Image courtesy of www.FlyingPigMarathon.com

A big HURRAY! to all the runners who put their best foot forward yesterday at the 12th running of the Flying Pig Marathon. We hope you accomplished what you set out to do and aren’t too sore today.

One of the best parts of the Pig is the spectator turnout; even on a rainy day, there were crowds of people cheering on the runners. Cincinnati should be proud of putting on such a great race, one that really brings out the best in both the runners and those who show up to support them.

Our family’s favorite cheering spot is Mile 16 in Mariemont; the parking is easy to get into and out of, the village is charming, and there’s a Starbucks just a quick walk from the race course – a must for us early morning cheerleaders.

We brought punch balloons for the kids to make some noise while we waited for our favorite runner (my bro-in-law) and I yelled until I was hoarse. 

To see more pictures from the Pig, click here and watch the slide show at the official site for the race.

Did you head out to the Flying Pig as a runner or a spectator? Share your thoughts about the race!

We love books at our house, maybe a little too much.  We have shelves and bins and piles of books everywhere.

One of our favorite places to buy books is Half Price Books.  I’ve taught my kids to skim through the clearance section first - they often find books for $0.25 or $0.50.

We also clean out our bookcases from time to time and take a few bags of books with us to Half Price Books to sell for cash.  Most of the cash gets reinvested right back into Half Price Books when we check out!  Still, reselling your books is a great way to do a little clutter-busting and make a few bucks at the same time.

Half Price Books has several locations around the tri-state area, including:

:: Kenwood Galleria

:: Prospect Square (Northgate)

:: Arbor Square (Mason)

:: Gentry Tri-Centre (Springdale)

:: Turfway Commons (Florence, KY)

For more information about Half Price Books, visit their website here.

Now that the big storm is over and the cleanup has begun, it’s time to head out for some winter fun!

Voice of America Park (located on Cox Rd just north of Tylersville Rd) in West Chester has a whopping 65 foot man-made sledding hill; it was recently improved so that the initial part of the ride is a bit faster and (one would imagine) more fun!

Click here for a full map of VOA park; the sledding hill is “D” on the map legend.

What you need to know before you go:

->Park entry is $5/daily or $10 for a year; the annual pass is good at all Butler County MetroParks for 2010.

-> Bring your own sled.

We’ve not braved the sledding hill at VOA Park yet; Lebanon offers so many great hills for us to use within a short walk.  But this hill sure looks like it’s worth the drive!

Do you have a favorite sledding hill in the greater Cincinnati area?   Share it with us in a comment below!

Image courtesy of TheChristmasRanch.com

The Christmas Ranch in Morrow is one of our favorite places to visit during the Christmas season.  Not only are the displays beautiful, a portion of the proceeds goes to help two local charities, Shriners Hospitals for Children and The Neediest Kids of All.

 We headed out to visit The Christmas Ranch on Wednesday evening.  They open at 5:00 pm; if you arrive before 5:30 pm, the $12.00/car entry fee is waived; if you wish, you can still make a charitable donation at any of the shop cash registers. 

Getting darker out...

 This year, The Christmas Ranch is also offering Wagon Rides from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm, $3.00 per person; children 3 and under are FREE.   We opted not to take the wagon ride because we were getting chilly; the warm bonfire with plenty of seats for a crowd looked more appealing to us!

It takes 350,000 LED lights to make this show happen, as well as the choreographed music.  My kids love dancing down the pathways but moms be warned: it’s MUDDY!  Think boots when you’re leaving the house. 

My chilly (and blurry!) hubs & kids.

 We had a good time but after about thirty minutes in the cold, we were ready to head home.

Driving through the tunnel of lights as we leave.

The long drive out of the parking lot is beautifully lit, too; hopefully, your little one will be awake to enjoy the tunnel of lights.

The Christmas Ranch is open through January 2, 2010. 

To get all the details you need to know before you go, click here.

Image courtesy of MyFountainSquare.com

My husband and I had hoped to head down 71 to Fountain Square on Saturday to introduce our three kids to ice skating, Cincy-style.  We never made it downtown on Saturday; our oldest is getting over the croup and we didn’t want her getting any sicker.

I was a little bummed; not having grown up in Cincinnati, I assumed that the US Bank Ice Rink was only open for the holiday season.  It seemed we would miss out on the frozen fun for another year.

But happily, I was wrong.

The US Bank Ice Rink on Fountain Square  is open now through February 21, 2010, and has hours all week long if you’re looking for a good reason to play hooky.  On Saturday nights in January and February show up for DJ Skates from 6 pm – 10 pm and skate like it’s 1989 with all the fun music of then and now. 

Admission is $2.50 each; skate rental is $2.50 as well; bring cash or your credit card and you’re good to go!

For all the details you need to know before you go, click here.  Not sure if the weather conditions have closed the rink?  Check the Rink Status report on the home page of  My Fountain Square  before you hop in the car.

Image courtesy of www.DaytonDailyNews.com

One of our favorite family traditions – a newer one for us as we’ve only lived in Lebanon for a few years – is to spend the Friday evening after Thanksgiving in downtown Lebanon enjoying the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting from 6:30 pm -8:oo pm.

Unlike the much larger and far more popular Historic Christmas Festival and Horse Drawn Carriage Parade (Saturday, December 5, 1:00 pm & 7:00 pm), the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting is a smaller event, making it a nice way to enjoy a bit of old-fashioned Christmas in Historic Downtown Lebanon without the large crowds.

After the tree – adorned with hand-made decorations by art students from Lebanon schools –  is illuminated, we line up to visit Santa in City Hall and then sip some hot chocolate while we wait for a ride in the horse drawn carriage.  The ride is free but the hot chocolate is $1.00 – or at least it was last year.

All the shops that line Broadway are open late that evening as well and usually offer some great deals on unique gifts.

If you’ve  got a house filled with Thanksgiving guests, this is a nice way to get the kids out and about for an evening of family fun and – if everyone behaves (as I always remind my bunch) – a yummy frozen custard from Whit’s.

I’ll be there - look for the mom bundled up like the Michelin Man (I hate to be cold!) with three kids who just want to pet the horses.  Stop and say hi if you see me!

My daughter and I had the pleasure this weekend (thanks to the generosity of my dad for surprising us with the tickets) of enjoying an afternoon together on the LM&M Tea Party Mystery Train.

Even though we’ve lived in Lebanon for almost three years, my husband and I have yet to take all three kids on an LM&M railroad ride.  This year, we hope to take the whole gang on one of the North Pole Express rides during December.

(Wouldn’t this watch tower make the best backyard fort?)

The LM&M Railroad is probably best known for their Day out with Thomas rides in September; my boys love it when they spot Thomas the Tank Engine from the windows of  Double Dip (which has the best home made ice cream and a fun game room upstairs).

What I didn’t realize – until I clicked over to LM&M’s website - was how many different types of themed rides are offered during the year, from April through December.  While most of the offerings are geared toward children, there are some fun events for the grown ups, too, like the Murder Mystery Dinner Train in October and the Civil War Train in late May.  There really is something for everyone.

After our train ride on Saturday, we headed across Broadway to the Old Post Office building that sits next to the Warren County Museum. The Warren County Historical Society recently renovated the old Post Office and the space is beautiful – the perfect place to host an afternoon tea party. I loved the contrast of this picture, peering past the old letter drops through the window to the tea party in progress.

To see the dates for the North Pole Express, click here; this is the last event of the 2009 LM&M season.