"Cincy-Atty" Trip!

With season passes to Kings Island and time on our hands, a trip to Cincinnati to enjoy its other attractions just made sense. We went to Kings Island on Monday July 23rd. Although it was hot with temps in the mid-90s, we enjoyed our day with Emma being her usual dare-devil self on the kids' roller coasters as well as midway rides like the "Scrambler" and "Monster". We also enjoyed a few hours at the water park there, too, with Emma jumping over the waves in the wave pool and taking countless turns on the inner tube slide.* On a stormy Tuesday we went to the Cincinnati Museum Center, taking in the Cincy Childrens' Museum and the Natural History Museum. The pictures of Emma role-playing are from the Childrens' Museum; it also included an indoor treehouse and water play area. Emma wasn't too thrilled with the cave exhibit at the Natural History Museum, but she did enjoy the time travel area, where the characters were just her size!* Wednesday was hot and sunny, so we headed to the Cincinnati Zoo. Todd and I had visited the zoo several years ago, but we had forgotten how beautiful it was...with the dense foliage and flowers, it was easy to forget you were in Ohio and not in the tropics!!! The new Cat Canyon exhibit was amazing; we got to view the tigers right up next to the glass; Emma even pretended to pet one! We also enjoyed a trip through the rainforest, where a two-month-old bonobo monkey put on quite a show of playing with her ball and blanket. We also took in a bird show, where hawks, eagles, and tropical birds soared over the crowd.* On Thursday we took a "tour" of the city, with a trip to Eden Park on the hillside overlooking the city. Cincinnati is among the hilliest places in Ohio, and we had a beautiful view of the Ohio River and Kentucky. We visited Krohn Conservatory and had the place to ourselves (who else would be crazy enough to spend time on a hot day in an even hotter building?!), then took a picnic lunch to a lake where the ducks and geese enjoyed some of Emma's peanut butter sandwich. Next we stopped at President Taft's boyhood home and went on a ranger-led tour, something Emma probably wouldn't have had the patience for until recently. Emma was actually excited to see the house, and in the gift shop she chose a National Park Kids' Passport book so she can check off all of the park service sites she visits (this was her 2nd Nat'l Park Site; her first, Great Smoky Mountains in Summer '09, she unfortunately doesn't remember). Finally, we went across the river to Newport, Kentucky, where we walked across the Purple People Pedestrian Bridge over the Ohio River, then browsed the shops at Newport on the Levee.* For the last day of our trip, we returned to Kings Island. It was more crowded than it had been on Monday, but we still had a great time. A storm cut our trip to the water park area short around 5, but the weather cleared out enough for us to enjoy several more rides and fireworks before we headed home.* All in all, Emma enjoyed her trip to "Cincy-atty" immensely and is already talking about going back!

Dive Right In!

Time flies when you're having fun, so it shouldn't be too surprising that we've reached mid-July and Emma and I have only been to each of our local pools once. However, we made the most of our visits. Continuing swimming lessons throughout the winter paid off, as Emma was able to do new things at each pool! To be able to use the slides at the Y pool (blue and green slides in the pictures), Emma had to show the lifeguard that she could swim across the area beneath the slides. Then, at our community pool, Emma decided on her own that she was ready to try the diving board, where she'd have to jump in by herself and swim to the side, all while I just watched on the side. She was fearless! People often comment on how tall Emma is, and I always reply that I don't know where she gets her height. Now, I'm not sure where she gets her confidence, since neither Todd nor I would have done those things at her age, but it's still great to see!

Fun at Papa's Lake!

We went to Wampler's Lake from Monday, July 2 through Saturday, July 7. Last year, we went up a bit later in the summer, but this time we wanted to enjoy the 4th of July activities, to coordinate our visit with Kristen's, and to celebrate Sheila's retirement with a party on the 7th. After a warm winter with very little snow, followed by a spring with very little rain, the water level at the lake was down significantly from last year. However, this turned out to be an advantage for Emma, who has never been able to touch the bottom before now. She swam almost all day for the first two days we were there! Of course, having more playmates than she had last year helped, too, with Aunt Kristen and her boyfriend Eric keeping Emma entertained for the first few days and cousins Bobby and Lily to play with the rest of the week. We also went to the fireworks at Cascade Falls on Tuesday night and watched the parade in Brooklyn Wednesday morning. Grandma and Grandpa Isch came Wednesday, along with Grandma Karen. Record-breaking heat, with temperatures in the 100s Thursday through Saturday, made us seek out air-conditioned places, but we still had plenty of fun in the sun!!!