The Ott Family Campout

My dad is one of 13 kids and I have 50 something first cousins in our big catholic family. Every year growing up a highlight of our summer was the Ott family campout. This campout has been happening for 37 years, longer than I have been alive and it is so nice to be able to share this experience with my kids. The campout is in Indiana at Pokagan State Park and we always reserve the group camp area which has private cabins with bunk beds and then a group mess hall. It is on a lake and is really a beautiful park. It was really fun to see Abby get so excited about camping. The theme of the campout this year was western and we had a lot of fun dressing up in our western wear. Grandpa even grew out his beard to get into character. Abby liked watching and feeling the progress of the beard! We had a great turnout this year with over 100 people attending. The busiest day is Saturday where my wonderful cousin and Aunt plan all sorts of fun games for the kids(including a pinata), followed by a family softball game and then a big dinner. We also managed to fit in pony rides, a hay ride and a swim at the beach. It was a busy but fun filled day. Abby and Connor both slept so well in the cabins and loved being outside all day playing in the sand and being around cousins. Abby also loved making smores and enjoyed eating them even more!! It was a wonderful weekend spent catching up with family.

Matt's favorite part of the weekend was when he and Abby borrowed a fishing pole from one of my cousins and headed down to the lake. They didn't catch any fish, but had a great time trying. On the way back to the campground Abby said to Matt, "Thanks for taking me on a date Daddy, that was a date wasn't it?" How could that not melt her daddy's heart? This girl is going to be able to get away with anything!

Double Trouble!!!

Abby and Connor love living close to their cousins. Matt and I enjoy it, too. The fact that we can get away with not paying attention to our kids for hours when we are with them is such a treat. The three older cousins are so sweet and patient with the kids. They are also great role models. Nate, loves Connor so much and is so good at watching him. The other day we put Connor in the sandbox with Nate in charge and he would let him play until he tried to put something in his mouth and then he would snatch it immediately. He was watching him like a hawk. They really have a special bond. I wonder if it is because they are both August babies.

Abby and her cousin Emma love spending time together but these girls are double trouble. Some days they play so nice together others they spend the whole day fighting like sisters-or worse then sisters. They are also so mischievous. The other day I ran downstairs at my sisters house and when I went back upstairs I couldn't find the girls. I finally found them outside on the balcony outside my sisters bedroom. Their feet were filthy and it was such a dangerous place to be. I can only imagine(sigh) the trouble these two will get into together as they grow up.

We had a busy but fun weekend. Abby and I headed to Chagrin Falls, the cute town I grew up in, for some mommy/daughter time while Connor was taking his morning nap. Our goal was to get me some coffee because Connor didn't sleep very well the night before which means I didn't sleep well. Abby decided she needed some chocolate milk from Starbucks, too, because she didn't sleep well either. We decided to head to the playground to burn some energy and stumbled upon the Chagrin Valley Arts Festival. Abby and I loved the kids craft area!! They had a booth where you could airbrush your own hat, a fan making area, an clay molding area, a paint your own figurine area, and a face painting area. It was hard for us to leave the fair, but we eventually had to head home to save poor Connor from starving. Connor is such a momma's boy and I love how excited he gets to see me after I have been away.

In the afternoon we all ventured out to a local dairy farm for their farm day. It was interesting to see how the dairy production happened, but it made us a little sad to see all of the cows in just a few barns being herded back and fourth from the milking parlour. Abby really enjoyed the playground at the farm. Connor just enjoyed being outside. I really enjoyed the kids going to sleep early after all of the fresh air!

Today we headed to the local farmer's market. I love farmer's markets and I think Abby might share my passion for them. It is still early in the season, but there was a lot of lettuce and some really yummy organic strawberries. We finished ours before we even left the market! We then headed to a local event called Knee High Naturalist. It was an event at the local metroparks for kids under 6 geared towards outdoor exploration. It was such a cool event. They had different stations set up for play and explorations, a hayride, puppet shows, crafts-including planting in an old shoe, organized hikes with Nora the explorer, kite flying and more!!! The only bad thing about the event was that it was from 12-4 which meant we only lasted for about half the time and then we had to head home for naps. We would have loved to stay and explore. The rest of the afternoon we spent relaxing at home and enjoying some down time after our busy weekend!

The Cleveland Zoo

The Cleveland Zoo might not have a merry-go-round but it does have camel rides-that's right camel rides!

Connor is 9 months old

Our sweet boy turned nine months old! We are loving life with Connor so much. He is still crawling everywhere and pulling up on the furniture. He also loves it when we chase after him when he is crawling. He literally squeals with delight. He also is a little mischievous. He loves to crawl towards the outlets and stairs laughing the whole way there knowing he isn't suppose to be there. Connor is very patient when his sister gives him lots of love. He seems to love swimming just like his big sister. He loves waving and just started clapping and loves to show off and do both over and over again. he just started drinking water from a little shot glass at his meals and is so proud of himself. We love our little man!

Blossom Time-the best time of the year!

Every year my hometown has a festival over memorial day weekend-the Blossom Time Festival. We have been going for years and my siblings and I have always believed they have the best parade-maybe because they throw so much candy! Now that I have kids, I am not so sure that the sugar high is really the best. This was Matt's first Blossom Time and after the years of hype, I hope it lived up to his high expectations. We spent Saturday walking around the fair and letting Abby go on a few rides. She had a blast and was so brave going on the ferris wheel and merry-go-round all by herself! We cannot believe how fast she is growing up. We then tried to go to the balloon glow where they have a hot air balloon launch and race. Unfortunately, this was cancelled due to the weather. On Sunday morning, we woke up and I ran the annual 5.25 mile race. It is a fun run, but a very hilly course. Matt was so nice to watch the kids and bring them to come cheer me on. After the big run, they have a kids run. Abby was running against kids 4 and under. Once again, we were so impressed with our little girl. She took off running by herself and just waved to us as she went by. On her way back to the finish her daddy and I joined her. She was so proud of herself and loved getting the ribbon at the end for finishing. When we got back to my parents house, my sister and her kids arrived and the real fun begin. Abby and Connor love their cousins and it is always a blast when all of us are together. We headed back into Chagrin Falls for the parade. Once again the amount of candy thrown did not dissapoint! Connor slept through most of the parade on his daddy and both of them were so happy. Abby and I were busy fighting for candy. After the parade, we spent some time relaxing at grandma and grandpas before heading back to the carnival. The kids had fun on a few rides, but then a thunderstorm rolled in and we had to literally run from the festival. We still got rained on and all of the kids were pretty scared of the lightening and thunder so we played in the grocerystore for a while until the storm passed. It was a fun night and all of the kids were exhausted by the time we got home!

I had to add this picture of Abby and her cousin trying to use the potty at the same time! Abby's face cracks me up.