Vacation Day 4 - National Air Force Muesum

We spent the night in the Holiday Inn, Dayton, just a mile down the road from the United States Air Force Museum.  This is some place Lance was really excited about going.  



We started the tour by getting on a bus and going over to the Wright Patterson Air Force Base to see the retired Air Force One Aircraft and some of the Research and Development of Aircraft.

 They had a big section dedicated to the early air craft by the Wright Brothers.  

There was also a section talking about early flight planes used in WWI. 

 The had the plane that dropped the A-bomb in WWII on Nagasaki.

 

 They had several planes with their noses decorated!

There were also sections dedicated to the Vietnam and Korean Wars as well as the Cold War.

 Then we went into a section on NASA and space flight

 The museum was ginormous!!!! There were planes and aircraft EVERYWHERE.  There is no way that you could see everything in the museum in one day.  It was neat, but the kiddos had enough, so we got in the car and started driving.  Dayton is the home to the Wright Brothers and their original bicycle shop.  Lance went into the National Historical Site, while I stayed in the car with the sleeping girls.  It was a neat city - someplace we will probably revisit when the kids are older and learning about the wars in school.  From Dayton we decided we had enough and it was time to go home...we still had several more things we wanted to accomplish during our vacation.

Vacation Day 3 - Natural Bridge and COSI

 The third morning we decided to take the longest hike yet.  It was a mile and a half one way to see Ohio's longest "Natural Bridge".  It was a very nice cool place, under the bridge, once we finally got there.  This bridge was formed by water washing away the stone over time and leaving part of the harder stone. 

 We didn't have a formal plan for the afternoon.  So I plugged Columbus Ohio attractions in the Garmin and found the Center of Science and Industry.  I had no idea what it was, but thought it might be neat.  Turned out it was basically a big childrens museum.  The kiddos really enjoyed the freedom to roam around and play in an area that was designed specifially for their age group. 

 It had an area designed for water exploration.  The kids had a lot of fun getting wet!

 Shelby had so much fun, she gave me a thank-you kiss, actually I got two!

 The kids were starting to get tired, because it was naptime.  We decided to go to some of the areas designed for older kids.  Lance and I really enjoyed the gadget room.  There was an area that talked about gears and pulleys.  They had actually made a pair of chairs with multiple gears.  How would you like this chair in your living room?

 Lance and Jenna had lots of fun pulling their weight on the pulley chairs. 

With two restless kids, all that fun, and a half and hour until closing we decided to head towards our final destination - Dayton.

Vacation Day 2 - Hocking Hills

We started the morning on a hike to see the Rock House.  We actually walked past it the first time.  It was a huge "house" within the rocks.  It had several neat views, but was very difficult to photograph. 

 We left Rock House and went to see "Old Man's Cave"  We didn't stick around the cave very long because the highlight of our trip was to get moving at 2:30 pm. 

 We wanted to take Jenna on a choo choo ride.  So we found the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway.  It was a 14 mile trip by train around the Hocking Hills area. 

 Daddy and Shelby riding in the two-story car!

 Jenna and Mommy as we are on the move!

 We really enjoyed the train ride, a stop at the Rocky Shoe store headquarters.  We made a stop for supper for Amish food at the Olde Dutch Inn.  It had finally cooled off so we decided to go for two more short hikes.  The first was called Cedar Falls it was an easy 1/2 mile hike.

 The second hike was to Ash Cave which had a trickle of a water fall.  It was an easy 1/4 mile hike that was handicap accessable, which meant we got to use the stroller!  These two walks were probably the most enjoyable of the whole trip!

Vacation Day 1 - Ohio Caverns

Farm Credit Services requires their employees take five consecutive days of vacation per vacation year (September 1- August 31).  Lance and I decided to take the first week of August as vacation.  I mentioned that I had never spent much time in Ohio.  On Saturday, July 30, we headed off to Ohio for vacation.  First stop... Ohio Caverns. 

 They had a very nice landscaped area.  I asked Jenna if she wanted to say cheese for mommy and this is the picture I got.

 They had several rooms with lots of stalagmites and stalactites.

 The cool dark area made Shelby go to sleep.

 They called this the "White Carrot"  There were lots of neat formaitons.

We left the caverns and continued to drive to the Hocking Hills area for day two.... stay tuned!

Two and a Half

It's hard to believe that lil Miss Jenna is 2 1/2 today.  My o my how my baby has grown!

 Februray 3, 2009 at 9:07 am we were blessed with a little girl, Jenna May Hofmann.  We had no idea how much our lives would change for the better!  I can't believe how much my baby girl has grown.

She is very independent, has so much personality, is developing quite an imagination, and is a very sweet little girl!