Brandy told us about this one--slightly farther away than the OLPH one in GC, but we were excited to try another one--it's great for Beanie to get to stretch her legs with a peer, vs. her sister all the time.
We headed over after naps, and unfortunately after the coolish week, it was back to being H O T.
H was so sweet with Cora, she rode the 'baby ride' with her--while Amara couldn't be torn from the never ending ferris wheel--a "perk," I guess, of going on a hot afternoon day when no one is there, you ride forever!
Cora also got her fill on the merry-go-round, but it was getting SO hot, we just didn't stay. We played a few games and Amara won her first (feeder) goldfish with the ping pong ball toss!
We hit the car and stopped for ice cream to cool off--we didn't even get out to have it outdoors, just let them have at it in the car. (can you see how the heat took the zing out of them?)
Between enjoying her cone all to herself and being zoned out, the cone started leaking before we made it home--that was the last straw to the trip straight to the bath tub. We got the girlies cooled off and cleaned up and to bed, with more visions of rides and ice cream in their heads :)
So leave it to my good friend Brandy to keep me up to date on my summer
festivals, fests and outings. I try to do my best to map them out when I
see them--but I think between the 2 of us, we have most of central Ohio
covered during the summer months and beyond.
I'd probably been thinking about Eric's 40th party since his 39th party last year--I'm just that way. It was tough, we wanted to have friends and family, but we also have a handful of kids around, and we like to have things fun, but we didn't want anyone stuck cooking the whole time...
Over the last couple of years, E and the girls and I had really taken to the food truck trend, and have tried quite a few of them. In discussing the party, we decided that this would be a super solution and the planning process kicked off!
We set up at the house for the big day, Saturday, and invited all our friends, family and neighbors. We had the balloons set up, a tent, and all the fixins' for a great party! We lucked out with super weather too, nicest in a while for our hot summer. We got a tiny shower right at 4, but as soon as it came in, it was gone.
Right on schedule, the Hungry Monkey Food truck started cooking and it smelled amazing. The burgers, buns, bacon and fries filled the whole neighborhood with the most wonderful smells and sounds you can imagine. They served the King Kong, a huge hit--a burger inside 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, with an egg, sauce, and onions. There was also a Wyatt Earp and a Joe Dirt--a specialty with peanut butter on it!
With the great weather, we all stayed outside and played! Cora was in her element with the audience she had--and had a blast playing with all the kids there. I bet the truck made at least 5 grilled cheeses that the girls shared.
Grandma and Grandpa Young color-coordinated their outfits to match the food truck and enjoyed themselves at the party. (Coulter photo-bombed their photo :))
I couldn't let a party go by without making custom shirts for the birthday boy and his girls. Eric's said "vintage 1972" and the girls said "my dad is 40!" Everyone loved them and they ALL looked adorable.
What could be better with burgers than ice cream! The girls and boys alike enjoyed the yummies from Johnson's ice cream--seriously the best chocolate I've ever had!
Ok, well maybe E thinks blackberry whiskey is a better complement that ice cream. He toasted so much, he sent Kristin to the store for another bottle! no joke! It was so great to see all our peeps and catch up with everyone, we really enjoyed ourselves.
"Cheers to the birthday boy!" What a great reason to all get together to celebrate Eric's 40th!
Eric tried to pose with the girls. They got to giggling and poking each other and it quickly went downhill, but how happy do they all look?
Dinner wasn't complete without cupcakes from DC cupcakes--E picked the chocolate cubed and blueberry cheesecake, big hit! Doesn't the party look like a blast?? We saw lots of smiles that day.
I refrained from posting anyone taking giant bites of the burgers, but between the people, food, and great environment, everyone left with full bellies, sore faces from laughing, and I bet a lot of kiddos slept well that night :) 
Happy 
I took Eric golfing at Players Club for his birthday, an outing that I swear he must detest--but he said he had a great time, he played well! We went and picked up the girlies later and all the grandmas and grandpas came over for pizza.
Pizza was short though, with this big old cake around! The girls couldn't wait to get the candles in and then blow them out. Cora was smiling and blushing during the singing, the cutest smile ever.
I had to embarrass E a little, and get him a yard sign! I wanted to make sure EVERYONE knew it was our special guy's big day :) The girls thought the cows were hilarious too.
Amara was such a good helper. Cora couldn't have cared less about the presents, she just played with and entertained all our guests.
After presents, daddy got some special hugs and kisses from his big girl--we never did get a shot of Cora, she just can't be bothered for posing :) We hope Eric had a good day and birthday, this is the calm one before the BIG party this weekend, so rest up, E!
Eric and I had heard and read about the Wilds for years and never had a great time to try it out. But while we had some time to take--we decided to go for it. 
