http://memorywalk10.kintera.org/westchester/kellynaylor
Monday, August 30, 2010
Memory Walk
September 11, 2010 I will be participating in the Memory Walk to support the Alzheimer's Association. My Grandma, Betty Snow, suffered from this terrible disease, and I will be walking in her memory. Visit the site below to donate to this wonderful cause!
http://memorywalk10.kintera.org/westches
Back to School
For many people August is the end of summer - but for us teachers it also means the start of a new school year. Usually I am ready to go back to work - excited to see my colleagues and students. But this year it is a bit harder. I have had an extra month to be home over the summer, thanks to Max. And it is hard to send Leah and Max off to a sitter for the day, especially when it is a new sitter! Fortunately, Pat does not go back to work until after Labor Day, so we have been able to ease in to our new schedule and routine. Routine is good, and I think that is the only thing I look forward to as I head back to work. Below is my annual First Day of School pic. Pat's is to come later, as well as pics for Leah and Max.
Fairfield Schools, the district that I work in, always has a Back to School Parade the Saturday before the first day. We attended - in the rain - and we ended up on the cover of the local newspaper!
photo by David Moodie of the Fairfield Echo
Fairfield Schools, the district that I work in, always has a Back to School Parade the Saturday before the first day. We attended - in the rain - and we ended up on the cover of the local newspaper!
photo by David Moodie of the Fairfield EchoSunday, August 22, 2010
Indianapolis
A co-worker of mine, Sandy, had told me about a mini-vacation she did with her grandchildren to Indianapolis. It was an overnight trip to the Children's Museum and the hotel where they stayed had an indoor water park. I decided to investigate and found that it was a great deal for us! I had actually been wanting to go the the Children's Museum of Indianapolis for a few months now. I had read that it was the largest one. We decided to do a little overnight trip to end our summer before we head back to work. And as it turns out, Indiana was already back in school, so we did not have to worry about large crowds!
We started our trip early Thursday morning. We were out the door at 7:45 in the morning and made it to Indianapolis in about two hours. The speed limit in Indiana is 70 mph, which is great. What is not great is that there is a cop with radar sitting along the highway every five miles or so. Once we got close to the city we could see there was going to be quite a bit of construction on the outer loop, so we decided to just go straight through the city. I saw on our map we could get off at exit 117. We got to exit 116, then exit 119. What happened to 117? Oh well...we finally got off the highway and figured out how to get to the hotel. We booked our trip as part of a package. It was the Splash and Discover package through the Holiday Inn North at the Pyramids. The 'Discover' part of our trip was the Children's Museum, but we had to pick up the tickets at the hotel first, even though we couldn't check in until later that afternoon.
The Children's Museum was awesome! It was broken into five levels, and there are three special exhibits that change out every season. The special exhibits that were displayed were Barbie, which Leah really isn't into yet, and Cars and Rock Stars. I think the third one was about Egypt, but we skipped that one.
Each part of the Museum had activities for children of all ages. There was always something to touch, see and listen to. There was a really neat water clock there, too. We were fortunate to see it empty - it empties every twelve hours on the 'ones'.
I think Pat's favorite area was the Dinosaurs, and Leah liked it too. She liked playing on the computers and putting together a dinosaur puzzle.
She also enjoyed the playing with 'glass', Game and Puzzle room, Water area, building with Lego's and the Carousel.
There was so much to do, we spent four hours there and still didn't see/do everything, that is could have easily been broken into a two-day discovery. Max was a good boy and enjoyed hanging out - he'll be a much better participant next year!
The 'Splash' portion was the indoor water park at the hotel, Caribbean Cove. We went there right before dinner and again after dinner. Leah was not so sure about this place at first. But once she got in and playing, it was hard to get her to leave! I particularly enjoyed the lazy river, as did Pat. Leah's favorite part was watching a HUGE bucket of water pour out all over the place about every seven minutes.
Again, all Max could do was bounce in his bouncer, but I still made sure he was dressed for the occasion. I still think he is too little to be in a pool with chlorine with his oh-so-soft baby skin.
The second day we decided to skip the water park and head to the Indianapolis Zoo. We know how Leah loves the zoo, and this day was no different. I have always been quick to say that Cincinnati has the best zoo. I may think about this differently now. I really liked the Indy Zoo - maybe even more so than the Cincy zoo. I rarely needed to use the zoom on my camera - you could practically reach out and touch just about every animal. 
I think we all liked the Oceans area the best - penguins, sting rays, jelly fish and a shark tank. You were actually allowed to touch and pet the sharks. It was pretty cool! 
