Montgomery Park in Montgomery, Ohio!

Wednesdays are a special day for us. It is Anna's day off from gymnastics and a short school day for us. Well, I make it a short school day so we can get out and play!!
We are on a mission to find the best playground in the tri-state area. So, many of our Wednesdays include trips to different neighborhoods! Let me say up front that a great playground should always have a great treat possibility nearby!!
Montgomery Park is on the corner of Montgomery Road and Schoolhouse Road. For your treat pleasures The Original Pancake House and Aglamesis Brothers Chocolates and Ice Cream are within walking distance!!

We love it when playgrounds include the "not so ordinary equipment". This one has many of the newer and unique pieces. There are two large play sets. One encourages strategic climbing skills while the other allows kids to test their balance in a number of different ways!

Kids can spin and balance to their hearts content!! Anna really enjoys spinning. That is why we save treats until after we are finished at the park!!

Montgomery Park also has preschool play equipment along with mini backhoes for sand digging. I loved those cute little things but Anna's legs were a little to long to fit on the baby backhoes!! I was a little tempted myself to get on but could see myself getting stuck and having to ask the park crew to rescue me!!

A really nice basketball court sits in a shaded area and there is also a small baseball field. Restrooms are on the premises and many picnic tables, too.

Very nice park!! We would rate it a "7" on a 1-10 scale!! So give it a look!!

Trader Joe's and an Easter Tip!!!

I have a confession.....I do love me some Trader Joe's. But before any of you start thinking I am a total health food nut I thought I should add one of my favorite pictures to this post. Below shows that I am a firm believer in balance. A trip to Trader Joe's and then lunch at Johnny Rockets - perfect day! Trader Joe's is a mini field trip. While browsing the aisles you can munch on samples, and guess what, no annoying sample ladies!! And you can always get a cute little cup of coffee - for free!! Even more exciting is that you can put real organic HALF and HALF in your little cup of coffee!! A delight!! But my all time favorite thing to buy at Trader's is a floral bouquet and at Easter they have an awesome assortment.

Trader Joe's flowers are the best! They offer a bunch of unique and different arrangements and the flowers last forever!!

There are so many offered that it is really hard to choose. So, I suggest that you go and get your little cup of coffee first and then browse the floral aisle.

After picking out your flowers you'll want to look around the store. I can suggest the very healthy cage free eggs and the ever so healthy cereal, Joe's Fiber Os. But I highly recommend the dark chocolate blueberries, the peanut butter pretzels, the chocolate chip dunkers, the ginger cat cookies, the pecan pralines and the dark chocolate covered raspberry jellies.

Balance. Balance is the key.

Newport Aquarium

Once you take your kids to an aquarium they form a type of addiction. Ever since last years visit to the Virginia Beach Aquarium Anna has been dropping little hints to visit the one right in our own backyard. Well, right down I75, anyway. My only reservation has been the cost of those darn aquariums. I know, it must cost a fortune to keep them up and running, but $22 dollars for a one time adult admission hurts a little bit. Good thing they offered a senior discount for Grams and Gramps - $21 each. Gee. I think I will send a little note to the aquarium about being a little more senior friendly!!

We had a great time despite the admission fee. Just look at Gram's face in the above picture!! Pure joy at feeding the lorikeets in the Rainforest Exhibit! We call her "The Bird Whisperer". I think we will put her out by the hummingbird feeder this summer and see if she gets one to land on her finger!! Thank you Gramps for buying the bird food. Maybe next time it will be included in the price of admission! After Anna got over the fear of being pooped upon she really enjoyed this. By far I think this was Gram's favorite but Anna's favorite was the Shark Touch Pool. We had visited other aquariums with stingray touch tanks but this was fun and unique. They gave a little lesson about the two finger touch system and then we were free to pet away. The only thing we had to watch out for was the spitting shark. Picture below. He was pretty funny!

All the exhibits at the Newport Aquarium were very well done. The jellyfish were awesome and the frog bog was pretty cool, too. We were slightly disappointed in the penguin parade. I guess we thought that the penguins would be walking in the parade and not riding in a wagon. Bad assumption on my part! If I had thought about it more, letting those little penguins walk on their own would mean a lot of clean up for some poor aquarium worker.

So, final review. Definitely save up some money and head to the Newport Aquarium. Your family will have a great time exploring. Since our daughter is aquarium addicted... I think we may have to include aquarium costs in our yearly family budget.

Mainstrasse Village!!

