Trip Down Memory Lane

We decided to take a trip down memory lane while we were in Ohio. So on a beautiful Sunday, we drove to Dublin to see what had changed. I had not been back to Dublin since we moved to Montreal in December of 2009 so it was fun to see the changes in our old neighborhood. Arabella doesn't remember living in Dublin, but was interested to see what our old house looked like and where we used to take her to the park. As much as I love our new house, I would love to move it to our old neighborhood. Don't get me wrong, I like our new place, but I just like the feel of our old one a bit better...it probably has something to do with the space between houses and the mature trees. In any event, not too much had changed with the old house...pretty much looks the same with the exception of the basketball hoop in the driveway...

After checking out the neighborhood, we ordered lunch from one of my favorite places ever...Aladdin's Eatery...it was so yummy! We took it to the "Bunny Hill" and had a picnic. We enjoyed everything...it is delicious Greek and Mediterranean style food...something that I miss a ton!

The weather was perfect and the sky an amazing shade of blue. It was fun to have a picnic lunch. Arabella loved being able to run around and Max had fun exploring the grass.

We took Arabella to the "Bunny Hill" when she was little. It is a nice park and splash pad - good sized and not too busy. It was a great way to get outside and enjoy the perfect, sunny weather. I loved it and I think everyone else did too!

Arabella loved running in the splash pad and Max had fun checking out the water. She played and run around until it wore her out - we had to drag her out of there!

Visit With Grandpa Dennis & Grandma Ricki

While in Ohio, we spent an afternoon with Grandpa Dennis & Grandma Ricki. We enjoyed a yummy lunch and spent time catching up. This was the first time they had met Max and we had not seen then since their visit to Montreal last September. Arabella had fun exploring a bit with Grandpa Dennis - they walked down the gravel road to the mailbox exploring and speaking French to one another along the way. She also loved the garden and had enjoyed checking out the flowers and looking for butterflies. We had a great afternoon and are looking forward to October when they visit us in Charlotte for a long weekend!

Arabella received a cooking lesson from Grandpa Dennis!

She and Grandpa Dennis looked through the scrapbook they keep with all the artwork she sends.

First Official Day At School

Today was Arabella's first official day of Kindergarten. Last week was an evaluation day to see how the children and classrooms should be divided. Arabella is excited about her teachers, Mrs. Martin and Ms. Combs. She is also happy that one of her friends, George, from the TK program that we put her in here when we moved is in her class. She was a bit timid when she went into the classroom, but she was taking it all in and see what she was supposed to do. I get to walk her to class from the next two weeks...which makes us both happy. I am sure today went great and I am looking forward to picking her up and hearing all about her day!

7 Months Old...Just About A Month Late...

Max turned 7 months while we were in Ohio. I can't believe it!!

Fun at The Ohio State Fair

Jay and I had gone to the Ohio State Fair when we lived in Dublin at least once and maybe twice...and that would have been enough for me. Although it is fun to go, it is not something that I could go to every year, but since Mike and Jeff had never gone, we decided to go and check it out. Arabella had a ton of fun - she loved checking out all the animals and they had an area set up with just kid rides which she loved. I guess I go for the people watching - and boy is is amusing! While we were there, all you have to do is look around to see what is inherently wrong with American society - this is my inner Holistic Health & Wellness Coach talking - all the food is fried, fatty and just plain gross. If it can be fried, they will fry it, even if it wasn't meant to be fried - YUCK!! There are huge cups of soda with free refills and the candy and junk food you can buy is everywhere. The healthiest thing I could find was grilled corn on the cob - which they want to douse in butter - they looked at me like I was crazy when I told them I wanted it plain! I will get off my soap box now...we had a great day. The weather was a bit overcast, but not too warm, which made it easy to do all the walking. We had a great day, but I (and I think Mike and Jeff) can check off that box and say been there, done that! Here are some of the highlights:

Whatever happened to just plain - fried dough with powdered sugar??? When did they start putting all these toppings on them?? Guess we missed that when we were living in Montreal.