Packing It Up

This was the last Wombats day for the season, a tournament in Lebanon.  Above are Aaron and his mom watching the game and keeping score.  Aaron scored the wooden bat from me, aka Gran B, this morning.  Of course, the boy already had a perfectly good bat, a really good one, but there's just something about a Louisville Slugger.

The Wombats won the first two games, then lost the third.  They played a team in a higher category and did themselves proud.  Here's Nora packing it up for the season.  Bitter sweet.

Happy Birthday to Me

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful 70th birthday.  There was a wonderful Bonbonniere opera cream cake, with a just a sliver left for tonight, and all kinds of good food.

There was a visit from Aunt Sarah and a sleepover with both daughters.  And another sleepover with the grands.  Lots of places to visit.  We love the swings on the Cincinnati riverfront with the view of the stadium scoreboard.

The grands were eager to introduce Aunt Sarah to The Gruff in Covington.

There were visits to Rhinegeist and Taft's Ale House, a bit of gardening, and a last walk across the Purple People Bridge this morning.  Things are way quiet at my house again.

Smale Park

The new riverfront park in Cincinnati just gets nicer.  It's between the Reds stadium and the Bengals stadium.

There is a lovely little adventure feature with slides and drums and climbing rocks.  Aaron's favorite was the climbing wall.  The floor of this area is nice and cushy.

Second favorite was the swings that look out over the river.  The Reds are out of town right now, but this would be a cool place with the stadium noise in the background.  It might be harder to find parking, though.  We parked in one of the garages.

We got the absolutely last parking spot and there was someone trailing us as we walked back to our car, glad for our spot.  Lots of the spaces were closed off for power washing.  Cincinnati is getting ready for the All Star games.

Aunt Sarah's Merry Band

There was impatience at Elkmont on Wednesday as the kids waited for Aunt Sarah to arrive and take them on adventures.

Nora had chosen this spot in the Little River that was pooled in by rocks as a good space to get in the water.

Once in, they forded on to a big rock and the kids were very proud of themselves.  Earlier in the day Bridget's nephews took them tubing farther up on the same river, very fun.  It's no wonder the kids look forward to this trip.  

First Week of Summer Vacation

I've been on a posting vacation that will probably last another week or so.  But, here are some things going on.  Hiking at the Fort Thomas tree trail.  I told the kids they were training for an Smokeys trip later.

First zoo trip of the summer.  I like to go toward the end of the day when there are once again parking spaces in the up-close canopied area.

Hampster balls, got to do that.

First time on the aquarium shark bridge.  It was a hit, we went across three times.

And then, there was baseball.  Aaron pitched on Saturday for his first time and he did great.  I wish I had his confidence.

Nora's Wombats went 10 - 0 for the season in a game that was hard for me to watch.  Here's the coach's recap:

The Wombats locked up in a good ol' good one today against Milford- an epic pitcher's duel. They ran their ace out there and we countered with our ace..and Ashley Beach was dealing today baby, neutralizing every threat that they mounted as she went the distance for the complete game W. Hits were at a premium as the Wombats drew first blood on and RBI sac by Emma Tenhundfeld scoring Nora Lockhart who had led off with a base knock. That ribeye would prove to loom large as the plate was only dented twice today. Ashley Clarke provided the go-ahead run on a solo home run missile to left center. Nora was on the receiving end of a throw down to third from Sydnie Pelle to knock off the tying run on a steal attempt. Nora also received a perfect strike throw to the plate From Ashley Clarke to gun down a runner from third that would have been the tying run again. McKenzie Weber continues to swing a hot bat, adding a couple of knocks on the day.
It was a white-knuckle finish in the bottom of the last with the tying run on third and Ashley Beach dug deep and slammed the door to secure the win. 10 and 0! Couldn't be more proud of how far this team has come!!!

Clematis Update

I'm glad my garden is providing some good color, because nothing much is happening in my studio.  I'm trying to figure out where to go next, but right now nothing, nothing is happening inside.