Summer Vacay

I'm kind of spotty (okay, really spotty) when it comes to recording trips and family affairs. Sometimes I detail trips to Utah in great length, other times I don't mention them at all. I think I do this because I like to keep this blog as a place I can share my random writings and obnoxious opinions, so I feel like I can't make it too journal-ly. But the truth is, this is probably the best family record my kids will ever have to look back on. So I guess you just have to bare with me while I rehash some travel logs from 2013.

What a stud?!?! Right? One of his Aunties coined him DJ Reid after this picture, and I couldn't stop laughing. Glow stick glasses, check. Tootsie pop sucker, check. Headphones to drown out the fireworks, check. Flashing glow ball necklace, check. Happy fourth of July, for sure!  It was so fun to hold him while he watched his first set of fireworks light up the night sky over Lake Eerie. The first one scared him a little bit. The second one stunned him. Numbers 3 - 10 had him giggly like crazy "silly fireworks," he said as he snuggled up on my lap. He was pretty much immovable for 11- 100+. He just sat there so quietly, watching every detail like it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen.

The water in Great Aunt Linda's pool was never quite warm enough for Nell to enjoy a swim, so she just hung out in the kiddie pool, right on the side of the actual pool.

Reid on the other hand, he didn't care how cold or rainy it was. He was loving four days of pool time. The little life jacket we have for him is perfect. He can jump into the pool and swim around without anyone clinging on to him the whole time.

Besides visiting Kirtland and hanging out at Aunt Linda's for the fourth, we also spent a day in downtown Cleveland. 

We started our morning at the West Side Market. It reminded me of Seattle's fish market, or at least it reminded me of my fading eleven-year-old memory of Seattle's fish market. It also reminded me a tiny bit of Singapore's hawker stands. Mmm, I would love to go to one of those again. There is just something exciting and chaotic about being crammed into a small big city space. 

We ate lunch downtown. We dined at a serious transportation cross roads. There was water, highways, and moving bridges, which means boats, kayakers, trains, trucks, and more (not to mention the sky scrapers in the back ground). Reid was in heaven as he watched everything coming and going. I'm amazed we could get him to sit down and eat anything. Oh wait, he ordered corn dogs. The kid loves corn dogs.

We also went to the Aquarium. Reid was able to touch an African tortoise, a slimy sting ray, a horseshoe crab, a starfish, and a sea erchant. He seemed to enjoy the tortoise the most, but I liked his reaction to the sting ray (which had to swim up to him) the best. He was pretty excited about all the sharks and other aquatic creatures as well. There were ten adults in our group and only one kid, so his expressions were watched closely and he definitely didn't mind the attention! 

I'm in love with this family photo Ben's little sister took of us in the shark area. Maybe I should learn me some photo editing techniques. I suppose it is the filter that makes this stand out in my mind. 

Ben saw a couple sunsets over Lake Eerie while I was at the hotel with sleeping kids. I'm very grateful we were able to get away. A break in the routine is healthy for even the happiest of families.