The Smith Family Adventures

The boys watching some sort of monkeys.

It’s been a long time since I wrote about our trip to Indiana…but there is one more event from our trip I want to share. On Friday we woke up in Cincinnati after seeing the ballgame the previous evening, and we went to the Cincinnati Zoo.

My poor father-in-law had to experience the “me-in-a-bad-mood” in the morning. We literally could not find a place to eat breakfast in Cincinnati. (Hence the bad mood). We ended up finding a McDonald’s about four minutes before they closed for breakfast. I did not want to eat there (more bad mood), but when you are desperate, I guess you can’t be choosy.

Anyway, we ate some breakfast, and headed over to the zoo. Elias had a lot of fun looking at all of the animals, and there were many exhibits there with animals he had never seen in real life! It was very hot though, and my energy was almost non-existent after only a few hours.

Elias and Mommy on the zoo train. Can you tell we were a bit overheated?

We got to take a ride on the zoo train which was a way to cool off and rest a bit. Elias also had his first petting zoo experience. He got to go inside the goat enclosure and pet many different goats (and a few sheep). One of the goats even half ran him over and he survived to tell about it! I was surprised that Elias liked touching the goats since he had seemed nervous about them when he was still outside the pen. But I’m glad we went in because he had a blast pointing and petting.

Most of all it was just another fun day spent with Grandpa Smith. Here are some pictures from our day at the zoo:

Look! It's a goat!

Tentatively touching a goat....

Hey! This is fun!

Elias peeking through a hole into the rhino exhibit

And some animals Elias had never seen in real life before this trip:

Gorilla!

Manatee!

Komodo Dragon

Camel

The boys just outside the stadium

The real reason we drove to Cincinnati was to attend a Reds game. As we were planning our trip to Indiana, Nathan and I decided we wanted to go to a Major League Baseball Game. There are quite a few teams within driving distance (Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukie, etc.) However, due to having a toddler to deal with, we didn’t want to spend too much time in the car. Cincinnati seemed like a good place to go. And it was!

The boys waiting for the game to start

We attended a Reds vs. Braves night game. It was Elias’ first Major League Baseball game. We had prepared Elias well by reading and talking a lot about baseball before we went to Indiana, and he has also been to see his Daddy’s rec softball games. All the preparation worked. Elias was able to watch the game and he clapped when the pitcher threw the ball. He said “bat” and “ball” quite frequently during the game. He pointed and cheered and was generally very happy for the first half or so.

Elias excitedly pointing to what is happening in the game

Elias even got his first chance to be on a jumbotron. He showed up on the big screen in the first couple innings. We were (of course) very excited. How often do you get that chance in life?

One of the most exciting parts of the game was when the catcher of the Reds hit a grand slam. The crowd understandably went wild, and some fireworks went off. Nathan and I were of course cheering as well. However, I looked over at Elias who was sitting on Grandpa Smith’s lap. I saw

Sitting with grandpa Smith at the Great American Ballpark

his mouth wide open, eyes closed, face red. He was screaming and crying! All of the noise scared him, but no one could hear him because it was so loud. I quickly took him from Grandpa and gave him lots of hugs and kisses, but he never really fully recovered after that. (Plus he was getting quite tired…it was a night game afterall).

Despite the scare of the grand slam, we thought our first MLB game with Elias was a lot of fun.

Mommy was there too.

Man these guys really are athletes.

A view of the ballpark

Elias pauses for a photo in the midst of running around the grass at a rest stop.

Thursday was the long day of our trip…but it was tons of fun. We woke up earlier than usual, and drove from Lafayette to Cincinnati, Ohio. Elias did well in the car, but he was very glad when we stopped at a rest stop and let him run around in the grass for awhile.

When we arrived in Cincinnati, we actually drove across the Ohio river into Kentucky. Our first destination was the Newport Aquarium in Newport, Kentucky. (Not to be confused with the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon). We ate some lunch, and then entered the aquarium. Grandpa Smith treated us to a couple very fun hours in there. There were lots of interesting animals to see. Elias

Elias compares himself to "Mighty Mike" the crocodile. The poster was so big I couldn't even come close to fitting it all in the picture.

was in heaven. He walked around and pointed and said “fishy” about every three seconds. The only down side of the aquarium visit was dodging about a hundred or more middle-schoolers who were there on a field trip.

We spent a lot of time in the sharks exhibit. They also had some interesting jelly fish and frogs. The aquarium even boasts “Mighty Mike”…a very large crocodile, as well as many other alligators and crocodiles to see.

