Where the wild things are

Last weekend we went on a short getaway about 2 hours east of where we live. The area is home to quite a few state parks that have great hiking trails for families along with some really beautiful natural attractions like caves and waterfalls. We rented a cabin online a few weeks before and all of us, including my parents who were coming along, were excited for some family fun.





The cabin was really cute and managed to look better in person than it did on the internet . It was clean, well built and really cozy. The only thing that was a little startling was the amount of creatures that called the cabin home. None of them were still living, which I guess is a good thing. Honestly if I have to cohabitate in an enclosed space with animals like black bears and bobcats, I'd really rather they were dead than alive. But I guess I just wasn't really expecting to see quite so many dead things in such a small space.



When we entered the cabin the first thing I noticed were the 2 bear skins hanging over my head. Now truthfully, there was a picture of the bear skins on the internet, but I thought they were those cute fake rugs that you buy in stores that look like bear skins. For some reason it never occurred to me that they would be real.

Surprise! They were. They were really real. It became clear to all of us pretty quickly, that the owners of the cabin were AVID (some might even argue obsessive) hunters. There were deer heads everywhere.




There were also several stuffed birds and an animal that may have been a bobcat. Most of the animals had tags with names written on them. Whether they indicated who shot them or who stuffed them I really couldn't tell you.



The walls that weren't covered in actual animal hides, featured pictures of people posing with dead animals. Since neither I nor any of my family go hunting, it was an interesting and somewhat frightening glimpse into the family who had so graciously rented us their cabin for the weekend.

And just in case we were still curious about the owners of the cabin, there was also a photo album on one of the coffee tables that featured pictures of the family. There were photos of the construction of the cabin, as well as a lot more hunting pictures featuring many, many more dead deer. Let me just tell you that this family is doing more than their part to help control the deer overpopulation here in Ohio. They are certainly not resting on their laurels and wasting all of their outdoor time hiking and looking at waterfalls like a certain family I know.

But really, the most disturbing thing I saw in the photo album wasn't a dead animal. It was several photos of 2 boys just about a year older than C smoking cigars and holding shotguns.

Now every family has their own idea of what makes a fun leisure time activity. But seriously, arming my kids and then letting them light up cigars has really never occurred to me. I'm not saying that their choices are bad. I'm just saying that the idea of handing my own children a shotgun seems unwise. And the cigar smoking thing. Umm...just no.

It occurred to me several times over the weekend that these were people who you probably did not want to anger. It was a case of...I'm pretty positive that your family can shoot, kill and stuff beat up my family. And while our paths probably wouldn't cross too much in our everyday lives, I realized that these would be excellent people to befriend in the event of some kind of nation-wide crisis that would force people to live off the land and fend for themselves.

I'm thinking of a Red Dawn type of situation. You know where the Russians and Cubans team up to invade our country and cut-off all food supplies... And we are forced to rely on Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell and Jennifer Grey to battle back the Communist forces that threaten our great nation. Since I'm not really liking our chances in that kind of scenario, I'm just saying that I want to live near this family 'cause I know I'm not going to go hungry.

Anyhoo...despite that abundance of animals inside the cabin, we didn't really get to see any living wildlife on any of our weekend hiking adventures (not even a bird). Of course we did hear quite a bit of gunfire in the distance. I think hunting season may have started, which means all of the smart animals are probably taking a mini-vacation somewhere else.

But even with the lack of wildlife, we saw a lot of beautiful things,

And went on some really fun hikes,


And most important of all had a lot of fun just hanging out together.

Especially (at least for Mr. Crackers and the Cracker children) while relaxing in the cabin's hot tub.

So, thank you AVID hunting family where ever you are. We had a lot of fun in your cabin. And don't worry we cleaned up after ourselves. We didn't want to do anything to anger you, after all chances are you would make much better friends than enemies. And, at least until Charlie Sheen gets his act together, we may need you and your fearsome hunting skills some day!

The perfect storm

This past Saturday we headed over to a lake in Indiana where we met up with Mr. Crackers' parents & many members of his extended family for the annual lake outing. In total about 25 family members showed up for the event with 2 pontoon boats, a ski boat and a jet ski to ferry our floating family reunion around the lake.

