Mommy and Karsen on the plane. . . are we there yet?
Taggart's Icecream Shop, mysterious sightings of Dick and Terie as youngsters has been seen here!
Keaton, Erin, and Laura on the Tilt-a-Hurl
We had so much fun on our trip to Ohio. We left June 11 and came back on the 18th. The girls did pretty well on the plane ride there. Keaton and Kendal sat with Nonna, and Karsen sat with Brian and me. Unfortunately, there was a delay for our flight to leave, and then once we were seated, the pilot said that there were some mechanical difficulties with the plane. So then we sat for
another hour! But once we got in the air, it was great! Luckily they kept our connecting plane back to wait for us! Keaton and Kendal stayed with their Nonna and Papa at Aunt Pammie's house. Brian and I stayed in a great room at the Best Western. I know, I know, Best Western--YUCK!! But this room was stellar! Granite counter tops and a flat screen TV! There even was a DVD player. Believe me, Brian was ultra happy with that one. Our first day we just sort've made the rounds with everyone. As you can see in this picture, the kids were having fun just playing in the nice weather and the greenery! Everything was so beautiful, it looked like a painting. Us Arizonians are not used to vegetation and shrubbery: ). What was so great about this trip was that the girls were finally able to meet and play with their cousins: Erin and Laura. They had a blast chasing each other outside, making up dances to music, and playing in the pool. It rained I think one time while we were there, but that was it, it was beautiful most of the time. On Tuesday, we all went to the North Canton Jaycee Fair. It was small town fun at its best! The girls rode on the tilt-a-whirl, went through the funhouse, rode on bumper cars and the ferris wheel, and had funnel cakes and cotton candy! It was a blast! That next day we met Uncle Mark for lunch. His daughters, Laura and Erin, had a dance recital practice that day, so the girls tagged along for that. The next day we visited Grandma and Grandpa Patterson. As we pulled up, Grandpa had the riding mower out mowing the lawn! I couldn't believe it! He's pretty spry for his age and condition. Of course, Grandma Olga (or Grandma Oger as Karsen calls her) showered the girls with gifts. Later on that day we visited an old hangout of Dick and Terie's called Taggarts. It's this cute ice cream shop that's been around for 80 years! I thought that was pretty incredible, so I took a pic of it. We also visited Papa's house that he and Uncle Lee grew up in. On Friday we got to visit our friends Eric and Amynda, who moved up to Ohio just last year. It was so fun hanging out with them for the day! As we arrived Amynda was baking up a storm of cookies and bbqing burgers and dogs. It was great to see Karsen and Xander playing together. The kids all had a blast sliding into a kiddie pool in the backyard. The funniest thing was watching Xander put his hands down his pants the whole time we were there! We have girls, so we're not used to that! So of course we took a pic of it! : ) Later that night it actually rained and haled! So we ordered in for pizza. We ended up leaving around 9p.m. after visiting the house that Amynda grew up in. I didn't want to leave! :( Sunday was Father's Day, we all of the family got together at G-ma and G-pa Patterson's place. It was great b/c we really got to talk to some of the family that we never get to see. Including Brian's cousins Amanda and Shawn. We got to see Shawn's boys, and I got to hold his 3 week old baby! So cute! After that shindig, the kids were finally able to catch fireflies! I have never seen these before in my life, so I was just as excited as they were! They caught a few in a jar and then let them go the next day when we got together again at Uncle Mark and Aunt Suzie's. The girls wanted to swim in the pool, even though it was cold and cloudy outside! Kids!
We had Chinese and enjoyed each other's company a little more. The girls put on a "dance show" that was so hilarious my sides were splitting! It was so fun to see them get together and get along so well. The next day we left. Happily, our planes all left on time and got home at 7pm. Not bad. Karsen was not quite as behaved as she was going to OH, but we muddled through it (thank you M&M's and gum!). I think we definitely savored each day and did all that we wanted to do on this trip. Especially since we know it will be years again before we go back!
My three girls outside in the summertime!
We had Chinese and enjoyed each other's company a little more. The girls put on a "dance show" that was so hilarious my sides were splitting! It was so fun to see them get together and get along so well. The next day we left. Happily, our planes all left on time and got home at 7pm. Not bad. Karsen was not quite as behaved as she was going to OH, but we muddled through it (thank you M&M's and gum!). I think we definitely savored each day and did all that we wanted to do on this trip. Especially since we know it will be years again before we go back!My three girls outside in the summertime!
