My Vacation in Cincinnati

I spent last weekend with my best friend from college, Kelly and her family. This is Ben, her 2 yr old, the sweetest thing I ever saw! We spent a relaxing first day at the massage parlor, going out to lunch, and lounging around. At dinner with her husband that night we laughed our heads off at their story of the GPS system in their car telling them to "turn left!" I N T O the Ohio River.

Saturday we went to the most Awesome-est birthday party ever! The party was for his 4 year old cousin, Lily, and her 2 yr old brother.

This inflatable bouncing gym was for the boys. I have never seen more kids at a birthday party ever before! (I think there were over 40 boxes of pizza there!)

This one's for the girls... is that awesome or what! (Of course, all the kids had to explore BOTH of them! ... There was no discrimination here! )

But wait! Theres more! A firetruck pulled up and we all thought it was because there were too many cars parked out in the street. Nope! The truck was for the party! The kids loved it!

Fire Captain Ben... so cute! He was a little leary of standing on the outside edges of the truck. He liked being in the drivers seat better!

Dad and Ben, sitting for a pose. Ben was more interested in looking at the truck instead of looking at the camera! These kids need to explore you know!

Just where he belongs! He was so happy to be in the drivers seat!

Ain't nothing better than learning how to squirt yourself in the face! He had a couple of startling experiences until he learned more control! What do us parents do? We sit back and laugh!

Everyone needs a good sprinkle of water!

Kelly and her father-in-law, Bob. These guys really know how to party! (Don't kid yourself... I was sitting all day!) Hey, its humid there! Kelly is 7 months pregnant, so she was REALLY hot!

Sunday we spent the day at Bob's house (Bob and Sue's house!) We brought Kelly and Don's 2 dogs with us. (Nothing like sitting in the back seat of a car with 2 labs breathing down your neck!) Don't worry, I love dogs... And these dogs loved the water!

Bob and Sue have lived in their home since 1980. The home is built on 100 acres of farmland, with 2 ponds, trackers, horses, the whole nine yards. They used to grow clover, hay, corn, raise cattle and horses. All the farming is a thing of the past, but their home was beautiful!

Cute mommy Kelly and her cute mommy belly! She deleted all my pictures of her from my camera. Ha! You missed one! So cute by the way, you turkey!

Dad and Ben took a few rides on the 'Green Gator' tractor around the ponds. Its Ben's favorite thing to do! (And I think dad likes it too!) I even took a tour once around. Fun fun fun!

All day just relaxing! It was so beautiful and peaceful... just the vacation I needed!

Father-in-law Bob has been collecting trains his whole life. He has a whole room dedicated to his collection. It was VERY impressive!

I kept asking Don if he had any Union Pacific trains because I mostly saw Santa Fe, but he had them all!

I caught Bob in this picture as he was coming around the corner. All the walls have cabinets and shelves built to hold this collection. The middle of the room is a model of a city with a few trains running through it. Pretty cool I thought!

Monday Kelly and I ran to a movie and lunch. I flew home at 7 at night. Just a rollercoaster of fun! Kelly's baby is due in August but she wants to have a another girl's vacation next year! Geez, that girl doesn't slow down! Thanks for all the fun!