Zinser Family Vacation - 2014 - Punta Cana

We headed to Punta Cana for our family vacation this year, as this year celebrates my parents 40th wedding and ours/Nichols 10th wedding anniversary. We decided to try an all inclusive for something different. We stayed at Dreams Resort and Spa and had a great time.  Kate struck a pose by the flamingos.

Hopefully this picture is not foreshadowing our future! The workers were so sweet to our children and they often had their favorite Shirley Temples or Miami Vice drinks waiting for them!

Emma was a fan of the trampoline in the ocean (even though she would barely swim in the Ocean).

Sage liked to build sandcastles (or destroy the ones the girls built).  He would get ankle deep in the ocean and that was as far as he would go.

This will probably be one of my greatest memories about vacation. There was a concrete island in the middle of the pool.  Once the music was turned on, our children would dance and jump off of this island.  The kids would often entertain the guests with their animated faces and dance moves.

The entertainment staff grew fond of the kiddos and their dance moves.  They made this vacation very enjoyable and John and I even entered the chicken fight competition...No need to post those pictures though!  Haha!

Hailey and Kate had their hair braided on the last day...a take home souvenir!

 Cheers from the pool!

We left the resort for a shark and stingray snorkeling excursion.  Unfortunately, Emma and Sage did not want to get in so John stayed stayed behind. It was pretty cool to hold a stingray and swim with the sharks.  

Regardless of where we go, Jim usually likes to snorkel - so I had to post this picture of James and our expert!

Family Pictures - Zinser Vacation 2014

 As you probably know by now, my family is pretty neurotic about taking family pictures!   I met a photographer at the resort for a wedding and asked him for a half an hour of his time to snap some pictures of our family.  Here are some of the highlights!

 Papa and Grandma with the grandchildren

The Fab 5

The whole Family!

Our Family

Both my parents and sister's wedding album have a picture similar to this with their wedding party (not sure why I didn't jump on board ?) but it was fun to recreate on the beach!

 Kate's favorite part about vacation was the dance parties.

 Emma's favorite part about vacation was the slumber parties with her cousins and the spaghetti from the Italian station at the buffet (She even shouted "bye spaghetti" when we were leaving).

Sage enjoyed drinking endless Sprites from the pool seat at the swim up bar.

The resort also had photographers and here are a few of the ones they took for us.

I think we are finally getting to the wonderful point when you can tell your children to smile...and they actually listen!  

Thanks Dad and Mom for another memorable trip!

4th of July - 2014 edition

 On July 3rd we headed to Columbus' fireworks show "Red, White & Boom" with the Weatherwax's and their friends the Prettyman's and the Weihe's. 

  Face painting, a photo booth, food trucks, a DJ and games kept us busy before the fireworks.

 On July 4th, our good friends Meghan "Hardy" and Justin with their kiddos Jack and Ellie joined us for the holiday.  We had fun at the Fortier's house for a picnic then we headed to the football stadium for the Dublin Fireworks. We spent Saturday at the pool and the kids had a blast playing together.

This year Earth, Wind & Fire performed and it drew quite a crowd. 

Sage and a sparkler!

 Kate and Jack with their patriotic tattoos.

 God Bless America!

Trip to the Lake 2014

 Visiting with the Spicer family at Lake Erie is one of the best weekends of our summer.  This year we had amazing weather (remember, last year it was 50 degrees in July!?!/) and we spent a lot of time out on the boat. 

 A boating tradition for us...Ballreich's Chips.  

 First mates and best buddies - Luke, Kate, Rachel and Emma!

 We enjoyed swimming, tubing, and attempting to paddle board.

 Here's the gang!

Our Goddaughter Rachel and Kate have summer birthdays, so we always celebrate with a cake (yes, Kate's 3rd cake in 1 week!).

We love going to the lake.  For a moment, you forget that you're in Ohio.  It is such a great getaway and we are so grateful for our wonderful friends and their hospitality!

Happy 5th Birthday Kate!

 Kate and her birthday balloons!

 I let Kate choose whatever she wanted to do for the day.  She wanted to eat lunch at Chick-fil-a, go shopping, and get a mani/pedi.  Thankfully, Tuttle Mall has all three!  It was a fun girls day out and thank you to Grandma Weatherwax for having Sage over.

 For Dinner, Kate wanted to go to Montgomery Inn.  As we are frequent flyers at MI, we have gotten to know a lot of the staff.  Everyone loves Kate, and they like her so much - Kate's picture is now on the wall in the bar of Montgomery Inn here in Dublin!  A little local celebrity action on her birthday.

A delicious Frozen cake for her birthday! 

Kate's 5th Birthday Party

We had a colorful party for Kate's 5th birthday!  It was fun to prepare fruit loop necklaces, colored ice cubes for their drinks and decorate. 

We had a beautiful day and we were able to celebrate outside.

 With help from a local art studio, Art with Anna, the children painted and created flower collages which made for a fun take home favor.

 Kate and her masterpiece!

 The gang and their artwork.

 Yummy!!!

Happy Birthday to our sweet Kate!  In this past year, you've really grown up into a beautiful young lady.  Yes, your jokes, laughing and spunk keep us on our toes every day - but we couldn't love you more!  You were meant to be our sweet middle child, in fact, you own that title.  You are a great big sister to Sage and a fun loving little sister to Emma.  We are so proud of you and you will continue to bless everyone that you come in contact with.  

At the end of the day, the cousins had a balloon release of a couple dozen balloons.  The kids cheered the balloons on....and a majority of them got stuck in the trees of our back yard...oops.  So now we have deflated balloons and string hanging from our trees like Mardi Gras! Oh well, its a nice reminder of our fun day!

Summer Piano Recital - Kate's First Performance

 Kate started taking piano in January 2014.  She enjoys her lessons and was excited to have her first recital on June 24th.  The recital was held in a private home which makes for a comfortable performing environment.  Kate played 3 songs and she had fun.  Emma played 3 songs and one duet.  We are very proud of the girls.

Kate and Emma with their teacher Emily

Enjoy the videos..."two, three, four."