Sydney continued to have piano lessons and Austin started some tutoring to help with his English and reading.  We also went to Cedar Point a few times.  Austin and Sydney love Cedar Point!  June was a busy start to our summer.  And the fun has just begun.

Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach, and Hershey

Our summer vacation this year we decided to go to Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach, and Hershey.  Our first stop was Myrtle Beach.  We were planning on driving all day on Friday.  However my work scheduled changed and the kids didn’t have lacrosse so Thursday evening we decided drive all Thursday night.  We left our house around 8pm.  I drove until 10pm.  Then Brian drove until 2am.  While driving he listened to the NBA Finals game.  The Raptors won and Brian was very excited.  He definitely didn’t want Golden State to win.  Then I drove from 2am to 630am.  It was a very long drive.  However it was nice to be there in the morning. 

Once we arrived, I took a short nap.   The kids went to the store with Grandpa and went swimming.  Then Melissa and I took the kids to the park, McDonalds, and candy store.  Once we got back, the kids went swimming again and we hung out at that Nana and Grandpa’s house. 

On Saturday, we went to the water-park.  Austin and Sydney loved the big slide.  We were at the water-park for most of the day.  Austin and Sydney love water-parks and slides.  Then we went to LuLu's for dinner.  While we waited for our food, the kids played in the sand.  They didn't get as wet and messy as last year.  Then Austin and Sydney did the rope course.  It was so much fun for them.  At the end of it, they both even jumped off they they were supposed to.  They really have no fear!  

On Sunday, we went to the beach.  They kids played in the water and sand.  It was fun.  Then they went back to Nana's to swim.  They love their pool.  

On Monday, we went to Broadway at the Beach.  We started at the Wonder Works House.  We were in there for several hours.  Then we let the kids ride amusement park rides.  It was a super fun day for them.  We had a nice lunch on the water.  The kids got slushies and ice cream.  Everyone had a great time in Myrtle Beach.  

On Tuesday, we drove up to Virginia Beach and got a hotel on the beach.  We love Virginia Beach.  We can just park the car for the time there and walk everywhere.  While in Virginia Beach, we enjoyed ice cream ( a lot of ice cream).  Sweet Frogs is the kids favorite.  We loved the street performers in the evenings.  We rented a four person bike and biked the boardwalk.  Austin and Sydney tried out the hamster balls in water.  And they loved playing in the ocean with their boggie boards.  It was a fun two days in Virginia Beach.  

On Thursday, we drove up to Hershey Park.  We went to the park that evening and rode some roller coasters.  The whole family loves Lighting and Thunder.  I am not as into roller coasters but it's fun with all of us racing in the roller coasters.  We rode Comet and Super Dooper Looper.  Another favorite is Lafty Tafty.  

On Friday and Saturday, we spend both days (all day) in the park.  We did some of the water-park too.  The only bummer was the Hershey Towers were down for maintenance.  Sydney finally had enough courage to do it and they were closed.  She was really sad.  On Saturday, it was so crowded.  Brian and I handle crowds pretty well but it was ridiculous.  We even left a bit earlier than normal just because we could not take it.  

Over all, it was a great vacation.  It was a lot of driving but we got to do a lot of fun things.  And mostly importantly we got to hang out as a family! 

End of School, Beginning of Summer

The one thing I have learned with the school age years, is the enjoyment of summer.  I love summer more now than ever.  In the summer, we have relaxed bedtimes.  We have outside movie nights.  We do a lot of swimming.  We hang out with friends.  We go to the drive ins.  We do the summer reading program at the library.  We like to sleep in (except for Austin).  We enjoy going on vacations.  We enjoy Cedar Point.   We like to camp.  We enjoy just hanging out as a family and chillin.   Luckily I don't work every day so I am able to take the kids many places and let them do some fun things.

Sydney and her friend did a half week of basketball camp as soon as summer ended.  Sydney got to hang out with her friend a lot that week.  Brian and I got to send some quality time with Austin.  We even went out to dinner with just him.  We had a great time.

