Things I Like About Cincinnati, Ohio...

 So, Ohio is cool right?  I mean how can you not love these barns...We hung out there some this summer, and it was pretty rad.  So get ready for a list of randomness...

Things I Like About Cincinnati:

1. Skyline Chili.  Okay folks I had heard stories about this for forever, but I had my doubts as to its tastiness.  That being said...it was totally legit.

Pro: They are all over the greater Cincinnati area (as far as I can tell)
Con:  The gassy aftermath could possibly be weaponized into a Weapon of Mass Destruction.

2. IKEA.  Does this really need to be elaborated on?  I mean Ikea's are few and far between as it is, and they got lucky enough to have one in their own back yard.

Pro:  You can have all the swedish meatballs, and discount furniture you want.
Con:  I'll get back to you when I think of one.

3. Great Wolf Lodge.  They have one there.  A few years back we, along with some good friends, went with our kids (to the one in Grapevine TX), and it was surprisingly fun for the whole family.  Memories were made then, and they are all still talking about how cool it was.

Pro:  Its the perfect destination for a stay-cation.
Con: It requires that I wear a bathing suit.

4.  The Reds & The Bengals.  I'm not necessarily an insane fan of The Reds or the Bengals, but there isn't anything as cool as attending live sporting events.  I'm not sure what other pro sports teams they have, but these are the only ones that I would enjoy watching anyway.  Random fun fact.  I did check to see if they have an NBA team in Cincinnati, and they did have one, the Cincinnati Royals, from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.  The franchise briefly moved to Kansas City, as the Kansas City Kings, before eventually moving to Sacramento.  Long story short the Sacramento Kings use to be in Cincinnati back in the day.

Pro: Professional games are super fun to attend...particularly baseball. In my opinion.
Con: While I do enjoy a good sporting event I also HATE crowds.  So, this one may not happen terribly often.

5. The Shellys.  As of the end of May the greater Cincinnati/Dayton area will have, at least, 7 more awesome residents.  I know, I know.  You've heard this song and dance before right, but this time its legit.  Right around Christmas time I decided to test the waters, and listed our home on Zillow, and that was it.  I didn't put a sign in the yard.  I didn't share it on Facebook, or ask my friends to spread the word.  In fact, we didn't tell anyone.  We didn't know if it was even going to garner interest.  We had had some realtors contact us wanting us to relist our home with them.  We even had one that approached us with a couple that wanted to see it.  Long story short, in 41 days our house was under contract, and the best part was they didn't want to close until after school ended because they are wanting to let their own children finish out their school year.  Which was perfect because we were hoping the same.

Pros: A new adventure for our family, we have a few months to say goodbye to our friends here, and I get to initiate another purge of things accumulated.  The purge is truly one my favorite things about moving.   That and being able to tell my girls that that garbage they were attached to "must have gotten lost in the move".
Cons: Actually having to pack my things into boxes.  Being patient over the next few months while my kiddos enjoy their extended time with friends.  I'm more of a "lets rip the bandaid off" sort of girl.  I like to get the inevitable over with quickly, and not having to prolong it out.  I can suck it up for my ladies though.

Our move to Ohio will signify the first time our family has lived in a state that is not on the southern most border of the United States.  Our girls are super hyped about the prospect of snow.  I give that all of a week to get old.  But...right now they are excited about the unknown, and sorrowful to be leaving behind so many friends.  Thank heavens for modern technology, and their ability to communicate with them from far away.

So here's to enjoying our last few months with friends, and preparing for our exciting move further north.

UPDATE: The house we ended up buying is actually in Dayton.  So I hope to wax poetic about Dayton in the future.

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