Holiday Frenzy

I don't know if we just didn't feel this time of year was crazy enough, but the children finished school on Tuesday and Wednesday morning we headed down to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area for a couple of family fun days...

First stop was an indoor water park where Michael was scared of pretty much everything, but still in awe of the place...

I snapped the following picture of Harper right before she fell off the lily pad and, er, realized the water was deeper than she thought. Oops. She recovered enough to enjoy some water slides and the wave pool, so no harm done.

After our water park adventure we ate lunch and then headed down to the river where we caught a surprisingly enjoyable marionette show, complete with meet and greet for the kids.

How cute is that bear? It looked like it belonged in a Jim Henson Christmas special - which I think is actually a testament to the talent of the puppeteer.

The show finished just in time for us to catch Arthur Christmas which we all really enjoyed (although it did get a little long for Michael, who was involuntarily giving up his nap...).

After the movie we headed to our hotel and the kids had the run of the pool before dinner.
Neither of them would hold still long enough to get a decent photo, but look! The whole pool just for them!

We spent the night in the hotel and, despite our very active day, no one slept much. Oh well. We hung out a bit the next morning then headed back to the river to visit the aquarium. With a quick detour in front of a giant Christmas tree...

Once in the aquarium Harper happily danced with "Rocky" and then was a "grand marshal" of the penguin parade - she was thrilled!

We enjoyed the "Scuba Santa" show in the aquarium theater and he even posed for pictures afterward.

We ended the day getting up close and personal with some sharks - look at those teeth!

We left the aquarium in the early afternoon and ate some lunch on the way home yesterday.

Today I have pretty much been in the kitchen all day long (cookies, soup, bread, caramel mix...) and tonight (as though they haven't had enough this week!) Matt and his dad and sister took the kids to a hockey game. Michael came home with a puck given to him by one of the refs.

It's a good thing Christmas is only two days away - after the week we've had it will take something pretty spectacular impress the kids!

On a side note, Harper keeps telling me that this is her favorite time of year. She says she likes the special treats and the presents, but mostly she likes being with the people she loves.  Based on the greeting she gave her Aunt Meaghan today I think she means it.