A New Job

So the other day Zoe & I were riding in the car. And this is how the conversation rolled:

Zoe - "Mom, I've been thinking."

Me - "What about?"

Zoe - "Well, I think I still wanna work at H**ters when I grow up. But instead of being a doctor, I think I wanna be a teacher."

Me - "Oh, Zoe, that's awesome. You know that I would be very proud of you if you ended up being a teacher. Just like Me."

Zoe - (smiles)

Me - "So, why do you think you wanna be a teacher?"

Zoe - "Well, because I think it'd be really cool to eat in the teachers' lounge!!!!!"

(I didn't have the heart to tell her the teachers' lounge isn't all its cracked up to be!)

It's True....

Our baby is a first grader!!!! It's just so hard to believe. She's growing up way too fast. Too fast in fact that this morning after arriving at school, she just kind of looked at me, gave me a smile, & off she went. No kiss, no hug, nothing...just a little grin & a short wave. Makes me kinda sad. But on the other hand, so happy knowing she loves school & couldn't wait to get started this morning. (I'm sure I'll be just like that tomorrow when it's my first day back at school - NOT!!!)

Zoe with her heavy backpack all ready for the first day!

Missing in Action

(Warning: This is a long post with a lot of pictures!)

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. We just arrived home from a much needed week's vacation on Lake Erie in Ohio. Even though the week flew by, we had a great time. Here's the run down of our week:

Saturday, July 31st: We left Saturday morning around 5 AM & arrived at our condo on Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio about 4 PM. That evening we walked around downtown Sandusky, ate dinner, made a quick trip to a "mom & pop" grocery store, & basically hung out at the condo.

Sunday, August 1st: Slept in, checked out the city, had a late lunch at a local restaurant, & then explored the lake front.

Monday, August 2nd: We headed to Kelley's Island & Put-in-Bay Island to explore. We had a great time renting golf carts & driving all over the islands. There were many beautiful houses on the lake & lots of friendly people. We visited the Butterfly House & the Cave in Put-in-Bay. Zoe enjoyed taking the ferries to each island. (I know, you're probably asking where the pictures are. I accidentally left the camera back at the condo. When I realized it, it was too late!)

Tuesday, August 3rd: Cedar Point - A Roller Coaster Lover's Dream. It was a little cloudy & rainy when we first got there, but it eventually cleared up to make for a great day.

Zoe on the Carousel.

Lovin' on Sn**py!

Dad & Zoe waiting for the Scrambler to start.

After getting her hair wrapped.

Petting the goat.

A beautiful unicorn face painting.

Paul waiting for take-off on the Dragster Roller Coaster. It takes off at 250 miles per hour just like a dragster race car. (It was so much fun watching everyone's faces when it took off!)

That's Paul coming over the top of the ride.

Wednesday, August 4th: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Paul had been waiting for this day for quite some time. Knowing that Zoe would not last as long as Paul would want to stay (hours & hours), I planned for Zoe & I to eventually make our way to the Cleveland Zoo.

Big guitars that select artists had designed & signed.

This was hanging in the lobby. Zoe wanted a picture of it since Gwen is her middle name!

(After about an hour & a half, Zoe had had enough & we headed to the zoo.)

There were painted dinosaurs all over the zoo. Zoe loved getting her picture with them.

Porcupine in the Rainforest exhibit.

The zoo's current display is - "The Scoop on Poop". It was quite entertaining.

Another face paining - a Monarch Butterfly. (Many people kept saying she made such a cute tiger. Zoe got a big chuckle out of that.)

Riding the camel.

And with her new friend Kendall.

A Koala baby with its mama.

Another dinosaur.

On the zoo's tram.

The Scoop on Poop exhibit sign.

We headed back to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame about 15 minutes before the zoo closed. Shortly after our arrival, kids from the School of Rock House Band in Kansas City, MO performed a live concert of classic rock. It was awesome. Those kids could sing. In fact, there were many times that people would walk in the Hall of Fame doors & instantly look around trying to find the original artist, only to be surprised it was a group of young kids.

Thursday, August 5th: Niagara Falls. On a whim, we decided to drive the 3 1/2 hours to Niagara Falls. We figured we were this close, we might as well take advantage of it. Let me tell you, the falls did not disappoint. They were absolutely gorgeous & we had a wonderful time (except for the almost running out of gas - thanks to my husband - that's a another story in itself).

Waiting to board the Maid of the Mist ferry boat.

Zoe was getting wet & loving it!

Friday, August 6th: Marblehead Light House. We had seen this light house from the ferry boat when we toured the islands. With nothing to do on our last day, we decided to drive to Marblehead. We had a wonderful lunch at Avery's diner & then headed to Marblehead Light House State Park.

Zoe & I climbed the 72 step up to the top & then the 72 steps back down.

Zoe jumping on the rocks!

Striking a pose...

And then ending with a jump!

Overall, we had a wonderful vacation. It just wasn't long enough! Everyone says it's always nice to be home. I guess, but now Zoe & I have to get ready for school which starts in a week. YUK! Summer has flown by!