Visit to O-H-I-O!

The day after Brant's last project was due, we packed up the van and started the two-day road trip to visit Brant's parents in Ohio. Despite four hours of delays due to freeway closures (two semi-trailer accidents in two separate states on two consecutive days...what are the odds?), the boys did marvelously. Here's a picture of Spencer getting some exercise at a gas station.

Once we got there, we had a fantastic time. Here's a few of the highlights:

Gavin taking down some ice cream at one of our favorite places to eat--North Market. Brant caught up with some PwC buddies while the boys, Grandma and Grandpa and I enjoyed some gyros, pizza, and other tasty treats.

Brant's parents treated us to a Columbus Clippers baseball game in downtown Columbus. It's a fairly new stadium right in the middle of downtown. Brant and Spencer especially loved it.

One morning, Spencer, Brant and Grandpa went down to one of the nearby lakes to do some fishing. On his very first (and only!) cast he did by himself, Spencer caught a fish! It was a 5 inch sunfish and Spencer could not have been happier. It was awesome!

On one of the nights, Brant's parents were good enough to watch the boys so Brant and I could get away--for the first time since Spencer was 1. We got a great deal through Priceline.com's bidding process (a first for us--but saved us tons!) and stayed right downtown in a room with quite the view! We got to go to the Temple and ate lots of great, stress-free food without worrying about getting home to the babysitter. Thanks, Rich and Pam!

After we got back to the kids, we spent the afternoon hiking in Hocking Hills near Brant's parent's cabin. It was about a mile hike in to Old Man's Cave and the lower falls. It was nice and cool in the gorge and was very relaxing...especially because Brant was carrying Gavin :)

Brant teaching the boys how to throw rocks...as if they didn't know already :)

Spencer thought it was pretty cool that he could stand right inside of a hollowed out tree!

Not exactly the most inviting sign as you enter the hiking area...

Gavin having a blast with Grandma!

One afternoon, we went down to the lake with the canoe. Spencer was way more excited than Gavin (he didn't like the life jacket), but once we were on the water, they both loved it.

Here's Spencer 'helping' Brant paddle. We think it probably only increased the work Brant had to do, but it made Spencer happy.

Spencer hanging out in the playroom one day--cookies in hand, watching Curious George. Ah, the simple life of a 4 year old.

We had some time to catch up with great friends, too, including the Buskens (pictured below), the Trejos and the Southwicks. We miss all of them terribly and efforts to convince them all to move to Texas proved unsuccessful :(

We learned that Brant's dad is quite the woodworker! One evening, he had Spencer and Brant 'help' him make a birdhouse out of wood scraps he had. We brought it home and it now lives in our back yard. Spencer thought it was pretty awesome.

The next day, he made Spencer a sword and then Brant helped make him a gladiator-style shield. He proudly carries them around the house.

One of Spencer's favorite toys at Grandma and Grandpa's house is the train set. Although Brant and his dad actually built it (especially the two-story bridge!), the boys all loved it and spent hours and hours playing with it.

Departure day finally came as Brant needed to get back to work and school. We had a great time and it was a great start to our summer!