Cincinnati 2012

Our vacation to Michigan last year was clouded by the fact that our neighborhood had just been hit by a tornado , and we left before our power ever came back on.  Because our minds were elsewhere, we didn’t enjoy the vacation as much as we could/should have.  This year was much different!

I was determined to make this a good vacation for our family!  After discussing our choices, we decided to head to the Cincinnati area this summer.  It is close enough to be “close”, but far enough away to be a “vacation” versus a “staycation”.  To top it off, we stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge north of Cincinnati.  Great Wolf is a resort that includes restaurants, children’s activities, an arcade, and most importantly…..their own indoor waterpark.  The waterpark includes a children’s area, lazy river, wave pool, interactive family area, a water coaster, and several waterslides.  We had a wonderful time there, and we spent our entire third vacation day at the resort exclusively.  From our balcony, we could also see part of King’s Island, so I spent every night watching the rides.

While in the Cincinnati area, we also we able to see some great attractions.  Our first day we visited Entertrainment Junction, which advertises as the largest indoor train display.  It was huge!  There was a children’s play area, an opportunity to ride Thomas the Train, and a funhouse.  For our train fan, Amelia, it was great!  She had a wonderful time!  Taylor really enjoyed the funhouse which included a curtain maze, mirror maze, and clown college, to name just a few.

Our second day, we visited the Cincinnati Museum Center, which is located in the Union Terminal building.  The building is architecturally amazing!  The center itself houses many museums; we visited the children’s museum and the natural history museum.  Taylor was not overly excited to be there, but museums never hurt anyone – lol!  We also visited Chateau Laroche, a castle.  A man spent his entire life building this castle by hand.  He passed away in the early 1980s and now many boy scout troops spent retreats there, but it is also open to the public.  I found out once we got back that my brother-in-law had stayed there with a boy scount troop.  It is off the beaten path but very interesting to see.

Our fourth and last day we actually went into Kentucky – Newport, Kentucky to be exact.  We took the girls to the Newport Aquarium, which is the largest in the Midwest.  We got to pet crabs and sharks and see many animals up close.  There were several opportunities to walk through the tunnels and be surrounded by animal life.  It was beautiful, and I’m so glad we went.

All in all, it was a great vacation.  We had plenty of down time to relax, but we also got to visit some great places that we will remember.  I always think of family vacations as wonderful bonding times.  You all are sharing the same experiences that you can talk about forever.  And sometimes fun things happen that you will never forget – such as hanging a U-turn in the middle of the Taylor-Southgate Bridge.    

Busy Spring 2012 and Graduations Abound!

It has been 5 months since I last wrote in my blog, and I can’t believe I have neglected it so.  April was a significant month in our lives as we stayed pretty busy, so I will start there.  Right after Easter, my parents and I took a trip up to northern Indiana.  My father’s grandparents and sister are buried northwest of Lafayette.  His sister died when she was an infant before my father was born.  Although it was sad to visit the resting places of family members, it was nice to spend a day with my parents alone.  We had a lot of fun, and I even took them to Cataract Falls north of Spencer.

We also got a new kitty in April.  He is solid gray, and we named him Charlie (after Charcoal).  Charlie was a stray cat in our babysitter’s neighborhood, and he was so friendly.  We decided to adopt him, and we couldn’t love him more!  He reminds us a lot of our Oreo, who passed away a year ago.  They have similar personalities, and we believe Oreo sent him to us.  Of course, Amelia and Taylor just adore him!

My sister and I also took Amelia to see Sesame Street Live in April.  It was her first “concert”, and she did really well.  Cookie Monster, her favorite, hugged her before the show.  And she got to see a lot of her Sesame Street “friends”.  Even if she doesn’t remember it in the years to come, I certainly will!

At the end of April, my sister and I took Taylor to see The Miracle Worker at the Indiana Repertory Theater.  Taylor enjoyed see The Diary of Anne Frank a year ago, and so we thought she might enjoy this story as well.  She did!  The production was amazing, and I’m so glad we got to take her!

May was also a busy month for us for various reasons.  Towards the end of the month, though, we celebrated the graduations of two very important people.  First, Taylor graduated from 6^th grade!  She is now moving from a child to a young adult and beginning middle school next year.  I am so proud of the young lady she is becoming.

My niece, Sabrina, graduated from high school as one of her classes’ valedictorians.  What an amazing accomplishment!  Sabrina is a bright, beautiful young woman, and I am so happy to see her begin this new journey in her life.  She will begin studying at the University of Evansville this fall while majoring in psychology.  She will go far in life, and I am so happy for everything that awaits her.