New Years Day 2011

lol.... I have soooo many posts in my head. Just no time to write.

Happy New Year !!!

This year we decided to try out a new family tradition. We took all the kids snow tubing at Mad River Mountain Ski Resort. They had entirely too much fun. lol

I took pics and watched. I was not trying to get injured in any way shape or form.

Camping trip 2010 (Part 3- Day #3)

Monday was Packing Up Day. After another breakfast of Pancakes and sausage we got to work taking down tents and cleaning up camp. Once everything was done the kids went back to the beach for one last time and swam until it was time for us to leave.

I really enjoyed myself and I'm sure everyone else did also. It was amazing looking up at the sky and seeing it filled with stars. Simply beautiful. I have to say the dark at night was really dark. I can't ever remember being anyplace so dark. It's funny the amount of noises you hear at night. You want to get up and check and when you do you can't see anything.

Looking forward to doing it again soon.

Family Camping trip 2010 (Part 2, Day #2)

Day #2 Sunday

Sunday was our first full day at camp. We started off with some issues... mainly no socks, needing bigger pan to cook pancakes in, and a few other small things. So we headed off to Wal-Mart while my niece figured out a way to cook pancakes and sausages for 10 hungry kids.

By the time we got back to camp my niece had finished cooking breakfast and the kids were off playing ball and swimming. We decided to rent some bikes for the gang and they were off... tearing around the campground, having fun, smiling and laughing.

'Cole drove a car for the first time. She did pretty good. She really enjoyed herself.

We finished off the day with a ghost story and the kids retired to their tents happy, content and a bit leary that an indian ghost might come by in the middle of the night.

Family Camping Trip 2010 (A Tale of Rains, Winds, and No Socks)

This past weekend was our first family camping trip. The 14 of us spent the weekend at Indian Lake State Park in Lakeview, Ohio.

I have to say this one thing...none of our trips ever go easy. We always have some sort of trial that (hopefully) makes us stronger and more united in the end.


Day #1- Saturday Rollout And Arrival Day- I really wish I had taken a picture of the amount of stuff that we took on this camping trip. We looked like we had 50 people going instead of 14. We filled the storage area of the van and the trunk of the car and still had to stuff stuff in every available nook and cranny. It took about a half hour to get our gear loaded up. Then we were finally able to hit the road.

We arrived at the campground a little after 3am. It was humid and warm but it wasn't too bad. Rain had been threatening all day. We immediately set to work putting up the tents.

My daughter Pinky has developed an amazing talent for putting up tents (and taking them back down, too) She put up one of our larger tents almost entirely by herself .

We spent the rest of the day getting familiar with our surroundings. Some of the kids headed to the beach for a swim, others went up to the camp store for basketballs for a quick b-ball game.

Dinner was hamburgers and hot dogs, we were hard pressed to get the kids to eat something. they played until they wore themselves out.

The wind had started to pick up late in the evening, but there was no sign of rain. The rustling of the trees was non-stop. By 2am the rain had started. Torrential rains, heavy winds, thunder and lightning...everyone was concerned but nobody said anything. The tents held up amazingly well. They barely moved in the wind, maybe that's why we weren't as worried as we probably should have been. We found out the next day a tornado had hit a city 34 miles from where we were.

About 4am I had to make a potty run. I NEVER have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The storm was churning around us and I had to go to the bathroom. I tried to wait it out, but the sound of the rain hitting the roof of the tent was making matters worse. Finally, I had no choice... I threw on my shoes and raincoat and hiked over to the bathroom. It wasn't a long walk, but it was long enough. By the time I got back to the tent my socks and shoes were soaked.

It was at that very moment that I remembered that I did not pack any socks. Neither had any of the kids. Now I have wet socks and shoes and cold feet.

By morning we were just glad we made it through the night.

Tent Try Out Day

In order to make sure we know what the heck we're doing, we decided to spend the day putting of the tents. My goal was to #1 make sure we could put the tents up and #2 Make sure we had all the parts.

Tent #1 Went well. I am so pleased with this tent.

Tent #2 did not go so well. (At all) One side is missing the brackets that attach the legs to the tent frame. Well, technically it has brackets...just not the right ones. So tomorrow I'm going to call the manufacturer and hope they still make brackets for the tent.

