the Dollhouse of Horror!!!

FROM LIAM:

Sometimes, when when we went to Nana's house, the kids would go down to the dollhouse and put the dolls in dangerous positions, like hanging out of the window. They called it the Dollhouse of Horror, and every time, they would have a new theme. After they were done, they would invite everyone that was there to come and see their creation. they would make Shure that we could see every doll and they would explain how the different dolls were in dangerous or uncomfortable positions.

Apparently there was a smooching theme one time?

Here's an overview of the house with its overturned furniture and people hanging outside of the house.

The girl on top of the upside down lamp on the ceiling was one they were particularly proud of.

This was the bathroom attacking section - an overturned tub with a leg hanging out and dad's head in the toilet.

There are almost always multiple people outside of the house, hanging on for dear life.

The baby is always trapped somewhere.

Often the elevator on the right is crushing someone somehow, and there's typically a theme of some sort. Here is another one.

 

Cedar Point - a 16th birthday trip for Claire

Cedar Point Adventure!!!

As we were driving up, dad decided he REALLY wanted ice cream, so we decided to try the Chilly Jilly. I got a chocolate milkshake (dad doesn't remember what he got), and the straw was enormous!! It turned out to be a longer stop than we planned, but it was worth it!!

By the time we got to the hotel, it was night, and we were greeted with this scene. Apparently, we came in the middle of mayfly season. We came late enough and didn't park under a light, so we had relatively few mayflies on our car the following morning.

Our hotel was right on the lake, so before we headed out, we had to take a picture.

We're ready for our amazing adventure at Cedar point, that is, once we finally got through the fast pass line. We rode nearly all the coasters in the park, save a couple of kiddie coasters, and rode some of them several times. My favorites (in order) were Steel Vengeance, Maverick, Valravn and Gatekeeper. Dad liked Millennium Force too, but it was too shaky for my taste.

If you ever go to Cedar Point, go to the Mac Shack, it's delicious. They make their mac-&cheese by putting the noodles and the sauce (without cheese) in a big, carved out block of cheese and mixing it around. It's really cool.

First giga coaster in the world!

This ride was FANTASTIC!! It is definitely the best roller coaster I have ever ridden (and I have ridden some good ones, namely, the Velocicoaster, Maverick, and Hagrid's motorbike), and dad said it was even better than the Beast, which is saying something. It is worth any wait. I'm serious.

Maverick was also really good, and we rode it a lot of times as well.

The next morning, we took a run to the (very tiny) lighthouse!

The only dog, at this point in time, that I actually will pet - or get near to.

Dad in his happy place after our morning run - paddling on Lake Erie. It was surprisingly calm water.

We got some pre-lunch ice cream at the Ice Shanty, which was a little ice cream parlor right next to our hotel, and it was delicious.

 On our way back, we took a massive detour to Amish country and got way too much cheese at Heini's Cheese. Dad likes to buy cheese.

We also went to an Amish and Mennonite museum with a really cool mural depicting the history of the Anabaptist Christians. We went to an Amish diner to eat lunch. 

All in all, it was a great trip!

 

Summer activities

June is a time of a lot of church activities. Both Claire and Jacob had a stake camp activity, Jacob in Hocking Hills and Claire at Bear Creek Camp. A week later, they were at Ohio State at FSY. They came back feeling great - we are so grateful for opportunities for them to spend time around good kids that share the same values.

A NEW CAR!!! We decided in February to order a new car - a Ford Excursion Max. It is a car that we rented a few years ago in Utah that Dani fell in love with - Jared calls it "the most expensive rental car we've ever had." We love it - the back seats have more room and the seats are comfortable. And the car can tow like a CHAMP!

Kate did a summer acting camp, and at the end of the week, they put on a little production. Kate was the ugly duckling in Law and Order Fairy Tales edition. It was a cute production and Kate did a great job.

Summer means time on the lake. We get out whenever we are able, even with our busy schedules. Captain Jared loves driving the boat!

We were also invited to go out with the Browns on their boat. Liam and Jacob took a turn on the knee board

and were also able to get up on a surf board.

Even Dani got up and did some wake surfing.

Just don't tell Devin!

Claire cut her hair and donated to Locks of Love! I'm sure someone was very grateful for some beautiful auburn hair.

Ice cream with friends

 Dani and Holly did something funny... They drove up to Columbus to pick kids from the ward up at FSY and decided to go the night before since the pick up time was so early in the morning. Driving separate cars they went to dinner and then decided to go get Jeni's ice cream. As they got closer and closer to Jeni's it became obvious that there was some sort of event going on in the downtown area and was pretty crowded. They turned toward a parking garage deciding maybe they should forget about it and turn around but because of the blocked roads the only way to turn around was through the parking garage and the only way into the parking garage was to pay the $20 event parking fee. Once they were paying to get in they for sure had to park so they could at least get their ice cream. They walked to Jeni's and enjoyed their ice cream in the midst of what they figured was obviously a gay pride event. So end the end they got $25 ice cream to top off their "date night" of dinner, ice cream, and the gay pride festival.

John, Vicki, and Bentley come for a visit

What a great way to continue summer - John, Vicki, and Bentley coming to visit for a week.

We went to a Reds game - but the rains started, and we ended up having a rain delay, giving us time to go the Clifton Skyline to introduce Bentley to chili over spaghetti covered in cheese! She liked well enough.

Fortunately, the rains did not last too long, so we got to go to the game. We had some beautiful views of the stadium and Jared's office.

We got to see some fireworks during the game, and the Reds pulled out a win in a rain-shortened game, so we went home happy!

We had a boat day. It wasn't the nicest day, but we had a fun time on the tube.

 

We even got out the table on the boat.

ZOO DAY! 

First, Dani took the kids and grandparents to visit the animals at the Cincinnati Zoo. Of course, they had to visit the manatee.

Zoo Day part 2 - the Food Zoo!!! It is always an experience going to Jungle Jim's. The kids each decided to try some ... unique ... sodas!

 

The kids spent time playing in the backyard. One of the highlights (for both Bentley and Vicki - and one that Vicki worried incessantly about in the weeks leading up to the trip) was searching for and catching fireflies. Bentley also liked taking on the boys in trampoline basketball.

 

Dani and Grandma took the kids to Kings Island. It was Bentley's first time riding roller coasters. She was pretty nervous, and we're not sure they were her very favorite thing, but she did it!

It was a hot day, so everyone decided to ride White Water Canyon. Everyone got soaked - and was so happy to cool down a little!

Shortly after Whitewater Canyon, it was time for blue ice cream.

 

It was a fun time for everyone!

We used the pizza oven again. It is still a bit of a work in process - lots of work to stretch the dough, but it's still pretty springy, and we are not very good at getting the dough round!

John helped in the cooking process. The entire process is messy and involved, but fun process.

We made lots of different pizzas, and they were delicious! It is fun adding balsamic, fig, or hot honey drizzles and a wide assortment of toppings.

We had such a fun time finding relaxing places and spending quality time together!