After packing our car with enough snacks, drinks, toys, blankets and DVDs for a party of 10, we headed down to Zanesville for our excursion. The girls had a decent ride in the car--just a few uncomfortable spots, but they made it.
We boarded the shuttle school bus up to the main gate, got our passes, and then onto our safari bus. Amara was excited to see other kids there and Cora loved that it was open with no windows and she could meander up and down the aisle ways. 
First out, we saw some wild horses and donkeys--Amara especially loved seeing the baby animals, and there were quite a few!
The camels were also really close to our vehicle and didn't seem to mind us at all. It was getting warm, so they were content to just sit for a bit. Amara took control of the binoculars--I have no idea if she could see, but she looked the part.
The giraffes were just majestic--right next to us and so tall! I mean we were up off of the ground and they still towered over the bus!
At our 2nd stop of the trip, we watched a beautiful cheetah and then headed inside for a quick snack and water. Eric had his hands full with his ice-cream sticky girls, but we were really having fun.
After the break, we got to see some wonderful rhinos, pretty close too, and some ostriches. Cora had about all she could take and she finally conked out and took a little nap, while I held her on the bus. Amara and Eric continued to spot as many animals as they could, running from one side of the bus to the other, snapping photos and shooting video.
Some smaller giraffes were in a different section of the park too, and seemed very interested in our group!
We saw the zebras on a few different hills as we crossed the plain, but we couldn't get a good shot of them. They were so cool to watch though! I'm sure we'll be back soon and maybe we'll have a better chance then.
Beanie and Irelyn always have so much fun at school together--we figured we'd let them take their party to the weekend and see what they could get into ! I thawed out some cookie dough and they were only too excited to dive into those! 
We did some bracelet stringing and they girls made bracelets, the we got out the painting supplies and they did an A and an I for their names. Amara did hers in a color block fashion and Irelyn blended all her colors together.
On one of my days with the girlies in August, we were lucky enough to get to go to one of our fav parks--we call it Pirate Park, even though I think it's really called Henscroth park ;) Miss Sarah was getting ready to leave for Africa and I got the morning with them, so of course we headed outside!
I marveled at how nice it is to hit the parks during the week, when I normally can't take them--the park was all ours, it was incredible! During the 3 weeks we had the girls, they spent time with Grandmas' Young and Jahn, and Aunts' Kira and Kristin--not to mention great times with mom and dad. It was a culture shock for me to be able to do things with them on THEIR schedules, not when it fit into ours, such a blessing.
The girls are growing up so very fast, Cora has a sense of humor and attitude enough for the whole family and Amara has intelligence and sensitivity beyond any I've seen. I forget to be thankful for them sometimes in a moment of frustration, but I really enjoyed my time with them--not only this day, or during the break, but every minute of every day.
During the 3 weeks Mrs. Sarah was gone to Africa, we decided we were going to try some new family adventures in our time off. First up, the Newport Aquarium just south of Cincinnati. 
Mom and I had taken the boys there years ago, but hadn't been in a while--the girls did ok on the trip down (despite being crabby and Cora teething) but when we got to Newport on the Levee, they brightened up.
Amara really marveled at all the creatures, large and small--wanted to get up close and personal any way she could. They have stroller restrictions some days, so we opted for a backpacking for Cora--which she loved too. (I love the smile on Eric's face, despite his being sandwiched between his girls struggling to see the tiny lizards)
The glass enclosures were awesome too--we saw the fish swimming right under us and a giant crocodile, Mike, who I think was around 60 years old! We touched the sharks in the petting area, as well as the starfish, enjoyed watching penguins and rays and just about any other creatures we can think of.
If Cora wasn't fish-watching, she was people watching. She was in her element. We had a blast, in fact upgraded our ticket to a membership, and hope to use it all up many times in the winter months, where we can have fun indoors.
On Grandma Young's birthday, we invited her to come up for some fro yo at our newest spot, the OH-YO just up the street. They had never been to a place like that before, so it was a great surprise for them and a treat for us! We sampled and played, and got our dishes filled up (and our bellies!) 
At home, we opened presents, played, and enjoyed a break from the heat! We had fun playing in the living room and tickling and laughing, and had a great time with the birthday girl herself. Happy bday G'ma Young!
We always love feeding the ducks. In fact, I think sometimes we secretly let our bread go stale so we have an excuse :) On the weekend, we were excited to get out and about--such that leaving PJ's on wasn't even a discussion, it just was.
We headed over to Friar park to see what we could get into and found a nice duck family, all ready to embrace our visit. It was nicely graded, not too sloped, so you could walk right down to the water's edge, and we did.
We unloaded our bread and then just as it started to sprinkle, the picking of the wildflowers started in. I have no idea what those tall slender weeds are with blue flowers on them, but the girls love them. We picked flowers as the rain fell, then loaded up to get back home and play inside for a bit..JPG)
