Hocking Hills

The next day, we all went to a nearby place for zip lining!  The adults got to do a big course (which was awesome) while the little ones had their own special course which was actually just as awesome.

Here are the kids on their way to tackle the zip line course!

Gearing up...

Julian and Evan are ready!

Everyone is ready to go!

Evan on the course

Caitlin on the course - you can see how high they actually get! At first, Caitlin was pretty nervous and wanted to get off... I'm so glad we pushed her to do it because after the first one, she was great!

Even some bridges to crawl though

Look - no hands!

Evan, Hadley, and Julian

Go Caitlin go!

 And here are a few pictures from the adults who went.

It really was a lot of fun for everyone, kids included. Definitely recommend if you are in the area!

Cuyahoga Valley and Hocking Hills Day 2

The next day, we went back to the park to explore some more!  We did a few little hikes and stopped at the Visitors Center.

This is an actual working lock on the canal!

After spending the day there, we drove down to the Hocking Hills area of Ohio to meet up with our friends!

Even though these kids don't get to see each other very often, they are always excited and happy to be together, just like their mamas (friends for over 20 years)!

We stayed in this fabulous house that was huge and had a spring fed pond.  I had serious doubts about the kids wanting to swim in it (especially because of the nibbling fish)... but they LOVED it!

That was a lot of kids on one paddle boat - brave man Daniel

Chasing the boys in the paddle boat

 

 

So much fun with friends!

Annual Midwest Summer Trip - Part 1

So, I'm REALLY behind on the blog. I'm going to do a bunch of posts on summer to at least catch up to the fall.  Time - goes too quickly and never have enough of it!

After school was out, we had a few weeks to relax and enjoy Austin (with great weather!).  Then, we drove to the Midwest to spend time with friends and family.  Our first stop was Cuyahoga Valley National Park near Akron, OH.  We had plans to meet up with friends in Ohio so we decided to add a few extra days to the beginning of the trip and hit up another National Park!

Kids were great in the car for the most part. We did about 6 hours the first day and then maybe 15 or so the next day (all the way from Texarkana to Akron)!  Found an awesome park outside Nashville to stop at for lunch and play!

The next day, we rented bicycles and rode along the Cuyahoga Valley tow path!  This path runs the entire length of the park (and more).  We had a great time exploring and riding bikes.

Ready to ride!

Our motley crew... Caitlin rode behind me on a Weehoo (tagalong type bike) while Ryan was in the trailer and Evan had his own bike!

Obligatory National Park picture!

The park is situated along the Cuyahoga River and canal which had all these locks from back when they would use it for moving things up/down river.  Here Evan is standing by one of the old locks along the path.

After stopping for lunch and riding a little further, we made it to a station. The neat thing about this park is that there is a train which runs through it.  And on the weekends, you can bike one way and take the train back!!  The kids LOVED getting to ride the train.

After the long day of riding and exploring, we returned to the hotel so Ryan could take a late nap. I took the older kids down to the hotel pool to swim - their first time swimming at a hotel which they thought was awesome!

It was a great day and beautiful park. We had a lot of fun together as a family.

Last Day of First Grade

First Grade flew by! I can't believe this boy is now going to be in 2nd grade.  He has learned so much over this year. His reading has improved dramatically. I felt like he could barely read at the beginning of first grade but before Christmas, he was reading chapter books.  He is improving in all areas which is all we can ask for. Way to go Evan!

On our way to the bus stop for the last time.

I joined Evan up at school shortly after the bus stop to volunteer at the end of year activities.

Evan with 2 of his friends enjoying the outdoor carnival.

Evan with his teacher Ms. V

All of the neighbors at our bus stop put on a surprise ice cream sundae party for the kids when they got off the bus!

Caitlin and her friend Charlotte even got to come enjoy it (they'll be in Kinder together next year).

Ready for summer to begin!

Enjoying the ice cream sundaes with friends. What a great year! Shortly, we will be sending 2 kids to school. They are both excited to start again in a few weeks (Caitlin especially).  I will try to update the blog with some summer posts soon!

Spring soccer - the last chapter

Evan again played soccer at the YMCA this Spring with Daddy and Coach Travis taking on the coaching duties for something like the 8th time!  Unfortunately, Mother Nature did NOT want us to play much soccer.  More times than not, our practices and games were cancelled.

A rare sunny game day!

These two - playing soccer together for 4 years!

This was our mudfest game - a makeup on a field so muddy, the ball barely moved! 

With all the rain, the team often got together just for fun on random other days. A favorite of all was Parents vs. Kids!

Our team celebration where they received their medals.

We still had a blast with all these great boys. Unfortunately, our YMCA days are coming to an end. The team is splitting up (after playing together for a long time!).  Evan will be joining the Lonestar Soccer Junior Academy in the fall (with a few other boys from the team although not necessarily playing together).  It's bittersweet to say goodbye. We have loved getting to know everyone and having so much fun. I know the coaches are sad too.  But, we have Ryan to look forward to playing in the Spring when he turns 3!