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This past weekend, Aaron and I had our first weekend away together since Rebecca joined our family. It was really tough leaving her behind, but we had an amazing weekend together and came home ready to put new plans and habit into action.... oh, and we came home with lots of new books!!! Cincinnati was a beautiful city! From the moment the skyline came into view we knew the weekend was going to be great. Downtown is just so perfect. Everything is clean and neat and there is so much to see and do. Across the street from our hotel was a Saks Fifth Avenue, which we had to visit, just for fun. The next corner was the biggest Macy's I'd ever seen, and next door to that was Tiffany's! We really managed to fit in a lot of sightseeing and shopping along with the convention. Friday afternoon we got to hear Catherin Levison speak about the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling and finding the balance between structure and chaos. ;-) I purchased her literature guide and she even signed it for me! Then, it was time to hit the exhibit halls and shop til we dropped! Over 300 vendors were set up with every imaginalbe book, curriculum, hands on activity, etc. It was incredible! I heard there were over 4500 families in attendence. We enjoyed showing each other the curricula we used growing up and discovering all the new things we want to try for Rebecca. We came home equiped for at least two years of Preschool, plus a few fun books for Rebecca and Daddy. My favorite purchase is my new planner "The Well Planned Day". It holds all the info I need to plan my grocery lists, menus, daily activities, weekend activities, and even the cards I send out.... actually it does even more, but for space's sake I won't bore you all. Friday evening we left the hall early and took some time to explore downtown on foot, eat at the Cadillac Ranch, and then explore downtown by carriage. Our driver was actually from Evansville, but had been a long time resident of Cincinnati and he told us all the interesting history and triva of the city. Saturday morning we were out early, but found the exhibit hall didn't open for a while yet, so we grabbed some donuts first. ( The best Pecan danishes EVER!) We finished the hall on Saturday and headed home a bit earlier than expected. I think we were both anxious to get back to Rebecca. We missed her, and apparently she missed us too! We got lots of big hugs when we came home. Here are some pictures from our trip and Rebecca's weekend at Grandpa and Ginger's.

This place was really great! We almost went there twice, but opted for Italian Saturday.

I'm glad this wasn't our hotel! ;-)

It may not be our best shot, but it was one of only two 'together' pics.

Okay, this was our hotel. Much better than sharing a bath right?!

Cincinnati has lots of great architecture.

Across the skywalk was the Duke Energy Center.

I think I heard angels begin to sing as we walked throug the door!!!

Books, books, and more books!

Cincinnati Courthouse

Built like a fortress!

On the Cincinnati Bell Building, the phones of the future when this building was built. Also the FBI headquaters for the midwest. If you get your line tapped by them it will be done here. Cool!