Wednesday, April 30, 2008
More Fun
Thought I would share one more video and some more photos from this past weekend. Turns out the mic on the camera was turned off, but you can still see the excitement from Maya when she got off the sling shot!
Monday, April 28, 2008
My Daughter the Dare Devil
This weekend we went to Mason, Ohio for a weekend at Kings Island. This is the second year in a row we went for our youngest's birthday. We are season pass holders so we try and go as many weekends as we can. We start the season with Layla's Bday and end it with Maya's bday in October!
This year was a big one! Maya is now tall enough to ride almost all the rides.
On day 1, I was dared by Tony to do the Sling Shot, a ride where you are in a cage and then shot into the air where you spin around. Basically a reverse bungee. Not a problem. Here is a picture to prove it's really me. That's a teenage boy, I don't know, next to me.
Here is a short video of my ride! There is no sound.
We used the digital camera and the mic must not be working. Oh well. A good time was had by all. I also was able to get Maya on the Vortex, with 4 loops and 2 corkscrews! She wanted to get off and get right back on! Layla is now big enough to ride the Fairly Odd Coaster (aka the Beastie to us old folks) by herself and in the front seat no less. Here she is!
There is more and I will post later!
This year was a big one! Maya is now tall enough to ride almost all the rides.
On day 1, I was dared by Tony to do the Sling Shot, a ride where you are in a cage and then shot into the air where you spin around. Basically a reverse bungee. Not a problem. Here is a picture to prove it's really me. That's a teenage boy, I don't know, next to me.
And of course, Maya just had to do it also. My brave brave child! She drew quite a crowd actually.
Here we are, just before take-off!
And the video! I wish there was sound although all you would here would be me screaming and Maya yelling AWESOME! THIS IS SO AWESOME!
Here we are, just before take-off!
And the video! I wish there was sound although all you would here would be me screaming and Maya yelling AWESOME! THIS IS SO AWESOME!We used the digital camera and the mic must not be working. Oh well. A good time was had by all. I also was able to get Maya on the Vortex, with 4 loops and 2 corkscrews! She wanted to get off and get right back on! Layla is now big enough to ride the Fairly Odd Coaster (aka the Beastie to us old folks) by herself and in the front seat no less. Here she is!
There is more and I will post later!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Our First RV Trip of the Season
This is a long story of our adventure this last week. I'm just so excited to share!
After days of trying to figure out were we where going to go on our spring break, we finally settled on Cedar Ridge RV Resort in Bloomington, Indiana. We chose this place because it was close, just a 1 hour 45 min drive for us. Diesel is so high now that we wanted to keep it real close. We are really glad we chose this place. Because of the weather possibly being bad, this park worked perfectly. There was an indoor pool to occupy most of our time, but when the weather was nice, we headed into the woods on their trail, which, if we dared, we were able to venture off of, and yes, we dared!
Our first day, Wednesday, we had pretty skies and not too bad wind and the temp was about 65 degrees. We parked, set up the camper, then headed into the woods! We could immediately here the water falls, but could not see them from the trail. We followed a creek as far as we could go. It was about a 60 degree slope and to difficult to go down without assistance. The ground was wet and no good footing. Tony went and got a rope, used his knot tying skills, and proceeded to sort of repel down. It was only about 10-15 ft. Then I followed, not too bad, until I slipped at the end and landed in the mud next to the creek and some very cold water! After Tony stopped laughing at me, he went back up and brought the girls down one by one. Our adventure was going to be even better than we thought. When down the hill, we discovered TWO water falls!
We decided to take the closer one first. It was very slippery so you had to watch your step. Mine was not without a slip or two! The creek bed was greenish yellow in color with some burnt orange outer edges ornamented with lush spots of dark green algae, and smooth as ice. The sound of the water fall was very soothing, like small waves crashing along the shore. Many birds sang there songs and entertained us as we tried to figure which birds were talking and where they were. Along the way we found many small fossils and geodes. It still amazes me that we were walking were once, millions of years ago, small ocean life once lived.
The creek was only an inch or two deep at the most, but very cold. Once we made it to the water fall, we were just in awe! It was really gorgeous. Nothing huge, Maybe 15 ft high.It was so freeing that we could do this, get this close without a guide , a paid tour, or bars to keep us back. I always find myself wanting to know how this was made. What caused the waterfall? What made the bowl shape under it? It's just wonderful and the girls were having the time of their lives! All the amazing fossils we were finding, their smiles, my smile, Tony's smile. Seeing how much fun they were having gave me that warm fuzzy feeling! I LOVE my family!
At first I was a little apprehensive about the repel and the girls, but afterwards, I was so glad we took that little risk. I knew Tony would not let them get hurt. Honestly, the most they would have gotten was muddy with some scrapes.