The weather was very hot and hazy with some forecasted showers later in the afternoon. This may not sound like ideal boating weather, but honestly we don't really spend all that much time on the boats during the trip. What we do is anchor all the boats together to form this giant flotilla and then everyone gets in the water for a nice refreshing swim. The boats are really just there to hold our snacks and beverages.

As Mr. Crackers can attest, I'm not really much of a boating person, or a swimming person. I'm more of a sit next to a large body of water in the shade with a book and a drink while ocean/lake breezes keep me cool kind of person. But, since my husband and my kids love, love, love the water, I spend a lot more time in and on the water than I would normally be inclined to.

Thankfully the day was hot and the water in the lake was cool, but not so much that I got chilled too easily. Yes, I get cold really easily in the water. As I said before I'm really not much of a water person & also may be considered a bit of a wimp. But the water felt so great, I spent a lot of time in the lake with the rest of the family. It was really lovely.

Of course, Mr. Crackers found another way to stay cool. He fell in love with his uncle's jet ski and spent quite a bit of time zooming around the lake. I was sure pretty sure after the first hour, that a jet ski would be appearing on Mr. Crackers' Christmas list this year.

We probably stayed anchored in the same spot for about 2-3 hours until (for some reason that I don't quite remember) we decided to head across the lake to see how things looked on that side of the world.

Once we anchored in this new spot, which was very similar to our last spot just a bit farther east, everyone piled out of the boats and into the water once again.



Well, not everyone. By this time, I was pretty waterlogged and feeling a bit too fried by the sun, so I opted to stay on board one of the pontoon boats with a couple of Kevin's aunts and eat some snacks. Seriously, this family does not mess around the provisions. There was a cheese ball, Doritos, Pringles, Combos, pretzels and Oreos. In short, I was quite content to stay on board.

Just as I was contemplating applying sunscreen for what seemed like the 4th time, I heard someone say, "Was that thunder?"

I didn't hear it though and although the sky was a bit overcast as I looked to (what I now know was the eastern) sky, I didn't see any clouds looming ahead of me so I settled back down with my crackers, and Oreos, and maybe a bit of that cheese ball.

And then...I heard it. The thunder. It was loud enough to make me turn around and that's when I realized how important it is to scan all of the sky when you're on a boat. As I looked to (what I now know was the west) I saw a wall of black clouds that were apparently behind me the whole time. (Note to self...it's a good idea to keep an eye on the sky to the west if you're trying to see what kind of weather is heading in your direction. Duh!)

Anyhoo, just as I said, "Wow that sky is really, really dark.", we all heard a larger boom of thunder that was considerably louder than the last one. So, I looked over at Kevin's aunts & said, "Does anyone else think it's a bad idea to be caught in a thunderstorm on a metal boat in the middle of the lake?" There was a little bit of conferring and looking at the sky when one the aunts agreed, "Yea, we should probably start to head in."

That was all the encouragement I needed. I headed over the the water, pointing to the sky & telling Mr Crackers & his father my whole metal boat in an electrical storm concern. Apparently though, no else seemed as worried as yours truly. So, it took a bit of convincing (which may or may not have appeared to my husband and father-in-law as a small panic attack. I'll repeat again here that I'm not really much of a boater). Eventually though I think people began to agree that it may be wise to avoid the storm while on the boat (or at least they agreed that I seemed to be getting increasingly agitated & it was time to get me off the lake no matter what the weather looked like to the west).

Eventually all 25 of us loaded back onto the boats, but when we looked west to where the marina happened to be, we couldn't see anything anymore. The rain and the dark clouds had now obscured our view. And that black line was marching it's way right in our direction.

After a quick conference, (where I kept repeating "I really think we should start the engine & get moving now" with increasing amounts of conviction & okay yes, a bit of panic) it was decided that we should proceed east to the beach & see if we could find some shelter there.

And so our ill-fated race against the elements began.

I think we all knew we were going to get wet. Quite frankly almost all of us (at least those who hadn't been enjoying the delicious cheese ball and snack bar on the boat) were already wet. It's just that we all forgot just how cold the rain and wind of a summer thunderstorm can be...in a boat...out in the open...on a lake.

