Ohio Trip Part 4 (Everything Else)

Our trip to Ohio (in June!) was SO full of adventures, its taken 4 blog entries just to share some of the photos! We had a blast playing at Ben and Nancy’s house. Hank really liked a lot of their toys and books. And the rain! It actually rained (several times) while we were there (a foreign sight for us this summer as we’re in a drought with mandatory water restrictions where we live). Hank and James had the best time playing in the rain, jumping in puddles and running around – and we thought they looked incredibly cute in the rain coats.

We met up with our friend Julie (who lives there) while we were in Ohio. Hank thought she was so fun (because she is!).  Ben and Nancy took Hank and I (Tyler had to go home early for work) to Ye Olde Mill Velvet Ice Cream Factory in Utica where we enjoyed some delicious ice cream and had fun seeing a few animals. We also enjoyed a long walk on a nature trail there. We visited the ducks and the fish in the pond and played on the playground. It was a fun and very full day!

On our last day in Ohio, Ben and Nancy took us to COSI (Center of Science and Industry). Hank had a good time there checking out all the exhibits. We visited a dinosaur exhibit and Hank wanted nothing to do with the animatronic dinos and their roaring or the atmospheric lighting. He did like the educational maze and the video games (cool game where you have to keep your dinosaur alive by finding food, water and shelter and fending off predators) and driving the Jeep (that had a movie screen in it showing where you were driving). From what Hank shared with me, he wasn’t a big fan of most of the dinosaurs in that particular exhibit. He said that the dinosaurs there were “only pretending to be dinosaur bones, they’re not real!”. He’s very interested in dinosaur bones – animatronic dinosaurs? Not so much. Hank’s favorite part of all of COSI was the hot air balloons. You’d push a button to fill the balloons with hot air and then let them fly. He loved it! In fact, he keeps asking to go back and “fly the hot air balloons” I sense a hot air balloon festival sometime in our future….

Hank and I had some adventures at the airport when our connecting flight was delayed and then eventually cancelled. As things turned out, we were able to get on a plane that landed 3 hours drive from home. One of our friends, Tim, happened to be on the same cancelled flight as us (we ran into each other in the airport) and he took that flight with us. His wife, Lois, decided to drive and pick us all up (at 2am!). They were such a blessing! Tim and I were glad we got to share that experience. I wasn’t all by myself with a toddler and he got to join our family for family boarding! Hank had a blast the whole time – he loves the moving sidewalks and even though he didn’t fall asleep until 5 minutes before our flight landed (what’s that all about? he got up at 5am the previous morning, which is 4am our time!), he was such a great traveler. He entertained himself with stickers, puzzles, we read a bunch, had some snacks, coloring, etc. It was completely exhausting (I had quite a few caffeinated beverages that day/night/morning), but such a blessing to have a child who actually loves traveling – good thing since he’s a part of our family, we love to travel!

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