Photo Evidence

So I talked about being busy around the house and wanting to make guest room gains this weekend, well, here's what we managed to pull off. Kyle finished getting the wall put back together, patched and all that jazz, ceiling painted and room primed. I did the trim and we got down to business putting the paint on the walls! While we still have coats to do tonight and probably tomorrow night after work, we're on the right track and on schedule to be completely exhausted and have this puppy put together by the weekend...when...Jessica and Maya come to stay with us!!! That's right! We're gaining a roommate! She's back in Florida, currently bunking with her brother but will be moving in with us for a while at the end of the week - who's excited!? This girl!

Rain or No Rain

While dinner's out at Sweet Tomatoes are typically reserved for nights when it's raining...Nora's rain boots are not (in case you hadn't noticed!). After a day of working around the house, cooking wasn't a high priority for Kyle or me so out we went - even though it was done raining for the day.

And We're Back!

It's been "a few days" of recovery around here but I'm back at it. Since Kyle's had to work each day since we've been back, he spent some special time with Nora this morning while I got to catch some extra zzz's. First thing, they headed out for a bike ride and stopped for some playground fun at one of the not so nearby elementary schools that they came across on their adventure. Nora was pretty happy when they got back from their trip and the rest of the day was spent working on stuff around the house. We have big guest room related goals for this weekend - we'll see what we can knock out!!

Good to the Last Stop!!

After yesterday's long day in the car I wasn't in much of a hurry to hop back in the car and drive the rest of the way to Florida. As excited as we were to get back and see Kyle, he had a late day meeting so there really wasn't a rush this morning. I had some things I wanted to do with Nora to close out our vacation and we managed to cross them all off the list! It wasn't much fun for Cort - he spent a lot of time in the car waiting for us to return but it was great to do some fun things with Nora without him distracting me. First stop - the beach! (Being left behind for this stop probably upset Cort the most) We jumped, splashed, ran, giggled and did a bit of digging. It wasn't a long beach stay but long enough to have fun and get wet and say our goodbyes to the ocean. Then Nora picked where she wanted to eat breakfast - Panera of course - (her favorite). We sat and chatted while we ate, picked up an extra driving treat to have on hand and then after topping off the tank, we were the first customers of the day at Hilton Head Ice Cream. We had to top off our trip with some Cookie Monster ice cream!! The combination of a short night, busy morning and presence of Boots the cat distracted Nora from some of her ice cream eating and picture taking so I didn't get the picture I had hoped for (both of us with our blue cones) but we both enjoyed our breakfast dessert! The drive back went smoothly...only one stop and a couple of trying whiney moments, but we snacked and survived and the Acadia returned us safely home again, closing out yet another Florida to Ohio adventure. We got in at about 4:30 this afternoon and Nora was zonked out on me, on the couch by the time Kyle got home at about 7:30 (not going to lie - I wasn't far behind!). And, while their reunion was a little temperamental and not quite as happy as we all envisioned, once Nora got some dinner in her she was ready to be daddy's girl again and the rest of the evening was spent playing together.

This was a fun trip and special thanks to Kyle for "letting", enabling and encouraging us to go, and to everyone who let us stop, stay and play along the way! Who knows how much of it Nora will remember but I made a lot of special memories and appreciate the time we had together!! And, while this wasn't Cort's most exciting trip to Ohio, I think we squeezed in a bit of fun here and there for him too. I'm sure there were some things that I could have done better or moments I could have taken better advantage of and surely times I could have been more patient, but all and all, it was a great trip to cap the summer and close out Nora's reign as the only child. Now, house projects and new adventures await! But fist, sleep!

Long Drive

Today started like this in Columbus...

And ended like this in Hilton Head...

In the middle there was a whole lot of this...

As far as driving 11.5 hours goes...today wasn't bad.  Long, but thankfully uneventful with 2 food related stops and one to run around!! Nora was a bit more whiney than usual - who can blame her, but Cort was pretty calm all day. We've arrived safely sea-side in Hilton Head, opting to go straight to the beach to burn off some energy before taking over Meg & Tim's apartment.  With the big drive behind us, I'm looking forward to having a little fun to close out our trip tomorrow morning.

Beach Day Bye Bye

We did our best to savor our last day of Ohio Summer. We beached with a crew - Nora managed to munch her way from person to person through the day as though it was a version of lakeside trick or treating and had fun playing with Keaton and whatever floaties she could get her hands on. We topped off our beach day with the best treat of all - ice cream from Dairy Dock. Chocolate vanilla swirl for me, orange cone with eyes for Nora, a chocolate malt for Keaton (and Nora), a peach sundae for Aunt Patty (and Nora), an apple sundae for Kristin (and Nora)...are you noticing a trend?? After ice cream it was time to go get some PEACHES!! Nora couldn't resist taste testing one almost as soon as we got in the car.

It wasn't long after her goodbye to the North coast of Ohio (maybe 4 minutes) and she was out cold! Sticky hands, sticky face, little bit of sun and sound asleep...all signs of a successful beach day!!! As soon as we got back to Bay, it was time to pack up the car, say our goodbyes and head off to Columbus to Marty & Kristin's. The journey South has begun!

Ridin' in the Red Car!

After a morning trip to the Fremont farmers' market where we got blackberries and kettle corn, Pap kept his promise of a ride in the red car this afternoon.  They even topped off their outing with a stop for ice cream.  He sure does know the way to her heart! Getting the carseat put in was no small task but it was worth the wrestling match to send them out on their adventure.  Nora was still smiling upon their return, but did scold me for not putting sunscreen on her legs haha!!  After her ride, it was back to throwing water balloons while I gathered things up to head back to Bay so the real packing could begin...All good vacations must come to an end right?