Ohio Day Three - Playing in Cleveland

  I wish I could remember to write down everything on the day it happened but I always seem to be a little behind.  That said, here are a couple of anecdotes from yesterday.  Will and Jon are convinced that Ralph the mouse (from the Beverly Cleary books) lives in our hotel.  They have been on the lookout for tiny motorcycle tracks and Jon says that he found a mouse hole in our room.  I love that books really do come to life for them!

Also, while Will was writing in his journal yesterday he called out to me, "Mommy!  I know how to spell pool!  It is P-O-O-L!"  "That's great!", I replied, "How did you know that?"  "Because I know Deadpool!"  Yeah, our boys are getting a super education.  :-)  As an aside, almost everything the boys say (particularly Jon) is said in a tone that conveys "This is the best and most awesome thing in the world!!" which hopefully explains the abundance of exclamation points.

But enough about yesterday, let's talk about today!  We started out early because we had to get James to his class by 8:30 and we weren't sure how long it would take to get there.  Charlie was the only one happy to be up, both Will and Jon usually sleep until 8 so they were a bit cranky.  James and I are rather silly when we're tired and we spent the whole drive laughing and laughing.  After dropping him off, I took the boys to a really great playground just around the corner from our hotel.

Three boys ready to play

Digging up a fossil 

Will and Charlie play

Charlie chases Will

Running on the ramps

This playground had everything.  Buildings where kids could practice breaking and entering...

Climbing out of the window

Charlie climbs in the window

 
...and then spend some time in jail!

Jail!

  Seriously though, this playground was amazing.  And really, really huge.  It was impossible to keep eyes on everyone so I just followed Charlie around and periodically checked in on Will and Jon.  Luckily no one else was there so it was easy to hear them.  Plus, all the boys were wearing very visible shirts.  I took some super cute pictures of Charlie which, alas, I can't show you.  The playground was built to be wheelchair accessible so it had some great ramps that the boys ran up and down on.

Balancing act

Will and Charlie play

My boys

On the tire swing

  It was very hot today and by 9:30 I was dying.  By 10:00 I called it quits and we all went back to the hotel for a rest.  Charlie slept for a couple hours and the rest of us lounged around and read.  The boys voted to go to the Children's Museum this afternoon instead of the lake because, as Will said, "It is too hot outside. We need to go somewhere with air conditioning!"

Buzz!

Reading time

  

  The Children's Museum was small but perfect for the boys.  It was designed for their ages and they loved every minute of it.  I've been to a number of Children's Museums in the last couple of years and I think this is one of the best.  The exhibits were simple but fun and even kids with short attention spans (Charlie!) could spend a long time in one room.  We were there for a couple of hours and I was ready to leave well before the boys got tired.

Charlie drives the bus

Jon plays the drum

Will uses an old sewing machine

Charlie feeds his "Sheepy"

He refused to believe that he was riding a horse
and not a "Sheepy"

Jon writes out a train ticket

   At the lower level was a water table and a place for kids to do the weather report.  I had Charlie set up at the water table and I turned, for just a second, to watch Will report the weather. When I turned back I caught Charlie with one foot in the water trying to climb in.  When I scolded him he just gave me a huge grin and splashed the water, soaking his shirt.  I am a sucker for cute two year-olds.  :-)

Jon Revere

Will works at the store

Charlie drives a car

Will in a canoe

Jon at the top

Jon plays the violin

Will writes a note

  After the museum we still had an hour to kill before we went to pick up James so I drove to another part of town where we could get some ice cream.  Allow me a second to brag...  I successfully navigated a strange city by myself with three kids!!  And I didn't get lost!  Ok, there were a few times where I didn't know where I was, but when I kept going I ended up where I wanted to be so that worked out.  

  But back to the ice cream. We live in New England and I feel that my standards for fantastic ice cream are pretty high.  So I was surprised at how amazingly great this was.  We have to go back with James before we leave.