To my children's credit, they remained calm, even breaking into song, "Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day." This was good since it kept them occupied and allowed me time to contemplate our impending doom and estimate just how many life jackets were within my reach if we were going down. Thankfully the kids already had their life jackets on, so that was at least once less thing I needed to worry about.

Our last anchor point had been relatively close to the beach so we didn't have too far to go. It was ironic though, we were so close to land, but the wind and the rough waters was making it almost impossible for my father in-law to steer the boat up to the dock so we could get off. In an effort to help get the boat to shore, Mr. Crackers and his cousin jumped into the water (it was only about 4 feet deep this close to beach) and tried to help guide the boat in.

It was at this point that things took a downward slide. My father-in-law, worried he would hit his son with the boat since he couldn't see him, began yelling to Mr. Crackers to be careful. Then the rest of the family, my self included, started also yelling out helpful phrases like " Watch out!" and "Be careful!" and "Your Dad can't see you!" and even "Please don't get hit by the boat!". None of which the guys in the water could hear anyway over the sound of the wind and the rain and the thunder.

At some point during this melee, some family members on board the boat decided to hold hands and start praying. Out loud. Just as they finished the phrase, "Hail Mary, Full of Grace", my 7 year old son C reached his breaking point, and began to cry...loudly. He was truly freaked out by the lightning, the wind, the rain, our inability to dock and...the final straw - the sight of several family members with joined hands saying their prayers. I'm sure he thought we were all doomed. And, I have to admit that by now my nerves were starting to fray at the edges a bit too.

Finally the guys got the boat docked and I took the 2 kids and ran like a crazy person into the woods adjacent to lake for shelter. I know, you're saying "Mrs. Crackers don't you know that you aren't supposed to stand under a tree during an electrical storm?"

Yes, yes I did know that. And I'm here to tell you that when faced with a metal boat on open water, the middle of a sandy beach or under a group of trees as places to stand in the middle of a fierce thunderstorm I choose the trees every time.

I noticed two things once we were standing huddled together under the semi-cover of the trees. 1. I had lost one of my shoes in the mad dash off the boat.
2. We were standing in an area where the ground was covered with copious amounts of poison ivy.

I realize now that it was a bad idea to announce the fact that we were standing in poison ivy within earshot of my already somewhat hysterical son, but at that moment I wasn't really thinking ahead. My announcement seemed to just push him that much farther over the edge. Even after I tried to point out that he was in fact wearing shoes, it was for naught. He had already been through enough. So I cuddled him a bit closer and wisely shut my mouth.

Happily, there was no hail and like most summer storms, it was over pretty quickly. I think we were probably only hovered under the trees for about 8 minutes when it was all said and done. Mr. Crackers and a lot of the other guys stayed out in the storm by the boats the whole time. I'm not sure why since they were all tied up, but I think it has something to do with testosterone.

Once the sun started peaking out from the clouds, we headed back for the boats. I think by that time all of us were pretty much done with the boating trip, so we found some seats at steered the boat for the marina.

After everyone got a chance to dry off and change clothes, we had a great time back at my in-laws lake house (well, it isn't really a house and it's not really on the lake, but that's what I call it since it's not their primary residence and honestly I'm not sure how else to refer to it). Everyone brought a dish for the potluck dinner and the kids had a blast running around and playing with their cousins.

In the course of the day, only about 30 minutes of our time was spent on the storm. The rest of our time on the lake was relaxing and fun (and delicious!), but I don't think any of us will be forgetting this year's outing for quite some time.

Water under the bridge

Last week we traveled with some good friends to western New York where we rented a cottage on a small lake. The cottage was in the quaint town of Batavia located between Buffalo and Rochester and while you couldn't pay me enough money to live in that part of the country from December - March, it is absolutely a beautiful place to be in the summer.

We spent the week fishing and swimming in the lake as well as visiting some of the local attractions. Since we were only an hour away, Niagara Falls topped our list of places we felt we really needed to go see.