We went on our first camping trip of the season in early June.  We had a great time except for we found out the pool was closed due to construction when we arrived.  They have a lake but we don't like swimming in a lake.  We like pools.  But since the weather was nice, we did got out into the lake to play on the floats.  The kids also rented pedal bikes and played bingo.  We played some basketball and played on the playground.  Austin and Sydney love camping.  Brian and I enjoy it too.

Austin's First Communion

May is always the busiest month with school.  It's always crazy and trying to stay focus towards the end is hard.  Austin had his second grade field trip which I was lucky enough to go on with his class.  We first went down to the West Side Market.  This was our first time there.  Austin had $5 to spend.  He bought a cookie.  Then we went to the Cathedral Downtown which was cool.

Also in May Austin had his First Communion.  It was a special day for him.  He made it with his best friend too.  My mom came as well.  Then we went out to dinner afterwards.

Also in May, to keep life really interesting, Brian had to go to China.  We are getting used to his frequent China trips but they still suck for all of us.  With me working on Saturdays, that's was a challenge with Brian being gone and the kids having a track meet.  The kids missed Brian terribly and I get sick of doing everything on my own.  Luckily it was only for a week.  The kids and I had some meals out and pancakes for dinner since we enjoy that.

Sydney also had her first piano recital.  She played one song.  She did a good job.  She enjoys playing the piano.  She doesn't practice as much as she should.  But she says playing the piano makes her happy. 

May was also the end of track season.  It was nice to have the kids at the same place at track.  However track can be a little boring.  They only run for a few minutes and we are there for hours with meets and practices.  They had fun though.

May is crazy busy and many times I feel like I am going to lose my mind, but I know one day I am going to miss all of this craziness!

Spring Break - London and Paris

For spring break this year, we decided to go to London and Paris.  We got a good deal on airfare to London and wanted to take the kids to Disneyland Paris.  We flew out early on Thursday morning.  Our flight was at 6:45am.  We landed in New York at 8am.  I found the New York Hall of Science nearby.  We originally were going to take a taxi there but realized it would be better to rent a car.  We rented a car and drove there.

The New York Hall of Science was a cool museum for the kids.  They played with bubbles and built air powered vehicles.  Austin and Sydney also built a large tower out of blocks.   We then ate lunch.  At lunch, Austin said his throat hurt.  He had a cold but the sore throat was something new.  Nervous that we were flying to London in a few hours, we drove to a minute clinic.  Luckily there was little wait.  He had all the signs and symptoms of strep throat so he was given an antibiotic.

We drove back to the airport.  Traffic is New York is crazy and we were not even in the city.  We made it back with plenty of time.  We relaxed at the gate for a bit.  However Sydney's Kindle stopped working.  Brian frantically put videos on the extra Kindle that we had packed.

Once we boarded the plane, we thought we would be going to sleep however the meal took longer than expected.  We each watched a movie and had dinner and finally went to sleep.  We only got about 2-3 hours of sleep (not good sleep being on an airplane and all).

When we landed in London we were nervous about the protests that promised to shut down the airport on the day we arrived.  We really didn't know what to expect.  Traveling with the kids makes things a bit more challenging.  However we never saw any of the protesters.  We took the Heathrow Express to Pattington station.  Then took the underground from there to near our hotel.  However our hotel was about a 15 minute walk from the underground.  That is challenging with all of our luggage.

We went finally arrived at our hotel at 10:30am in the morning our room was ready.  We were so happy!  We were able to shower and get organized for the day. We had decided that we were going on the hop on and off bus.  The kids wanted to do that in Barcelona but we did not do that.  So we thought we would let them her.  It was nice when we were at the top of the bus and we could see the city.  Some of the buses were crowded so we were at the bottom.

We stopped off by M+M store.  Sydney was very excited.  She loves Las Vegas just for that store.  She even found a t-shirt that she liked and got it.  Sydney also got some ice cream and Austin got a donut (very large donut).   We continued to take the bus around the city.  That evening we stopped at the store and got some food for dinner.  We were all very tired.

