Cleveland Rocks!

After the zoo we headed to Cleveland to stay with some friends.  We met the Longabardi family when they lived in Boston.  Since then they have moved a couple of times but we have loved staying in touch and it was so great to see them in our travels!  

After a delicious dinner (thank you Andreanna!), we took a walk to grab some ice cream.  The Longbardis were the best hosts and we had such a nice stay with them.  Good food, yummy dessert, comfy beds and lots of laughter and catching up!  Thanks Longabardi family!  And here is the best part--we didn't even really have to say good-bye because they are heading out to Boston this week and we will see them again in a 

few days--WOO HOO!!!  

Hannah and Francesca loved playing together.  It's funny, whenever they see each other, they have no problem picking up right where they left off.  There's no shyness.  They just start playing together.  Love those kinds of friendships!

(Note:  this picture was taking at 9:15 pm -- we could not believe how light it still was!  Apparently, it does that in OH!)

Zoo Time

So Sunday night we made our way to Columbus, OH and went to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Monday. Super fun day and most of the day was cloudy which was perfect because the animals actually came out so we could see them!

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is the zoo that Jack Hanna is out of.  It was a great zoo.  Big, lots to see and they added lots of fun decorations and tons of facts so the kids already have a headstart of their science this year which is on land animals.  Perfect!

This is the Heart of Africa exhibit.  It was definitely one of our favorites.  It totally looked like the African Savannah.  It was amazing.   

Hannah wanted a picture with every one of these statues.  My animal lover and future zookeeper was so excited to see so many animals in one place!

Yup, so this happened.  This lioness was sleeping right by the window!   

Love this fun picture of Josiah "picking up" the zebra. 

There was lots of this kind of stuff to decorate the zoo.   

Kiah LOVED the zoo.  Mind you, she barked at everything because she thinks everything is a dog but she got so excited to see all the animals.  I think her favorite was the cheetah that walked right in front her back and forth.

She just kept pointing and making fish faces!  We have only one fish at home so she was mezmorized by all the fish swirling around her!

This was the highlight of Hannah's day.  She got to feed rainbow lorikeets!  

It was a great day at the zoo!  Then is was off to Cleveland... 

Happy Birthday Caleb

We celebrated Caleb's birthday in Illinois the day before we left.  I am still in shock that we have a 12 year old on our hands.  Time is flying!  It was great to celebrate with family and between Grandma's birthday and Caleb's there was lots of dessert to be had!

Josiah was so excited to give Caleb his gift.  He bought him a really cool fidget spinner weeks ago and was chomping at the bit to give it him. 

Happy Birthday Buddy!  We love you more than you know.  You have the best hardy laugh, you love to learn, you enjoy good conversations, you are helpful and we certainly love to watch you love to read God's Word.  We look forward to watching you grow even more over this next year. =)

All packed to hit the road.  First stop -- Columbus, Ohio!

Road Trip Post 2

WOO HOO!  This is my second time blogging on vacation.  So it's not every day but it's happening!  Baby steps, baby steps...
We have been enjoying our time here in Illinois being with family.  

Lots of time to blow bubbles!  

Hannah has a little bit of heaven on earth this weekend with Woody, the dog.  Dave's sister brought him along and Hannah could not be happier to have a dog for a couple days!

Okay, not all fun and games.  There was some work to be done and here is Caleb helping Dave rebuild the shed.  It is coming out so GREAT!

Grandma and Kiah just chillin' in the shade. 

This is Kiah's first visit to Illinois and at times it makes quite sad that she never got to meet her Grandpa.  But some how it made my heart happy to get a picture of her in the back of his pickup. 

And last night we celebrated Grandma's 70th birthday together!  YAY!  Happy Birthday Grandma!  We love you and are glad we are here to celebrate with you! 

It's someone else's birthday tomorrow too (hint - he's the oldest Libby child and looks just like his daddy) so we have more celebrating to do!  I'll post about that next time!

Back in the Saddle!

Back in the saddle!  Isn't that what they say?  Well, here I am back in the saddle of blogging (I hope!).  Yes, it has been a very, very long time and I have missed blogging.  But if you read my last post (yes, almost a year ago!), we moved and needless to say life got a bit crazy.  For about 7 months, between packing, selling, buying and moving in it took all that was within us to keep our heads above water taking care of all the details all while still functioning as a family, homeschooling, loving on a newbie and fulfilling the everyday needs.  
But enough about that because we are moving forward now!  We are actually on vacation right now and I thought what better way to get back to blogging then to challenge myself to blog our trip each day.  We are currently visiting Dave's family and then will be road tripping home next week with some fun things planned for the family on the way. 
So, here goes!

Yesterday there was lots of tractor riding at Grandma's!  This has always been something the kids have loved but now some can drive it on their own.   

Swinging on the swing outside.  Love this picture of the two of them... 

Today I got a visit from my dear friend Marci and her 2 kids.   Love this family to pieces, hate that we live so far apart but very grateful for the time we do get to spend together.  

This is Marci's oldest baby holding my youngest baby.  A little surreal since I have known the Goodwin family for a little over 16 years now when I started baby-sitting this "little girl".    

The boys loved hanging out together playing basketball and darts. 

BIRD NERD ALERT!  Marci and Hannah share a LOVE for birds and talked "feathers" while they were together.  Last year Marci sent Hannah her own bird field guide book and she loves checking off all the birds she finds!

It's HOT here so the kids kept cool with the slip-n-slide.

Kiah loved riding around in the tractor wagon with her brothers.

Until next time...