Last weekend I spent three whole days in Covington, Kentucky working at a gymnastic meet. My only wish that entire weekend was that someone would skip on over to Mainstrasse Village and pick me up some yummieness. Mainstrasse is a restored 19th century German neighborhood. There are shops and restaurants housed in renovated buildings that are joined by cobblestone walkways. This area is just too cute. All a Cincinnati family has to do is cross the 75 bridge into Kentucky and take the first exit. The one landmark you see from I75 is the above Chime Bell Tower.

This bell tower plays a 43 bell carillon hourly and presents a little puppet play of the folk tale "The Pied Piper of Hamelin". Bill and I had just visited this area in November and these pictures are from that trip.

The shops are fun and entertaining. I do hope that more will open and many of the ones in business now stay for a long time. We were able to spend time in a few but will definitely go back for more sight seeing and eating. Fun and relaxing.

One of my favorite shops was Strasse Dog. I know...Iknow...you all remember that I am not a doggie clothing kind of person, but this shop was full of fun doggie toys and treats, too. Plus, the adorable little corgi, Cowboy, was on hand to greet the customers. I think I spent a good 15 minutes with the little pup. Too bad he wasn't for sale. Really......too bad. I think he loved me!

Our favorite memory from that trip was the tasty, creamy, oh so delightful gelato from Europa!Let me tell you...before tomorrow comes....go to Europa in Mainstrasse and get some!! You will make me your new best friend for telling you about this gelato. Really. You will.
Creamy....yummy.....yummieness. I enjoyed it just as much as the ice cream from that famous Cincinnati ice cream establishment. Yes, the gelato was that good. Could become an addiction. See all that loveliness in the picture below? Gelato!

Just so you know, my wonderful Sir Bill stopped into Europa last weekend and brought me some gelato while I was working so hard at the gymnastic meet. I cried and I ate and then I cried again.

I think I'll get myself down to Mainstrasse again this weekend!

A Day in Oakley

Our family has recently rediscovered the joys of Oakley. Since our church is in this area and our two oldest are at school nearby we have a chance to snoop around the area quite a bit. So I am going to tell you about a Cincinnati Field Trip that every couple and/ or family should not miss! King Arthur's Court is the BEST and I mean the BEST toy store in Cincinnati. Even if you are not in the market for buying, this is a great place to play! Toys and games are out for everyone to try. Their Lego and Playmobil offerings are extensive and all of their toys make kids and bigger "kids" think and imagine. Very fun.
We usually tie in lunch or dinner when we are "field tripping it" in Oakley. Our favorite place - Dewey's Pizza. You can half your pizza at Dewey's so adults can satisfy their taste and kids can happily enjoy more traditional toppings. There are other locations around Cincy but this one is our fave.

Our most recent find up Madison Road is AbbyGirl Sweets! A cupcakery! You all know I love me some cupcakes and our family is currently out to find the "best" cupcakery in the United States! We have had some pretty good cupcakes but so far the actual "best blend of icing and cake award" goes to this establishment!! I highly recommend the peanut butter/chocolate cupcakes.

Yes. Yes I do.

Also, if AbbyGirl's does not totally quench your sweet tooth your family may want to try Aglamesis Brothers Ice Cream and Candy. They have caramel marshmallows that have to be tried!

Yes. Yes you should. (oh, and their raspberry whipped cream, too.) You'll thank me for that tip.

Stay tuned for more updates on this wonderful area. I know we have yet to discover it all!

Christmas Tree Shopping Near Cincinnati

Bill and I have been cutting down our Christmas trees for over 20 years. So we have experienced a variety of tree farms that have offered cut your own trees. I would consider Bill and I connoisseurs (Christmas tree snobs) and we have found the perfect place not too far from home. Big Tree Plantation www.bigtreeplantation.com is located in Morrow, Ohio and offers the best selection around. Here is the whole crew out shopping this year! Poor Anna injured herself in the gym earlier in the day so she got a little transportation help from her strong and mighty big bro!

It has never taken us longer than 30 minutes to pick the perfect tree. Getting it back to the tree shaker was easy and the process of paying for and tying the tree to the car was painless. They even have a pretty sweet gift shop offering free hot chocolate. Santa was there, too, plus some reindeer.

This year they added outside food vendors. Food as in fried stuff. We had to try some of that fried stuff since I refuse to fry food in my own home! And the crazy idea that someone would put snickers, oreos and rice krispie treats in a Fry Daddy was just too intriguing!! We can now say that we have partaken. We will not partake again!!

So, aside from leaving there with higher cholesterol levels, we had a marvelous time. This is definitely our pick for a family Christmas Tree adventure!!

