Night on the "Small" Town: Zanesville

At noon today, Benjamin and I sat on the bench in the front yard trying to get the sun to burn away the rotten day both of us were having.



I was slightly envious of him. His rotten day meant when things were going the wrong direction for him, he would dissolve into a complete fit of temper and uncontrollable screaming. But even in the midst of my attempting various methods of handling his frothy fury, I thought, "Yep. There are days when I wish I could just let loose and scream with full lungs of air and just let all the stuff inside burst out like a bad blister." Yet, deep down I do believe that hearty screaming doesn't really change reality.

So I didn't join him. Subdued crying is more my forte.

After some sun therapy, a picnic lunch and some chatting, we picked up our pieces and managed to not feel utterly terrible.

And then our day became great.

First, Isaac and Dylan woke up from their naps rested and peaceful.
Second, Meerkat Manor is an afternoon diversion we all agree on.
Third, I snuck a nap on the couch which helped me to at least put my troubles back in a drawer so that I could enjoy the moment.

There's was only one interruption.
"Emergency! Emergency! Blue Puppy has cottage cheese on him!"

Toys away, shoes on feet, it was time for my date with three incredibly handsome guys.

It was a great date.

We gathered up our favorite Papa John's pizza to go and motored down Maple Avenue over the Muskingum River via I-70 and took our first exit past one of the Carnegie libraries our very own John McIntire library.

It was the Caboose down by Zanesville's train yard we were after. The caboose sits on it's own little mini track and the pizza could barely hold up against the allure of trips across Germany and the entire nation. The boys traveled many miles there and enjoyed the picnic.

Since no outing with Benjamin and Isaac would be complete without a bathroom break, we left our train to head over to the Zanes Landing park. Home of the Lorena Sternwheeler.

We walked along the river and saw the sunset and trees reflected in the water.

We kept hearing music from the pavilion, so once we could bid adieu to the Lorena, we leaped over the little hill to see what that was all about.

Apparently, there were some bands playing at a "free concert" there. We stayed for one of them. "Wild in Waste" from Lancaster, Ohio. Two electric guitars, one bass, a drum kit, some decent musicians and lots of amps. We rocked, don't you know! Isaac kept his eye on that drummer. Dylan danced and Benjamin applauded and kept an eye on the skateboarders in the corners.

When we got home, he stood on the red wagon and pretended to do a skateboard trick.

Our rotten day became a great spring evening. It's the ending we all needed and wanted.

Happy. And yes. Ever after kisses. Lots of them.

On the Farm

We're finding lots to do at Grandma and Pampa's farm in Ohio. And lots of mud too! Isaac often says his special thing of the day was "driving to Grandma's house. This is the BEST!"

Chambers in Chattanooga

Benjamin and Isaac blew out their birthday candles in February full of wishes of trains and a family adventure day. So, we planned a day trip to the Smoky Mountains to find an incline train (74% grade at the top of the mile or so run), scenic views, an elevator that descends 260 feet into the mountain (Benjamin's favorite detail/event to recount), a cave AND a waterfall. It was a perfect, perfect day. To quote Benjamin, "This city is AMAZING!" Just don't get stuck in the traffic coming off the mountain of Ruby Falls or the construction on Highway 78 a stone's throw from your own house. We were stuck so long in that barrel of problems that we could have walked home faster. Really. But that still didn't ruin our perfect day. Besides, it all ends well when it ends at Shane's Rib Shack and two for one meal coupons!



Note to self. Bottle of barbecue sauce in the suitcase to Tahiti.

Got Beat?

We've escaped to a little boys' paradise of cousins, goats, dogs, cats, a tree house, trampoline, zipline, backyard pool, creek, almost mountain like hills, lake, barn, Aunt Susan's extremely scrumptious chocolate chip cookies and to top it all off our vacation destination in Indiana even has...


Lucky us.