My Spring vacation in which my Mom, Carolyn, Ashleigh, and I all traveled to Pigeon Forge, Tennesse came to an end on March 27, 2005 - which happened to be Easter. We doubtlessly went to church that morning, followed by a visit with Carolyn’s family and Easter Egg hunt at Melanie’s house and then a trip out to Miamisburg to Darlene and Bob’s. Then it was back to work and business as usual. Well, mostly that is…
A few significant events that fell in the next few months include Carolyn and I returning to the Russ Auditorium in Springfield on Thursday, April 7, to see an elaborate rendering of Fiddler on the Roof, a play that we had now enjoyed three times in varous incarnations. This time I was sure to make arrangements for a nice dinner beforehand! We also saw The Music Man at La Comedia at some point during the Spring months.
On Friday, April 22, Carolyn surprised me by having my bags packed after work and driving me up to Columbus to attend a party at Denise’s house. She rented us a motel room and we spent a romantic evening, followed by a nice afternoon shopping at Easton Mall where I browsed the bookstores and she bought me an unbelievable slice of vanilla cheescake at the Cheescake Factory. This was part of our “Great Romance” initiatives, where we each choose a variety of things to do for one another. This was one of my most memorable favorites. In addition to the effort we were putting in with our dates, we also began seeing Liz Elliot, a family marriage counselor.
May finally saw the arrival of our new plush purple furniture that Carolyn had picked out on New Years Day. I loved her selection and she was ecstatic to finally have it and get rid of the junk furniture we had been living with that originally came from Lisa’s parents. We always grew tired of having to straighten the annoying blue and white couch covers. We also got a wonderful coffee table with a tabletop that could be ‘lifted’ up and brought up to your eating level. This was what I loved the most, making it conducive to eating in front of our big screen TV.
Me with the fun ball blower at COSI
On the work front, I was getting accustomed to my new job as P.O.S. Coordinator that I had accepted at the beginning of the year. The first new store for which I coordinated the install of equipment was Western Hills which opened on May 24. On May 11, we had a huge birthday celebration for our boss John. I almost got into trouble a few days later on May 30 - Memorial Day - when I went to my Mom’s picnic and forgot to take my cell phone. One of the stores had some systems issues and no one could get ahold of me.
The last Kroger Bag-Off to take place at the Cincinnati Zoo was held on Tuesday, June 7. The was my first time as a scale judge. Carolyn came and brough Ashleigh, Alex, and Madi. It was a blazing hot day, but we had a nice time visiting the animal exhibits. But mostly we tried to stick to the gift shops to stay in the air conditioning. On June 14, I stayed at the Cincinnati Airport Marriott where we had a Front-End Coordinators two-day gathering.
The blower seriously affects Briana’s brain
I took my second vacation of the year beginning on Saturday, June 18. With the impending Christmas newsletter coming, I desperately wanted to figure out something that we could do as a family that was interesting and memorable. Carolyn would have none of my historical-locations-type road trips and she even scoffed at the idea of going to the Henry Ford Museum. I apparently didn’t do a good job of explaining what was actually there, because later she told me that after her Mom told her what the Ford Museum was all about, it sounded more interesting.
Heck with the balls, just let it blow Yaht’s face
So since we were unable to agree on much, we ended up just going up to Columbus for a few days to stay with Denise. Briana, who lives nearby them in Westerville, hooked up with us and we had a nice time hanging out together. We took a fun trip to COSI - the Center of Science and Industry. I had hoped that it would resemble the COSI I knew from my childhood visits, but it had been relocated and completely changed. Sadly, the Presidential mannequins had been long gone.
Briana tries to lift herself…
…and finds it easier to lift a car
There was a great traveling Titanic exhibit, where we got to see lots of artifacts from the ship,
as well as a giant manufactured glacier simulating the cold of the waters where the Titanic went down. I bought a book about the ship - and of course a magnet. No photos were allowed, so I continued to scout for something memorable. We ended up in a Gravitron-like ride that resembled the old Kings Island Rotor. You stood in a cylindrical room which would begin to spin. Then the floor would drop out and centripetal force would keep you stuck to the wall. I’m sure I broke every rule in the book by taking a photo of the girls stuck to the wall…but hey, I needed a good shot for our Christmas newsletter. So what if it nearly made me violently ill…
Briana and Ashleigh…stuck to a wall once again
We will continue with Summer and the best Fourth of July ever…
Who is Yaht and why does she look so much like your daughter Ashleigh?
Peter
February 11th, 2008