This is Caleb enjoying the ferry ride over to Put-In-Bay on our way to visit Uncle Nick. He was so excited!
This is Caleb checking out the Pirate Ship that Uncle Nick was working on. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone there yet so we got a personal tour of the Pirate Ship and "Splash," the big pool bar.
This weekend I had a great visit from my parents and my nephew Caleb who is 5 years old. My mom called it the "middle child" weekend, since Caleb and I are both the middle child in our families. It was wonderful to get to spend some quality time with Caleb this weekend. Saturday night, Caleb got a tour of the snack bar at the golf course that I work in, we rode bikes around my neighborhood together, and I read several books to him before we finally went to bed. On Sunday morning we got up early and played several different Wii games together, rode the ferry over to Put-In-Bay to visit Uncle Nick for a little bit and check out the cool Pirate Ship that he was working on before the big crowds showed up, played on the big playground with a couple of other little boys and then took a tour of Perry's Cave. Caleb really liked the cave and even asked a really good question that might have made a few people a bit uneasy while we were down there. He asked the tour guide what would happen if there were an earthquake while we were down in the cave. Poor Grandpa had a hard time in the cave because the ceiling was so low that he couldn't stand up straight for most of the tour. He did find a few places that he could stand up, but we had to keep moving. We all survived and really enjoyed the tour. We made the trip on the ferry back to the mainland and then had lunch at Pizza Hut. After we all took a long nap to recover from the busy morning, we decided to head up to Downtown Sandusky so that Caleb could throw his pennies into the fountain (even though he didn't make a wish). Next on the trip was the Melon Festival to get some festival food and most importantly melon ice cream! (So yummy!) Caleb rode a couple of rides by himself, which I felt so badly about. He never complained and smiled the whole time. He was so happy that he got his bag of cotton candy and I was happy because I got my funnel cake. I was disappointed, however, because I had planned on buying a half-gallon of the watermelon ice cream to take home to Nick, but they were all sold out. They did still have some of the cantelope ice cream (yuck), so my dad bought a couple of those to take home with him. We made it home and crashed, but not before Caleb and I took a long bike ride all the way around my neighborhood loop. It took quite a while because he still uses his training wheels and he had to stop to say hi to all of the kids who were out playing in their driveways. He was so excited to make it all the way around the loop because the night before he would only go to the corner (about 5 houses down) and then we would have to turn around and come back. This morning, they got up early, packed everything up and hit the road so that Caleb could get home to go swimming with his family.
I had so much fun with Caleb this weekend. It was such a blessing to be able to see a different side of him when he was by himself and without his siblings. He absolutely melted my heart when as he said goodbye to me this morning. He said that he misses me, that he had fun with me this weekend and that he loves me... He was worried that I was going to be home by myself because Uncle Nick wasn't home yet. I reassured him that I was going to be fine and that Uncle Nick would be home soon. As they were pulling away, he said, "Have a nice day!" What a sweet little boy who is growing up so quickly. I really wish that I could see the kids more often than I do. Hopefully once their new little cousin arrives, we will get to see each other more often.
