School Days

Maris started school at the end of August.  She LOVES it.  She is always disappointed on days off and the weekend.  I wonder how long that will last!   

Staycation

That is not my favorite word, but it really did describe our vacation this year.  Paige was only six months old and we didn't really feel like we had it in us to drive or fly anywhere too far from home.  Instead we thought of all the places within a two hour drive that we hadn't ever been to.

First up, the moon.

Kidding!  We visited the Cleveland Children's Museum for the first time.  It was nice enough, but to be perfectly honest, it's got nothing (really, nothing) on the Denver Children's Museum.

The next day we headed to the Akron Zoo.  None of us had ever been there either.  It was fantastic!  What a great zoo for young children.  Don't misunderstand, anyone would enjoy the Akron Zoo, but there were so many special touches and attractions specific to the preschool set.

Mama likes the penguins!

Frontier Town

Petting zoo area with train, barn, and cow-milking.

Amish Country was next.  That was a long day, but we had a ton of fun and got our fill of cheese and baked goods!  We also visited the West Side Market and the Great Lakes Science Center.  I'm actually really glad we opted to do our vacation this way.  We were able to show our girls some of the fun adventures they can have right here at home and discover some of the Cleveland area treasures we had been missing as well!

Tribe Time

We took the girls to another Tribe game in July.  I was invited to attend in the Indians Social Suite.  The Social Suite was a new feature at the stadium last season.  It was a very busy at the Jake that day!

Lots of fun things for Maris and Daddy.

The day we went was chock full of great stuff for the kids.  These robots were out on the Gateway Plaza along with the Jungle Terry Animal Show, the Game Stop video gaming tent, “outfield wall jump” photos, batting cages, and speed pitch.  There was a Dunk Tank, 300 plus tons of sand and “Fins to the Left”-Buffet/Beach Boys Cover Band for "Beach Weekend."  It was Slider's birthday so he was giving out vouchers for birthday cupcakes.  And Crave Chocolate Milk had a tent up, handing out samples.  What a great day to head to the baseball game!

Something for Mama, too!

PS - Omar was there. 

Bad Blogging

I've been a bad bad blogger.  I wonder what the most popular month for blogging is (if there is one).  I'll be it is January when everyone is feeling like they need to make or keep New Years Resolutions.  I don't make them, but if I did, keeping up with my blogs would be one! 

Contrary to how it looks, we didn't just drop off the face of the earth since July.  And I even have photographic proof!  Over the next few days I'll try to post some fun things from our second half of 2011.

Happy 2012, all!

An Elephant Never Forgets

They're back!  The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo built a beautiful new habitat for its biggest residents.  The finished product is gorgeous.  The animals seem to love it as well.  I hope it really shines a spotlight on our wonderful zoo.

There are two huge outdoor spaces.

The elephants have indoor space as well - to escape the cold Cleveland winters, I presume.

We loved the new elephant exhibit and can't wait to go back to visit!

While we were there, we figured we would say hello to some of the other animals too.  During our last visit of 2010, we were hoping to see the baby rhino that had been born.  It was too young to be out yet though.  This time he (she?) was wandering around the rhino yard with his mama.

And finally the polar bears are always a favorite with the Hughes Family.

Hey, wait a minute...

Strawberry Fields Forever

We took the girls strawberry picking at the end of June.  We picked a ton of strawberries and ate a fair share in the field too! Paige was even a good sport in the baby carrier.

Ready to go!

It was cold that day.

Johnny did the bulk of the picking.

And Maris did the bulk of the tasting!

Now let's go home and make something yummy!

We used our strawberries for strawberry ice cream, strawberry upside down cake, and strawberry pie.  Not to mention, plenty of eating them right out of the bowl!

The Morning After

The wedding, as I have said, was fabulous.  However, since D and V live out of town, they had to do things in a whirlwind.  Bachelor and bachelorette parties, rehearsals, fittings, the wedding, after parties, and Cedar Point, all took place within one week.  I think this picture sums up how most of us felt at the end.

Dad.  Take me home.  Put me to bed.  I.am.done.