Red, White & Blue

Moving to a new area can bring a lot of anxiety when it comes to finding friends, activities to keep busy with, and the whole idea of having to come up with all new traditions. Fortunate for our family, we have been incredibly blessed with a smooth transition. We’ve been making friends, staying busy, and even enjoyed a memorable holiday which I am sure will be repeated in the years to come.

Independence, OH is 30min south of us, (actually, it’s where Aaron works), and it is a SUPER nice part of Ohio. If we end up staying around these parts after school, we’d like to move down that way. Anyways, they put on an AMAZING firework display the night before the 4th; a great idea I think for people who have to work the day after the 4th of July. (I think it makes a lot more sense to celebrate and stay up late when you don’t have to work the next day… don’t you?) It reminded us a lot of when we used to watch fireworks at Fort Vancouver a long time ago. We quit going when we moved into our home in Ridgefield because our neighborhood always got together for a big party and their own firework show. It was fun when it was fun… but that is a whole other story, lol. Anyways, interestingly enough, there must be rules here in OH because there were hardly any personal fireworks that went off on the 4th. So that was a little bit different.

Here we are hangin out waiting for 10pm to hit… did I mention it was the best fireworks display we have seen ever? We went with the neighbs upstairs… they have got to be so sick of us by now, lol.

On the actual 4th of July we tried to find a parade. We were a little disappointed… maybe because we were so entertained by the parade we went to last month put on by the art museum that had actual floats and such, but I don’t think it is a lot to ask that a parade include something other than a than a long stream of political candidates passing out tootsie rolls. (Granted, there were several flag bearers). It just wasn’t all that entertaining. The website also said that there were booth/tents with entertainment, food and games after the parade… BUT, there were maybe 5 booths total, all serving boiled hotdogs. So, the 35min drive to this particular side of town just wasn’t worth it. If you have ever been to the Ridgefield Parade, you would know exactly why we were so badly missing it, lol.

I guess the girls did get one thing other than tootsie rolls, some sort of organization was tossing flowers.

After the parade we let the kids run loose around a park close by.

And then we stopped by Edgewater Park, which is a sandy beach along Lake Erie to cool off… it looks like the ocean!!! The kids were just suppose to dip their feet, but how could I get made when they decided to swim fully clothed… look how cute they are!

We came back to our place and had a little BBQ in the back yard complete with a water slide, pool, and play table for the kids.

Eli was our master bbq-er.

It’s a terrible shot, but here’s the group of us: The Navarro’s, Murray’s and us!

Camping!

Those who know us understand how much we LOVE camping. We knew that by leaving the NW we would have to accept a different ‘lifestyle’ of camping. No more driving up into the mountains to find a quiet hidden place to set up camp… No more trips with our good ‘ole friend Dan on his boat to a strip along an island… What were we to do?!?! But, thanks to our awesome new neighbors, who I just cannot praise enough for showing us around and making us feel so welcome, we were introduced to a fun little campground a little south of us called Woodside Lake Park. Even though we had to pay to camp (we are super used to FREE), and even if it is a few miles off the freeway (hidden Moikeha family joke)… we have realized that camping is FUN in whatever shape or form in comes in. AND… the company makes it even more enjoyable.

The campground seemed more of a long-term RV hangout, but we were able to find a ‘rustic’ spot, which basically meant we were on the outskirts of the campground, but were covered in trees and brush to make it feel more like camping. In addition, it seemed that we were harassed by rustic mosquitos that seemed unaffected by bug spray. But still… we had TONS of fun. It was a relaxing get away the weekend before Aaron started his new job. The weather was a little humid, but not too hot, and even when it did thunderstorm and rain (the weather is so unpredictable here), we couldn’t complain because it would happen in short spurts that would quickly dry out not long after. Oh, and how could I forget! We finally saw first hand the magic of fire-flies… AMAZING!

The kids did well. When they weren’t digging for bugs, they’d go off and explore, and even sat down for a game of go-fish. I thought this was super cute.

Mayka and Eliecer

Look who we got hooked on our favorite game!

With kids, we’d have to agree that this sort of camping is easier to keep the kids entertained. We were only a walk away from a lake and playground which kept the kids busy during the day. The girls loved the water slide.

Something chewed on Malia’s head one night.. some of us are still suffering from the bug bites!

On the way home we drove through a small little amish town. This picture says it all!

Summer Fun… even in OHIO!

We have an awesome neighbor upstairs that has been filling us in with all of the things to do in the area, so just about everyday we tag along for some of the fun. Hope she doesn’t tire of us, lol. Anyways, as far as picture worthy stuff go, we’ll start with the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo… Its ginormous! We only made through a third of it, but it is really fun to see animals that weren’t at the good ‘ole Portland zoo… like kangaroos, flamingos, sharks, camels, ginormous turtles, etc.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that with the humidity, it was sweltering hot…

These kids get along pretty well… when Allie isn’t beating on Victoria that is. But Alesandro and Malia seem to have cute little crushes on each other and have fun making crafts for each other, lol.

Not a real alligator, but this was inside of a fun jungle house play area for kids…

Love these girls, they crack me up!

I just loved this picture for all the wrong reasons. It was just so perfectly candid!

Alright, what’s next. Oh yes. Splash parks are big in this area. Probably because it gets so stinkin hot. We are going to hit as many as we can through out the summer.

So… does someone want to tell me where my child has picked up her ‘poses’… Malia just seems so old to me in this picture. And I love that Allie is a copy cat.

Allie was using the pavement to warm up and dry off.

I’m really loving all of this time I get to spend with girls!

There are a lot of parks around town for us to enjoy, and the girls have been having experiencing the them all. There newest favorite is this one because of the ginormously long slide!

Allie’s first time on a rope swing. She is so strong to hold herself on… and she loved it!

Malia enjoying her first zip line ride!

The libraries here are pretty amazing too. There are several close by and each have their own little activities complete with stories, dancing, music, toys, snacks, and crafts!

I have one month till school starts, so we plan to stay busy with lots of the same sort of stuff, and maybe even squeeze in some more pool time, and hopefully a little camping!