Leah of course loved the giraffes, and Max loved his stroller :-)
We ended the zoo trip at White River Gardens, an area just outside the zoo, which had a butterfly display.
It was a great trip and we were all pooped from the adventures. I think this might be an annual trip for us - it is so close to home yet far enough away where you feel like you are on a vacation!
We started our trip early Thursday morning. We were out the door at 7:45 in the morning and made it to Indianapolis in about two hours. The speed limit in Indiana is 70 mph, which is great. What is not great is that there is a cop with radar sitting along the highway every five miles or so. Once we got close to the city we could see there was going to be quite a bit of construction on the outer loop, so we decided to just go straight through the city. I saw on our map we could get off at exit 117. We got to exit 116, then exit 119. What happened to 117? Oh well...we finally got off the highway and figured out how to get to the hotel. We booked our trip as part of a package. It was the Splash and Discover package through the Holiday Inn North at the Pyramids. The 'Discover' part of our trip was the Children's Museum, but we had to pick up the tickets at the hotel first, even though we couldn't check in until later that afternoon.
The Children's Museum was awesome! It was broken into five levels, and there are three special exhibits that change out every season. The special exhibits that were displayed were Barbie, which Leah really isn't into yet, and Cars and Rock Stars. I think the third one was about Egypt, but we skipped that one.
Each part of the Museum had activities for children of all ages. There was always something to touch, see and listen to. There was a really neat water clock there, too. We were fortunate to see it empty - it empties every twelve hours on the 'ones'.
I think Pat's favorite area was the Dinosaurs, and Leah liked it too. She liked playing on the computers and putting together a dinosaur puzzle.
She also enjoyed the playing with 'glass', Game and Puzzle room, Water area, building with Lego's and the Carousel.
There was so much to do, we spent four hours there and still didn't see/do everything, that is could have easily been broken into a two-day discovery. Max was a good boy and enjoyed hanging out - he'll be a much better participant next year!
The 'Splash' portion was the indoor water park at the hotel, Caribbean Cove. We went there right before dinner and again after dinner. Leah was not so sure about this place at first. But once she got in and playing, it was hard to get her to leave! I particularly enjoyed the lazy river, as did Pat. Leah's favorite part was watching a HUGE bucket of water pour out all over the place about every seven minutes.
Again, all Max could do was bounce in his bouncer, but I still made sure he was dressed for the occasion. I still think he is too little to be in a pool with chlorine with his oh-so-soft baby skin.
The second day we decided to skip the water park and head to the Indianapolis Zoo. We know how Leah loves the zoo, and this day was no different. I have always been quick to say that Cincinnati has the best zoo. I may think about this differently now. I really liked the Indy Zoo - maybe even more so than the Cincy zoo. I rarely needed to use the zoom on my camera - you could practically reach out and touch just about every animal. 
I think we all liked the Oceans area the best - penguins, sting rays, jelly fish and a shark tank. You were actually allowed to touch and pet the sharks. It was pretty cool! 
Leah of course loved the giraffes, and Max loved his stroller :-)
We ended the zoo trip at White River Gardens, an area just outside the zoo, which had a butterfly display.
It was a great trip and we were all pooped from the adventures. I think this might be an annual trip for us - it is so close to home yet far enough away where you feel like you are on a vacation!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
A Visit with Memaw
This weekend my mom came down for a visit - our last one before we get back into our school routine. We had told Leah that Memaw was coming for a visit, but she had to take her nap first. Well - forget it. All we could hear on the monitor was Leah talking about Memaw and a nap never happened! Memaw finally arrived and we quickly headed out to do some of our favorite things while Memaw was in town. We headed down to Kenwood Mall for dinner and shopping. I haven't had a chance to finish Max's room - he still needed a window treatment. I was able to purchase a valance, but I had to order the rod and finials - so his room will finally be done! When we got home Leah cooled off with a popsicle and we called it a night. Saturday morning was Leah's weekly swimming lesson. She is getting better each week! She is jumping in more on her own, but still has to hold Daddy's hands. She is getting better at blowing bubbles, too. We went to breakfast and when we got home Leah was asking for a nap. So mom and I took advantage of Leah's nap and headed to the outlets and got some fall shopping done for Leah and Max. By the time we got home, Leah and Max were both up, and we were all hungry. So we headed out again for an early dinner and then dessert at Flub's. I haven't been happy with Max's room and the way his furniture is arranged - so in true Lindsey style my mom and I were rearranging his room at 9:30 at night - which meant Leah didn't get to bed until late. Fortunately she was in a good mood and went to bed without any problems. Max had fallen asleep earlier, but he was getting up as Leah was going down. Took him awhile to get back to sleep. Oh well - but now his room is how I like it! This morning we decided to skip on our Sunday morning pancakes and just did eggs instead. Leah asked Memaw to polish her nails purple - and they look fabulous. And just before Memaw left to go home, she changed them into their zoo outfits for our zoo trip later in the day! It was a quick visit but a great one!
