Twas the last weekend of summer...

During breakfast, I asked the girls what the plans were for the day. After shrugging their shoulders, I told them it was August 1st and maybe they should check the calendar. Braylee walked over and said, "Surprise?!" As Brynna joined her, I said, "Your clue is... You might want to grab a blanket and some movies." Brynna threw her arms in the air and shouted, "ROAD TRIP!" :)  I had already secretly packed, so once they were dressed and ready, we headed out to Cincinnati. 

Last summer, we set a goal to see all 50 states with the girls before Braylee & Brynna are out of college.  I read about a family who did this in the Family Fun magazine.  They added 3 objectives for each state. 1) Get a family photo. 2) Be specific to the area- eat and do activities that are different from home. Unique restaurants and shops, etc.  3) Buy a Christmas ornament from each state.  We also liked the idea of having the kids learn about the states they were visiting too.  While Braylee has already been to 14 states, we decided to start over, so as to meet the objectives mentioned above.  I bought binders for both of the big girls to keep track of their progress and to write about their adventures in each state. So after visiting Florida three times in the last year, we decided we better branch out to another state. :)

On the way there, we talked about Ohio- how its name originated, its capital and other major cities, famous people from there, its nickname and motto, etc.  Can you tell how excited they were? ;)

Upon arriving at the hotel, some bed jumping was in order.

We had gorgeous weather! We started by walking over the "great river."

Counting all of the bridges

We left the double stroller at home, but when the 3 yr old was already tired after the first 10 minutes of walking, we improvised. :)

They even dipped their toes into the river.

We visited the aquarium, which actually was in Kentucky. ;)

We tried out Dewey's pizza and gave it two thumbs up. I should note that while in China the first time, I found it odd to see corn as a pizza topping there... and then I ordered a pizza with corn on it in the US. :) It was a southwest BBQ chicken pizza- yummo! Beilyn had her first calzone.

Testing out a "Buckeye."

The next day, we went to Kings Island! I hadn't been in probably 20 years, but we went often when I was a kid. It was fun to see what had changed and what hadn't.

Beilyn's first ride!

I talked this girly into going on a roller coaster with me!

I rode this same ride as a kid!

 

Sassy pants on the left was mad because the slushie was gone. The hardships of being a kid. ;)

This little ride was a major hit!

As were the swings. She rode them 3 times.

Just as we were getting on this mini coaster, it started to rain. You can see that mommy convinced Brielle to abandon the seat we had behind her sisters.

First (and maybe last) time they were poured on while riding a roller coaster!

Thankfully, the sun came back out right away. Brielle played tour guide.

They loved this show. As we walked out, Brynna said, "I want to be the princess ballerina." Of course, she does!

It was a perfect "mini" trip to end our summer!