Memorial Day Weekend

Oh how I love a 3 day weekend...

In a surprise turn of events, both kids opted to stay with me for the balance of Memorial Day, after Ivy's concert on the 25th.  So, Holly and I decided to make the weekend memorable, with a trip to DO ALL THE THINGS in the southern part of Ohio. 

We started the trip with a detour to look at some really cute little dogs we happened to find online and who happened to be right on our route south. Holly and I have been obsessed with tiny, "wearable" dogs since meeting an adorable mini-poodle at a garage sale last summer. We had a great time playing with Skye and Alice (more on that later...) and then headed directly to Cincinnati. 

First stop- Cincinnati for iFly indoor skydiving.  Ivye refused to be photographed in her flight suit (because 14) and I think I enjoyed the experience more than either kid (another surprise)- but it made for a memorable day.

Headed north to Springfield where we settled in to our very strangely decorated Airbnb for the night.  Had snacks and watched Disney movies and it was lovely.

(this is what settling in looks like with a 14 and 16 year old...)

Holly and I enjoyed a walk at the local park in the morning, then off to Yellow Springs for brunch and bookstores.

North again to our last stop before home- Otherworld in Columbus.  I've been wanting to bring the kids here since my first visit in 2022.  They headed off to explore just the two of them and were very engaged in trying to solve the (largely unsolvable) puzzles.

Had the phonograph room to ourselves for the frist time in all my visits! 

Back to the puppies, as promised.  We (well, Holly, Ivy and myself anyways) pretty much did not stop talking about the little brown puppy, Alice, for the whole trip.  We determined that she was in fact perfect, all 1.8 docile pounds of her.  But definitely we did not have the money nor did we need a dog right now.  But...

5 days after our return, Alice came home to Holly's house.  

And she is in fact perfect. We didn't think we needed a puppy but she has been what we needed, in so many ways...