Naylor Visit
Pat's parents were in town twice over the course of a week. The first visit was a quick overnight trip. Rick and Connie were heading back to Conneaut from Indiana so they stopped by. It was a nice evening of ribs, popsicles and once the kids were in bed, dominoes. We played for about three hours before calling it a night. During the game we even ate an entire watermelon! It was delicious! By the end, I think Pat was in lead and Rick and I were pretty far behind.
The second trip was just a few days later, and it also happened to be Rick's birthday. We treated Rick to breakfast while Connie was working, and Pat and Rick finally re-installed our back storm door (an on-going project since March!). The afternoon consisted of naps for everyone except me. Leah and Max occasionally will take their naps at the same time - but not that day. Once Max was down, Leah was up, so we colored for awhile. Grandma Connie later joined us for some paint with water pictures of Pooh of friends.
photo by Connie Naylor
We wrapped up the birthday celebration by having dinner in Oxford at Mac 'n Joes, but dinner was short. Max got into a bad crying spell and we opted to pack up our food and leave so we would not disrupt the entire restaurant. We headed home to finish our dinner and eat cherry pie! We had hoped to continue our domino match - but we were all pooped from the hot, humid day!
photo by Connie Naylor
photo by Connie Naylor
The second trip was just a few days later, and it also happened to be Rick's birthday. We treated Rick to breakfast while Connie was working, and Pat and Rick finally re-installed our back storm door (an on-going project since March!). The afternoon consisted of naps for everyone except me. Leah and Max occasionally will take their naps at the same time - but not that day. Once Max was down, Leah was up, so we colored for awhile. Grandma Connie later joined us for some paint with water pictures of Pooh of friends.
photo by Connie Naylor
photo by Connie Naylor
photo by Connie NaylorWednesday, August 11, 2010
On a Roll
Max is so close to rolling over. He has always loved being on his side - specifically his right side. But over the past week or so he has also been rolling to his left. Monday night I found him almost completely on his tummy! If he could just figure out how to get his arm from under him. Also a few close-ups of my smiley boy!
Two New Firsts...
For me that is. Pat and a few buddies were in Columbus pretending to be 21 again for a bachelor party. So I invited the girls over for 'Girls Night - but with kids'. Alisha suggested that she give us a knitting lesson - which sounded great to me! Max was his normal go-with-the-flow self and Leah played with her friend Lily, so Alisha had plenty of time to teach me how to knit! By the next day I had made my first dishcloth. Turned out pretty good considering it was my first project. It may be hard to see, but there is an 'N' in the center. I hope to find the time to knit Leah and Max scarves for the winter, and Pat has requested a hat. We'll see!
Another first that I accomplished this week was making a pie. Rick and Connie were in town and it happened to be Rick's birthday. I knew his favorite dessert is cherry pie, so I decided to just try to make one. I will confess that I purchased a crust, but I did make the filling from scratch. Next time I will make the crust myself - I have a great recipe from my mom, passed down from her mom - but I just did not have the time to make the crust ahead of time. I'm not much of a cherry pie person, but all stated that the pie was tasty!
Another first that I accomplished this week was making a pie. Rick and Connie were in town and it happened to be Rick's birthday. I knew his favorite dessert is cherry pie, so I decided to just try to make one. I will confess that I purchased a crust, but I did make the filling from scratch. Next time I will make the crust myself - I have a great recipe from my mom, passed down from her mom - but I just did not have the time to make the crust ahead of time. I'm not much of a cherry pie person, but all stated that the pie was tasty!
Dayna and Taylor Come to Cincy!
Another great thing about being teachers - it makes summer trips so much easier! At the last minute I suggested to Dayna that she and Taylor make a trip south for a few days. Taylor and Leah had very little time to play together while we were in Cleveland, so it would give the girls a chance to hang out and for the adults to catch up.
The visit consisted of a few trips to the park, the pool, Flubs and the Children's Museum. The girls had a great time and we look forward to when they can visit again!
The visit consisted of a few trips to the park, the pool, Flubs and the Children's Museum. The girls had a great time and we look forward to when they can visit again!
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