Girls' Day Out!

On Wednesday June 26, Emma and I met my friend Beth in Columbus for a little shopping fun! First, Emma got her hair cut at Cookie Cutters Kids' Salon...it had been nearly a year since she'd had it cut (except for bang trims, compliments of Mom). She just got a trim, but the stylist also braided it, and the extreme humidity brought out her curls. It looked really cute and she got a lot of compliments!**After the haircut, we went to Build-A-Bear. Since I had a coupon that was about to expire, I let her get a new animal as an early birthday present (even though it was actually the day before MY birthday)! She stuffed a white fluffy cat, dressed it in a sparkly pink outfit complete with flower headdress and wand, and named it Princess. We also checked out the new American Girl Store conveniently located across the street from Build-A-Bear. Luckily Emma had her spending "fix" in Build-A-Bear, since the dolls and their clothes at American Girl were about 4 times the cost of the animals and clothes at Build-A-Bear! We did enjoy window shopping, looking at all the displays set up throughout the store. Emma enjoyed pointing to the detailed displays and making comments as if she was some kind of tour guide...maybe they could hire her and pay her in dolls instead of dollars!**After that, we went to Gymboree and Children's Place and took advantage of the summer sales before going to the main building of the mall for a pizza dinner. Finally, we took turns browsing at Barnes and Noble while Emma played with the train set in the children's area. Shop 'til you drop, right?!

Emma works for the power company...and has a few other jobs, too!

On Sunday June 23, our local power company held its annual Kids' Day at our local science museum. Many of the activities Emma enjoyed last year, like the bouncy house, Tumble Bus gymnastics, crafts, pony rides the petting zoo, and free ice cream and popcorn. However, she was happy to find a few new activities too. The basketball "tournament" and baseball-pitching contests were fun (even though she didn't win). She practiced being a plumber in a pipe-fitting activity. Finally, she had a chance to work for the power company by maneuvering around some "downed power lines" (aka bungee cords) and hanging them back up with a pole.

Hello Summer!

Our local pool had a "Sunset Swim" this evening, June 22nd, meaning the pool closed two hours later than usual. We hadn't been to the pool yet this season as it's been unseasonably cool, but it was plenty warm enough today, so we decided to take advantage of it. Emma was a little disappointed that she still falls about 6 inches short of being able to go on the tall water slides, but she made up for it by spending plenty of time in the lazy river, the water playground area and on the diving board. However, what excited her the most was that she can finally "touch" in the big (main) pool!

Fun With Grandma and Papa!

Emma and I spent June 18-20th with Mom and Dad, aka "Gramma and Papa." On Tuesday evening, we went over to Malabar Farm and saw the baby animals. The goat "kids" were putting on quite a show...they were butting heads, chasing one another, and bleating in their little high-pitched voices! They even stopped at the fence to munch the grass we fed them through the fence. On Wednesday the four of us went to the Marblehead Peninsula in Lake Erie, as we have done the past four years at this time of year. Unlike in the past, however, we were able to climb the winding staircase and view the lake from the top of the lighthouse! Next we went to Lakeside,a small town with a nice dock and shops. New this year was a water play area, which we enjoyed just briefly because it was a bit chilly for swimming. However, this freed up some time for Emma and I to rent bikes and enjoy some more of the town. We ate at Sloopy's restaurant for dinner and enjoyed their award-winning pizza. Finally, we stopped in the ice cream parlor before heading back to Mom and Dad's for the evening. On Thursday Jason joined us, and we went to Mansfield to enjoy the Carrousel with its hand-carved animals and working organ; Emma rode an ostrich and a cat! We returned home late Thursday evening; Emma was happy to see Daddy, but she was already asking when we might go back for another overnight at Gramma and Papa's!

Veggie Tales, Piggies and VBS, Oh My!

This Wednesday to Friday, the 12th-14th, our church held its annual Vacation Bible School. Like last year, Veggie Tales was part of the theme. However, it had a new twist when it was coupled with nursery rhymes and the new Veggie Tales movie, "The House That Stood." The kids also enjoyed crafts like piggies made of craft foam, humpty dumpty puzzles, and houses made out of "to go" boxes. Snacks included straw (aka potato sticks), wood (aka pretzel sticks), and marshmallows (aka bricks). The kids also enjoyed outdoor games and stories told by Mother Goose herself! Emma also enjoyed joining her friends Maci and Madelynn as the three little pigs, with the big bad wolf played by Madelynn's brother Isaac. As usual, it was over way too fast, but we still had lots of fun!