Newport Aquarium Birthday Trip

We all decided to play hooky on the Friday after the twins turned 2. The kids were kind of under the weather when they woke up, but we had planned this big exciting day and decided that it probably wouldn't be worth staying home and just waiting it out to see if the kids were going to be sick or not. No one had a fever and everyone was eating breakfast fine, so we took our chances.

We made it down to Newport without any issues. We had watched a Man Vs Food Nation two night prior to that. It had featured a restaurant called Tom + Chee's, which specializes in these crazy grilled cheese sandwiches. We got there at 11, right when they opened.




We had a Macaroni & Cheese sandwich and a Blueberry Donut grilled cheese that had bleu cheese on it. We also had a hot peppery grilled cheese with lunchmeat on it, too, but we didn't snap a picture of it. Probably because we were having technical difficulties. Jamie puked right on me. I saw him lurching and grabbed him to rush him to the bathroom, but we didn't make it. :(





However, he otherwise seemed okay- just a little tired. But we were right next to the aquarium, so we decided to once again take our chances.




We stopped to see a dive show that was starting, but we only lasted about 5 minutes before the kids just wanted to run around the room. So we went and explored the aquarium.




We did all of the hands-on activities. Here, they were touching starfish.




Here are a few of the sea creatures that we got to see that day.






We went into the Larakeet area. That is always fun. Jon bought the nectar. The kids were all obsessed with the chain curtains going in and out of the area. We had to keep coaxing them over to the bird area.



Their claws are quite sharp!




Poor Cam got a little concerned at first. But soon, they were all fascinated with them. Well, Cam was still timid, I guess. But he wasn't terrified!





We spent a while going through all of the tunnels. Corbin really loved seeing all of the creatures swimming above him.



















Petting the sharks




Just for kicks, we put him on the scale to see if we could get an estimated weight. Somewhere in the low 40's, we believe (it was hopping around quite a bit!)




Then we were able to stop for a brief second and look at the penguins. Then the kids started running in every which direction, so it was time to go!





Posing for a quick pic



We let Corbin run around and play tag with Daddy outside for a little bit before we got back in the car.






We got home and I realized that I hadn't thought ahead for dinner plans, so we went out to BW3. The boys ate very well, but then all of a sudden... ERP! Corbin threw up all of his dinner at the table. What a strange little virus they all had. They thankfully recovered really quickly and we were able to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Nationwide Insurance Columbus Marathon

I fulfilled my bucket list item and 2011 resolution by running in the Columbus marathon on October 16th. I don't think that I have been both as excited and nervous for an event other than my wedding and the birth of all of the boys. It was so exciting and there was so much build-up before the race.

I started to officially train at the end of May, and trained all summer long for this one event. It was so worth it.

Here I am on the morning of the race:



Here we are downtown:



Can you see me?



Ready to go!




My mom came over the night before to watch the boys so that Jon could come down with me. I'm so glad that he was able to do that because seeing him on the sidelines twice was a big motivator. Also as motivation, I wrote a list of people to run certain miles for. I kept miles 1-3 and the last few for myself because I knew I might be distracted, but for the meat of the race, I remembered or thought of or prayed for certain people who inspire me/have inspired me. I really used the list, too. I pulled it out about 5 times during the run to double check who I was running which mile for. It really kept me going and kept my mind in the right place, too. I also wrote down this verse that my friend Shelly gave to me: "those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will
run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Is. 40:31


They always set off fireworks as the start gun goes off.



Jon caught a shot of the front-runner in the wheelchair race:



Here I am at mile 9, where Jon first spotted me on the course:



This was after 20 miles. I will never forget that some people in the crowd gave out Yuengling shots at mile 18.



Tweet My Time was auto-posting my times as I crossed over certain checkpoints during the race. My Dad was also tracking me on the marathon's webpage. The system gave Jon a pretty good idea as to when I was going to pass by him.



Running along...



Approaching the finish! I'll admit, I started to cry when I saw that finish line.





Crossing the finish line at 4:19:08 from the gun








and here's the Tweet My Time post to Facebook



Just finished!




Then we went to Boston's and had some pizza and Yuengling to celebrate! I was pretty sore that afternoon and the following day, but then I felt pretty good after that. I am thinking that I might want to try to improve that time next year. We'll see if Jon lets me. It's a lot of training!

Trick or Treat!!

Boy, was this a fun year for Halloween at our house! The twins are just getting to the age where they can start to appreciate the decorations and festivities surrounding Halloween.

I carved all of the pumpkins this year, but I let Corbin pick the 2 designs out of the template book. His favorite was the one with the skeleton and the cat. He also wanted a sad pumpkin, but then he was disappointed when it looked so sad, so he chose the next one to be happy. The fifth pumpkin (the surprised one), he did not design because he had already went to bed, but he was happy with it when he woke up.

The kids really enjoyed having their jack-o-lanterns lit up.



We took our annual trip to Pigeon Roost in Hebron. It was exhausting. We let the kids run wherever they pleased this year, without the aid of a stroller. It was sort of like herding cats. We were so worn out by the time our day trip was over.







They all really loved the big slide this year. They wanted to repeat it over and over again. That was one of the trickiest parts of the farm because it was so crowded and we were trying to give each child a turn and send them back up to the other parent waiting in the line. But they loved it!








As always, they had lots of animals to look at.









Chasing the turkeys...



Of course, you have to go down a few slides at Pigeon Roost!



We've never tried the hamster wheels before. The boys decided to give it a try. Cam wasn't interested, though.



Jamie was all for it!



Daddy got in on the fun!





Jamie and Corbin went through the teepee crawl







The twins liked hanging out on the choo choo



They tried this maze, too





Cam thought about it... but, no.



They had the camels out!



Corbin and Jamie crawled through the tunnel swings







Then they picked their little pumpkins and brought them up to the checkout.








We had about an hour before the twins had to be down for a nap, so since we were already out that way, we stopped by Dawes Arboretum to look at the autumn foliage. We only had time to do the Japanese garden. We took pics on the way to the garden as well.

Corbin had fun playing "airplane" on Daddy's shoulders






Some of the pretty Japanese gardens







Cute little guys posing along the way















All tuckered out. The twins fell asleep in the car on the way home. We were pretty tired, too!



All of the fall fun led up to a very fun Halloween night. We went with a 101 Dalmatians theme this year.



Corbin really got into trick or treating this year. He ran from house to house collecting candy. However, he got pretty exhausted after only 5 or 6 houses. But, we made it around the block (skipping a few houses along the way for time's sake).







Cruella and her dalmatian pups!



Trick or Treat!









Towards the end, we let the twins walk around if they chose to. Corbin was tired at that point and wanted to ride in the wagon anyway.



They each took turns helping with the candy passing. Corbin was the cutest when he asked someone, "Oh, and what are you dressed as?" I wish I could have caught it on video!