After the aquarium, we checked into our hotel in Cincinatti, and took a nap for a couple of hours before heading for the Reds game…but that is for another post. Here are some more pictures of our aquarium visit:

Elias and Daddy watch a ray pass overhead in one of the tunnels.

Elias and Grandpa Smith play on the giant frogs.

A creepy alligator.

A view of Cincinnati and the Ohio River from Kentucky.

On Wednesday of our trip to Indiana, my father-in-law decided to take us to Turkey Run State Park. Again, because it was a school day, the place was nearly deserted. It was a beautiful (but very warm) day. We briefly took Elias on a hike until it got a bit too muddy and rugged. We took a mini hike to a log church, and we let Elias play on a fun playground. Elias was super tired and sweaty. He slept really well after this. We went to Uncle Dave and Aunt Barb’s to visit for dinner, and Elias got quite tired while we were there. When we got home, he needed a bath to clean off all the sweat and dirt. Here is our day in pictures:

At the start of our hike. Elias and Mommy saw a lizard and some birds!

Elias hiking in the canyon with Daddy.

Here you can see Grandpa Smith in the canyon ahead of us. We were commenting how it is amazing that these formations are just plopped in the middle of miles and miles of corn fields.

The log church. The pews looked a bit splintery and uncomfortable.

Elias learned how to climb this chain ladder while we were at the playground. He also overcame his fear of tall twisty slides.

Tired boy after we left the Park.

The boys on the short hike to the beach.

As we were planning what to do while in Indiana, my Father-in-law suggested a trip to the dunes. On Tuesday, we drove up to Lake Michigan and had a beautiful day playing in the sand. I had been meaning to pack Elias’ sand toys, but forgot in the frenzy of packing, so we stopped at the evil empire (Walmart) and bought him a pack of sand toys for only $5. (I guess I can kind of see the appeal). It was one of the best $5 we’ve ever spent. Elias loved those sand toys…and he loved playing in the sand!

The weather was gorgeous, and because school was still in, we had the beach almost to ourselves. It was so clear that we could see the Chicago skyline way across the lake.

Elias playing in the sand. I can't get over how much Lake Michigan looks like the ocean!

Elias had fun playing in the dry sand the most, but loved it when Grandpa Smith helped him build castles with the wet sand. He unfortunately did not enjoy being dipped in the lake (the water was freezing!), but quickly recovered and didn’t let it ruin his fun.

After we were done at the beach, we decided to drive into Michigan for some ice cream since it was only a

The boys at Oinks.

few minutes away. Grandpa Smith knew of a really great ice cream shop called “Oinks” near the border. It is funny how being with other people can teach me so much. If I were by myself I probably never would have gone inside that ice cream shop. I don’t know why….I just wouldn’t have. But it was one of the most fun ice cream shops I’ve ever been in. Hopefully we’ll make it back some day.

Elias happy at his very late dinner.

The real adventure of the day, though, was that somehow we lost an hour. By the time we made it back to Lafayette, we were ready for dinner thinking it was around 7:00. But really, it was 8:00! No wonder I was hungry. I was afraid we’d get dirty looks for having a toddler out to dinner so late. But Elias was happy and hammed it up for the camera as he tried his first biscuit!

It was such a fun day that we spent together! Here are a couple more pictures of our time at the beach:

Building sand castles with Grandpa Smith

Mommy was there too!

Playing with Daddy

Who's this funny guy with me on the bench, Mom?

Monday was the second full day we were in Indiana, and we decided to mostly just rest and let Elias catch up on the time change. We played at home for a lot of the day, but we did go to Columbian Park, which was a short drive from Grandpa Smith’s house. They had many different playground structures all specifically targeting certain age groups. Elias loved swinging and going on the slide. Then, we rode the train around the park. Elias had a lot of fun.

In the evening, we were joined for dinner

The boys on the train

by some distant relatives. Paul and Dorothy McKowen…get ready for it….Nathan’s Dad’s Sister’s Husband’s Sister and her husband. (Or…Uncle Dave’s sister and her husband) My father-in-law made us a delicious meal. Elias was again extremely shy. We were surprised because he seemed ok interacting with them before dinner, but got extremely upset at the dinner table. Oh well…he calmed down in a short while, and we all enjoyed dinner. It was my first time meeting Paul and Dorothy, but Nathan has spent time with them before. They are extremely nice, well educated people and I was glad to meet them.

We had a suicide duck during our train ride. Luckily it moved at the last second...and our train could slow down and speed up pretty easily.

It was a good rest day!

The four of us on Monday evening after dinner.