Put-In-Bay: Part 2

Thanks for joining me for Part 2 of the Put-in-bay vacation. Each day we like to go out and cruise along and check out the island by golf cart.

Here's the main drag, you can't really see the cute little buildings, we went through so fast...next year I promise I'll take some more photos.


Once we were back at the house, the girls glued themselves to Bumpa.


Khera had deep thoughts by the water,


while Elle starred in her own cooking show.


Kathy rearranged her work schedule and drove up to the island for 24 hours of fun with our crew.  It wasn't long until the girls convinced her to break out the dress up outfits for a fashion show.


Hamburger Elle.


Hot Dog K-bear.


Funny how fitting this outfit is with her devilish expression.


Khera the Buckeye Fan.


Khera Hendrix.


And Elle the island girl.


After the fashion show we raided the refrigerator and pulled out all the veggies and fruit we could find.  I can't tell you the joy a mother feels in her heart when watching her children eat healthy food with as much enthusiasm as junk food.


They loved every minute of their whole foods session.  We are trying to keep up with it upon return to FL also.

Note:  Elle (4yrs) absolutely LOVES washing fruit and veggies in the sink.  She saves me a little bit of time while I'm trying to prepare the main course during lunch and dinner.  I've also found that if I blanch the broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, snap peas and thicker carrots they are better received.

The next day we took the girls to the town carousel for a little ride.




We also stopped at DJs for a little ice cream.


They have a great little arbor out front with tables so you can enjoy your ice cream in the shade.


I'm sure Elle is lecturing Khera about something here...
Classic Elle Face + chocolate mustache and goatee = AWESOME.


On our last night we headed to The Boardwalk, my favorite restaurant on the island.

If you are a parent of children with food allergies, THIS IS YOUR PLACE.  They GET it.  I get so happy when I think about my experiences there.  St. Pete has a lot of catching up to do...

While Bumpa and B figured out how to expedite our dining experience by deciding their orders, the girls had fun fooling around drinking cool bar drinks.


Khera enjoyed a Shirley Temple, first introduced to her by GJ, and thoroughly enjoyed at The Boardwalk.


The next day the girls and I high-tailed it off the island because Uncle Ryan's Bachelor Party Weekend had started.  We woke up early and hit the road for a weekend in Cincinnati with my family.

Until next summer Put-in-Bay, we will miss you!

Put-In-Bay: Part 1

We headed up to Bumpa and Kathy's lake house for several days of fun. GJ was kind enough to keep Tommy so we could relax and that is just what we needed. Thank you GJ!  I know they enjoyed their one-on-one time together thoroughly.

You have to drive through some serious country to get to the ferry.




After almost a three hour drive, we made it to the Miller Ferry. I forgot to mention Elle insisted on wearing her bathing suit and not clothes that day, even on the drive up...




It's funny how a hat can set you straight when you're stressing about silly things.


We made it!!!


Sometimes the girls have trouble getting comfortable when they are away from home...


It's tough to get them to come out of their shells...


Khera is thinking it's probably not safe to jump in here--at least I hope she is!


They perked up when we told them we were going to The Crew's Nest for a dip in the pool.








Daddy got some laps in.




Bumpa treated the girls to some ice cream.




The Crew's Nest also has some of the best food on the island.


They even have a great place for the kids to play at while you wait for food, or for parents to enjoy their meals in peace--Mommy likes.




After dinner we drove home and watched the sunset.


Khera felt she needed binoculars to see it better.


We sat outside and talked for a long while.

Then the girls got tired and we all went inside to rest up for the next day's worth of fun.  Stay tuned for part deux of our Put-In-Bay adventure...

Nana's Visit and the 4th of July

ma·tri·arch/ˈmātrēˌärk/Noun

A woman who is the head of a family or tribe.

That definition is only the tip of the iceberg that is Nana.  She is loving, she is kind, she is salty and sweet.  She always lets you know what she thinks, whether you want to hear it or not.  She always knows the national weather forecast, and the scoop on each member of the family. 

She'll send you a card to share in your joys and sorrows, and lifts your spirits whenever you need it.  She's seen it all--literally, the great depression, the wars, civil rights, you name it.  She has a direct line to God, St. Anthony and St. Jude.  When Nana prays, someone is listening. In her own way, she has taught me so much about faith and prayer. 

What a blessing it is to have someone so special be a part of your life for so long.  Some great-grand parents get tired of playing with children, let's face it they are loud, whiny and sometimes generally unpleasant to be around--but Nana thrives on the family she's created.

While she was visiting, Nana squeezed in some quality time with Elle watching TV and playing with her hair.


She also played games on the iPad with Tom-tom.


She's always game for story time with Elle-belly.


No one rocks a napkin better than Nana.


She's either telling a story about a crazy person or dropping some serious knowledge here.


Nana knows best, you know.




No one tells Tommy what to eat or when.......except Nana.  He actually listens--I think we should fly her down here so she can help him gain some weight!




I love the generational photo...


Nana would give you the shirt off her back if you needed one. When I was in college she came and picked me up when I had a flat tire, while the car was being fixed she took me to Frisch's for lunch to make sure I had some food in my belly.  A new tire is worth about a month's worth of ramen noodles!  She probably has no idea how much that meant to me, I guess I should tell her. Nana is one of the richest people I know and am so blessed that she's adopted me as one of her tribe.

We had a great 4th of July. GJ, the girls and I headed to the UA Parade to check out some of the floats.








The girls were really happy at the end, I'm not sure if they were happy they saw the parade or that we were going home.




Uncle Rob came up to hang for the 4th, and the girls were glued to him.


I love this one.


That night the girls went to the fireworks with GJ and Brooke in their PJs, here they are trying to make a "thumbs up".


Daddy and I decided to stay home and relax while GJ and Brooke braved the fireworks with the girls. It was a first for the girls, I was sort of sad that I didn't go, but glad that GJ and Brookie got to witness their first fireworks display.

Brookie took a mobile video of them so we could see how much they loved it-she's good like that.

All in all, I think it made for a fantastic 4th! Next year I think I'm going to do a little less late night partying and maybe more crafting, baking, and red-white-and blue-ing everything around me, maybe not, sounds like a lot of work! I've seen so many good ideas on pinterest.com lately I HAVE to try some of them out!