After doing a bit of research we decided that the Canadian side of the Falls was where we wanted to be, so we loaded up the mini-vans and headed for the Falls...and parked on the American side. Apparently our friend Kris had heard from one of his friends that it was easier to park in America and then walk across the bridge to Canada -- which according to this friend equated to a walk of about 2 city blocks.

So we paid our $10.00 to park & made our way to the Falls. It was a somewhat cool overcast day, but that didn't damper our spirits (much). After we got the viewing area we realized that while the walk across the bridge itself may have only been 2 city blocks long, getting from the American viewing area to the Canadian viewing area would have been a walk closer to 3 miles. This was something that neither family was willing to take on with 4 kids under the age of 8. So, since we already paid to park, we figured we'd make the most of the attractions on the American side.



After a short time gazing at the Falls from above, while Mr. Crackers continually asked me, "What's next?", we headed to buy our Maid of the Mist tickets. Note to self: DO NOT drive to the Grand Canyon with Mr. Crackers. A 3 day drive followed by a 5 minute viewing of the Canyon while Mr. Crackers peppers me with the question "What's next?" will make my head pop off.

While I had visited Niagara Falls a couple times in my past, I've never ridden on the Maid of the Mist & I was excited (and a little nervous) to get on the boat and see the Falls from the water.

So we put on our blue ponchos and prepared ourselves for the trip.

My family...a bunch of goofballs!

Little did we know that these would be the last moments of the morning where we would see a smile on my son's face. Apparently Mr. Crackers & I had both (conveniently) forgotten that while he loves to swim and jump in the water, C hates to be splashed in the face with water. I mean he really hates it. Oops.

We boarded and at the request of our son (who may have already started to realize that he was going to get more than a little wet) we stood back a bit from the front of the boat. This was the moment I realized that I was not going to be able to take very many pictures of the Falls while standing near the front of the boat because of all the water... you would have thought the ponchos would have clued me in earlier to this fact, but it wasn't until I got that first cold spray in the face that I stuck the camera back in my pocket.

I did manage to snap a couple of shots without ruining my camera. I wish it had been a clearer day, but I was still in awe of the power of all that water crashing down. The American side of the falls was cool, but the Canadian horseshoe portion of the falls was even better (that is unless you are my son C and don't like to be splashed in the face with water AT ALL, in which case you won't really like either one of the Falls, but you will especially HATE the Canadian side)

Here's the view of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls as seen from underneath the boat's canopy where I stood with my now irate son C who kept shouting "I hate this! We are getting too wet and we are too close to the those waterfalls! I just want this to be over!" Well, at least he can say he tried it. And even though I also got nervous a couple of times, I loved it. It was a terrific experience.

After we got off the boat, we asked the kids if they were up for climbing the path that went closer to the falls and we were met with these expressions that were mixed with equal parts of crankiness, hunger, exhaustion and incredulity.



Apparently, none of them cared that the sun had finally made an appearance and that the adults could get better pictures of Niagara now. Since we were also getting tired & hungry, we beat a hasty retreat to Buffalo so we could dine on the chicken wings from Anchor Bar that made the city famous. Mmm...

After lunch, our friends decided to head over to Canada to see the Falls from that side. Based on my own children's reaction to the American side, we opted out and headed back to the lake house.

Once there, we put on our own water show.

Where my three favorite people demonstrated how much they like water that wasn't rushing by in rapids and falling down into deep gorges with tremendous power.

Water that was cool and still and begging to be disturbed with a jump or a dive.

The estrogen levels here are higher than ever

Well, I am officially on day 2 of the great child shuffle of 2010. My son C went out to California with my parents and his cousin A to visit his own personal version of heaven...Legoland. They took off for California yesterday afternoon & are probably running around like maniacs even as I type this post. I hope my Mom and Dad have taken all their vitamins and supplements. I'm not sure who is going to come back to Ohio more worn out from this mini-vacation, but I'm betting it's going to be my parents. Just thinking about traveling for 5 days with two energetic 7 year old boys makes me tired.

Since C was heading out on an adventure this week, I thought it might be fun if my niece M (A's little sister) came to stay with us. M is just about a year younger than K, and I knew they'd have a blast playing together. I figured they could dress up or play house without having their two brothers hijack them into one of the many Star Wars battles that seem to break out around here all the time.

