Thunderstorms

There's something mesmerizing about thunderstorms. I love to watch and listen to them as they roll across the sky.  I captured some video of one moving into Columbus this morning. Working as a videographer for storm chasers would be a great gig.

Bustin' 'Coons

We've had regular nighttime visits from a raccoon over the last few weeks. There were no major problems until Cheryl and the girls bought flowers and planted them in pots on the deck. Two nights later Cheryl awoke around midnight to the coon rummaging through her pots, tearing her flowers out. (apparently they like to eat the fertilizer??) Then, a few days later I found the bird feeder busted apart and all the bird seed dumped out and eaten. Well, that was the last straw. I decided it was time for the coon to go. I was gonna shoot it with the 22 my brother in-law gave me, but Cheryl won't go for that. So I borrowed a live trap and caught him Sunday night. Here's what he had to say:

Rain......Please!

We recently completed tilling, grading and seeding of our front yard (about an acre). It took a few days to complete. We put down 250 lbs. of grass seed and we removed an incredible amount of rocks too. Now we're hoping for some rain. I'll post a follow-up pic once things green up. There's lots more to do if anyone is bored and feels like doing some work in the great outdoors!

Backyard Guests

Here's a video I took this morning of 3 deer in our backyard.  They were quite close to the house. They've been coming around more frequently lately. If they keep that up until Fall my freezer will be full!

April Events

I missed posting several events from April so, here they are all together.

Decorating Easter Eggs PICTURES

Cincinnati Museum of Natural History PICTURES

Newport Aquarium PICTURES

8th Anniversary Getaway

Cheryl and I celebrated our 8th anniversary over the weekend. Cheryl found a neat retreat up in Holmes County, the heart of Amish country. We left Saturday morning and returned Monday evening. It was a much needed getaway for us both and we really enjoyed ourselves.

We stayed at The Inn and Spa at Honey Run just outside of Millersburg. It was very secluded and offered everything you'd need for a quiet retreat. They have an Inn with rooms, a restaurant, games and more. In addition to the inn and spa, they also offer cottages, lofts, the Monarch house and the Honeycomb rooms where we stayed. The Honeycombs were neat because they are built into the side of a hill. The view was beautiful. Each room has it's own stone fireplace too.

There were also several acres of woods with hiking trails. We enjoyed hiking those and watching the birds, squirrels and chipmunks. Some of the other natural features include Honey Run Creek and a pond.

The highlight of our stay was probably Cheryl's anniversary gift.

I bought her the matching band to her wedding rings, so she now 

has a band on either side of her engagement ring. She was shocked when I pulled that out! (go me!)

We also visited many of the shops of Amish country. We visited 2 cheese factories/shops, Heine's and Guggisburg cheese where we sampled all kinds of cheeses. We also visited Lehman's which is a variety store with all sorts of things ranging from furniture, tools, stoves, kitchen supplies, gifts, books and more. We visited The Ashery which is an Amish bulk food store and several other country shops.

We had a wonderful time and plan to return again soon. We would certainly recommend a visit to the Inn at Honey Run or any of the many B&B's in Amish country. See all the pictures from our trip HERE!

Delaney Rides Again

Delaney rode her new bike for the first time yesterday. She got the bike for her birthday back in November, but yesterday was her first chance to ride it. She'd never ridden a "big girl" bike before but she did very good.

Family Time

We had a good time visiting with the Wade side of the family about a week ago.

Jeremy & Jessica were up from Tulsa visiting so we had a fun get-together at Charesia and Steve's place in Columbus. See all the pics HERE.

Kindergarten Field Trip to Boonshoft

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go with Jace's kindergarten class on a field trip.  We went to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton.

I had a group of 6 kids that I was responsible for, including Jace and Tyler (my nephew). It was an exhausting day (for me anyway!), but we had a lot of fun. The museum is great for kids. There's so much to see and do there and it's all hands-on.

See all the pics here.

Valentine's Day Fun

Cheryl and I were asked to help out with Caidryn's Valentine's Day party at school earlier this month. Cheryl planned the games and I decided to spice things up and go as "Brutha Love". 

My mission was to walk the halls and spread the love.   See all the pictures here.