Then it was time to go back down and head over to the other, bigger water fall. This one was a little more tricky. The trek was a little longer, slightly steeper, and a whole lot more slippery! It too was surrounded by fossils and unusual rocks. This one was probably 25 or more feet high and had more water running down. One thing we all noticed was the geodes slowly coming out from the shale bowl of the water fall. It will probably take another 1/2 million years(+/-) before they are able to be free. Yet another amazement on how our earth has evolved.
This trip too was not without it's battles. My oldest, decided to step on a loose rock and landed right in a 2 inch deep puddle! All she could do was laugh! Of course, we all joined in!
At the end of day 1, we decided to swim until close at 6pm, then back at the camper we had coney dogs with bacon and mac & cheese. We did not have a fire ring, but that's okay, we did bring a grill. The weather turned and the wind and rain were coming in. Because of the wind,and occasional rain, no S'mores were made this trip.
Day 2, Thursday, would eventually lead us to beautiful downtown Bloomington. But before the weather change we decided to take another trail. Very fun! We found many deer tracks, saw a few rabbit and chipmunks. At the end of the trail, we decided to take the creek bed back. This time, my youngest was the victim of a slippery rock! This creek bed was very rocky and a little deeper, maybe 3-4 inches in some areas. We found a large turtle,with a dark shell and beautiful yellow markings. The shell was about the size of a small mixing bowl. Then more deer tracks, and more fossils filled the rest of the journey. As the creek came to it's end the gloomy, cold weather was moving in. So to the camper for lunch, then to the truck and into down town Bloomington.
We couldn't decide where to go, but we did know we wanted off the IU campus. It's Little 500 weekend and boy did it show. People EVERYWHERE. So our journey took us to the Wonderlab Museum of Science. After a hunt to find parking for a large crew cab truck, we became successful and found a spot about 2 blocks from the museum. Umbrellas and jackets in hand, we walk the sidewalk and admired the historic views of old Victorians, and stores. We spent over two hours at the museum. Dragging the kids away to find food was hard, but I think dragging Tony away was even harder!
By the end, we were hungry! My sister is an Alum of IU so I called her up to get food recommendations. Unfortunately these places were packed with Little 5 visitors and probably not real family friendly, more for the college folk. So we headed to Colorado Steak House just outside of campus. MMMMM! After a hardy meal we headed back.That night was not the best sleep. Really hard rains and winds that would rock the camper pretty good kept me from enjoying some rest. Occasional lightning and thunder would sound it's alarm, but it was far off. Thank goodness!
Day 3, Friday, brought us bad weather at first, but then warmed to about 70 and windy. We promised the girls they could swim in the indoor pool that day, rain or shine. Fun for them....and me! I read a book for a little while, then decided to get in with the girls. Tony played solitaire on the PC. Our laptop would not pick up the Wi-fi for some reason. We also played a couple of round of mini-golf. Nothing too complicated. Because this is the beginning of the season, we had the place to ourselves. I thing only 2 other, single campers were there. That night sleeping wasn't too bad, but very cold. Temps dropped into the mid to lower 40s. We have a furnace, but the thermostat is weird and when the furnace kicks on, it's VERY loud. I'm not a sound sleeper, especially in strange places. Luckily, everyone else is! Totally not fair if you ask me! Thank goodness for strong coffee!
Day 4, Saturday, after a nice breakfast, we packed up and headed home. And it was a good thing. 20+ MPH winds, rain, and about 40 degrees outside and dropping. A quick stop at Steak-n-Shake for lunch and Wally World for some supplies, then home we went. After about an hour of unpacking, the kids went to the neighbors to play and Tony and I chilled on the sofa and did something we hadn't done in 4 days. Watched TV!
Pictures and some video to follow!
Next weekend, here we come!
After days of trying to figure out were we where going to go on our spring break, we finally settled on Cedar Ridge RV Resort in Bloomington, Indiana. We chose this place because it was close, just a 1 hour 45 min drive for us. Diesel is so high now that we wanted to keep it real close. We are really glad we chose this place. Because of the weather possibly being bad, this park worked perfectly. There was an indoor pool to occupy most of our time, but when the weather was nice, we headed into the woods on their trail, which, if we dared, we were able to venture off of, and yes, we dared!
Our first day, Wednesday, we had pretty skies and not too bad wind and the temp was about 65 degrees. We parked, set up the camper, then headed into the woods! We could immediately here the water falls, but could not see them from the trail. We followed a creek as far as we could go. It was about a 60 degree slope and to difficult to go down without assistance. The ground was wet and no good footing. Tony went and got a rope, used his knot tying skills, and proceeded to sort of repel down. It was only about 10-15 ft. Then I followed, not too bad, until I slipped at the end and landed in the mud next to the creek and some very cold water! After Tony stopped laughing at me, he went back up and brought the girls down one by one. Our adventure was going to be even better than we thought. When down the hill, we discovered TWO water falls!
