Ohio Vacation

We just got back from a great time in Ohio. We spent three days around Youngstown, swimming at the condo and at Uncle Chris' house every day. Shannon, (who doesn't have enough confidence to swim without floaties in deep water,) taught himself how to dive! Riley is close, but not quite there. I'm thrilled to report that both of the boys are getting stronger with their freestyle (when they try,) and float really well. Corey, well, he blows bubbles really well and loves to go down slides as long as someone is there to catch him.

Shannon illustrates a proper dive:

(Yea, Shannon, first time, and off a diving board, no less!)

Riley and Corey doing belly flops in good form:

Shannon going down the slide:

Riley was spoiled rotten (again,) for his birthday. We had pizza and birthday cake at Uncle Chris's house to celebrate. All went well until a thunderstorm rolled in...

Riley turns 8:

Joanne was happy to finally get some family pictures taken, too:

After I've been swimming??? Really, Joanne???

Friday we met Grammie and Papa up at their little cottage on Lake Erie. The water was rough, and after about 1/2 hour of watching Shannon get slammed by waves (fun when you're 5,) Mommy was done with that. Never fear, there was plenty of things for the kids to do around town. The boys drove bumper boats, rode down huge water slides, and played at the arcade a lot. There was a park right across the street from the cottage, and if the boys were still bored, they could always take Riley's new RC Car for a spin around the yard. Luckily Grammie had the energy to keep up with the boys (and Papa had enough energy to hang with Corey,) because Ken and I just wanted to take naps all the time.

Ken and I walked the strip one night and had a few beers. The beers were necessary because some of the local entertainment was a little too extreme, even for us. (Email me if you really want to know...) Yikes! Lucky for you, we forgot to get the camera out once we made it to the cottage, hence, no pictures.

Anyhow, we had thunderstorms both nights that we were up at the lake, so bedtime was a bit rough for the boys but somehow we survived. You would not have thought so, based on the way Riley and Corey were acting every time it thundered.

Today we hurried home so I could mow and get the grocery shopping done, and so that Ken could relax before going back to work. Corey was excited to be getting home to his computer, but then he blew it by misbehaving in the car. (Not Corey.) He's sure to overheat the computer in the morning when he's allowed to play on it again. Maybe he'll even let me use it once or twice, but until then...