So far, so good here at the House of Crackers. I think Mr. Crackers is feeling a bit outnumbered surrounded by so many females, but he's taking it all in stride.

With the heat wave here in the mid-west, all of our activities so far seem to be revolving around water.





We've played in the pool.

Run through the sprinkler.

Watered the flowers.







And gone to a local playground to cool off in the water park.







I think we're starting to get a little bit silly from the heat.





Not to mention more than a little waterlogged.

But the heat is supposed to break tomorrow when a band of rain and thunderstorms move through the area. So we'll move this caravan of fun inside. We're going to pick up my grandma and head to the mall to do a little shopping and a little eating. We'll have some fun female bonding time

Of course, I think we've already bonded just fine.

San Antonio (or as I like to call it the land of sunshine and free flu shots )

You may (or may not) be asking "Where have you been for the past two weeks Mrs. Crackers?" Well I'll tell ya, I've been in San Antonio, thank you very much. And so your next question might (or might not) be, "You mean you've been in San Antonio for the past 2 weeks?"

Umm, no..not really. I was in San Antonio for 4 days, I just kind of got lazy about doing another blog posting for the rest of that time. But, never fear! I am here to tell you all about my trip (and I promise that it will probably be just as interesting as it usually is when people pull out their vacation pictures and force you to look at them... umm. so sorry)

"Why San Antonio?" you might (but probably aren't) asking yourself. Well, Mr. Crackers had a conference that he was invited to attend in that fair city that just happened to coincide with the day I was cruelly evicted from my thirties and thrust headlong into a new decade (a.k.a. my fortieth birthday). Mr. Crackers had the brilliant idea that I accompany him on this trip & make it into a mini-vacation. My parents miraculously and generously offered to watch my two hooligans for a couple of days, so we jetted south.

Once I saw the convention center, I knew instantly that I had made the right decision to visit Texas. Not only was it beautiful, but it was also sitting under pretty blue skies without so much as a snowflake in sight. I was pretty sure we were going to have a great time (and let's face it, the obvious lack of snow also really added to the city's charm). And even though the city's temperatures were 15-20 degrees below normal, I wasn't complaining 'cause compared to Ohio, the colder temperatures in Texas still felt almost tropical. Plus, those cooler temperatures allowed me to break in my new $40.00 purchase from Marshall's. An "I can't believe it's not leather" pleather biker jacket...

I guess you can call it my mid-life crisis purchase. It's not something I would normally pick up, but I loved it. And after all, a $40.00 jacket seemed like a perfect welcome to your 40's present to myself.

Anyhoo...I spent my birthday wandering around the city's Riverwalk while Mr. Crackers attended hours and hours of (what I can only imagine) were somewhat mind numbing lectures...

Look flowers!




In February!

Yep, I definitely think I got the better end of that deal.

Don't feel too badly for Mr. Crackers though. Even though it was a "working vacation" for him, we still managed to see most of San Antonio's tourist sights together.

And I have to say that we also enjoyed the fact that while we were standing and getting our picture taken in a city with blooming flowers, that back home they were getting another foot of snow dumped on top of the foot of snow left over from the last storm. Not that I wished the snow to happen at all, I was just happy I got to avoid looking at the stuff for a few days. (And I would be remiss if I didn't take another moment to say a giant THANK YOU to Mom & Dad for watching the kids during a time when 2 days worth of activities/school were cancelled due to snow. Yikes!)

By the end of our trip, we managed to see almost everything that downtown San Antonio had to offer. I think we estimated that by the end of the day on Tuesday, we had walked about 10 miles that day. When Wednesday morning rolled around I was feeling all 40 of my years (plus maybe a few more). Which probably leads you to ask another question. "Are you afraid of public transportation Mrs. Crackers?"

Nope, we were just enjoying being outdoors (without having to put on our snow boots).

