There are no sharks in Ohio

Today we took the kids out on my dad's boat. We took a ride out in Lake Erie and the kids even took turns driving the boat. Then we decided to bring the boat in to a beach area so the kids could swim. My daughter was nervous and concerned about swimming because of jellyfish, sharks, octopus, alligators, barracudas, and stingrays. We explained that none of those live in freshwater lakes.

Tonight my daughter called her GiGi in Dallas and was telling her all about her day. And this is what I heard her say, "And Gigi, did you know there are no sharks in Ohio?"

Cedar Point

On Monday we took the kids to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Both my hubby and I grew up visiting this amusement park right on Lake Erie. So we were excited to take the kids. Even at 2 & 5 there was a ton for them to do! Nana, Papa and Uncle Greg went too!

Cedar Point is somewhere you should visit with your kids if you can. Especially if you are into rollar coasters. They have some of the best in the world. And I am not exaggerating. If you are into height, speed, twists, turns and thrills then this is the park for you.(I couldn't get over watching the Dragster! Incredible to see!) If you aren't, it is still a great place to visit.

All my time was spent on the kiddie rides but I did sneak off to ride the Gemini twice. Once in the front seat by myself. The second with my dad who was the only brave soul in our group to go with me. He was white knuckled the whole time and won't go again. My daughter hopefully one day will be able to join me the rollercoasters. She loved the Jr. Gemini!

Here are some pics from our great day!

Where to now son?


View of Lake Erie from Ferris Wheel


View from the Ferris Wheel in the other direction.



View of the ride Wicked Twister from Ferris Wheel.



My brother and I


Hugging Snoopy after Snoppy Ice Show

If you see a hermit crab. . .

. . . it probably belongs to my son.

See, we hit the beach again yesterday in Gulfport. Did Lynn Meadow's Discovery Center first and then had to do the beach again. The kids wanted to get shells this time. Well, not only did they get shells, but they caught a shrimp, blue crab, minnows, jellyfish and, well, 3 hermit crabs.

The hermit crabs, however, were not discovered until this morning. I sent the girls outside to their buckets of shells to wash them off so my niece could take them home with her today. While my daughter had hers in a pile on the ground she suddenly noticed one shell was making a run for it. She screamed, "It's a crab!"

And that is when the excitement went to full throttle . . .

You have to understand. My daughter and niece spent two days at the beach doing very little swimming and more critter hunting. Anything living was good for them. So to unknowingly bring home 3 (nice size!) hermit crabs was like discovering gold to them! They immediately assigned one to each of them - including my son. And of course named them. Then, they filled up the sand and water table and let the crabs romp around.

When it started to rain, they insisted we go back out and get the crabs and bring them in to shelter. So I took some old plastic bowls with lids and made temporary homes for them. But! When we went out to get them there were only two left. My son's (the original runner) made another break for it and we couldn't find him anywhere. Fast little booger! My SIL and I were stumped as he was only left alone outside for a few minutes. Apparently, he hoisted himself over the edge of the water table and took off. We searched through the sand side thinking maybe he buried himself or something. No such luck.

So if you find a hermit crab in your yard shoot me an email. He belongs to my son!

Oh, and my niece's crab? Well, he is on a plane to Dallas. I hope he made it through security in Gigi's purse!

Waveland Beach Day

Today, I took the family for a day at the beach in Waveland. First of all, Kudos to the residents of Waveland. It seems progress is being made on recovering. We noted lots of new houses, many businesses open and life slowly getting back to normal.

We found a nice spot to swim with a little pool of water where the kids spent a lot of time trying to catch minnows with their buckets - no luck though!

The water was relatively clear and shallow as usual so even the littlest had a blast!

The breeze was great and the heat wasn't too bad so it made for a nice day. We stayed until 6pm. Then we had dinner at Los Tres Amigos. After dinner we crossed the new bridge over Bay St. Louis and took a drive along the ocean to Gulfport where we hit the Dairy Queen before the drive home.

Arrived home after 9pm. Baths all around! Can you say Sand?

Visiting Family, Visited New Orleans

Yesterday my MIL, SIL and niece arrived from Dallas for a visit. We took them into New Orleans today after a big breakfast was cooked by hubby.

We caught the St. Charles Streetcar at St Charles and LowerLine. Parked for free on street. Rode it all the way to canal. Nice cool breeze and great view! Got off at Canal and walked to Palace Cafe for lunch. Service sucked today but the Crab Cheesecake I ordered way oh so yummy!

After lunch we walked down to the new Audubon Insectarium. Had three kids ages 2, 5, and 8. All three had a great time. Very well done exhibit. If you go make sure you do the Immersion Theater show (it is short and worth it!) and hit the butterfly exhibit at the end. Both were our favs!

We hopped on the streetcar for another breezy ride back to our car. Drove back home, grilled some pork chops, baked beans and potato salad. Ended dinner with Bananas Foster prepared by hubby with apple pie and vanilla ice cream!

Baths all around and settled down to watch "The Game Plan" with the kids.

Now I must get to work!

Big Top Circus!

The circus is in town. It will be in the greater New Orleans area for a few days at different venues so check out the schedule if you are interested. BTW, how come they all claim to be the "World's Largest Under The Big Top"? It really wasn't all that big to me?

Anyway, it was not the Ringling Bros. by no means which is why they are giving out a lot of free child passes. It cost us $37 (with our free kid passes) and that included upgrading to VIP seats (2nd row), a pony ride and 1 serving of cotton candy. We left after one hour at intermission because it was hot in that tent and it was 6:00pm. Kids were antsy and hungry! They didn't know the difference. They thought it was over cuz everyone was leaving the tent.

This was the like the circus you would see on "Follow that Bird". Grass/dirt floors, low budget, cheezy outfits, etc. However, the kids thought it was grand and hubby and I just rolled our eyes at each other a lot. My youngest kept tapping the shoulder of the lady next to us and pointing up and saying, "OH!" Kinda funny.

Speaking of outfits . . . the trapeze artist (minus two girls in bright green - see pic below) were a little hoochy for a family event. When they walked out I leaned over to my hubby and said, "Wow, didn't know we were going to a strip joint today." I mean, seriously, could they get shorts that cover their A$$!

Finally, some butt coverage on the girls!



Doesn't it look like this drink guy is going to pick her up?


The drive home. My girl gets a hold of the camera. Best entertainment ever - $0!