Enjoying ice cream

  After dinner Will was bouncing off the walls so James took him and Jon out for a run.  I don't know how they still had any energy after today but they all enjoyed the evening run.  In fact, that was the subject of the boy's journals tonight.  Jon drew a picture of himself running up and down the hill and Will made sure he wrote down who got the gold medal.  He also drew one of the running hazards, a Canadian goose that was on the track.  

Journals

  Tomorrow I think I'd like to just do one thing but we'll see what happens.  But for now it is time for me to get to bed.  Goodnight!!

Ohio Day Two - On to Cleveland

I love traveling with my family!!  I was so happy all day.  Driving down the highway blasting music, listening to audio books and engaging in spirited discussions is so much fun!  On this trip we are listening to Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett (a great author and one of our favorites on road trips) and The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.  We also discovered that Will likes Linkin Park which is a fun band to drive to.  James likes more mellow music when he is driving but I love to crank it up and listen to something fast.  Despite all the noise Charlie slept for most the car ride (he had been up late the night before) and Will and Jon found ways to amuse themselves.

Jonny covered in robot eyes

  Today we had to cover over three hundred miles on the same road which can be rather tedious.  But we made good time so after we passed Buffalo we stopped for lunch at a little playground.  The boys enjoyed the chance to stretch their legs and spent a lot of time running around.  They didn't want to spend more than five seconds sitting for lunch so they carried their sandwiches and drinks around with them.  

Jon at the playground

Will on the swings

Running on the baseball field

  We couldn't bear to get on the highway again so we decided to drive along Lake Erie for a bit.  We followed a promising sign that directed us to a scenic route where we hoped to get beautiful views of the lake.  However, after just a three minute glimpse, all we saw were the walls and gates that guarded the lakeside mansions.  It was rather disappointing.

  We arrived at our Cleveland hotel in plenty of time for a long swim in the pool.  Will declared us a Merfamily and we happily played at being Mermen and a Mermaid.  Jon spent the whole time swimming back and forth in his tube and shooting us with his squirt gun but Will spent most of his time in the shallow end swimming under water.  He really is a fish!  And Charlie fits right in, he is such a water baby!  Charlie was only briefly content in his tube, most of the time he wanted to be held so he could be more fully in the water.  Of course, towards the end he decided he didn't need anyone and kept trying to push away from me so he could float freely. Silly boy.

Charlie and Will in the pool

Playing in the pool

  

  Our hotel room is gorgeous.  We have two very spacious rooms complete with a decent kitchen.  I love it!  Plus (in theory) we can put the boys to bed while we stay up and enjoy some kid-free time (OK, we'll be working on the blog and studying.)  

  Speaking of hotels... I just remembered two stories from this morning.  As we were going down to breakfast Charlie bolted out the elevator just as the door was closing.  Luckily James was fast and managed to stop the door before it closed completely.  Clearly we have to hold his hand everywhere and all the time!  Then as we were eating breakfast the weather came on and Will shouted "Oh!  The weather!!" in such an excited voice that everyone around us laughed.  My mom's been watching the weather with him and apparently it has become an important part of his day.  I love all the energy and excitement my boys have for such little things.

  Will and Jon did have a chance to write in their journals tonight and Will drew a nice picture of us all in the pool.  Jon swears that his picture isn't of Rapunzel (because she has purple hair!) but of a girl he saw on the other side of Lake Erie.

Journals

  For some reason the picture is uploading wrong and I can't rotate it.  But I'm too tired to fix it so I'm off to bed,  

Goodnight!

Ohio - On the Road Again

  You've read about our trips to Germany and to Puerto Rico, now come join us in our exciting vacation to... Cleveland, Ohio!!  Actually, I am pretty excited about this trip, it has been too long since we've been on the road.  The boys are excited too, last night Will couldn't fall asleep and Jon spent an hour in the car this morning as we were packing.  I told him to get out because we weren't ready yet but he just replied, "But I AM ready to go!"  

