And there was even a train

Yesterday, we had a lovely outing with my cousins Mike & Suzi, my Granny Annie, and my brother and sweet niece. We met at Indigo Lake down by the Cuyahoga Valley National Park for a picnic and some fishing. We mostly did the picnic part, though Aiden and Mike tried really hard to catch some fish. It was just too hot and the little ones in the very clear shallows weren’t fooled by the lures. Still, Aiden had a really good time and was surprisingly patient and focused. I think I see more fishing in our future, especially if his fishing Grandpa ever visits us again. Seeing Jonathan and Piper was so much fun for me—I love seeing my little brother being such a wonderful daddy. And Piper is my favorite girl ever. I love her so much, my heart clenches a bit when I see her.

(She is so PINK!)

(Don’t worry-he was well supervised by these tracks.)

I was there too!

Love these two. Those glasses crack me up.

The best part about these photos is that Chad is casting with Aiden’s Sponge Bob toy fishing pole. The fish actually followed the plastic pink fish on the end of this line, but they never took a nibble. It is surprisingly fun to play with.

Aiden with my very tall cousin Mike. All my cousins on this side are tall. Everyone is tall, except for me. I am the sport.

Cousins, who are both still short.

Ok, remember those tracks I was letting my kid play on? Well, just to make this outing absolutely AWESOME, a train came by! The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad runs right through here, and on summer weekends, you can catch a ride with your bike back to the parking lot. Seems like cheating, but people do it. Aiden was so thrilled, I can’t even tell you. And Piper thought it was pretty cool too. Whistles and waving and lots of happy people.

Well, if you’ve made it this far into this super-long post, I thank you.

Can you believe only one more week in August?