After we spend the weekend with the Jones Family, we take the rest of the week to be with the Kesslers.
My my grandpa just had double knee replacement surgery 6 weeks before we got there, so we spent a little time doing odd jobs around their house to help out since he hasn't been able to keep up with what he normally does. The boys mowed the lawn a couple of times, cut down some dead tree branches, cleaned out their gutters and fixed some broken windows while the girls cleaned out the flower and vegetable gardens... (we got the easy side of the deal!) but we were all glad to help and wish we could've done more! I wish we were in a situation where we lived close to my grandparents and could regularly help them whenever they needed it. I love being on their quiet street with their huge yard, cornfield right behind their house and the train tracks behind the cornfield with the train whistling by every hour.
We grilled out one night and met my cousins daughter Nora. She loved Reaghan and kept calling her her little sister, and you can see that Reaghan liked the attention.
One of the highlights of our trip to Ohio this time around was getting to visit the Columbus Zoo. It's Jack Hanna's zoo and it is gigantic! We got there at 10:30 that morning and barely finished the last exhibit as the zoo was closing at 7pm that night.
Mark and Reaghan looking at the brown bears... be still my heart... <3
Eating lunch at one of the outside grills - burgers and sweet potato fries - yum!
We all had fun showing Reaghan the different animals... sometimes she was interested, other times not so much. ; )
All the monkey and ape exhibits were our favorite - we saw chimps, orangutans, gorillas, baboons and little spider monkeys.
And check this out...
Shout out to the Columbus Zoo for thinking of the nursing moms! Reaghan has become less and less willing to nurse under the cover because she wants to know what every sound is that she hears while she's nursing. She will do it if I make her, but its so much easier to not have to worry about it. Plus it was a pretty hot July day and being under the nursing cover makes us both sweat! I was so thankful we came across this little air conditioned room right as Reaghan was getting hungry. It was awesome.
One of our favorite Ohio past times is going to the drive in movies. This was Mark and Adam's first time at a Drive In and they loved it!
We saw the Minion Movie and Jurassic World.
Seriously, I wish there were more drive in's around this country. Why don't we have one here in Hampton Roads?! I would be a loyal customer.
We also spent quite a few meals hitting all the local hot spots. These were my parents old stomping grounds and we always enjoy visiting these locations and listening to them share their memories whenever we are up there.
BK Root Beer stand for National Hot Dog Day...
The Spot has the best Old Fashioned Cream Pies you've ever tasted. I only ever eat these pies when we're in Ohio, but man do I love them. They're my dad's favorites as well. Nothing but cream and sugar - So. Good. ; )
My moms absolute, favorite place in the whole history of ever is Cassano's pizza. We eat it almost every day when we're in Ohio. I'm not even kidding.
Usually we get it take-out, but we make it a point to eat in restaurant at least once while we're there.
We went shopping one day, just the girls, while the guys were at some RV factory tour, and we got lunch at Culver's. A little hamburger and ice cream shop that I had actually never been too before. My Grandma Eileen and Aunt Linda met us there - its my grandma's favorite after church lunch spot.
We had a nice bon fire one night. It was the kind of country bon fire where the only lights around are the fire and the stars. We ate s'mores and played weird games of "Would You Rather" and "Who would you take to {insert random place here} if you were the last 2 people alive"... ugh..not my favorite games! haha but there were lots of laughs.
The last night we were there, we got all matchy matchy and went down to Tawawa Park to get family pictures. My sister Mallory took them with her crazy photography skills and a tripod. We definitely want to get some of these printed off and framed for my grandparents.
I love that Reaghan has her daddy's blue eyes.
Grandsons
Granddaughters.
Probably my favorite picture of the lot, thanks to my grandpa's smile. :)
We had an uneventful trip home, and Reaghan was just as good as she was on the way up there. I'm so thankful for my easy going girl. We took one more mini trip the weekend after getting home from Ohio, in which Reaghan and I wore pretty dresses and did some square dancing, you're not going to want to miss the pictures. :)
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