Ohio Trip

The day after Jackson and I got back from camp, we jumped on a plane with Harris and Jason, headed to Ohio for a week. My brother was getting married, and both Jason and I were in the wedding. We decided to make a vacation out of the big day, and we stayed for a week.
The flight with the kids went great... they seem to think they are travel pros. However, the trip wore them out, and Harris was asleep in the carseat before we even got out of the airport parking garage! Thursday morning, we picked up my nephew, Dean, and visited the Toledo Zoo. It is definitely one of my favorite stops with the boys, as there is so much to see and do.
The train was probably the biggest hit with everyone. Nana joined Papa and us with one of her oldest friends, Barb, who still lives in Perrysburg.

Although it doesn't look like it from their faces, the boys really weren't forced onto the carosel and really did love it!

We didn't get to see everything we had wanted, but Jackson and Harris were exhausted. So, we headed back for a much needed nap.
Of course, a trip to Papa's house wouldn't be the same without a trip to Penguin Palace for ice cream! A perfect way to end the day.

Congratulations, Mike & Nicole!

I was a terrible photographer for the wedding weekend... I was too entertained by my kids and everything going on to grab the camera. So, my pictures are a jumble of mine and Lois', but I'm afraid I can't paint the picture I had hoped of our great weekend. (There is a cute picture here of the bride and me, and here and here for cute pictures of the boys. I think you can probably check out some of the other gazillion pictures from the wedding there, too.)

Dean, Harris & Jackson at the rehearsal dinner at the Whitehouse Inn.My grandparents drove all the way from Missouri to be there. It was so nice to have time with thim, as they hadn't seen the boys since Harris was a baby.
Looks like Dad is giving Mike some important advice...
The morning of the wedding we were up early for hair appointments and last minute details. I spent the afternoon at Nicole and Mike's house with the bride and her family. I had never met her family, so it was great to get to know her sisters and mom.
They got married in St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Perrysburg, the church where I grew up. It was amazing how small and simple the church seemed after having worshipped at St. Philip's for the past nine years!
I am kicking myself for not getting a good picture of my boys together, as they were super-cute in seersucker. Harris walked my mom down the aisle (not without the bribing of a tootsie roll during the service and a train afterward!), and Jackson walked Lois down the aisle... it was so sweet. The service was beautiful, and when it was all over, Nicole suprised Mike with a bagpiper playing the recessional.
After a zillion pictures, most of the bridal party rode in the "party bus" to a couple of other locations the newlyweds wanted pictures of. The boys enjoyed their cake a the head table. I think they enjoyed being up front! I do think they were exhaused, though... Jackson kept telling me that it was "past his bed time!". Just as it was time to go, Harris got his party on and was dancing like a maniac... he was alseep within 30 minutes!

My Mom and Dad
I hadn't seen several of my cousins in over 10 years, and it was incredible to catch up with all of them. Hopefully it won't be som long between visits next time.
Congratulations, Mike and Nicole... we wish you many years of love and happiness!

Cedar Point

On Sunday after the wedding, we piled onto Papa's Waterhouse for a trip to Cedar Point. Cedar Point is one of the best amusement parks in the world, and growing up, we used to go yearly. I was so excited to take the boys now that they are big enough to do things there.
Jackson and Harris spent the entire ride just like this... making up for all of the lost sleep over the preceeding days.
Cedar Point is on Lake Erie, so taking the boat is the best thing in the world. We were able to get to the park early on Monday morning, we were able to go back and rest during the day, and we were able to stay late. The gate was a 3 minute walk from the marina, so we went back and forth several times.

We got there late Sunday afternoon, and since it was a warm day, we headed to Soak City for a swim and a few water slides. There were at least three play areas for little ones not tall enough to do the slides, and all three boys had a blast.
This crazy place was just their size. It went on and on and on with activities for the kids. There was a huge bucket at the top that kept filling up and dumping over... no matter how long they played on it, the boys were always taken by suprise by the bucket.
We had some geese visitors the morning of our park day, and Jackson and Harris stuffed them full.
While we were getting tickets, Jackson slipped unter the entry... the man working it was great and had Jackson working for him, scanning tickets and employee cards. I can see some future summer employment...
Our first stop was Camp Snoopy, which was full of attractions for the boys... I really think we could have spent most of the day there. This was our first ride, and while Jackson wasn't thrilled in the beginning, he started to love it by the end.

This was Jackson's favorite ride... it went slow while you were on the long sides, but it whipped you around the corners.

This was Harris' first rollercoaster (Jackson wasn't interested). Surpisingly, it wasn't as tame as I thought it would be... it went pretty fast (35mph) and threw us around a good bit. Harris loved it!

Papa was watching his new amusement park enthusiasts. My dad and I love rollerocasters. He took me on my first rollercoaster, the Mine Ride, at Cedar Point years and years ago. We went on a few big ones (the Blue Streak, the Gemini, the Corkscrew, and the Magnum), and I talked Jason into a couple (the Blue Streak and the Iron Dragon), but with the boys, it was hard to get the opportunity to ride more. We managed to go on all of our old favorites and are saving the newer, crazy-looking ones for a future visit.
This is the Junior Gemini... both Harris and Dean's favorite. We did get Jackson to ride this one... he was hesitant the first time but excited the second!
This was the worst ride... there were 5 of these trucks that went around a small track. It took forever to get started, and it was over quickly, but the kids loved it (not sure why!). Just look at Harris' face!

After seeing the amazing views from the ferris wheel, we headed to dinner. Unfortunately, some little tummy bug hit Jason and Jackson, so they headed back to the boat. Papa, Dean, Harris, and I stayed for some games, a train ride, and something sweet before heading back. We were all exhausted.

The weather the following day wasn't looking great for a boat trip, so Lois came and got us. It was our last day in Ohio, and we just kind of took it easy... we had an early flight the next morning.

We had a blast in Ohio... it was fun to show Jason and the boys around my old town and some of the other towns around. Jason, who hasn't been to Ohio in over ten years and always poked fun at it, enjoyed himself and actually wants to go back and explore.

Thank you, Papa, for keeping us for so long (longer than your four day limit!) and for everything. We so enjoyed ourselves, and the boys are already asking when we can go back. Next week, maybe???