Day 26: Arrival in Sanibel, Florida (aka "the beach")

Well, we made it! And just in time, too because we were all getting pretty tired of the car!!  We left the hotel this morning in Lake Park, GA and drove five hours to Sanibel Island, FL.  The boys wouldn't sleep in the car during the late morning so they didn't sleep until after lunch, which was a nightmare since they were cranky.  But, finally they slept...and for two hours! That's really long for the car.  They awoke and we were nearing the island.  Here's the picture we snapped upon arrival!! They were so excited to get out on the beach and play.

 This bird was just hanging out on the shower when we arrived and it was eyeing the boys like they were lunch! I was about four feet from it when I snapped this picture!

Day 25: Vacation begins

Today is the day we finally left for the beach. We've only been talking about it for a week!! We woke up the boys at 4 a.m. and the very first thing they said is "drive in mama's big black car to beach!". We stopped in Warner Robins to have lunch at Cracker Barrel with Aunt Ninnin and baby Cami. Uncle Dan had to work :( Cami is getting so big and now crawls and pulls up! She even plays cars now, too!
We're stopping for the night near Valdosta at the same hotel we stayed at in April. The boys are doing pretty good so far. And we've only watched the La Las (Lion King) once. Finally bought Lion King 1 1/2 and we've watched that once, too.

Day 24: Dentist

No picture today but we went to the dentist, Dr. Crowley, today. I had an appointment and the last time I was in, Dr. Joe told me to bring the boys at my next appointment just so they could see what went on there. Ironically, Dr. Joe is Jess' uncle! And my appointment was on a Thursday, a day she is available to watch the boys. So, today she helped me take the boys. Really she did all of the work while I got my teeth cleaned and the boys watched. They didn't seem to be scared although I'm sure that's because they weren't in the chair. Their favorite part was the treasure chest. Shocking news right? And they had cars in the chest. You know that's what they grabbed!

Day 23: Baby Robin

Most of our fun is planned but today was definitely spontaneous. We went outside and as I was checking the yard for dog poop and thinking about what we would do, I spotted a very young robin. I didn't know if it was alive and it certainly wasn't in the best spot below our pear tree and in the path of double trouble and the dog. But it opened it's eyes and blinked at me like it was waiting for me to notice him. I quickly ran inside and got gloves and a box. I needed to move him out of the way. As I moved him I saw his mama on the fence and I was relieved. He was a fledgling and had feathers and could hop but not fly. He also tilted his head back and opened his mouth at my hand, clearly wanting food. I took the opportunity to show the boys the baby bird and they were amazed. I told them we had to wait for his mama to come back and care for him. They then started calling for "mama bird.". The best part (and it made me cry) was the reunion between the two as seen in the second pic. I was so relieved that she found him! When I checked on him at naptime he had a cicada in his beak and had hopped out of the sun. The boys and I checked on him right before bed and he and his mama were hopping around behind our fence line! Hopefully he learns to fly soon.

Day 22: Highfield Discovery Gardens

Today was Tuesday with Grammy again and we opted for something new.  We've never been to Glenwood Gardens or the Highfield Discovery Gardens (which is within Glenwood Gardens).  It's a Hamilton County Park and I bet a well kept secret.  From what I could see, the trails and the park looked very nice.  We explored the Discovery Gardens, which has all kinds of fun things for kids to do.  The boys enjoyed watching the trains and watering the flowers.  They also enjoyed playing in the big tree.  The weather couldn't have been better and we really enjoyed our time at the gardens.

Day 21: Ice Boats

Although it hasn't been too hot around here lately, we decided to beat the heat today by making ice boats.  The boys helped fill the cups and they chose the colors for the water (we used food coloring).  The also put in the bendy straws and helped make the sails.  Then came the hard part-waiting for them to freeze.  While they were napping, the freezer did it's job.  After nap, we had fun in the water table.  It was funny to watch to see which boat would fall over first.  JT decided once his boats were small enough, he'd eat the ice!  They both wanted to do it again but of course, they didn't understand that it takes a while for water to become ice.  We saved the straw sails and will do it again soon!