On Saturday, we went to Tower Bridge in the morning.  We went up in it as well.  The kids enjoyed walking over the glass at the top of the bridge.  After Tower Bridge, we stopped for ice cream.  Then waited for the bridge gates to open.  The we walked over the The Monument.  We climbed the 311 stairs to the top.  Austin and Sydney enjoyed the climb and even counted the steps.

After the Monument, we went over to the London Eye.  We got tickets to go up into it.  The line was long but it moved quickly.  We enjoyed the ride in the the London Eye.  After the London Eye, the kids found a slushy place and got a cool cup and a slushy.  There was a playground near by so they played on that for a bit.  Also while we were over there, we saw all the protesters.  Brian even captured a few pictures while there.  That evening we had dinner at a local cafe.

Somehow the Easter Bunny found us in London and hid chocolate and chocolate eggs throughout our hotel room for the kids to find on Easter morning.  When they woke up they were very excited about that.  They went around the room finding eggs.  Then we got ready to see the changing of the guards over by Buckingham Palace.  We were on Mall St.  We watched them come down and back.  It was interesting.

After the changing of the guard, we found waffles with Nutella at the park.  We had some of those.  That was a nice breakfast.  Then the kids played on a wall like structure that was like a slide.  They had fun.

Then we went to Tower of London.  When we first got there we soon realized the kids were not that interested.  Luckily they had a children's program with a skit pretending to steal the jewels.  It kept their interest.  Then we there was a little show and they drew a picture and won a medals.  They enjoyed that.  It was very warm.

Then we found lunch at a local pub.  We had fish and chips and the kids had waffles and chicken.  We went back to the hotel for a brief break.  Then we went to a church as the same name as our church.  It was fun to check out.  Then we went to the London Eye to watch a 4D movie.  We had ice cream and headed back to our hotel.  Brian allowed the kids to play at the playground near our hotel while I did laundry.

On Monday, we walked to London Bridge station and took the Underground to St. Pancras station.   At that station, we had tickets on Eurostar to Paris.  We had a stop in Lille Europe.  Then the train took us right to Disney.  The train was about 1.5 hours each with a 30 minute layover.  It went by fast.  I was impressed with the train.

When we arrived in Disneyland we were confused on how to get to our hotel.  Finally we figured it out however with some unnecessary walking.  We had packed way too much stuff and it was really too much to carry all around but somehow we managed.  We were starving by the time we got to our hotel.  It was also recommended that had reservations at all restaurants.  We did not have reservations.  We called and got some steak house in Disney Village.  We were in our room for 5 minutes.

We had a nice dinner at the steak house.  Although Austin did spill his chocolate milk.  Brian and I were annoyed but they were so kind and helpful.  We even got to change tables.  After dinner, we went to Disneyland.  We rode It's a Small World.  Then Austin rode space Mountain and Sydney and I rode Buzz Lightyear.  Then we rode Thunder Mountain railroad.  That was an awesome ride.  Then we stayed and watched fireworks.

On Tuesday, we got up early and went to breakfast at our hotel.  Then we went to Disneyland around 9am.  We rode Thunder Mountain Railroad again.  Then we tried to ride Peter Pan but that wasn't open yet.  The kids rode the carousal that they really wanted to do.  Then we rode Pinocchio. We also all rode space mountain.  It was not a fan.   We got a past fast for Peter Pan for later in the day.  Then we headed over to Hollywood Studios.  We watched a Marvel Superhero show.  Then we rode slingy dog.  Then we stood in a long time for Rockin Roller coaster.  When we made it to the front, Sydney decided she didn't want to ride it.  Which was completely fine with me.  When it was over Austin even said Sydney made a good choice.

There was a buffet near the Rockin Roller coaster so we ate there for lunch/dinner.  The cool part it had a ice cream machine that dished out the ice cream once you pushed a button.  The kids had two servings.

