Children's Garden, Zootopia, and Minions

Friday afternoon neither Bill or I had to work, so we decided to pack up a lunch and take the kids to the Children's Garden for a picnic lunch.

The kids had a blast (as always) although they were disappointed that they had taken out the train and the tracks that the kids had loved playing on. 

First thing after lunch, they had to go explore the pond/fountain to see how many frogs they could find. We found 12 frogs, including one who hopped out onto a nearby bush to get it's lunch! 

After that we walked around the paths and the kids had fun going in and out of the different buildings and just enjoying being outside. 

I was kind of disappointed there were not more flowers that were planted and it was looking kind of plain. The prettiest flower I saw was one on a lily pad in a small pond! Oh well, it was a fun afternoon anyway.

Friday night is traditionally movie night with the kids. I rented "Zootopia" for them to watch as it came out this past week (and truth be told I am sick of all the dvds we have at home! LOL) 

Let's just say that I am glad we rented it and did not buy it. It was OK. Not horrible, but not a movie I would want to watch over and over. Rebecca seemed to really like it. Jacob and Ben lost interest about half way through it.  

Saturday, the weather was H.O.T.!!! It was the hottest day so far this year. It reached 95 degrees and it was humid. Bill took Rebecca to her softball game and I stayed home with the boys. Saturday night Bill had to work so I decided the kids could have a bonus movie night. We watched "Minions." 

Having never seen any of the "Despicable Me" movies I did not know really what to think going in. I will say that I thought it was better than "Zootopia" and that I will look into renting or borrowing the "Despicable Me" movies later this summer. Rebecca and Benjamin loved "Minions" and Jacob said it was good, but not his favorite. LOL 

Do you ever have movie night? 

Anyone have any good, newer children's movies that they would recommend?  

Honey Run Waterfall and Rainbow Batman

This past Sunday, the kids were driving me insane and things were coming to a head because it had been so hot here and humid. Finally, on Sunday it wasn't as hot as it had been (at least in the morning), so I told Bill and the kids to get dressed including socks and tennis shoes, because we were going out. I decided to head out to Honey Run Waterfalls so we could do some hiking and just spend some time outside. 

The falls were running good as we had had some rain/storms the night before. As we were looking at the falls, another family came through and warned us not to go in the pond area where the falls fell into as they had seen several snakes in the water earlier. They then pointed out at least one long snake that was swimming through the water. EEK! 

After spending some time near the falls, we hiked several of the trails, including one out to the Kokosing River.

Then we hiked a path that was across the street, that was a good hike with inclines. We heard many, many cicadas as their drone was just constant. We didn't see any but we did hear them. We did see pretty wildflowers and tons of massive ant hills. 

After we hiked, we headed back home to get some quick lunch and so I could shower. 

After lunch, we headed over to my parents' house to celebrate my sister's 20th birthday. I traditionally make cakes for the family and she requested rainbows and Batman. I will have to say I think the cake fit her to a t! 

We made it to my parents' house just before a heavy thunderstorm hit, but that didn't stop my mom from cooking out on the grill. LOL

We were able to eat outside and my sister was able to open her birthday presents. We got her a pair of Batman themed flip flops that she can wear to the beach this summer when she comes on vacation with us. 

We did have to leave early as the kids spent most of their time bickering and picking on each other and tattling and whining, etc. It was tense ride home but what are you going to do? That is what makes memories, right? LOL 

Memorial Day parade and craziness

On Memorial Day, our tradition is to go watch our town's parade. The past few years Rebecca has walked in it (first with her softball team and last year with her American Heritage Girls troop). This year Rebecca was walking in it again with her softball team. 

This was also the last year (probably) that my brother would be walking with his Boy Scout troop-- as he is on the verge of getting Eagle Scout. The weather was great and I did get a little sunburned. 

After the parade, we headed out to my parents' house to have a cookout. I decided to take water blasters and water guns for the kids to do. It turned into an all out water war, with my brother Josh soaking me several times. I think I was wetter than the kids. Thankfully, Josh's friend helped get revenge!

Overall it was a nice day and a great kickoff to summer. 

Ice Cream!

Every summer, we kick off Summer break by attending the Velvet Ice Cream company's ice cream festival in Utica, Ohio. This year we attended on Sunday. Once again, we arrived around 10 am (after picking up my sister to go with us) and there was no line to get in! 

Due to construction at the Velvet plant, some of the activities were located in different areas. One of those were the pony rides. These were located just as you entered the grounds. 

Rebecca loves to ride the ponies. For the first time ever, Jacob decided to ride one this year. Ben wanted to and then decided at the last minute that he did NOT want to! 
 
After the pony rides, we walked around and looked at the vendors and the kids got to do a craft.

Then we went and got ice cream-- Benjamin got chocolate, Rebecca and Jacob both got cookie dough ice cream,my sister got mint chocolate chip, Bill got Buckeye classic and I tried one of their new flavors-- Banana cream pie! Oh it was SO GOOD! 

While we were eating our ice cream, we sat and watched the Columbus Zoo show off some of their animals in their traveling exhibit.

We saw an owl, a fox, a penguin, a joey, a bearcat and a sloth. I thought the sloth was really cool, but apparently they really stink! The kids really enjoyed watching the animals. 

After that was over, we walked over and looked at all the cars that were in the annual car show...well I should say Bill looked that cars, my sister and I discussed which car colors were the best and the kids looked at the ducks in the pond! Priorities, right? 

After that, we decided to get some lunch for the kids and Bill. The kids had pizza and kool-aid boxes and Bill had a coney dog. I was waiting to get my "lunch" before we left. It was starting to get crowded and hot outside so we decided to leave around 1pm. As we were heading out, I got each of the kids a snow cone and I got myself my "lunch"-- a funnel cake! So yummy! 

Overall, it was a lovely morning and early afternoon and was a great way to kick off Summer break! 

The Farm at Walnut Creek

As I mentioned in my last post, on the last day of school for Benjamin, his class went on an all day field trip to The Farm at Walnut Creek. The Farm at Walnut Creek is a working farm in Ohio's Amish Country that also houses thousands of exotic animals that you can feed. It was a really wonderful experience and Ben LOVED feeding all the animals. 

Overall it was a wonderful experience and we are trying to find time this summer to go back as a family! If you are ever in Sugarcreek, Ohio I would highly recommend stopping by The Farm at Walnut Creek!