Ma and Pa's Blog

Hot and humid with plenty of rain, but I really enjoyed our time in The Hocking Hills. Having the family together in one place is the BEST. The grandsons’ enthusiasm and energy was contagious (well, maybe the enthusiasm to a greater degree than the energy). Hiking, cooking and eating, playing games, laughing and just hanging out together made for a great week. Mike and Jeff (and sometimes I) entertained and annoyed audiences with “canjo” music(?) — that’s music on a banjo made from a stick, a tin can, and a guitar string, which Mike and Jeff discovered at a local antique store. The grandsons built elaborate scenes and structures with dominoes and Jenga blocks. We team-cooked pizzas and Sebastian discovered Moon Pies. Owen ruled the kiddie swimming pool. Caleb lost his second tooth — deja vu all over again. We saw deer, wild turkey, and more butterflies than we’ve seen in decades. Anna-Marie and Mike caught fish (Anna-Marie’s first). Pa stunk up Lake Logan trying to clear a dead fish from the shore near our picnic table — which only stirred up more eau d’ dead fish. Sorry. Anyway, here are some snapshots from the week.

Today we harvested the grapes. I’d mentioned that the yield didn’t look too good, but we ended up with about 13 pounds — just 2 pounds short of what we needed for three batches of jelly. So we supplemented with two pounds from our Sunday drive to Geneva. By dinner time, we had 25 jars of grape jelly (20 8-ounce jars, and 5 pints) plus a small storage container. Not bad for half a day’s work.

Harvest Before

Harvest After

We spent the afternoon having a Five Guys burger and fries (our second visit, and this time we noticed the burger, which was overshadowed by the excellent fries during our first visit) and strolling Holden Arboretum. It was a pleasant visit for a day predicted to be wet and stormy. The gardens were beautiful, though some were past their peak for the season.

We just returned from a fantastic week at Hocking Hills. Too bushed to write much, but the photos are worth a thousand words each, right?

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• We had a picnic.
• We played miniature golf.
• We ate ice cream & drank lemonade.
• We watched a monster (Owen) chase Sebastian & Caleb.
• We ate sloppy joes.
• We ate blueberry pancakes.
• We walked in the woods.
• We made campfires and ate smores.
• We climbed up to a cave.
• We took naps.
• We learned to transform and untransform Transformer things.
• We ate hamburgers and hotdogs.
• We drove (and rode) a pontoon boat.
• We lost a tooth (Sebastian’s 1st) and were visted by the tooth fairy ($5 – wow!).
• We ate ribs.
• We saw deer (5 or 6) and wild turkeys and chip”bonks” (Owen)
• We rode in a van with satellite radio.
• We played horseshoes.
• We played hottub volleyball.
• We farted — real and whoopie cushion versions.
• We ate spaghetti and meatballs and vegan sausage.
• We watched Blues Clues and Johnny Dangerously (adults for latter).
• We saw the world’s largest washboard and the last US factory that makes washboards.
• We ate more blueberry pancakes and Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Bran Flakes (Grandpa).
• We bought peaches and made cobbler.
• We saw logging machinery up close.
• We learned to count to 21 (blackjack as an educational tool) — dealer goes bust (YEAH!)
• We played bingo (rhymning and vowels) and a matching game and Jenga.
• We soaked each other with water guns, and sometimes the pitcher used to fill them.
• We toured Old Man’s Cave — most beautiful and amazing.
• We watched bugs and listened to birds.
• We went to a restaurant and spilled water and laughed.
• We had to go home . . . dang!

Ma’s window boxes are looking great.

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As you can see, Spring has sprung here in NE Ohio.   See the fluffy blooms on the pussy willow?

Spring?

We just returned from a great week in Laurelville Ohio — near Old Man’s Cave. Here is a link to our photo album. It was great spending time with our grandsons, our sons, and our daughters-in-law. The week went by in a flash, but we plan to savor the memories and we’re already looking forward to future gatherings.