Sunday, July 11, 2010

Trip to Cincinnati

So, once again, a post that is very late. Pretty much the theme of my blog...;) Oh, well. As long as it gets done sometime I'm ok with it! :)

In May, Brad and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary. We decided to take a few days and go to Cincinnati. To the zoo. With Ella. Hmmmmm...we're all about romance here, aren't we??? ;) We had some great family time, and that's what counts!

We drove there on a Friday night while tornadoes were swirling all around us. Pretty uneventful, fortunately, and by the time we got to our hotel, the rain had stopped. It was pretty late, so while Ella and Brad relaxed and went to bed, I went in search of a local Wal-Mart to replace most of the toiletries I had forgotten...grrrrrr.

The next morning, we woke up ready to face the day and head to the ZOO! :) Funny story (now) to how the day started...we went down to the lobby to get breakfast and decided to bring the food back to our room, which was just around the corner. Ella wanted fruit loops, so I let her carry the bowl. She was walking ahead of us, eating them as she went. She was about to go too far past our room, so both Brad and I told her to come back. She immediately stopped and started screaming like she was hurt. We couldn't figure out what happened and got her into our room quickly to try and find out. Her right eye was bright red and tearing uncontrollably. What the heck happened?? After much crying and drama, we finally figured out she was telling us she poked herself in the eye with a fruit loop! Seriously?? She really did too! Gave herself a corneal abrasion. That poor girl dealt with light sensitivity and tearing all day, outside at the zoo on one of the brightest days of the year. Good thing she loves to wear her sunglasses!

This was a quick pic before we left. We got her to forget about her eye for a few minutes!



This was on the way to the zoo. An artsy family pic?? Hmmmmm....



Here's some pics at the zoo. Ella had a good time, but was really tame and quiet for a lot of it, which is unlike her. Is it wrong to say that it was kind of a nice anniversary present?? Minus the pain, of course! :(















So, this was my bright idea. I had read in the brochure that you could feed some birds nectar and they'd come up and drink it right out of your hand. Riiiigghhht. I so wasn't thinking that in order to do this, birds would be flying around everywhere and could poop wherever they pleased. ICK!!!! We got into the closed-in area and got our cup of nectar, which my very brave husband held. Immediately birds started swarming him, and this is when I started to realize this wasn't the place for me. The birds would try to take the whole cup out of his hand, and then one landed on his back pecking at his head and REFUSED to get off. Brad's trying to shake him off, I'm freaking out and covering my own head, and Ella..is.....CRACKING up laughing...for the first time that day. She was seriously almost on the ground in hysterics she thought it was so funny there was a bird on Brad's head, and still talks about it a month and a half later! As soon as he shook the bird off, we dropped the nectar and got the heck out of there! As entertaining as it was for Ella, it was that disgusting to me! Ewww.





It just so happened that the day we were there they had a special program with "Barney." Now, I know I'm all about romance, and since it was our actual anniversary, I suggested we try and see it because it would make Ella happy. :) I have to admit, it made me happy too, because by mid-afternoon, I was ready for a little break. We shared a dish of ice cream while we waited for the show to start, and when he came out, Ella was in heaven! 2nd time that day that she really showed some enthusiasm...LOL. Luckily it was only about a 20 minute show, enough to make her happy, and just enough not to drive the parents completely nuts.



After the zoo, we went back to the hotel for a little while to swim before heading to dinner.



After swimming, we got cleaned up and ready to go again!



We went to one of Brad and I's fav places for dinner...PF Chang's. YUM. Ella was so well-behaved for us, we wondered if we had the right child....Before dinner came, we kept her entertained with the chopsticks. (Oh, and if you're wondering, by the evening her eye was MUCH better. :)






Outside the restaurant, there was a fountain area where some local college kids were playing some original music. We wandered over to listen for a few minutes, and Ella stole the show with her dancing. Hard to believe, I know! The guys were cracking up laughing at her, and she really won them over when she walked some money over and put it in their hat. :) Too cute. Perfect end to a perfect day.



The next morning we had breakfast drama-free, and headed out to finish up our time in Cincinnati. I selfishly wanted to go there not only for the zoo but for a first-time visit to IKEA!!!! :) I was pretty psyched about it, but didn't realize exactly how BIG this place was gonna be. Ella did pretty well, considering. We were there for 2 and 1/2 hrs and I could have easily stayed longer. Kinda had to rush through parts toward the end. I didn't find everything I was looking for, but we did have a successful trip and I can't wait to go back...without child(ren), preferrably! Thank God for Brad, he's such a trooper and keeps Ella occupied without complaint. Guess that's partly why we have such a good marriage. He knows to keep Momma happy! LOL

This was on our way out with our purchases. Ella's still shielding her eyes!



All in all, we had a great trip! These are such special times we are spending with Ella, and hope to get a few more getaways in before the next munchkin comes along! :)

1 comment:

Sarah said...

Better late than never, Jen! I always love to read your funny stories, but "corneal abrasion?!?!?!?" What are you, some sort of eye doctor employee? ha!