Tent #3 is made the same as Tent #2, but it has all the right parts. Yay!! We didn't put it together, we just took inventory and made sure everything was there.

All three tents are roomy and nice, I love them.

Yes, We're Going Camping !!

Campsites is reserved and of course it is going to rain. lol We're going anyway. I'm am so excited I can barely contain myself. I want to go to stores like Gander Mountain and act like I know what the heck I'm doing.

We have a few odds and ends left to buy plus all the food. I really want to set up one of the tents today, because I've never done it before and because the excitement is killing me. I finally told the kids about the camping trip and they are so excited.

Ohio State Fair 2009

It was hot. and not in a good way.
We met up with my sister and her family

We enjoyed Funnel Cakes, Mini Donuts,

Smoked Turkey Legs, Lemon-Shake-ups, Iced Tea and who knows what else.

My dear sister hamming it up with the Ohio State fair Marching Band.

We ran into Abraham Lincoln at the Natural Resources Park.

Pinky and the gang went for a spin on the Bumper Boats.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho a Pirate's Life For Me

So we went to Chicago and almost everyone got grounded on the trip.

The level of rudeness was amazing. Kids running around like they've never had ANY home training.

Kids whining and complaining about EVERY little thing.

It was so bad that my usually calm, collected sister lost it and gave everyone a stern talking to.

The trip itself took 5.5 hours longer than it should have. Due to a Series of Unfortunate Events.

Everything was good until my sister had the misfortune of leaving her cellphone at a rest stop. She was able to track it down, but we had to turn the bus around and go back for it. That really wasn't soooo bad.

Then the bus blew a fan belt on the highway, somewhere near Holy-Cow-Where-The-Heck-Are-We, Indiana. The driver tried to fix it...but couldn't so we limped to the next exit which was 3 miles away.

After at least an hour or so of mechanics trying to fix it and waiting for a part, we were rescued by a mechanic who not only came with the right part, he also brought a bus....just in case.

So we were off again. I think we were somewhere in Illinois when we hit a five-mile long traffic jam.

We made it our hotel about 7:30pm. Tired. Exhausted....and the hotel misplaced our reservations. Lovely.

By about 8pm everything was straightened out and we were in our rooms. (which were beautiful)

We misplaced the boys for about 35-40 minutes. (They ended up in a room in another tower) By the time we found them and got out of the hotel, the fireworks were in the middle of the finale.

***Day 2***

Started out with a very nice buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Then we were off on our grand Chicago adventure. The weather was gloomy, and we all KNEW it was going to rain. (or judging by our luck, Chicago would have it's first hurricane) We visited the Hancock Observatory, took the Gray Line Double Decker bus tour. It started to sprinkle on the bus tour, but we stuck in there and rode to the Taste of Chicago. The big food festival. It was crowded. I hate crowds. We sampled a few things. The kids tasted Gelato, which was heavenly.

We hopped back on the Gray Line, by then it was raining and we were laughing like maniacs as the rain was pelting us in the faces on top of the double decker bus. We rode over to the Field Museum. (not crowded) We took in a few exhibits and ate lunch.

We fought for hailed a taxi and headed back to the hotel.

It was there that 3 of my children decided to act like they needed an Exorcist.

Luckily it was time for the bus to come so we could head back home.

It was a short trip, but it was the most exhausting trip I've ever taken with my kids. They just do not do well in larger groups. Too many distractions.

Pictures from Chicago

Pictures are from Hancock Observatory, Field Museum and Hyatt Regency Chicago

It was an interesting trip.

I'm Soooooo Excited

We are spending part of the 4th of July weekend in Chicago. I've never been there before. I can't wait !!

Family Field Trip (Part 2)

After visiting Hocking Hills we drove a few miles down the road to Lake Logan State Park. We had a cookout and the kids rode around the lake on paddle boats

It was nice watching a group of city kids having fun without a video game or tv in sight.

There were a few squabbles among the 10 year old girls. They all wanted to be in charge. (Lots of chiefs...no Indians)

Then we rented a Pontoon boat. It was my first time on a boat. I have to admit I was leery at first, but then I relaxed and enjoyed the ride around the lake.