Day 20: Cloud Dough

To beat the Sunday boredom blues we made cloud dough.  It couldn't have been easier: 8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil.  That's it!  It mixes up great and it's so easily moldable.  The boys really enjoyed it and I enjoyed watching and playing with them.  I even heard them practicing their counting skills as they dumped shovels full of cloud dough into the buckets and bowls! Melts a mommy's (and educator's) heart!!

Day 19: Bodenstein Family Reunion

Today was our annual Bodenstein Family Reunion.  It was held at Gower Park in Sharonville again this year. It was lots of fun to be had by everyone, especially the kids.  The boys really enjoyed playing at the park this year, now that they're big enough.  They also played in the sand of the horseshoe pit.  We all brought a little something and Grandpa worked the grill.  Check out the fun below!

Day 18: Lunch with Daddy and Riverside Park

Today we met daddy for lunch at the Newtown Farmer's Market.  To kill a little time before daddy could meet us, we went across the street to Riverside Park.  It was okay and the boys found some fun in it, but it was an old park that could have used some updating (like new equipment).  They had a cool sand area but it was too hot and it wasn't covered.  They did enjoy a really cool slide that was built into the rock wall (see below pictures).  Daddy met us at the park around 12:45 and we went to lunch at the market.  Their deli always makes the best sandwiches.  The best part is that daddy didn't have to go back to work so he followed us home!

Day 17: The Strudthoffs

Tonight we went to the Strudthoff's for dinner.  Belle even joined us for the trip over to their house because she loves to play with Samson, the Strudthoff's Great Dane!  She also loves searching for Frank and Madge, the two cats, and she actually almost got a hold of Frank this time!  The boys enjoyed playing with Austin's cars and checking out the cool things in his "big boy" room.  The dinner was great and the company was even better!

Checking out Austin's cool light that changes colors

Day 16: Nana's pool with cousins

Today was a great day for the pool because man was it HOT!  Previously when we swam in the late morning it was a little cool but not today.  We were even joined by cousins Alex, Charlie, and Shelly.  Alex adores the boys so she had fun helping them on the slide and playing with them in the pool.  And if you notice below, JT likes to skinny dip-what a chip of of the old (daddy) block!

Day 15: Children's Museum

Today was our day with Grammy (Tuesdays) and we went to the Children's Museum.  We pretty much spent the afternoon at the "white bus", grocery store, house, balls, and the farm.  Those are definitely their favorite places to play with the "white bus" being their VERY favorite (especially for JT).  We even met up with my friend and colleague Kristen and her son Logan.  It was a light crowd so we didn't have to take turns very much either!

 Grammy driving the Metro!

 JT's turn

Logan driving double trouble

Day 14: Cheviot Park

Today was a slow start given that the boys didn't wake up until 8:15 a.m. because they were so tired from our trip.  They really weren't motivated to do much and were content to play cars for most of the morning.  At around 10:00 we decided to take Belle for a walk. I was considering returning after our walk to drop off Belle and then take them to story time at the Cheviot Library at 11:00 but we just didn't make it back in time.  So instead we went to the Cheviot Park to play.  They really didn't do a lot of playing but they did see the garbage trucks and many other construction vehicles working on the Fieldhouse.  They were thrilled!

 Watching the garbage trucks

Day 13: Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA and Happy Father's Day!

Today the Spielers took us to the Carnegie Science Center and boy was it FUN!  I can't even tell you what the boys enjoyed most because so many things were interesting to them.  We were able to see the new exhibit in it's opening weekend, the world's largest playable guitar!  It was really quite neat.  Some of the highlights were the train exhibit, the robot area (including a robot that shot hoops), the submarine, and the children's area.  It was very different from our museum here in Cincinnati.  Here are some snapshots of the day!  And...it was a great Father's Day for Peter!

Watching the trains, which JT would have done for hours!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

The sleeping quarters in the submarine...tiny!

All 3 boys loved turning this wheel and making the balls go on the conveyer belt

The house that Grant built!

Another place they could have stayed at for hours!