This will be like many of my conversations....LONG. I can't help it. There is so much to catch up on. As many of you know, the Fat kid and I went traveling through the Buckeye State for nearly the last 3 weeks. First it was off to Cleveland to visit Nana and Pop-Pop (hyphen or no hyphen?). We arrived on Friday night at 3am. Delightful, huh? Chris had worked a full day, so he and I stopped speaking somewhere around Harrisburg. I'm not sure why anymore, but it was a good one. I'm really disappointed I can't remember...Oh well. Stream of conscience. After arriving in the middle of the night, I was able to sleep in because it was the beginning of my BIRTHDAY WEEK! Cheryll and I went for pedicures and lunch (which I drank). That resulted in a mid-afternoon nap. Overall, a great birthday. Clare really liked the cake. While in Cleveland, we had lots of yummy dinners. We also took Clare on her first trip to the zoo! It was really warm, so we packed her up and headed off the the Cleveland Zoo. Which was fun. Although, because Clare is 6 months old, she didn't really seem to grasp that she was seeing animals that typically live on other continents. (I know Jules, it was so obvious) I wasn't sure how to help her. I kinda got the impression that she thought they were variations of dogs. Like, surprised that Serena is the fattest animal she has ever seen, but impressed how other animals looked different. She was really into the fish. Especially those with stripes. Loved them. I had to kibosh the idea of a fish tank, ASAP. Now, I'm a pet person. However, I hate fish tanks. They are fine at other people's houses. I'm just not feeling them here. Chris has always wanted one. But, me...not so much. My friend commented this past weekend (and I'm paraphrasing) that her pets didn't really bring much to the table in her life and that's how I feel about fish. What do they do for you? So, I had to lay down the law at the aquarium before Chris started angling for a fish tank "for Clare". Cause if we are going to use that, Clare really wants Mommy to get her toes touched up. More than she wants a fish tank. So, below/above are pics from the zoo. The giraffes came really close to meet Sophie (who was probably more expensive than the ones at the zoo). Clare also liked some of the monkeys. I hated the cheetahs. He looked like he could easily get out. I was not impressed with the zoo's security system for keeping animals far enough away. I like glass, 40ft. tall fences, etc. Not nearly dry moats. Did they learn nothing from the tiger in San Fran? Seriously. Pop-Pop loved this tree kangaroo. LOVED IT. I think the keeper was watching him to ensure Pop-Pop didn't try to bring home a friend for Missy. Daddy was a fan of this lazy koala bear. Apparently they sleep 23 hours a day.
Next we were on to Cincy. We made a minor pit stop at the Outlets, where I shopped like a crazy person for an hour while Chris and Clare played. Thursday night the whole family showed up to see the baby. I think they may have a GPS tracker on my car. I'm always confused as to how they know exactly when we arrive in town. Grandma and Grandpa were waiting on the front porch to race to the car for first dibs. We celebrated my birthday on Friday night, with the best cake ever.
We were able to see Aunt Becky while we were in town on her big move to the Lonestar state! On Saturday we had dinner plans with Aunt Heather and Uncle Seth. Shanghi Mama's. SO YUMMY! I'm still dreaming of the appetizers.
Sunday, Chris left to head back to Jersey baby free. He was sad, although I'm sure he didn't miss the "Soapbox Second". This is where I wait until we are trapped in the car and begin to discuss something that is sure to start a "discussion".
It results in any of the following:
(a) we don't speak until Harrisburg
(b) I call others to give support to my clearly factual claims
(c) Chris probably debates if the Dr. who did my tonsil surgery would have had a slip of the knife for $ that would have rendered me mute and why he didn't just try to bribe the guy
(d) I climb on my soapbox (which is harder than it used to be) and began to lecture on the subject with random references to potential studies that support my argument, go off on several tangents, get writers cramp in the my hands from all of the motioning and generally speak about 400 words per a minute.
(**D almost always wins**)
So, Chris left our sorry butts in Cleves and drove away. He claims he was bored on the trip, but who knows?
On Monday, we visited my favorite Goddaughter! Sophie, Susie, Wyatt and Anne were all doing great. They are all moved into their new house. Sophie showed me her awesome skillz on the interwez...I learned I love goo and glitter!
On Wednesday, Aunt Erin stayed the night. Ummmm, thank you. Seriously, that was fantastic. Despite having to share a bed with me (just like we were 5, except without the kicker), Aunt Erin helped me get tons of sleep. Then Aunt Erin and Grandma went to the park with us. We went to Fernbank first b/c we forgot there were no swings. Then we went to the Cleves BMX park, to play on the swings. Lots of fun! Clare loved the swings and she even fit in the bucket.
On Thurday, we celebrated Aunt Heather's birthday, where in the link, there are pictures of her smashing her own face into the cake. She's an interesting girl. Clare just watched in awe. Typically Clare is in trouble when she eats like that, but Aunt Heather is scary, so she got away with it. We also visited Great Grandma and Great Grandpa.
Friday was the FREEDOM FRIDAY! I went away for the weekend, leaving Clare to her very first overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's. Grandpa Kevin picked on me just a little to often, so I bribed Clare to get even. On Friday night, she decided to check in with Grandpa every 2 hours. All and all, it sounded like fun. When I checked in on her Saturday morning, I didn't even recognize his voice he was so tired. After a wild weekend of fun with the Morris Girls' Reunion, we returned home to a set of Grandparents that looked as if they had been run over by a truck. I giggled. Clare did exactly as planned.
Monday, we visited with G-3 and prepared for the flight of the century. Tuesday it was off the airport, where we had lots of fun. Both US Airways and TSA are super helpful to a lady with a baby. No one touched my formula or argued with me as to whether I had brought a reasonable amount. I made good friends on the flight with my neighbors and Clare only complained a little as we landed, but was distracted from being really mad because the neighbors had such wild stories and she is Mommy's daughter, so nothing is more important than gossip!
So, great trip home. Hopefully, we'll update more often now that we're home and please check out the shutterfly link for more pictures:) Miss you all already!
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