Findlay Market/Zoo Trip

I've always wanted to check out Findlay Market in Cincinnati and recently, when Yusaku had a Friday off from work, we decided to do just that. It was a neat place and I wished we had brought an insulated bag so we could have brought some groceries back home with us. Yusaku suggested an impromptu trip to the zoo, so we headed there next! We got to see the hippo exhibit, which had just recently opened. It was neat, but I didn't get any pictures unfortunately!

love love love this pic! the way she is looking up at Yusaku <3 td="">

my favorite people!

FC Cincinnati vs. Crystal Palace

Yusaku has taken on a new, second job as coach of the Oakwood JV Boys soccer team. He's excited about it and I am happy for him, even if it means we will see him a little less during the first few months of the school year. Thanks to his new role, he got four free tickets to a professional soccer game in Cincinnati last weekend that one of the soccer parents was giving away. He and I have been to a Columbus Crew game before, but we've never taken the kids to a professional soccer game. This was a perfect opportunity to try it with them since it was free! It was hot and there was a record crowd of over 35,000 people, but we had fun! The kids especially enjoyed getting to stay up late and watch the fireworks (while eating ice cream!).

her new FC Cincinnati shirt...sure makes a cute model!

Hocking Hills: Ash Cave and Conkle's Hollow

Sunday morning, after breakfast, we wanted to do a little more hiking before we made the drive back home so we decided to check out Ash Cave. It may have been one of my favorites for the sheer fact that it was a beautiful, easy walk to see a beautiful cave. Also, it was early enough in the morning that we were practically the only people there.

Ash Cave

Since this was a pretty quick trail, Yusaku suggested we check out Conkle's Hollow. Yusaku "encouraged" me to do the 2.5 mile rim trail, assuring me the view at the top would be worth it. I may have been a little hesitant to climb the 200 ft (at a pretty steep ascent), but I let Yusaku push me and I'm glad I did, because he was right - the view at the top was worth it!

Yusaku almost gave me a heart attack several times by doing stuff like this

the view that was worth it

Since the 2.5 mile "challenging" trail wasn't enough, Yusaku encouraged me once more to the do the easier mile long trail on the floor of the "hollow." It was definitely much easier than the rim trail.

for some scale, you can see tiny Yusaku in the blue shirt in the middle

I would say the trip was the perfect way to celebrate our anniversary - spending time together, enjoying some beautiful scenery, delicious meals, and a massage. Thankful to be married to an adventurous, fun-loving, hard working guy with a great (albeit weird) sense of humor. He happens to also be a pretty great dad! Looking forward to seeing what the next ten years have in store!

Hocking Hills: Old Man's Cave and Cedar Falls

Our actual anniversary was during our trip to North Carolina, and while we enjoyed a nice dinner there to celebrate, I thought we could do something a little bigger since it was our 10th anniversary! So...we went to Hocking Hills for the weekend of July 8, leaving the kids with my parents. We love our girls very much, but we don't often get the chance to have time away just the two of us so it was a special treat.

We had never been to Hocking Hills before but it's been on the list of places I want to go and Yusaku, being the agreeable guy he is, agreed to go. We got there around dinner time on Friday night, enjoyed a delicious meal, and walked around the grounds a little bit.

the garden behind the building where our room was

Saturday morning, we got up early, ate breakfast at the inn, and headed to Old Man's Cave. As was the case with all the beautiful things we saw that weekend, the pictures don't do them justice. In the picture below, Yusaku helps provide a little scale so you can appreciate how large the cave is.

After Old Man's Cave, we drove back to the inn for lunch before heading out for another hike at Cedar Falls.

another Yusaku-in-a-cave picture

Rose Lake

After a long day of hiking, we came back to the inn and relaxed for a little bit before we walked to the spa on the property and got a couple's massage!!! It was a pretty awesome way to wrap up the day. We enjoyed yet another dinner at the inn and then hung out on the porch swing in the rooftop garden. You can see what our view was in the picture below.

Cincinnati Zoo Trip: July 5

The day after Fourth of July, our friends invited us to join them at the zoo, so the girls and I headed down. It was lots of fun but also super hot and humid, which is why we capped off the day with ice cream! :)