With a car jammed packed full, Dad drove us to the airport. Our flight to Ohio went incredibly well, and Mom was proud of our behavior- no tantrums at all! Stepping off the plane we felt a chill in the air, and boy did it feel nice (it was 100 when we left Arizona that morning). After loading 4 suitcases, 4 carry-ons, 2 car seats, and one stroller into a Ford Focus (Mom is a geometrical genius when it comes time to loading vehicles), we drove straight to the Grzelaks.
It was as if we had never left- Ashlyn, Riley Thomas, and I all picked up right where we had left off.
The following morning, after a family style breakfast with the Grzelaks (something I'd been looking forward to ever since we left), Ashlyn, Riley, Macie, and I all went to a park in Powell for "touch a truck!" I couldn't believe our timing was SO perfect(the event only runs once a year)!
We ran in and out of vehicles,
Macie was particularly fond of the milk truck,
while the rest of us flocked to Sponge Bob!
It wasn't until Macie saw a big skunk that her interest was piqued again...
We had an amazing time at "touch a truck" with our friends!
Early Monday morning I went with Ashlyn to gymnastics and even got to participate in class with my old teacher Miss Mel and all my friends. They couldn't believe how much I had grown, and really couldn't believe what a big girl Macie was!
After gymnastics we went over to the BIG RED BARN for some more runnin' around.
Later that afternoon Mom, Macie, and I went over to Jeannie's house. Jeannie is our friend from Kroger (the florist we visited almost daily) whom we couldn't wait to spend time with.
We had a pizza party at her house and Rose, another friend of ours from Kroger, came over with her grand-kids!
The three of us girls had a blast running around Jeannie's yard together.
Macie got a little nervous watching Mom give attention to another baby, so she spent most of her time on the porch. The second Mom would pick up the baby she would run over and yell "no baby", while pulling at the babie's leg and hitting Mom. Though she played some games with us around the yard from time to time, she methodically kept one eye fixed on Mom.
After pizza, while the rest of us were playing, Macie stalked the baby waiting for the perfect time to pounce. Because Mom knew what Macie was doing she made sure to photograph it from afar.
First she nonchalantly walked onto the porch and spyed the baby alone in his infant seat...
Then she "lay in the weeds" while plotting her next move...
When no one was looking, Macie ran over to the baby, pulled his socks off and hit him...
We stayed at Jeannie's long into the night, until finally Mom insisted we go back to the Grzelak's to sleep.
We said our goodbyes to Jeannie and her family, and promised to come back and visit again soon!
The next morning Mom took Macie and I to the Columbus Zoo to visit all of our animal friends.
It was great to see Nile, and he even shuffled over to the wall to greet me!
All of the reptiles were happy to have me back, and even Macie enjoyed watching them slither around their tanks.
Our trip to the Zoo was filled with fun, and I loved reminiscing with Mom about all the time we spent here when I was young.
The Grzelak family came down with a bad case of the flu for a couple days, so Mom kept us out of the house. One morning we drove downtown and visited the science center- I couldn't believe Mom had never brought us here before, and neither could she- it was AWESOME!!!
There were tons of things to play with, look at,
and, most importantly, there were TONS of photo ops!!!
One of our favorite exhibits was the water room. Inside there were pools of water with different fountains, currents, and spouts. Because kids got so wet, there were rain coats for us to put on while we played.
Our time at the science center was amazing, and I hope to go to the one out in Arizona after we get home!!!
On Friday, after another morning at the Zoo we drove by our old house and stopped in to visit with Caroline and Megan, our old neighbors. It was SO much fun seeing them and playing in the yard- I sure miss that!!!
The Piatt's couldn't believe how big Macie was, and I couldn't believe that Megan had grown so much that she towered over me (keep in mind she is over a year younger than me)...
We stayed at their house for about an hour and Charles even set up the hammock so we could lounge around.
I had a blast with Megan, and remembered how nice it was to live so close to great friends-wah!
Before leaving for open gym we made sure to give everyone big hugs goodbye!
Driving away was hard; I missed my old house and neighbors in Ohio, but know that we will always be able to go back and visit!
We had a ton of fun that night at Open Gym. A ton of my friends were there, but seeing Jordan and Morgan was definitely the highlight!
All of us tooled around being silly and catching up on the last 6 months.
By the end of the evening I was exhausted, and neither Macie nor I had any trouble falling asleep that night.
Our first full week in Ohio lived up to, and exceeded, all of my expectations. I saw a ton of friends, and had already visited many of my favorite places. I couldn't believe that I was fortunate enough to still have one more week of fun in store. Check back soon to see all the fun that Mom had in store for week two in Ohio...