We decided to take the closer one first. It was very slippery so you had to watch your step. Mine was not without a slip or two! The creek bed was greenish yellow in color with some burnt orange outer edges ornamented with lush spots of dark green algae, and smooth as ice. The sound of the water fall was very soothing, like small waves crashing along the shore. Many birds sang there songs and entertained us as we tried to figure which birds were talking and where they were. Along the way we found many small fossils and geodes. It still amazes me that we were walking were once, millions of years ago, small ocean life once lived.
The creek was only an inch or two deep at the most, but very cold. Once we made it to the water fall, we were just in awe! It was really gorgeous. Nothing huge, Maybe 15 ft high.It was so freeing that we could do this, get this close without a guide , a paid tour, or bars to keep us back. I always find myself wanting to know how this was made. What caused the waterfall? What made the bowl shape under it? It's just wonderful and the girls were having the time of their lives! All the amazing fossils we were finding, their smiles, my smile, Tony's smile. Seeing how much fun they were having gave me that warm fuzzy feeling! I LOVE my family!
At first I was a little apprehensive about the repel and the girls, but afterwards, I was so glad we took that little risk. I knew Tony would not let them get hurt. Honestly, the most they would have gotten was muddy with some scrapes.
Then it was time to go back down and head over to the other, bigger water fall. This one was a little more tricky. The trek was a little longer, slightly steeper, and a whole lot more slippery! It too was surrounded by fossils and unusual rocks. This one was probably 25 or more feet high and had more water running down. One thing we all noticed was the geodes slowly coming out from the shale bowl of the water fall. It will probably take another 1/2 million years(+/-) before they are able to be free. Yet another amazement on how our earth has evolved.
This trip too was not without it's battles. My oldest, decided to step on a loose rock and landed right in a 2 inch deep puddle! All she could do was laugh! Of course, we all joined in!
At the end of day 1, we decided to swim until close at 6pm, then back at the camper we had coney dogs with bacon and mac & cheese. We did not have a fire ring, but that's okay, we did bring a grill. The weather turned and the wind and rain were coming in. Because of the wind,and occasional rain, no S'mores were made this trip.
Day 2, Thursday, would eventually lead us to beautiful downtown Bloomington. But before the weather change we decided to take another trail. Very fun! We found many deer tracks, saw a few rabbit and chipmunks. At the end of the trail, we decided to take the creek bed back. This time, my youngest was the victim of a slippery rock! This creek bed was very rocky and a little deeper, maybe 3-4 inches in some areas. We found a large turtle,with a dark shell and beautiful yellow markings. The shell was about the size of a small mixing bowl. Then more deer tracks, and more fossils filled the rest of the journey. As the creek came to it's end the gloomy, cold weather was moving in. So to the camper for lunch, then to the truck and into down town Bloomington.
We couldn't decide where to go, but we did know we wanted off the IU campus. It's Little 500 weekend and boy did it show. People EVERYWHERE. So our journey took us to the Wonderlab Museum of Science. After a hunt to find parking for a large crew cab truck, we became successful and found a spot about 2 blocks from the museum. Umbrellas and jackets in hand, we walk the sidewalk and admired the historic views of old Victorians, and stores. We spent over two hours at the museum. Dragging the kids away to find food was hard, but I think dragging Tony away was even harder!
By the end, we were hungry! My sister is an Alum of IU so I called her up to get food recommendations. Unfortunately these places were packed with Little 5 visitors and probably not real family friendly, more for the college folk. So we headed to Colorado Steak House just outside of campus. MMMMM! After a hardy meal we headed back.That night was not the best sleep. Really hard rains and winds that would rock the camper pretty good kept me from enjoying some rest. Occasional lightning and thunder would sound it's alarm, but it was far off. Thank goodness!
Day 3, Friday, brought us bad weather at first, but then warmed to about 70 and windy. We promised the girls they could swim in the indoor pool that day, rain or shine. Fun for them....and me! I read a book for a little while, then decided to get in with the girls. Tony played solitaire on the PC. Our laptop would not pick up the Wi-fi for some reason. We also played a couple of round of mini-golf. Nothing too complicated. Because this is the beginning of the season, we had the place to ourselves. I thing only 2 other, single campers were there. That night sleeping wasn't too bad, but very cold. Temps dropped into the mid to lower 40s. We have a furnace, but the thermostat is weird and when the furnace kicks on, it's VERY loud. I'm not a sound sleeper, especially in strange places. Luckily, everyone else is! Totally not fair if you ask me! Thank goodness for strong coffee!
Day 4, Saturday, after a nice breakfast, we packed up and headed home. And it was a good thing. 20+ MPH winds, rain, and about 40 degrees outside and dropping. A quick stop at Steak-n-Shake for lunch and Wally World for some supplies, then home we went. After about an hour of unpacking, the kids went to the neighbors to play and Tony and I chilled on the sofa and did something we hadn't done in 4 days. Watched TV!
Pictures and some video to follow!
Next weekend, here we come!
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