Hiking: Miami of Ohio

Bill and I have decided that our future will include a lot of hiking!! We both enjoy it very much and have decided to see how many trails we can get under our feet before we cark! That's Bill's term for leaving this earth! I bought a wonderful book entitled 60 Hikes within 60 Miles and we have begun checking off the hikes surrounding the tri-state area. Our first hike was to the natural areas of Miami of Ohio and it was Fun, Fun, Fun! The Sycamore trees were huge as Anna and Bill are showing above. Anna could even crawl up in many of the crevices of the trees. When not crawling in she was climbing up!

The swinging bridge was the absolute coolest! Love this pic of Anna going across. She and her dad had the best time swinging and swaying! I made them stop when I came across. Although they did dare me to run across. I managed a slow trot!!

I did run across the concrete stepping stones. OK, it was also a slow trot but I did it more than once! Anna continued another three or four times.

The total length of this particular hike is 4.32 miles. We broke it up to get to the swinging bridge faster so I believe we did about 3.5. Certainly the 4.32 is doable with Anna. For younger kids it is only about a mile trip straight to the swinging bridge.
I highly recommend this hike for all families. I am sure you can visit

www.muohio.edu and locate the natural areas to hike. For a good reference this hike circles Bachelor Pond.

Heritage Village Museum - Sharon Woods

As part of our literature study on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Anna and I were able to visit an event nearby that featured Ichabod and the Headless Horseman. Sharon Woods is part of the Hamilton County Park district and features a recreated 1800's village. It is open year round but offers special programs during Christmas and Halloween. Anna and I enjoyed the event which included trick or treating (ok the candy was not spectacular). Our favorite activities other than Ichabod and the Horseman were the semi-haunted 1800 house and the mad scientist. The pic above is from the haunted house. My flash captured this picture and made it lighter but the house was quite dark and the antique furniture added to the haunt. This was the chain lady who offered the only scare, really. The sound of the chain dropping to the floor was unexpected but fun!!!
I think Anna enjoyed the mad scientist. We went to see him twice! He was pretty silly and delivered a funny and not so scary act.

Our favorites by far were the Headless Horseman and Ichabod. Sorry, I know you can hardly make out Headless on Horseback below but I had to try to include a picture!! These actors were wonderful. The paths were lit by lanterns and Headless would ride up to unsuspecting visitors. He had his horse circle Anna and I (very tightly!) 3-4 times. We were amazed at how well trained the horses were and how well the actors played the parts and stayed in character!! Also, other characters jumped out us at various times on the paths. It felt a bit like Sleepy Hollow!!

Overall it was a fun experience and we were glad to witness our study on the Legend recreated. The evening was a bit pricey but worth it for us since it involved something we just studied. I got the feeling that most of the visitors present were not there for the Sleepy Hollow atmosphere!! And if they were there for the candy I think they were pretty disappointed!

Day Trip - Dayton, Ohio - Riverscape

Our final destination was to Riverscape part of Dayton's metro park system. Riverscape is right along the river and is home to this spray fountain!
Anna enjoyed herself and lucky us - she had the fountain to herself!! I imagine during the early afternoon hours this place is packed. It has a wonderful view of the river and the landscaping is awesome!!

Out on the river are a number of water jets that send shooting water across the river. The central geyser sends water shooting about 200' in the air! Very impressive and fun to watch. Paddle boats and bikes are available for rent here. They also offer laser light shows at various time throughout the warmer months. Also, the Dayton Dragons minor league baseball team plays very close to this park!! So, I know we'll be heading back up in the future!

This was a great one day vacation!! Three different places all in one day! We came home tired but enjoyed every single minute of our time in Dayton!

Day Trip - Dayton, Ohio - Boonshoft Museum of Discovery

After an enjoyable morning at Cox Arboretum we had planned to visit the metro park Riverscape. It was still cloudy and chilly (not enjoyable weather for running through water fountains!!). So, we decided to find this museum in Dayton that many other homeschoolers have told me about. Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is another Dayton gem!! I am very sad that we had not taken advantage of it when my kids were younger. Many great things are found inside including a reduced fee admission price if you belong to the Cincinnati Zoo! Yahoo!!

There is so much to do here that I couldn't explain it all. Anna spent a good half an hour at the color wall. This screen was amazing. Since I am not techno savvy the best I can tell you is that Anna's movements were recorded and then changed into various color combinations and placed on the big screen!! She had the whole room to herself and used the opportunity to do many gymnastics skills and watch them back on the color wall. Below is a press handstand and above is a press handstand (in red) split into four with added color!! Let me tell you the price of admission was worth the fun we had at the color screen! It took back handsprings and front walkovers to a whole new level!!!

