Wow, summer is already over and school has begun but before I get too far ahead of myself, let me tell you about Brianne's summer! She started off her summer with trips to the zoo, parks, World of Bounce (a place where they have a lot of bounce houses setup for kids to run and play on), and the play area at the Naz. I took off random days throughout the summer to go with her to the zoo, the park, and we even made it out to the Wilds!
The Wilds was a fun experience. It is 10,000 acres of pure wildlife from zebras, to rhinos, giraffes, cheetahs, and so forth. You get in a transport vehicle and go on a 2 and half hour tour where you can see the animals both closeup and from a far. We got blocked by giraffes for quite some time and eventually the staff had to come and move them so we could continue on our tour.
The same day we went to the Wilds we also went over to see Big Muskie, a big coal mining machine that was used in the Bucyrus-Erie dragline. The kids were in awe of how large the scoop is which is still available for viewing and climbing in. Brianne, who is a big fan of American Ninja Warrior, looked at the scoop and immediate thought of the warped wall obstacle and then tried her best to try and run up the backside of Big Muskie's scoop.
We also got to attend the Strawberry Festival in London. One would think the entire place would be lined up with strawberry this and strawberry that, but in reality, it was anything but. There was strawberry lemonade, but that was about it. However, Keaten and Brianne got to do their first carnival ride, the Blue Angels, and their first pony ride! To say they had fun, would be an understatement, they can't wait for it to come around again next year.
During the summer Brianne got to go visit her Aunt's and Uncle's. The trip started out with visiting Aunt Megan and Uncle Rob where she painted her nails, went swimming and played at a park. While there she also got to see her Aunt Brittani and Uncle Nathan, along with cousin Judah.
The trip continued to Aunt Amber's and Uncle Kris's where she got to visit the Fort Wayne Zoo and feed the giraffes. She also got to go to a local splash pad which had a running river bed, which Keaten, Finten, and her all thoroughly enjoyed.
Not long after that trip, we went to Tennessee to visit Nana and Papa. While there we went to a huge consignment sale called Jack and Jules searching for fall/winter clothes, then we made our way to the Bush's Baked Beans museum/visitor center, a place that Brianne insisted we had to go back and visit! Each day in Tennessee ended in the kids playing in the pool, which probably felt great after we did a short hike in Cades Cove on one of the days.
After our trip to Tennessee, we were finally home for a full week and then headed off to Hocking Hills with her Uncle Andrew, Aunt Missy, Nana, and Papa. Staying in a cabin, we did a lot of grilling out, had a couple of bonfires, visited Lake Logan, and hiked to Old Man's Cave and Cantwell Cliffs. Brianne hiked both trails without any issue. In fact, she insisted on being the leader most of the way on each one. If you had to ask Brianne what she enjoyed most of the trip, it would have been.... Fishing! Aunt Missy and Uncle Andrew bought the kids fishing poles. We got a license and went down to Lake Logan with some bait, and along the way, I was telling Brianne, you'll have to be patient, as fishing is very much a waiting game. So Kami and I were thinking, this is going to be great, she'll have to work on her patience today! Boy were we wrong. We got there, and Brianne got her rod all setup, baited, and cast it over the dock, within 2 minutes, she caught a good size perch! Her first cast and she got a fish! One may chalk that off to beginners luck, but that evening we went to a pond near the cabin and she did it again! First cast, caught a fish! So the lesson learned from this fishing adventure, take Brianne with you!
Later when we were ready to head home, Papa asked Brianne how big her fish was, and Brianne instinctively understood how to tell a fish story and spread her arms as wide as she could. I have no idea how she knew to answer it that way, but it sure got a few laughs and that made her smile as big as big can be. We came back home Thursday and that evening we got to go to Brianne's school orientation. She got to see her classroom, meet her teacher, Mrs. Dwyer, meet one of the nurses, find the gym, the cafeteria, and so much more. She was enthused! And her first day of school, which was on August 21st, was an absolute blast for her. Mommy, not so much, but for Brianne, she was ready and excited and from what I've heard, she talked non-stop the entire way home.
That was our fun packed summer and we'll start doing more frequent blog posts again now that school has begun and there will likely be a lot more to talk about!
Love,
Matthew, Kami, Brianne and Keaten