Art Keepers

Are these not the cutest? I was so impressed with how this worked out I had to share it with you! For those of you that do not know I am a full time student, even in the summer! This is finals week. My last class is tomorrow for summer term. I needed something to occupy the kids. I got to looking around the house for something for them to do and found a stack of large envelopes. Ivy and I were just discussing the other day that we needed something to store her artwork in. I thought well these would be good for that and if they decorate them it would be even better! I gave them stickers, crayons and additional art supplies for Ivy. The only thing I asked was that they put their names on them. I wrote Bella's on the front of hers and Ivy wrote hers on the back of hers. Then I left them to it. They made these beauties! Not only do I now have something cute to keep their art in, It also kept them busy for about an hour and a half!! I got some homework finished and they had some sisterly bonding time. It was a beautiful thing all around!

Mitchell Memorial Forest and Miami Whitewater Forest - Ohio

We recently decided to spend a day checking out a couple of parks in Hamilton County, Ohio. The first was Mitchell Memorial Forest. We walked down Wood Duck Nature Trail. The shot on the left was of an old dam. The pond area that it traps is full of lilies! We unfortunately missed them blooming but I think we may try to return to see them in bloom. You can barely see this dam from the family friendly trail. You will have to do a little off trail to get this close. Be forewarned there is a fence between you and this. I know, I know but this was too pretty to pass up! It was only a small detour and my husband kept the kids on the trail. We enjoyed the trail which is only about a mile. Ivy played in a small almost dry creek. She found bugs and flowers to check out. After we were done with the trail we went to play at their playground. It was small but cute. The issue we had with this park was that there was not any shade over it. It was very hot and sunny on this day. It did not take long and the kids were ready to run for the shade of the neighboring trees.

Ivy Took Bella's hand and said "Let's go find an adventure Bell." I got this shot of them walking off into the trees. We just followed behind them. We found a small clearing at the end. It was not a very long trail but they were super thrilled with it. The entrance is right by the park. It was a pretty little clearing with a small well which was covered.

After this we headed back to the car. We had a snack in the shade of the trees by our car. After that we headed to Miami Whitewater Forest which is only about 10 minutes away.

We cooled down and got some drinks out of the cooler before heading out onto the next trail we had picked out. We went down the Tallgrass Prairie Trail. It was very pretty! It is also only about a mile. It was slightly more hilly but still manageable with the jogging stroller. When we got to the Prairie we tried to locate all of the plants that were on the sign. It was fun. We found quite a few of them and other things, like blackberries. After the trail we played Frisbee in the clearing by the parking area for the trail. It is fairly large and grassy. This was Bella's first time playing Frisbee. She loved to throw it but could only get it a foot or two. She would clap and yell "Good Job!" Anytime she or anyone threw it. We played for about a half an hour before moving on.

The next stop was the lake. We parked in the little bit of shade we could find in the lot. We walked along the paved trail by the lake stopping to admire the view, a couple ducks and a willow tree. There is a very large playground and the visitor center by the parking lot and lake. We took the kids to play at the playground and realised there is a water park here as well. It was super hot so they were practically drooling at the site of the water! We had to walk around the corner to the snack bar to purchase a bracelet. We only had to get Ivy one because Bella is under two. We did not even have suits with us, lol. That did not stop them from having a blast!The water park has a pirate theme complete with a ship!

The Info:

Website: http://greatparks.org/

Location of Mitchell Memorial Forest: 5401 Zion Rd. Cleves, OH 45002

Features park offers: 3.9 mile mountain bike trail, hiking, picnic areas, playground, and catch and release fishing only.

Cost: Free because we purchased a park pass on a previous visit. If not it is $3 for the day or the year pass is only $10!

Location of Miami Whitewater Forest: 9001 Mt. Hope Rd. Harrison, OH 45030

Features: Wetlands, trails, Frisbee golf, golf course, equestrian trail, snack bar, campground, picnic and shelter areas, lake, fishing, boat rentals, wet playground, playground, and visitor center.

Cost: Free with pass. $3 for day pass or $10 for year pass

Cost of Water Playground: $2 each or 3 for $5

Breakdown of Our Day:

Arrive at Mitchell Memorial Forest (12pm)

Walk Wood Duck Nature Trail (12pm to 1:15pm)

Potty Break and Play at Playground (1:15pm to 1:45)

Small Trail Walk (1:45pm to 2pm)

Snack in Shade by the entry to Wood Duck Nature Trail (2:00 to 2:15pm)

Drive to Miami Whitewater Forest (2:15pm to 2:30pm)

Walk Tallgrass Prairie Trail (2:30pm to 3:30pm)

Played Frisbee by trail parking area (3:30 to 4pm)

Potty Break (4pm to 4:05pm)

Walk around Lake (4:10pm to 4:30pm)

Played at Playground (4:30 to 4:50pm)

Brought bracelet for wet Playground (4:50 to 5pm)

Played at Wet Playground (5pm to 6pm)

Dried off kids and got them changed (6pm to 6:20pm)

Left park (6:20pm)

We stopped for Pizza for dinner.

 This was a tiring day in the sun for all of us. The whole house slept soundly that night!

The Borderline Creamy Whip on Hwy 50 Greendale, IN

On Highway 50, in Indiana just barely, sits the Borderline Creamy Whip. It's almost on the border of Indiana and Ohio. It's a small ice cream shop. It is kind-of like a ice cream truck without the truck. It's a trailer with a walk-up window. They are a great family stop in summer! Their prices are very reasonable! They have picnic tables set up in the shade for you to sit and enjoy your frozen treat. The girls who work here are a joy.
We had a child's size cone (In the photo) which was huge! My oldest tried a sundae. She said it was very good. They just do the basics but they do them well! They are near many other family fun places! They have a good sized gravel lot that you can easily turn around in. This is nice because they are off of such a busy road. There is a small gift shop next door to them if you are interested. We all got ice cream and it cost me less then $5! By now I'm sure you all know I love a well priced outing and this one takes the cake...cake-cone that is!