San Antonio was everything I expected: it was a place with beautiful scenery, friendly people and warmer temperatures. But, all good things come to an end and on Wednesday it was time for us to return to the snowy north. I was ready to come back though, I had really missed my two hooligans. So, we packed up our luggage, complete with all of the new souvenirs we purchased for the kids and for my brave parents who took those kids into their home during a snow filled long weeked and we headed to the airport.

On our arrival to the airport I got myself a souvenir too - my H1N1 vaccinne. That's right, not only do they have flowers blooming in February, but they give away free flu shots in the airport to anyone who wants one. Trust me, I'll remember more than just the Alamo.

I didn't know they were available without the high drama feature

K has always had a strong personality, I think I've probably mentioned that constantly in previous posts. She's a really good kid, but she has a penchant for high drama that sometimes makes parenting her a bit of a challenge. Thankfully, she spends most of her time happy, smiling and somewhat calm (of course, most kids seem pretty calm when compared to her older brother C and his overflowing exuberance for life.)

I love her to pieces and I get a kick watching her in action. She always has a plan for what she wants to do next. She is quite a bossy, stubborn determined little girl. While I think this will serve her really well in life, it can be a bit trying at times from a parental point of view.

She's got a great sense of humor and a killer imagination, but I never forget that lurking under that (sometimes) calm and happy exterior, beats the heart of a true drama queen. You can see it in those beautiful hazel eyes, can't you? Something is brewing...

I know that K is not the only young girl prone to theatrics. Most of the girls we've met and played with over the past year or so also seem to express some degree of melodrama when things don't go precisely their way. Although K can at times be a little more dramatic than most, I figured that all young girls were prone to histrionics and that it was simply a manner of degree.

Imagine my surprise to note last week, that not all pre-school/toddler girls have this inner diva. Case in point, my two year old niece M. Here she is eating a snack right across the table from K (at the exact same time that K was shooting me the look in the picture above). Notice please the fact that there appears to be no mischief brewing behind those brown eyes - Just contentment with her peanut butter cracker and grapes. Hmm....

Perhaps it's no wonder then that I found myself taking so many pictures of sweet, peaceful M.

She always seems to be smiling or at the very least content with her surroundings.

It was truly fascinating.

She seemed to move at a slower pace (most of the time) than the other kids, probably because of her age. That's another reason why I was able to get more pictures of her than the other hooligans while we were on vacation. I swear most of the pictures I took of the two boys were blurry. They were in a state of perpetual motion.

But not M. Sweet, serene M.

At least not yet...

I mean really, just look at that face. I could kiss those cute cheeks forever!

Seriously M, you're killing me here.

M and her older brother A will be visiting at my parents house for a whole week pretty soon. I plan to make sure K spends a lot of quality time with M. I am hoping some of that serenity will rub off on my own sweet drama queen.

Not that I would trade my own daughter in for a new one mind you. But, I'm telling you that I had no idea a model like this existed. I thought they all came with the high drama feature standard.

Jump on in, the water's fine

Last week the Cracker family joined my parents & my sister's family for a week of sun and fun on Hilton Head Island, S.C. My parents rented a 6 bedroom house for us to share in one of the plantations near the beach. The house was huge and beautifully (& most likely professionally) decorated.

If asked to vote on it though, I think the whole family would agree that the amenity that was enjoyed most was the pool. At least twice every day, most of the family could be found playing and splashing around in the cool waters of the pool.

Jumping into the water became something of an obsession for the kids.

K started out jumping into the pool a little tentatively.

But after just a little while she got a little more adventurous...

Until at last she was flinging herself into the water with total joy and abandon.

Not to be outdone, my son C also spent most of his time jumping into the pool over and over and over again.

My nephew A could really get some hang time going on his jumps too.

When jumping into the pool started to get a little old, Grandpa & Mr. Crackers were happy to toss the kids into the air.

Glad I wasn't asked to throw anyone. I don't think my arm muscles would've given the boys the thrill they were looking for.

Not everyone had to jump or be tossed around to have a good time though. My two year old niece M had a ball just swimming around the pool all on her own (with the assistance of a couple flotation devices ).

We're back home now, but already this morning K asked the question, "When can we go back to the vacation house again?" No doubt about it, fun was had by all. Thanks again Mom & Dad!