Our Brown County Vacation

We had fun......



.....watching horses..........

After a hike to the Saddle Barn, we watched the horses get ready for a trail ride.

......riding a pony.....

Maya rode a pony named Chocolate first, and then later Macaroni. Both were very gentle. The most difficult part of the whole thing was for Wayne and me to dodge stepping in pony pattys as we led her around the ring.

....petting a pony.....

.....shouting"Giddy-gee-ha"!

......enjoying the fall colors.....

...shopping in Nashville...

...hiking.......

......trick or treating......

......reading not-so-scary teeny tiny ghost stories.....

Grandma gave Maya the perfect Halloween book, not-so-scary at all.

........swimming......

Watch out for the buckets, Daddy! Despite our warnings, Wayne got drenched by the bucket fountain, over and over, to Maya's delighted giggles!

......driving race cars.........


......making new friends........

.....playing ping pong......






......puzzles and popcorn......and trail mix.....

We were addicted to finishing a 300 piece puzzle, staying up to late then running back in the morning. The guys ended up finishing it except for two mystery pieces, they were there but didn't fit!

.....watching the birds out the windows of our rooms........

.......enjoying the buffets and daily specials at the Lodge restaurant......

......going on a Halloween hayride........

.......talking on the phone - to no one in particular :) .......

......shopping at the Lodge Gift Shop......

Linda, especially, found lots of treasures in Nashville and in the lodge gift shop. We all did our part to help the local economy. Grandma added to Maya's "posse" - a new eagle.

....... playing Mr. Potato Head........

........winning a Royal Flush - yup, that says $1,057......

.......just being silly......

.....watching "Underdog"........

Our new friends from Noblesville, brought the movie Underdog and were nice to share it and their movie snacks with us one night.

.......relaxing and enjoying family......

My favorite part (well, maybe if you don't count the royal flush) was just chillin' with family.

.......time to go, bye-bye tall guy!

Happy 6th Birthday, Jacob!

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY, JACOB !!

This is Jacob opening his gift from Maya, "Journey to the Center of the Earth". He said, "SWEET, BABY!" We think he liked it, hahaha.

Jacob opening presents..... Transformers were a big hit! Parents and relatives came together and gave a gift certificate for a Wii !!!

The Planetarium had seats that reclined to see the huge round ceiling show of stars, planets, comets - so cool. We saw a movie about a teddy bear in space. The little ones brought their bears along with, or in Maya's case her lamby and eagle.

Jacob's grandma, Mary made this awesome Star Wars cake with lava spilling from a volcano and two characters in a battle.

Jacob's sister Christina, sister-in-law Julie, Austin, and Mary.

We drove FAST from Brown County to get to Merrillville in time for Jacob's 6th Birthday at the Planetarium. We made it just in the nick of time, thanks to Wayne's expert driving. What a great party! Jacob's parents, Jaime and Greg Smith, gave him a huge party with a chocolate fountain, yummy treats, balloons, a Star Wars cake (Jaime's mom, Mary made it - she made our wedding cake!), a movie about a teddy bear in space, a Planetarium show about the constellations, presents......WOW. Maya had a blast. When we got home, she told me that she wants to go to Jacob's Birthday Party AGAIN TOMORROW.