Easter, Cousins, Wild Italian Dinners, Oh My!

We're back. Well, we've been back but I honestly haven't had a second to do an entry. Playing some serious catch up and the only reason I'm getting to write right now is that I've stuck my two youngest in front of a TV show - or this wouldn't be happening either. No big deal you think? Let's just say this isn't their first today...

First, let me point out E's hair. Head on fire, no? This child has the reddest hair I've ever seen. He totally should have won that contest, not that I'm biased. At. All. Or bitter. I had already spent those downtown gift certificates in my head.

Easter was good. Traveling with the Hemmig's is kind of like pregnancy and childbirth. You think it is a good idea, despite past memories of pain and suffering and do it anyway. Inevitably, halfway through the trip you wonder what crazy drugs you were on when you decided this was a good idea and realize that words like "relaxing" and "fun" almost never describe these scenarios. And then a week later you are having thoughts like "that was great!" and "let's do it again soon!"

And no matter how much you swear that you're done with childbirth - 18 months later you're thinking it wasn't such a bad experience after all. And maybe, just maybe, you'd do it again.

But despite days of rain and couped up children, they had fun playing with their cousins and we had fun playing games at night and doing some serious thrifting. I'm jealous of their great thrift stores in Dayton. But it's probably best I can only visit them a few times a year otherwise I'd get myself into trouble. We also managed to hit my favorite Dayton haunt - The Air Force Museum. This place is a free gem. Hanger after hanger of every type of military plane ever made, missiles and war memorabilia. It's my goal to take the kids there every time we visit. It's our way to visiting Papa Hemmig - who died before Jackson was born. They are getting to know him through his career and are always excited to visit. I am so excited that next year they are getting the Presidential planes and the Space Shuttle.

We ended the trip visiting an old group of friends in Cincinnati for dinner. We picked Buca di Beppo because of the noise level and the fact that between five families there would be 10 kids. It was mass chaotic fun - kids everywhere, people shouting over bottles of Chianti and large bowls of pasta, babies crying and children escaping. I would have been a hot mess if they hadn't given us our own little alcove. It was just enough privacy to make the chaos relaxing and manageable.