Hocking Hills Camping Trip

Several months ago, our college friends, the Pullmanns, suggested doing a camping to get together with all their Ohio friends. We settled on Hocking Hills State Park, which was really convenient for us as it's only 60 miles away. The Petries, Kevin and his girlfriend, Morgan, and Lydia were all able to join as well. There were five children under three years old on the trip, which made it a little more chaotic than I am used to. 

Sam and I drove down on Friday evening after work. Saturday was a beautiful summer day. We hiked around Rose Lake at the campground and then walked around Ash Cave.

Inga in her little perch

Morgan, Kevin, Nathan, Joy, Lydia, William, Inga, and Sam (L to R)
Stephen and Laila were in the car napping. Little Esther is napping on Nathan's back and Ransom was running around somewhere.

Ash Cave

The girls minus Laila (and William snuck in there)

The kids loved playing in the wa-wa.

Kevin needed a shower :)

I was tempted to stand under the fall, but thought it would be a bit cold.

Beautiful Ash Cave

Unfortunately, Sunday morning we woke up to rain. Inga didn't really get enough sleep on the trip and was super cranky when she woke up at 7am. We just decided to pack up and head home. I would have liked to see more of the park, but I figure we are so close we'll just go down for a day trip later.

Also, unfortunate, I have to say the campground was very noisy and not tent friendly. The fire ring at our campsite was several inches off the ground and would have been dangerous if we had used it. The Saturday movie night was very near our site. The movie was very loud and played late into the night. It made it difficult for Inga to get to sleep. The upside was the pool and swing set. The kids really loved going to the pool Saturday after hiking.

Memorial Day Weekend in Baltimore

For Memorial Day weekend, we went to Maryland to visit my cousin and her family. I hadn't seen my cousin since my wedding and during that time she'd gotten married and had a baby! Sheesh, it was about time we visited. 

We arrived Saturday afternoon and relaxed a bit from all the driving. We decided to grab dinner at the nearby Dogfish Head pub. We all chowed down on some tasty fish and then decided to work of dinner at a park. The park had a castle themed playground. Inga went down every slide. She climbed everywhere and wanted to do everything. Good thing Mommy still fits in all the usual playground apparatus.

Driving the choo-choo.

 The next day we headed to the Baltimore Inner Harbor for some sightseeing. We toured the USS Constellation. Inga had a blast running around all the decks. Plus, she was able to pretty much play with whatever she wanted. It was much fun.

Ringing the ship's bell.

Fox and Ornery manned the cannons!

It was a little touch and go pulling up to the dock.

The whole family

 After a snack-time break, we took the water taxi over to Ft. McHenry and walked around the grounds. Inga was super cranky at this point and really needed a nap, but refused to nap in the stroller. She really loved all the boat rides, though. She talked about boats for about a week afterwards and really wanted to go on more boat rides. Sorry, sweetie, you live in the wrong part of the country.

The Twinting family and two cranky Wileys.

We ended our Baltimore adventure with dinner on the water with my uncle. The kiddos were actually really well behaved in the restaurant. I mean, Inga stood next to my chair for the second half of dinner getting in the way of all the waiter, but she wasn't screaming.

We walked around the neighborhood Monday morning and then all took afternoon naps. We headed back home and, just my luck, hit a deer outside Wheeling, WV. My car does not play well with that stretch of I-70 (she had an unfortunate encounter with a truck tire 4 years ago outside Washington, PA). Fortunately, no one was hurt and my car just sustained body damage so we continued our drive home. Other than the stupid deer, it was a great weekend.

Spring Plantings

Since going to California for a little spring break, spring has finally arrived in Ohio. For us, that means lots of yard work planting, mowing, mulching, burning, pruning, etc. This time last year our yard was mostly dirt. It has come a long way since then, but we are ambitious amateur landscapers so the work continues. 

Today, we mulched the kitchen herb garden and front flower bed. We plant the herbs in the front of the house because that is closest to the kitchen. Two rosemary and one oregano plant made it through the winter and Sam added some tarragon, more oregano, thyme, lemon verbena, and pineapple sage. He plans to add basil in a week or so now that we are frost free (cross fingers). 

Sam bought me lots of annuals to fill in between the perennials in the front flower bed. All of the perennials we planted last year came back. It was a Mama-Llama-You-Came-Back kind of moment for me. Our house faces north so everything seemed to be delayed 2-3 weeks in returning. Even my daffodils are late bloomers (although the crocus weren't). Anyway, the front of the house looks much more polished now that the hanging pots are up and beds are mulched. Next year we'll have to buy mulch in bulk. I fit 10 x 2 cuft bags in my car, but that is pretty much the limit. The 20 cu ft only covered what's in the pictures and 1.5 trees in the back. 

