Ohio trip 2011

So, I'm riding in the van on the way back from visiting Pete's family in Toledo, OH and thought I should blog about it (gonna try and blog more often in 2012)!

We drove up the day after Christmas. It's an 11 hour trip if you include stops, but it was our first long trip in the van. I have to say it was a pleasant ride. The girls were occupied with movies and gadgets and I had my iPad. ;)

We stayed with Pete's parents, Gary and Carol. Pete's sister, Holly, and her husband Matt also live there. Pete's brother, Bart, was in town from Chicago and his littlest sister, Heidi, and her fiancée, Shaun, also spent lots of time at the house. Unfortunately, Pete's oldest sister, Jennie, and her family (husband and four kids) live in South Dakota and had been to visit for Thanksgiving so we did not get to see them.

Gary, Holly, and Pete love to cook so much of the first night was spent planning the menu for the week. We always know we are going to eat good when we stay with them.

Heidi and I love to play games so that's how we spent most of the evenings. Hilarious!! I was introduced to two new games (Balderdash and Things) and we also played some Catchphrase.

Shaun was a hit with the girls. He colored with them, played horses with them, and showed them his Angry Birds skills.

It snowed a little while we were there, but it was more of a wet snow and not the kind you can get it and play in.

Gary has a good friend who owns an Equestrian Center in Toledo and they were kind enough to invite us over and Hannah got to ride for over an hour. That was a real treat! We also found a neat tack shop and Hannah got new riding boots and pants.

Here a few pictures from our trip. I wish I had taken more. Enjoy!