A Pony Ride and Carriage Hill

A mighty War Eagle! to everyone from the greater Dayton Metropolitan area. There is a buzz in the air at our house (no, we don't have a bee problem). It's almost FOOTBALL SEASON! The Auburn Tigers are in the low 20's in most of the preseason polls, which is high enough to get Ashley excited but not too high where the team might get a collective swelled head. First game is September 4 against Arkansas High, I mean State. Arkansas State. Yes, it's not a typo. Let's call this a warm up game (hopefully I haven't jinxed them...)

Saturday, we went to one of the Metro Parks in the Dayton area. We've been amazed by the quality of the parks ...but then again, we were also amazed at the real estate taxes. It's nice to see the money is going to a good cause. First up was a pony ride. Here's Bode with his helmet...not sure if you recall a similar picture from February 2010 when Bode went ice skating (which didn't turn out so well...)

Fortunately Bode loves riding ponies, so we didn't have to worry about a melt down. Here are some action photos of Bode on his steed.

After the pony ride, we went to Carriage Hill. This is a "working farm" from the 1880's. Volunteers staff the various parts of to give it an authentic feel. There were barns and sheds with 19th century tools. Here's a shot of Bode working the manual pump to bring up water from the well.

We then proceeded to check out some of the animals. There were hens and a big rooster...

some sheep that were trying to stay cool (it was blazing hot)...

a little baby horse that was about five weeks old...

and, of course, a moo-cow.

We also paused to play on a big tree. I was able to get Bode to stand still for a few seconds to snap a father-son picture. The photo also shows off his little gut, which seems to be getting smaller as he gets taller...but you aren't going to be washing clothes on it.

We do not have any major plans for this week. We have again failed to win the lottery, resulting in us having to continue to work, which takes up the bulk of our days. We are spending more time with Bode-man in the bathroom, as his interest in the potty has taking an upswing. He's starting to use it, but it's still very early going (i.e. we're not buying underwear just yet...)

Pleasant week to all.

Firefighter Ice Cream Social

Today, one of the fire stations in Centerville had an ice cream social (code for fund-raiser). They had burgers, chicken, hot-dogs, and (of course) ice cream. They also had all kinds of cool fire trucks and demonstrations. The weather was perfect, so we hopped in the car and headed down south (about 3 miles from our house, so it's not like we had far to go...) All the fire trucks were out of the station house and lining the streets. Bode was in hog-heaven--he kept pointing and saying, "Firetruck!" Here's a shot of Bode and Mommy sitting on the front of one of the big ladder trucks.

Some of the trucks' doors were open, so we climbed in and checked things out.

The first demonstration was a vehicle extraction. This simulated a person being trapped in a car. The jaws of life were used to cut off the doors and entire roof of a car. Here's a shot of Mommy and Bode watching the crew work their magic.

This is a shot of the car after the roof had been removed. It's amazing how quickly a car can be dismantled.

After watching a car get demolished, we headed over to the fire hose. The little kids were able to hold a hose and shoot water at a simulated fire, which was a large piece of plywood painted to look like a house with painted flames shooting up in the windows. Bode saw the hose and started to take off his shirt. He must have thought it was time for water play. We convinced him to stay dressed, and he proceeded to work the hose. Obviously the water pressure was dialed back...

The highlight had to have been the arrival of the Rescue Flight helicopter. It flew in and landed, which was very cool. It drew a large crowd and we were fortunate to be in the first wave of people to go see it.

Here's Bode in front of the bird.

Finally, here's Bode in the pilot's seat. He was the second kid to get his picture in the cockpit. Just as he was getting out, one of the rescue workers asked that no kids get into the vehicle--the door was open just for kids to see inside. Therefore, we were fortunate to get this picture.

A large sound system was booming some tunes. As always, Bode was attracted to the music and proceeded to put on his own demonstration. The little fellow has some (white boy) moves.

The demonstration which I most anticipated was the car fire. It was a bit of a let down. I got real excited when I saw the firefighters getting all geared up.

I was expecting the car to actually be lit on fire (per the title of the demonstration). Sadly, it was a simulated fire, so basically all the demo involved was firefighters in their hot suits shooting water onto a car. I could've done that in my driveway :-)

We spent a couple hours in Centerville and had a nice time. Here's Bode and Mommy leaving. "Bye bye, firetruck!"