 Sam ordered river pebble last year for general landscaping. We've used it lots of places to aid drainage and add visual interest. We even covered a large portion beneath our deck with rocks. Well, there's still a lot of rocks left and they are sitting our front yard. We filled in between our raised beds today with rocks since that area will get pretty trampled and be hard to mow, but we still have more rocks! And they need to be moved so we can plant two pretty crabapples there! Sam is working hard to move the rock pile into our lovely drainage ditch between our property and our neighbors. Inga is not so sure she likes us moving her mountain of rocks.

Sam has also cleared a large section of our backyard that was originally briars and weeds. He cleared it by starting a brush fire a few weeks ago and then went in to take out the briar stumps and such. Now we have the beginnings of more lawn. In the process, we discovered we have a couple walnut trees and several white crabapples back there. We are trying to clear out the vines that are covering the trees.

Here's all the trees we have including the biggest walnut in the middle of the picture (the tree with two trunks). Around the walnut tree (big twee!) is Inga's flower garden. She picked out several seed packets at the store and helped plant them all.

Inga also helped me plant the baby twee we got at an Arbor Day festival. It's a white flowering dogwood. Right now the tree consists of a tiny stick about one foot tall, but hopefully the tree survives to maturity.

And, now, I am off to finish planting the second raised bed and my small flower pots. It also looks like tonight's menu will include a fresh spinach salad. Yum!

Spring Break 2013

I can't make it through a midwest winter without a spring break somewhere warm and sunny. Sam was going to a trade show in Anaheim, CA in early March. I figured this was the perfect opportunity for a family spring break. 

Sam left mid-week for the show and Inga and I followed on Friday. This was the second time flying by myself with Inga. We had a direct flight from Columbus to LAX and purchased Inga her own seat. She slept for most of the flight and it worked out really well. I was exhausted by the end since I was Mommy Pack Mule. Inga is getting her own backpack so she can carry some of her stuff.

My purse was full of all her animal friends.

We were staying at the Disney Paradise Pier hotel, which has character breakfast at the restaurant. We went down for breakfast on Saturday with Uncle Dan and a couple co-workers (who where still working the show). Inga pretty much freaked out at the characters (Mickey, Pluto, Daisy, and Stitch). She screamed and cried through most of it and only wanted to sit between Daddy and Uncle Dan (the two great protectors). It was rather amusing, actually. Fortunately, that was the only really traumatic experience of the weekend.

 Sam still had to work on Saturday. Inga and I joined Sam at the show (yes, kids were allowed on the show floor or there was daycare upstairs). This was the Natural Products Expo West, which is a show for consumer brands to find retailers (basically). That meant there were tons of companies giving out awesome samples to their target audience: mommies! We scored some sweet samples because Inga is so darn cute. I wore her in the Ergo carrier at the show since that just works for us and I don't like to travel with a stroller. I got pretty tired of the gawking from middle-aged men. Haven't they seen a baby carrier before?

Inga and I played outside during lunch. She had fun running around on real grass.

My Omega Man and Omega Baby trying some frozen yogurt with Omega Swirl at the Barlean's booth.

 My parents drove down Saturday to see their granddaughter as she isn't on the West coast too often. On Sunday, we all went to Disneyland! It was very crowded, but I had a good time and Inga appeared to as well. We rode the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Columbia sailing boat, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and Star Tours (just Mommy and Daddy did that one). It was really nice having Grandma and Grandpa along to help corral Inga and push the stroller.

Riding the train around the park.

On the Jungle Cruise

Driving a car in Toon Town

She woke up from her nap with Minnie ears!

Inga, Mommy, and Grandma

 The next day we headed to the coast to see the Pacific Ocean and take a hike. We went to Crystal Cove State Park near Laguna Beach. The park consists of 3 miles of beach, an historic town, and el Moro Canyon. We hiked up the canyon along the ridge line. It was a perfect day.

View of the Pacific Ocean and Abalone Point on the left.

Walking along the ridge

Eating lunch on the trail

Crystal Cove beach looking towards Abalone Point

SAND and Wa-Wa!

We headed back to our hotel. Inga got her much needed afternoon nap and Mommy got her much needed In-n-out. Our day wasn't done yet. We decided to hit the pool at the Disneyland Hotel. (Side note: We stayed at the Paradise Pier, but the pool was closed so we got to use the Disneyland Hotel pool.) It was a really nice pool area with 2 swimming pools, 2 hot tubs, and 1 zero entry pool with water slides. There were also lifeguards, which is always nice with so many little ones running around. Inga cried when we left the pool.

But I'm not done swimming!

