Mansfield Day 1: Family Reunion

 We got to Mansfield in time for lunch. My brother and my sister's family were also there. Later, the extended family would be coming for supper. My dad took family portraits of everyone. We had a big picnic in the backyard with about 40 people and I got to visit with my aunts and uncles and cousins that I hadn't seen in at least two years. There were a bunch of new little kids too, so it was fun seeing them play and interact. Simon mainly fished, and tried out the little green kayak my parents bought for the kids.

Ashville Days 3-4: Shopping, Fishing, Climbing

 On our last full day in Ashville, we divided up. In the morning, we again dropped Simon and Zac off at the pond, then we drove to the Dollar Store and Walmart to get a few things. Then we stopped by the Living Historical Farm at Slate Run because Alice wanted to see the barn and horses again. She really does like the farm, but Simon hates it so it was better this way. Then we picked Simon and Zac up from the pond and the kids played at the playground a bit more. The chicken was still there.  After lunch back at home, we left Alice with Cam and Zac, Simon and I took a little hike at Shallenberger State Nature Preserve. After Hocking Hills, it was rather anticlimactic. But it was probably the only time in our life we  both took Simon on a walk without Alice. Simon's favorite part was climbing the side of a big rock right at the beginning of the hike.

Sunday morning, we took our goodbye family photo and then drove to Cam's friend's blueberry patch on the way to Mansfield.

Ashville Day 2: Hocking Hills

For our second day in Ohio, we drove down to Hocking Hills. We started at Old Man's Cave area. Then we had a lunch at a picnic table (the kids were cold!) and then we drove down the road a bit to the climbing area near Cockles Hollow, were we scattered Bevin's ashes under a tree near the top of the falls. Weirdly, even although we've done this trail many times before, we got lost and had to scale a low cliff to get up to the main trail. It was interesting. I love Hocking Hills so much though -- everywhere you look it's so beautiful.

Ashville Day 1: Fishing

Our first full day in Ohio was packed with fun, starting with Grandma Cam showing Simon her tackle box. It was rainy, so in the morning we all headed out to a farmer's market and the Fishing Warehouse, where Cam let Simon pick out some things for an early birthday present. We went back home for lunch, then dropped Simon and Zac off at the pond at Slate Run Metro Park to fish, while Cam, Alice and I proceeded on to the Lithopolis Library. It's a really old building with a garden area out front. This time, they had a lot of Fairy and Gnome gardens set up, so it was extra fun walking around exploring. After the library, we joined Zac and Simon at the ponds, then played at the playground for a while, where we encountered a chicken that had probably escaped from the historic farm nearby. In the evening, the kids painted and played outside. We finished off the night with a scrabble game and some Cherry Bounce (homemade by Cam's friend Craig).