Surf Girl!

We were back at Kings Island Sunday night and Monday of Labor Day weekend for our 10th and 11th visits of the season! We were anxious to get back to the water park before that area closed for the season. Although the weather forecast was a bit intimidating...heavy rains from Hurricane Isaac were predicted...our visits were far from a washout. Sunday evening, we had to break out the rain jackets and umbrellas and I left the camera in the car to stay dry, but Emma's favorite rides were open and the rain stopped in time for the fireworks! On Monday it was just overcast in the morning, and we had just arrived at the water park when a light rain set in. It was fairly warm, though, and it didn't matter that we were getting wet in the water park! We used our umbrella to cover our dry clothes and hit the rides, enjoying the relatively short lines. Emma made another attempt at the Pipeline Paradise area on a body board as she did about a month ago...and this time, I had the camera ready! Several people who had gathered to watch the more experienced surfers were encouraging Emma and trying to get the lifeguard to give her another turn after the waves almost immediately pushed her to the side, but Emma came out grinning, said she was done, and asked to go back to the kids area where she didn't have to wait as long for the slides!!!

Colorado Cousins!

Our cousin Doug and his twin boys, Evan and Alex, were in town over Labor Day weekend while Doug attended his high school reunion. The last time they were in Ohio 3 years ago, we had met them at a lodge near our house and the kids enjoyed the indoor water park and met Emma for the first time. Now, at 12, they wanted to return to the lodge, so we got to see them briefly before they hit the water park again (we already had reservations in the Cincinnati area for Sunday night because of a trip to Kings Island the next day, so Emma didn't go in the water park this time). The kids were a bit shy with each other, but it was fun to see how much they had grown!

Back to School!

The open house for Emma's preschool took place on Friday, August 31st. Luckily, I was able to go and get some pictures of her in some of her favorite spots at school! She started on Wednesday September 5th. She is actually returning to the 4s class, since they don't have a separate class for 5 year olds, but she was just excited to have the same teachers as last year! In our school district, kids have to be 5 by August 1st to attend kindergarten in the fall. In the district where I teach, the cutoff is September 30th, so I was tempted to take advantage of the district's open enrollment policy and put her in kindergarten there. However, since she tends to be shy in large groups, we ultimately decided that we'd prefer that she be one of the oldest in her class, not the youngest, and not go to kindergarten 'til next fall. Even on the day of the open house, her teachers said she seems more confident now, so I think we've made the right decision. She even got to celebrate her birthday the first day of school by wearing the class birthday crown!

The 100th Welty Family Reunion!

Every year, we go to the Mansfield area for the Welty Reunion. (Emma's Great Grandma Isch was a Welty.) This year, we helped celebrate the 100th Welty Reunion with a day of fun at the ORIGINAL reunion site, a farm originally built by the family in the 1880s! The present owners graciously let us use their home and land for the festivities. The home is gorgeous...could be in a magazine...and the acres behind it were filled with a pond, corn fields, barns, a cabin, and, Emma's favorite, a tree house! (As you can see from the pictures, it's not your typical tree house!) At dusk, we launched lighted lanterns into the sky...one person said it was like sending our ancestors a greeting in the heavens!

A Trip with Aunt Kristy!

On August 16 and 17, we went back down to Kings Island...but this time, Aunt Kristen joined us! Even though Kristen had been to the park several times before, it was her first visit with Emma. So Emma introduced her to Planet Snoopy and they rode several rides together! We also spent some time at the water park, and Kristen and Todd took turns spending time with Emma while the other accompanied me on the roller coasters. In spite of this being our 8th and 9th visits of the season, we had not ridden many "grown-up" roller coasters...it's just not as fun to ride them by yourself while the other one keeps Emma occupied! So, we all were a bit spoiled by having Kristen along! Furthermore, Emma got goofy and started calling her "Aunt Kristy"!

Just a bunch of hot air!

At the end of July, we went to a hot air balloon festival at the Fairfield County Airport. It had been raining earlier in the day, but since the clouds had mostly cleared out by early evening, we decided to head down for their balloon glow at dusk. Unfortunately, we didn't realize the wind would be a factor, too...what felt like a cooling breeze to us was actually a potentially balloon-damaging wind, so the balloons weren't out. However, our trip was still worth it...the kids were allowed to sit in the medical helicopter stationed there, and we all enjoyed looking at the old planes in the museum inside the hangar. Finally, we saw the hot air balloon baskets-complete with roaring gas-lighting up the night!

Happy 5th Birthday, Emma!

Emma celebrated her birthday with a party on Saturday the 25th. Once again, we just planned to use the backyard and prayed for good weather, and once again, it was a beautiful day. While it was a bit hot, sitting in the shade and enjoying the light breeze helped. The Hello Kitty theme was a hit; Karen made a beautiful cake and found some cute decorations for cupcakes, too. Maci's mom made hair bows out of Hello Kitty duct tape (!), and Emma loved showing off her Hello Kitty dress with the tutu-like skirt. After the traditional party festivities, the kids switched into their suits and splashed in the wading pool, sprinkler, and slip 'n slide! For Emma's "real" birthday on Monday the 27th, we treated her to a Bob Evans dinner for her favorite, pancakes. When we came out of the restaurant, there was sunshine to the west and dark clouds to the east. A small piece of rainbow caught our eye. As we watched, it grew into a brilliant arch right over our heads! It only stayed for a minute or two before it faded...like it was waiting for us to come out! Emma said, "Wow! I got a rainbow for my birthday!"