Bode wanted to skip his nap when we got home, but it didn't take much work to convince him he should take one. Ashley and I are cleaning up the house (well, she is...I'm writing this). Pleasant week to all.

Summer Vacation Part IV: Savannah

We did a few outings while in South Carolina. We went to the beach one day, but forgot the camera, so alas, no pictures. We also went out to dinner waaaay too many times, and spent some quiet time relaxing on the porch. There was also a small pond near the house which was home to a tiny (3-4 feet) alligator. We saw this lovely thing a number of times. I gave it a wide berth...I won't bug him if he doesn't bother me :-) There was also a fire station close to the house. One day, we walked up to check out the fire engines, which Bode loves. Whenever we drive past a fire station, Bode says, "Fire truck!" It's quite cute. The doors were open at this particular station, and we were able to steal a couple photos with Bode and me on the bumper.

One day, we went to Savannah, and this time, I remembered the camera. We walked up and down the river, had a nice lunch, and enjoyed the quaintness that is this southern town. Here's a picture of Bode and me in front of some statue. I think this guy is the founder of Methodism, but I'm not positive.

Next, we went to an art gallery. Ashley is a big fan of James Dean, an artist who got an electrical engineering degree from Auburn. Evidently being an artist was more of his calling. He does a lot of paintings with a character called Pete the Cat. We have a few prints of his in our home. There were some of his paintings on display at a gallery in Savannah. We saw one that struck our fancy and decided to buy it. Here are a couple pictures.

Most days, Bode was exhausted by noon. His cousins were able to wear him out. Here's a cute picture of the little guy taking his nap.

Pat's birthday is tomorrow (2 August), so we had a little birthday celebration. He's turning 40, which really isn't that old (especially since Ashley hits that lovely milestone this November...)

That about does it for the vacation. We drove home yesterday (Saturday), a thrilling 12 hours in the car (hopefully you got the sarcasm). Today, we recovered, did some shopping, and I even took my bike out for my first ride in over a year. I think I must have put on some pounds down in South Carolina. First thing tomorrow, we go on a diet (we'd start tonight, but we have already promised to take Bode for ice cream :-)

Pleasant week to all.

Summer Vacation Part III: Gone Fishing

Yes, you read the title correctly. We went fishing...sort of. It's not like we went out on a boat (Heaven forbid!) or even had to go very far. There was a dock/pier located close to where we were staying, so we gathered up some fishing poles and headed over. My biggest fear was we'd catch something. Fortunately Ashley and Dana know a little bit about fishing, so we let them do all the hard stuff. Here's a shot of Dana getting the gear ready.

As quickly as Dana could get the poles in working order, the kids (or maybe it was me) were able to get the lines extremely tangled. I don't know how well it shows up in the picture below, but the fishing line is one big spider web.

Fortunately we didn't have too many mess-ups, and we were soon fishing. Here's a shot of Bode holding his rod and reel (there was no hook on it, but he didn't know that :-)

Here's a shot of Dana and Ashley. Sure looks like they are untangling yet another line, doesn't it?

Things were going great. No nibbles or critters. Just a warm, sunny day, so we decided to get a family shot.

Suddenly, Sean started saying he had a bite. I don't think we believed him at first, but sure enough, his line was bending.

After a Hemmingway-like battle, Sean was able to land this sea monster.

The fish was large enough to keep. Dana and the kids cleaned it and fried it up. Needless to say, I did not try it, although Ashley did. She said it was quite good (Liar!). We finished the day with only that one fish, but we did have fun. Sean is expecting Pat to take him again when they get back to Albuquerque.

One more vacation post to come...

Summer Vacation Part II: South Carolina

For the second part of our summer vacation, we went to Beaufort, South Carolina. My brother, Pat, and his wife, Dana, and their three kids, Brenna, Sean, and Devin shared a house, pictured below.

It was a pretty sweet setup, and I think it was featured in Coastal Living at some point. Needless to say, we were quite comfortable. My Dad and his wife were also in Beaufort, so it was nice for everyone to get together. The kiddos hadn't seen each other in over a year, so it was neat to see them interact. Pat was able to help them overcome the initial shyness by introducing Bode to his iPhone, something he'd never really seen before.