Boonshoft works hard at making learning fun. Below, Bill is explaining some sort of water pressure thingy. Bill is good at explaining stuff!! He reads all of the printed materials at all of the museums so he is up to snuff on much more than I am!!

They also have a wildlife of Ohio exhibit which was quite informative. Zoo Keepers come out a various times during the day to offer animal shows. The otters are too cute to miss!!
After Boonshoft the weather turned hot and sunny and even though it was getting close to rush hour we decided to take Anna downtown to the river! Next post, Riverscape.

Day Trip - Dayton, Ohio - Part One- Cox Arboretum

A few weeks ago we took a little road trip up to Dayton, Ohio. There is so much to do in Dayton but on this particular day we decided to concentrate on Cox Arboretum and Riverscape. Unfortunately, the day started out a bit cloudy and chilly; but, fortunately, we were able to change our plans a little and include one more indoor stop - The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery! I'll concentrate on the Cox Arboretum for this post. Wow, what a beautiful place!! About 3 - 4 miles of walking trails intermixed between amazing landscaping. Beautiful flowers, mature trees and little ponds were around every corner. Above, Bill and Anna are chasing each other through a shrubbery maze. The edible garden area is a must see. Both older and younger members of any family would enjoy a picnic here.

Cox Arboretum also is the home of a small butterfly house. We spent a good 20 - 25 minutes inside finding many caterpillars, butterflies and moths. Volunteers were available to answer our questions.

I believe the house is open during the summer months and closes right after Labor Day. Anna enjoyed her time here. I think she would say that her most favorite thing was the border collie, Zip, who guards the ponds and keeps the geese away!! Very enjoyable trip!!

Next stop, Boonshoft!!

Road Trip to Oxford:Part 3 - Bagels!

So this will be the last post regarding our Oxford trip and this might be the most enlightening post yet. If you get a chance to visit Miami University or even if you think you'll never visit there, ever, you have to get yourself to the Bagel and Deli Shop sometime during your life here on earth!! The Bagel Shop (as I lovingly refer to it) is located uptown and serves the most awesome, mouth watering bagel sandwiches in the world!! Well, at least in my world.
Now I am sure that many of you are skeptical thinking that you have had good toasted bagel sandwiches at other establishments. But these are not toasted, my friend. They are steamed and believe me after eating one of these beautiful steamed creations you will be thinking about them for the rest of your life. The Bagel Shop has an enormous menu of sandwich concoctions. I seem to always order my own combination - onion bagel with turkey, swiss cheese, banana peppers, onions, tomatoes, and honey mustard! Makes my mouth water! Also, the Miami Bagel - blueberry bagel with cream cheese and cinnamon sugar- is one that everyone needs to try. Because it is a Miami tradition.

Since there is not much seating at the Bagel Shop you probably will want to get your bagels to go. My suggestion is to take them to the little park in the square. Enjoy them. Then let the kiddos burn off some calories while running through the fountains.

Road Trip to Oxford:Part Two - Treasure!

Treasure! We collected and observed a lot of great stuff on our creek walk. Below are a number of the fossils that we collected: brachiopods, bryozoa and horn coral. I was the expert finder of horn coral!! Too bad I can't make money off of these! Anna and Bill were the experts at finding the live animals. Leave it to me to find "the dead and fossilized ones". Here is a little newt in Anna's hand.

This one is a little crayfish. Bill has the talent of picking up just the right rocks with these little guys underneath. Anna held one but this is a pic of a bigger one in the water. Anna wouldn't hold the big ones.

Finally, our toad friend. Actually, we had many toad friends for the day. Anna named each one. I think this is Hoppy. Maybe its not Hoppy. They all looked quite a bit alike. We also saw many snakes and one deer. I'd say we loaded up on treasure during this adventure!!

Road Trip to Oxford, Ohio: Part One

On Wednesday we decided to take a little jaunt up to Oxford, Ohio. We go up about 3-4 times a year to visit my old stomping grounds, Miami U. Go Redhawks!!! But for this trip we had a different adventure in store for us. Creeking at Pfeffer Park! Before I go any further, check out the muscles on this girl. Mercy!We had a lot of fun exploring. Some parts were deep enough for Anna to throw in her tube and relax. She was able to relax after we forced her to tolerate the four inch fish which swam within. Mercy.

She had a great time once she conquered her fear of what awaited her in the deep, deep water(about three and half feet!!!).

Most of our time at the park was spent looking for wildlife, fossils and enjoying the great outdoors. Next post - part two with all of our treasures.