A night in the woods and the Akron Zoo

Daddy's cousin lives tucked among the trees at Lake Milton. Their little cabin is home to Susan, Ned and their 4 sweet kitties that come and go as they please. As soon as we arrived, Susan helped the kids make their own pizza.

Hiking the woods by their house.

After balloon games, building rockets and a dance party, they were hooked on Susan and her home in the woods. 

They really wanted to stay there with her, but it was time to visit Uncle Marty and Aunt Lynn. 

Fortunately Susan went with us, so the goodbye wasn't too painful.

After lunch and a great visit with the family, we said our goodbyes (Asher and Journey were
still asking to go home with Susan). Then we made a QUICK stop at the Akron Zoo.
Somehow we managed to make the most of the last 30 minutes before closing to see
just enough to really love the place.

Our favorites here were the snow leopards, the ENOURMOUS capybara, 

3 kinds of jellyfish, bats and the most beautiful lions I've ever seen. 

Dodging balls and catching a movie

Grandpa's barn is just THE BEST place to play, especially when it's cold outside. This winter,
the kids learned how to play kickball, basketball, pickleball and, their new favorite, dodgeball! 

  Um, I don't think that's allowed, mister! 

Snuggles with Grandma

Now time for some pickleball lessons!

There's an area in Columbus called "The Continent". In the mid 90s, this place was booming, now it's practically a ghost town. Even the movie theater that reopened as a discount theater is empty on a weekday. We had the place to ourselves to watch Planes: Fire & Rescue. It was "Wild Wednesday", so our total including drinks, popcorn and our tickets, was $10! It was a fun afternoon.

Christmas with family

Who knew Krispy Kreme had such cute doughnuts?! A nice surprise!

Christmas dinner with Grammy, Pop-Pop and Meemaw:

We went to see Santa at the Festival of Lights at Alum Creek after driving thru the light display. 

Christmas day they woke up with their cousins, opened presents and then went back

 to Grandpa's barn to open a few more there with Aunt Jane and Uncle Barry.

Daddy had the biggest surprise for us, 2 new kayaks! 

Now we have to go back to Lake Powell to really explore the coves!