On Wednesday, we took the kids into Paris.  We rode the trains into Paris.  We started at the Eiffel Tower.  Unfortunately I was never able to get tickets to the Eiffel Tower so we didn't go up in it.  The kids understood however Sydney said next time I really need to get tickets.  We found a park near the Eiffel Tower.  It was small but kids had fun for a bit and then we took our family picture nearby.  The kids also rode a double Decker carousal.  The liked that.  We took the train to Norther Dame Cathedral.  It was sad to see the damage from the fire a few weeks ago.  We were not able to get too close but Brian got some pictures.

Our last place we visited in Paris was the Louvre.  It was a lot of walking throughout Paris.  The kids did a good job however their legs were tired.  As were Brian and I's.  The Louvre was cool to see from the outside.  I had never been so close.  When Brian and I went before kids we didn't make it too close to it. Brian has visited once during a business trip.  We got some pictures and walked back to the train station.  We took the train back to Disneyland.

At Disneyland, we had dinner in the park.  It was another buffet.  That worked out well for the kids.  We rode Peter Pan after standing in line for a while even with a fast pass.  Then we did the Alice in Wonderland maze.

On Thursday, the weather was much cooler and rainy.  We went to Hollywood Studios.  We rode the parachute ride.  Austin and Brian rode the race car ride.  Then we all rode Ratatouille.  That was a cool ride.  Then it started to rain a bit more so we stood in line for 2 hours to ride Crush's roller coaster.  That was another cool ride.  We wish it wasn't so busy when we were there though.  Sydney was starting to feel bad so s eh really wanted to leave the park.  However we convinced her to stay.  We saw the Motor Stunt Show.  After the show we went back to the buffet for dinner.  After dinner we did the Backlot Tour.  Then we did some souvenir shopping.

On Friday, we had a chill morning in our hotel room.  We were all very tried and needed a little break.  We left our room at check up time at 11am and went to the train station.  We took the train back to Lille Europe then Eurostar Train back to London.  We then took the underground to Pattington station.  At Pattington station, we had dinner at Burger King.  Then we took the Heathrow express back to the airport.  We took a bus to our hotel.  It's interesting because during this trip in Europe, we never rode a car.  Only bus, train, and subways.

On Saturday we got up very early for our flight home.  We were all ready to be home.  We watched movies on the plane and had meals.  It was a great trip.  We really like Europe and it was a lot of fun.

Almost Spring

We like going to to Great Wolf Lodge late winter/early spring.  We go for one night.  The kids love the water park.  They also love playing with the wands and doing all the quests.  We went with our friends.  It was a nice little getaway.

Austin's favorite thing this winter was skiing.  We all had a lot of fun.  I wish I could ski better but the kids really got the hang of it and did great.  The last time we went it was a great evening  We skied for a while and then the kids found some friends.  They skied with them for a bit too.  We will be getting passes again next year.

The school did a father daughter dance this year.  It was in the gym.  It was a fun night for the girls and their dads.  Then they also did a mother son bowling activity.  That was also a lot of fun.

I have spent most of my free time planning the race for the school.  I never realized how much work it was to plan a race.  I have had a lot of help but it has consumed way more time than I would like.  We are also going to London and Paris for spring break.  So I have been working on planning that trip as well.

Austin and Sydney are doing track again this year.  It's great they are doing it together.  It makes getting them to practice and meets easy.  I have enjoyed walking with the moms while the kids are at practice.

Brian had another trip to China this spring.  We all hate when he has to travel.  I try to do some fun stuff with the kids to keep them busy.  We went to Sky Zone for a birthday party.  We also have breakfast for dinner while he's gone.  The kids and I love breakfast foods.

We also love going to the Akron zoo for breakfast with the Easter bunny.  The kids enjoy the egg hunt.  Austin is lucky and have found the special golden egg in the past.  This year, somehow they both found the two golden eggs.  They were so happy.  They also went to a water Easter egg hunt.