O-H-I-O

Right after Christmas, we went to Ohio to visit Papa, Uncle Mike, Aunt Nicole, and Dean. We were looking forward to some fun snow for these southern boys to play in, but no luck. It was cold, but there was no good snow for playing. However, that didn't disappoint us at all... we kept busy and explored all we could indoors. My pictures are a little backwards from the order we did all of these things, but I'm not up for moving them all around!

One of the days was spent getting lost in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. Michigan. What an amazing place! I think this has to be the best museum in the world for boys (of all ages) to visit... tractors, airplanes, trains, old cars, new cars, race cars, RV's, presidential cars... they were all there.They even got to build their own cars and race them down the tracks.

There were also exhibits that showed the results of a car-centered culture... McDonald's drive-thru, roadside motels, etc.We sat on a old train and heard a reading of "The Polar Express".Model trains with video cameras on them... we could see ourselves as they went by.

A paper airplane making station with a test strip to determine how well they flew.

The Weinermobile was a huge hit with the boys... each of them got in this big bun and had their chance to be a weiner...

One day we went for pizza for lunch before The Imagination Station. The boys thought it was the coolest thing ever to make their own pizza.

I think this was one of Jackson's most favorite parts of the trip...
the kid can eat his weight in pizza!

Next stop was the Imagination Station, an incredible children's science museum. I think we were there for at least three hours, and I feel like we got only an overview of the whole thing.
The best part of this day? Getting to see the boys playing with Nana, Uncle Mike, Aunt Nicole, Papa, and Dean. They truly loved the time with family.
One of the highlights of the trip was getting to see a Globetrotters game... what a cool time! All three boys loved it (as did all of the adults!), and all of their giggling certainly made me giggle... not one of them stopped smiling the whole timer we were there. The Globetrotters played some amazing basketball and were amazing entertainers.
I haven't been back to Ohio during the winter in over 11 years, and it was so good to go back then. It was cold, but the time was certainly warmed by all of my family there and having a great time. Thanks Papa, Uncle Mike, Aunt Nicole, Dean, and Nana for the great time... we are all looking forward to another visit (next time in the summer)!