I had not been back to where I grew up (Dayton, Ohio) since we moved away in 1999 after I graduated from high school. I have wanted to go back to see the old hood for quite some time now.  We stopped by Marion's Piazza for lunch. Growing up, we had Marion's just about every week. One of my dad's best friend's was the manager for years at the Marion's by the Dayton Mall. A few years back it burned to the ground. We had not yet been to the rebuilt version. As soon as we walked in, it looked almost identical. Grams and I got their ham & sauerkraut pizza and pepperoni & sausage while Juliette ran around the game room. My brothers and I spent a lot of time doing just the same! We also stopped by Bill's Donuts and grabbed some donuts. Juliette scarfed down her sprinkle donut (can't say I blame her). We drove by Centerville High School where my brother Matt & I went...as well as Bishop Leibold where both my brother's and I went to elementary school.  We did a drive by of the house we grew up in. I found the place in the driveway where us kids left our impression :)  It was fun seeing everything...a blast from the past!  p.s.  We did get another sprinkle donut for Juliette for tomorrow morning!

Juliette running like a crazy woman at the Dayton Mall.

Bill's Donuts are as good as I remember them to be!

My elementary school.

The only picture I could take at our childhood home.

Today was a really lovely day on the farm!  Juliette got to see Cousin Olive, Cousin Dillon, Aunt Mandy, Aunt Jenny, Pappaw & Maggie and Granny at Huber's Winery Orchard, Winery & Vineyards in Starlight, Indiana.  We had been there in the fall a couple of years ago and LOVED it!  They have pick your own fruits & veggies (pumpkins in the fall!), all kinds of fun for kids and a cool farmers market.  Everyone pitched in to bring together a great picnic lunch.  Juliette and Olive ran around and played for a solid three hours!  it was a warm yet nice day!  So glad we got to see everyone!

I'm a known planner...I plan everything.  Knowing that Juliette and I would be flying to KY without Dada meant an internet search on "How to fly with a toddler."  I got all the goods...new shiny toys, lollipops, laptop loaded with all her favs (Dora, Zach & Quack, Bubble Guppies and old school Mickey Mouse episodes).  We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to run around just like the internet "experts" said to do.  I got the juice in the sippy cup to help with the pressure in her ears at takeoff.  I got her the window seat so she could look out.  I changed her diaper right before boarding.  All was going great until Juliette became "that kid" on the plane.  Yes, she was exhausted and refused to take a nap.  So what does any normal two year old do when they are tired and not wanting to sleep?  They scream and cry as loud as they can.  And she succeeded.  I was "that parent that was doing nothing about their screaming child."  I now completely understand how helpless parents feel on airplanes when their kid is just not feeling like being stuck on a plane.  We landed at CVG and were happy to be on the ground.  Grams met us at the airport and life slowly returned.

Today, we got to Kings Island!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Aunt Mandy, Cuz Dill Pickles, Cuz Cauliflower, Uncle Chris, Aunt Cori, Grams & Todd joined us for the fun day!

Life sucks when you have to leave Kings Island!

But oh the smurf ice cream...how I love thee!

On a completely separate note: this is AMAZING!  It's Derby Pie in an ice cream form.  I really feel awful eating this while Dada is at work all week.  Who am I kidding!  More for me :)

Today Juliette, Auntie Em and I went to a cute carnival put on by Juliette's pediatrician in celebration of their 10th anniversary. Juliette LOVED the petting zoo...maybe Dada will let her get a rabbit or guinea pig one day. Or a donkey possibly? 

     So, HELLO everyone!  This is Juliette's pops checking in.  You remember me, right?  The author of the blog post with the highest click count in the history of www.JulietteMargot.com.  No big deal.  Some bloggers go for quantity of posts.  Others of us sit back in the shadows and just deliver the the quality. 

     In that vein, today's blog post is centered around a fun day had by all at De Leon Springs State Park.  While it's always been a favorite for the two bloggers that created both the most adorable toddler around and this swell tribute blog to her, it's even more fun with "the kid" joining in on the fun.  Let's be honest though, she's taking her time with the joining in part.  De Leon Springs is all about two things....Pancakes and Cold Water.  

How amazing do these two things look?  Two varieties of pancakes made freshly on your tabletop accompanied with an array of toppings....who wouldn't love that?  Juliette, that's who.  She's a finicky eater, so we'll let that slide.  But how about that crisply cool 72 degree water on a brutally hot July afternoon in Florida?  Who can resist?  OK...OK...a lot of people.  72 degrees is COLD.  She tried her best though.  From the second she saw that water she was so eager to enjoy it.  She sprinted right over to it...waiting for the go ahead.  Only to be delayed by the tortures of having sun screen applied and having her swimsuit put on.  As arduous as that was, she was ever so eager to have her flotation device secured.  That little red crab represents freedom. Who needs mommy and dada to hold you when you can kick and swim in this giant pool on your own?  Well, apparently little girls that weigh less 25 pounds do when they are subjected to brutally cold water.  She hung in like a champ for all of 10 minutes.  I tried to set her free like the many afternoons and evenings in our heated neighborhood pool, where she is so eager to swim around freely.  Not so much under these conditions.  She clinched on to me the entire 600 seconds she braved in the spring water.  When finally I tried to let her loose one last time she let out a thunderous barrage of "ALL DONE! ALL DONE! ALL DONE!", along with the appropriate baby sign language.  Point taken, Juliette.

Juliette greatly enjoyed everything else that De Leon Springs has to offer though.  Mostly, she got to be outside and run relatively free for several hours.  That's huge in her world.  She also got to go on a nature hike, while leading the expedition no less. 

More than anything though, we all got to spend some time with some of our favorite people who happened to be down on vacation from Kentucky.  Jason will always be a great friend who I first met when I was just a few years older than Juliette.  We always look forward to when him, Nina, and Stephen are in the area and we can spend some time together.  Great people.  Especially for UK fans.  :)

It's been a while since I've posted...and Josh made sure to remind me.  So Joshua Jones...here goes :)

This past weekend was Fourth of July.  I took all weekend off to spend with Juliette since Dada was stuck working (Amazon, is it necessary to deliver packages on the Fourth of July????!!!).  We had a chill Friday (day care was closed), just hanging out.  Saturday started out rough for me.  I spent all day feeling like crap...which there was a lot of, if you get my drift.  We went over to our friends house for a while to celebrate the holiday after dad got off work.  A good time was had by all.  Juliette was not such a fan of the fireworks our neighbors were shooting off.  Maybe next year she will like them better.  Sunday rolled around and I was feeling much better!  I needed to stop by work for a little bit to check voicemails and e-mails.  As soon as we got to SBC and parked the car, Juliette decided to throw up all over me.  Thankfully, we sell tank tops at the Club...so I bought myself a new shirt.  I had planned on taking Juliette to the Alligator Farm (Juliette got Dada season passes for Father's Day this year...she's so thoughtful!) so we continued on with our original plans hoping that the vomitting was a one-time event.  Unfortunately, it was not.  Juliette managed to throw up all over herself, her stroller and the Alligator Farm.  And she threw up pretty much the entire way home.  We spent the remainder of our holiday "peaceful" weekend, cuddling on the couch...watching the US Women's Soccer team win the World Cup.  

Even after the crazy weekend, I am happy to call this cute little gal mine.  I wouldn't trade any of the vomit or terrible two's for anything.

Here's a cute picture of the kid on Sunday evening...finally smiling again!

The Alligator Farm BEFORE vomit (I did take pictures of the aftermath, but I will spare you all)

Hanging out with with Harrison on Fourth of July

Swimming on Friday night before the craziness began