  This isn't exactly a vacation for all of us.  James has to go to Cleveland for business and since we always travel together, the boys and I are coming too.  We even have one extra boy, two year old Charlie who we are fostering is also traveling with us.  While James is working it will just be me and the three boys touring the city.  I'm not sure if I'm excited or nervous about that...

Jon shows off his bubble blowing skills

  Our trip started out well even though we are all out of practice with long car rides.  (The boys were a little disappointed that we weren't flying...)  We chose a route that took us on smaller roads through New Hampshire and Vermont and we were rewarded by beautiful views of the countryside.  On the New York border of Vermont we stopped at a nice little restaurant to stretch our legs and enjoy some ice cream.  The boys particularly enjoyed splashing in the nearby stream.

climbing on the rocks

playing in the stream

Shooting at me with his new gun

Wading in the stream

  Even though we could have made the trip in one day we decided to take it slow and spend the night in Syracuse, New York.  We packed cold cuts and crackers so we wouldn't have to stop for food (well, except for ice cream!) and that saved time.

  The boys are each keeping a journal of our trip and tonight they both drew a picture of the most exciting thing they saw today... Rapunzel's Tower.  I'm not sure what it was that we saw but it certainly sparked a long and detailed discussion and story.  

Working on their journals

 Bedtime has been a little difficult this first night. Will and Jon are always hyper when we get to a hotel, I think it is a combination of excitement (they love hotels) and sitting too long in the car.  Charlie had a really hard time falling asleep since he is used to sleeping in his own dark and quiet  room.  But he finally settled down and now Will and Jon are almost out.  I'm off to bed myself because we have another day of driving ahead of us and hopefully a little time in the pool!  

Cuddling in bed

Goodnight!

Free Comic Book Day 2013

  Today was one of our favorite days of the year... Free Comic Book Day!!  Will and Jon have been planning their costumes for months.  One of the best things about FCBD is that so many people dress up.  We saw some amazing costumes.  There was one little boy who was also dressed as Sonic and every time we ran into him he and Will would bond over their shared loved of the blue hedgehog.  It was really cute, both boys got so excited when they saw the other Sonic coming around the corner.




Ready to start the day





Captain America (Colin) meets Thor





Playing with Sonic

 

Dash, Robin, Captain America and Sonic

 

  We had arraigned to meet friends at Jetpack Comics, and even though we had arrived a half hour early, there was still a huge line.  We decided to save the line for last so once we met up with our friends we started out on the scavenger hunt.  On our second stop the boys got a Super Hero Squad comic and Will couldn't put it down.  We weren't ready to stop yet so he had to read and walk.  I was so proud.  :-)

 

Walking and reading

Will starts reading right away

 


 


 


Waiting in line



Colin as Captain America



Running into the other Sonic

 

I think most comic book stores just give out comics on FCBD but Jetpack organizes a town wide scavenger hunt with over twenty business participating.  Because of the speed of children, the lines and the looming need to nap, we've never been able to make it to every store.  We took our time and stopped to read, eat cupcakes (always a priority!), read and have lunch.

Stopping to read

 

Colin and Jon join him...


  We saw some cool costumes on our walk and we even ran into some friends at the local pet store.

Tiffany shows off her snake

Tiffany gets a hug

Crystal shows a big snake to the baby

 
 
 

Mario and Peach

Tie fighter!

 
 
 

    We spent about five hours at FCBD and by the time we got home we were tired and bit sunburned but our arms were full of cool comics.  After a short nap (the adults and toddler slept while Will and Jon read) we headed outside to relax in the cooling afternoon.  Of course the boys quickly claimed the hammock as a great place to read.

Will reading (notice a theme in his pictures today?)

Relaxing in the hammock

 We had such a great time at Free Comic Book Day, Jetpack really puts on a great event.  I can't wait to do it again next year!