Ohio Vacation!!

Well, it has been a wonderful vacation in Ohio, and we’re sad to have left so many loved ones. We enjoyed visiting my brothers and their families, Justin’s grandparents and his family, and close friends and neighbors.

Molly’s wedding was a success, and she looked absolutely beautiful as a stunning bride! I really enjoyed being in her wedding and catching up with so many members of her family and our friends. We were pampered at a spa before the wedding where we had our hair and makeup done...they sat us in a beautiful room to relax and talk, and Kirsten and I wish we could have stayed there all day.

In between wedding obligations, we were able to spend a lot of time with my brother Dave, Nikki, and my niece and nephew. Avery loved Zach and Taylor, and continued to give them hugs throughout our entire stay. Taylor was like a little mother following Avery around, and Zach was certain that Avery loved him the most. He loved when we slipped the covers over our head and told scary stories at night, and Taylor loved for me to read her a book. Nikki took Avery one night when she was congested to give us some “beauty rest” and both Dave and Nikki could not have been more wonderful with Avery.

Our next stop was Erie, Pennsylvania, where we visited Justin’s grandparents and quite a few of his relatives. We had a WONDERFUL spaghetti dinner and played basketball in their back yard. Everyone was so welcoming, and Avery was so energetic! We wish we could have visited longer, but enjoyed catching up. It was great to see BJ and Tammy and their cute kids along with Matt and Melanie and their two talented, athletic kids.

Seeing Miss Ava, Jared and Tara’s daughter, was a joy! I loved snuggling her, though Avery was terribly jealous when I had baby time with Ava. She has dark hair and gorgeous deep blue eyes, and is really a happy baby. We joked because when Ava is hungry she gives no warning sign. She goes from laughing to a blood piercing scream that is enough to make people think she is an abused child. Both Avery and Ava handled their travels VERY well. We went swimming , fishing, boated to Put-In Bay, and stayed at a lake house on Lake Erie with family friends. It was totally relaxing (except for chasing Avery) and made me realize that we could definitely live on a lake!

Obviously, we visited lots of friends in between and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Katie, Kirsten, Lindsey, Joe and Iris. We had a wonderful dinner with the Linnaberry family and enjoyed catching up with them since we went to Hawaii. Overall we had a wonderful time with all our friends and family and hope to see them again soon.

As for an update on Avery...she is a complete blast!! She is soo much work since she walks/runs everywhere, and I can’t wait to celebrate her 1 year birthday! I can’t even explain how much joy I get out of this stage of her life; we are just really enjoying her. She says lots of words, but her favorite is to scream “Mama”. She is totally a happy little girl, and loves attention! On the plane she would grab peoples shirts just so they would look at her, and then she would scrunch her face in a smile and laugh. She does this “oooo” face that looks like an old woman without teeth, and gives loves and hugs to everyone. She puts the phone up to her ear to pretend to talk to people, and has more expressions and personality than I know what to do with. She swings her arms when she walks, and the funniest thing is when she head bangs to music by moving her head side to side when music is on. Avery is totally obsessed with clothes, and walks around the house with them tucked under her chin or draped as a cape behind her.

Here are LOTS of updated pictures of Avery and our trip to Ohio! They are in two albums. Sorry. Album 1. Album 2.