We left Tuesday afternoon and were suppose to arrive home around 11pm. However, our flight from Detroit to Columbus was delayed 4 hours! We got home around 4am. It was an extremely long day, but Inga actually handled it very well. We also got $50/person from Delta for the delay, which is better than a punch in the face. This is how we kept Inga busy at the airport in the middle of the night.

Lots of sugary snacks and drinks. That's a bag of M&M's in the picture.

Turn the terminal into your living room, i.e. throw your toys everywhere.

Inga was a great traveler, as usual. She fits right in with the family and loves to go places. She was upset when we had to leave the hotel. This bodes well for our big summer vacation to Switzerland.

Ornery's Story

This is the story of a little known member of our family, Ornery the Otter. Ornery was born at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in December 2011. We adopted him soon after Christmas. He and Inga quickly became best friends. They went everywhere together. An inseparable pair. He love Cheerios just like Inga. He loved yogurt just like Inga. His tail was a perfect teething toy. He was just the right size for snuggling and sucking your thumb. Ornery was able to comfort Inga in the gravest moments of distress. He always knew just what to say or not say.

Then one day Ornery went missing. Out of the blue, he just disappeared. He had done this once before, but it turned out he was just waiting at the babysitter's for Inga to return. Inga thought he would return again. Maybe one of her friends decided to take him home for the night or maybe he was just hiding. We searched and searched, but he was nowhere to be found. Inga went into mourning, which involved a lot of tears and screaming and kicking and biting. Her first broken heart.

Mommy and Daddy didn't know what to do so we turned to the Internet for an answer. We found him hiding out on the other side of the country. We called him home. He arrived home and even brought Inga one of her favorite toys, a box. But, he was a changed Ornery. He had grown up!

Like old friends, Inga and Ornery quickly forgave each other for any passed transgressions. His reasons for leaving and his sudden return will remain a secret shared between he and Inga. But normal family life has been restored at the Wiley house, so I will not ask many questions. 

And then Ornery's cousin decided move in. Kinda weird, but it's cool now.

Business Vacation

Last weekend, we went to Lansing, MI for a winter retreat. Okay, not really. Wiley's Finest was exhibiting at a women's expo so of course Sam was going. Inga and I tagged along not wanting to be home alone all weekend. The show was Friday through Sunday. Inga and I spent all Friday at the show taking our indoor walk. I had never been to a women's expo before, but it was pretty interesting. There were lots of MLMs (Avon, MaryKay, Tupperware, etc.), travel information, and plenty of random weird stuff like palm readers.

The Wiley's Finest booth selling the world's best fish oil concentrates.

 On Saturday, Inga and I avoided the packed show and headed across the street to the science museum, Impression5. It is a really great science museum for younger children.

Having the most fun at the water table. Wa-wa!

Playing with Legos.

On Sunday, Inga and I, again, helped sell some fish oil. Inga is actually really good at selling fish oil. Go figure. Uncle Dan was also at the show helping out Wiley's Finest. Auntie Beth brought the kiddos along like me so Inga and Ethan got to hang out a bit. Inga and Ethan had a great time playing in the car on display. This greatly annoyed the car salesman. Too bad, buddy. It's either this or two screaming toddlers.

Vroom, vroom.

 Inga does not like over salted food, which does not bode well when eating out all the time. She spent the weekend eating a lot of ketchup.

Yes, my daughter is sucking the ketchup out of the little fast food ketchup cup.

Christmas 2012

Christmas is long gone, but I just now got around to downloading pictures. Christmas through New Years was all set to be a fun filled week. Anna and Michael were coming down from Michigan for Christmas and my parents were flying out from California for the whole week. Things started out well, but then I came down with the flu the day after Christmas and then my parents got sick! We still managed to have some fun. Inga got thoroughly spoiled by having Grandma and Grandpa out for a week. She was definitely disappointed when things returned to normal, but she has since gotten over that (fortunately.)

Anna and Michael stayed with us for a few nights the weekend before Christmas. We started the week of feasting off with leg of lamb for Anna, Michael, Becs, Dan, Beth, Ethan, and Zoey.

All ready for Wiley Christmas at Uncle Joshua's and Aunt Marsha's on Christmas Eve. Inga picked out her snow boots to wear with her dress.

Uncle Joshua with his daughter and niece.

Sam and Michael at Wiley Christmas.

Inga and Sam scoring some sweet deals on Christmas hams!

The obligatory stocking picture on Christmas Eve.

Inga with her big present on Christmas morning. She likes to read and eat snacks in her chair.

Helping Grandpa unwrap his present.

Playing with Grandma in the big snow.

Enjoying the warm, green Franklin Conservatory while it continued to snow outside.

Walking through the rainforest.

Inga helping to shovel the driveway.