No, Bode, you can't eat it :-)

Brenna has certainly sprouted--I can't believe she's not even 10 yet. Our neighbor, Emma (see Block Party post) is older than Brenna, but is a lot shorter. Here's a Brenna close-up.

We tried to get Sean to pose for the camera, but we couldn't distract his rigid attention from the various video games (iPhone, PSP, Wii, etc.)

Sadly, I don't have a photograph of Devin by herself, but I do have plenty of group shots. First, here is the gang hanging out on the dock. Yes, that is Pat in the background fishing (more on that in a later post)

Next is an action shot of the kids having a water fight.

Finally, here's a shot of Bode, Sean, and Uncle Pat out for a walk.

More to come, so stay tuned...

Summer Vacation Part I: Hotlanta

We returned from our long summer vacation yesterday. The next few posts will document some of our adventures. We left Ohio early the morning of 22 July. We got out of the house before 0600, which I considered to be a remarkable achievement. The roads were clear, the Xterra was gasses up, and we were on our way to Atlanta to visit Dave and Kathy Bledsoe. Ashley and Dave went to Auburn together (WarEagle), while Cathy went to Georgia (boooo!), which means Dave and Kathy have a mixed marriage.

The drive to Atlanta was surprisingly quick. We stopped for lunch at the Cracker Barrel, and arrived at their house at 3:00 pm. The trip was right at 500 miles, so we made great time considering we have a little one in the car (not to mention a passenger with a weak bladder--only kidding; I don't think we ever had to make an unnecessary stop this whole trip).

We spent Thursday night visiting with Kathy, Dave, and their two sons, Westin and Keller. Westin is a couple months older than Bode, while Keller is almost eight months (sadly, I somehow failed to get a single picture of Keller). Friday, Kathy had to work, so she took Keller to daycare, while all the boys plus Ashley went to the Atlanta aquarium. Bode and Westin were very excited about going. Here they are waiting impatiently while Dave and I get the car ready.

We make the quick trip down town, parked the car, and the boys were off and running. Fortunately Dave was able to keep the wicked pace they set while Ashley lagged a bit behind.

Once inside, we were greeted by a giant fish that somehow managed to escape its tank. Bode was a bit leery of this killer predator, but he eventually warmed to it.

The aquarium had a good number of interactive exhibits. Here are Westin and Bode (and Dave and Ashley) getting to know some sting rays.

There were also exhibits where you could walk under the tanks, which was pretty cool. Here's Bode looking up at some fish swimming above him.

The highlight of the aquarium had to have been the giant tank which had three or four whale shark. You can get a sense of how big the glass was by looking how tiny the people look compared to it.

The little ones sat in wondrous amazement, Ashley smiled for the camera, while Dave had to take a call on his cell phone (there's always one in every group).

There were all kinds of strange and exotic fish. We even saw an albino alligator (not pictured).

After a hard day at the aquarium, we stopped for lunch at Johnny Rockets. Then it was home, for a quick nap, and then into the pool on the porch. I'm always impressed by how much fun little guys can have in a five-foot diameter circular pool. The way they carry on, it's like they are having the time of their lives.

Ashley, on the other hand, was a little perturbed when I tried to take her picture. Here she is about to "wave" to me.

We had a great Friday. Saturday, we woke up and were surprised by a pancake breakfast Cathy had prepared. Here are Bode and Westin enjoying their cakes with plenty of syrup.

We left late Saturday morning. We had a wonderful visit with Kathy and Dave. They are coming off an incredibly trying year. Kathy was diagnosed with breast cancer (stage 3, which is very scary) during her second trimester with Keller. She went through chemo, then had a C-section with Keller, then more chemo, then radiation. By talking with them, you'd never imagine they'd gone through this ordeal. The great news is Kathy is cancer free, Keller is a healthy young boy, and the Bledsoes are back to their normal lives. The only thing that is left is for them to come visit us in Dayton, which will occur right after a hard frost kills the devil's outdoor plants (aka when hell freezes over :-)

Next stop, hot and muggy South Carolina.