Strawberries from our local farm stand, biscuits from KAF, and Cool Whip from the grocery store. Pure summer yumminess!
Strawberry shortcake
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Niagara Falls!
This weekend we took an awesome trip to Niagara Falls! I have been planning it for awhile, and thinking about it for even longer! We got passports for everyone and the kids are now international travelers!
We left bright and early Friday morning, preparing for the long drive. The map said 7hr15m but it took us closer to nine hours! I lost track of how many times we stopped! But we made it, eventually. :)
A little rock throwing break. Things got a bit tense in the car so we took a break to walk around and get some space. The kids immediately found some rocks and a little pond and went to town! :)
Instead of getting three hotel rooms, I rented a sweet little house through HomeAway. My first time doing such a thing, but it went really well!
The adorable little house we rented. It was so much better than a hotel, especially when you’re traveling with seven people! Lex declared it an excellent place to play hide and seek. :)
Friday was nice and sunny, but the forecast was rain, rain, rain for the weekend, so we hurried down to the falls Friday night to get our first glimpse.
We made it to the falls!
This made the long drive worth it!
The Canadian Falls
Feel the power!
Saturday morning we woke to rain, as expected. We gathered up the umbrellas and went out anyway. The plan for the day was the Butterfly Conservatory and the Floral Showhouse, both indoors.
These two make my heart happy, even in the rain.
The Butterfly Conservatory was very cool, full of beautiful butterflies (of course) and plants. The kids each had cameras and took lots of pictures. It was a beautiful place to visit.
Eve, standing very still hoping a butterfly will land on her. :)
Lots of bright colors to attract the butterflies.
Eve is big into selfies these days. She wanted to take pictures with everyone so she could make herself an album. :)
This little guy hitched a ride on Mema’s shoulder as she wandered around.
Alan made a new friend at the Butterfly Conservatory. It stayed on his ear for a really long time and had to be physically encouraged to fly away before we left the area.
After we left the Butterfly Conservatory we took advantage of our bus passes and took the WeGo bus to the Floral Showhouse. Lex was excited to ride the bus. Despite the downpour, we huddled under our umbrellas and waited for the bus. It was fun for awhile. :)
Although the Floral Showhouse was technically indoors, it was still quite rainy in there. I’m not sure if parts of the roof were just screens, or if it was just super damp for the plants or what.
Rocking out at the Floral Showhouse. It wasn’t a terribly exciting place so the kids made their own fun.
There was a whole mini-village outside the Floral Showhouse. It would have been cool to explore, on a less rainy day.
Waiting for the bus, in the rain.
Saturday was actually Mom’s birthday and we talked about going out to a fancy restaurant for dinner, but by the time we got home we were all wet and cold so instead of going back out to a fancy dinner we instead bundled in warm clothes and ate enchiladas at home.
The original plan was to do the Journey Behind the Falls adventure and the Hornblower Cruise on Sunday, but since the weather as so awful we decided to reschedule those for Monday and just kick back and relax on Sunday. It took a little running around (for me and Rose) to get it all set, but it was totally worth it!
That day Rosy and I decided to buy matching “on sale” fleecies and go hang at the falls in the rain. Good times.
Sunday afternoon cleared up a bit (well, the rain stopped anyway), so we went for the Aero Car trip across the whirlpools.
You cross the US/Canada border four times on this trip in the Aero Car.
Mema and Grandpa Tom, enjoying the view! Not too scary.
Dad wanted to go on the white white jet boat seen here. We stuck to the arial view from the Aero Car instead. :)
Then we went up to the Skylon Tower! I originally thought it would be fun to have dinner up there, but the prices were higher than the tower so I reconsidered that idea! Instead we just went up to the viewing deck and hung out. Great views of the whole Niagara area. I imagine the views would be even better if it weren’t so overcast!
Up in the Skylon Tower.
The Horseshoe Falls as seen from the Skylon Tower.
Monday we woke to blue skies and sunshine. Excellent! We packed up and “checked out” of our house and headed for the Journey Behind the Falls.
Can you see where the mist from the falls mixes with the clouds in the sky? So cool.
This place is so awesome.
Lex at the falls.
International travelers!
The Horseshoe falls, crashing down.
Journey Behind the Falls. Up close and personal with the Horseshoe Falls.
Then we grabbed some ice cream and headed over to the Hornblower Cruise. I’m so glad we got at least one day of sunshine. It was beautiful.
Foggy family. My camera was misty from the Journey Behind the Falls.
The American Falls
I purchased Adventure Passes online before our trip so we were able to skip the ticket lines and head straight to the boat!
Waiting to board the Hornblower Cruise under the falls.
The Canadian Falls, from the Hornblower Cruise.
The American Falls, from the Hornblower Cruise.
After our cruise we parted ways with the rest of the family. They headed home and we headed to Coco’s for lunch! Then we crossed back into the USA and drove an hour and a half to visit Jim and Julie! The kids are all so big now, but they still hit it off like old friends. :)
I ask the girls if I can take a picture and this is what they give me. Pure silliness.
We took a drive over to Jim’s brother’s farm to visit the baby animals, then stopped at Wegmans for dinner (love that store!), then headed home for games and silliness.
Lots of baby piggies.
Playing with the chickens. Lex decided they feel soft, but weird.
Games with the Kirkwoods are always the best.
Sweet girls cuddling before bedtime.
Silly goodbyes. I’m so glad that they still like each other and get along after so much time. I wish we were all a little closer!
Tuesday morning, bright and early, we headed home. The return trip was a little bit faster thanks to an excellent audio book and a huge rain cloud that accompanied us most of the way.
The kids are already asking when we can go back. :)
If you care to see all of the 500+ pictures I took, feel free to check out the Google album. I can’t figure out how to add captions. I swear Google makes this photo thing harder and harder every time I try to use it. If you’re not sharing with the world on Google+ they don’t want anything to do with you. Sigh.
A day at the lake
Our usual swimming hole is off limits to us this summer due to petty town politics, so we are on the hunt for a new “home” for the summer. Today we went to a large “recreation center” that has a pond, pool, playground, disc golf, canoeing, a big snack bar, camping, and more! All for a pretty hefty price too!
Swimming in the lake.
It was fun, but maybe a few too many amenities. The kids argued about where to go first, pond or pool, and when to switch, and when to get ice cream, etc. It gave them a chance to work on their negotiation skills. :) Mostly though we had a great time!
Eve packed our picnic lunch. It was delish!
Lex, smiling with a mouthful of food. :) They are so good to humor me and my camera.
The kids thought I should take a picture of myself as well. :)
After we swam in the lake for awhile and then had a yummy picnic lunch, prepared by Eve, we headed over to the pool for some diving board fun! I went off the board a few times and let Eve “teach” me the proper way to dive. She was super excited to teach me. At one point Lex yelled “Mom, you look awesome going off the diving board!” Later he commented to Eve, “I’m so happy we got mom to jump off the diving board with us!” It didn’t take much convincing at all, but I’m super happy that they had fun and want me to have fun with them.
The diving boards were FUN!
This was supposed to be a picture of both of them jumping, but I wasn’t quite fast enough, so instead it’s Lex jumping and a big Eve splash!
After swimming and diving in the pool for awhile we headed to the snack bar for ice cream, then back to the lake. I bought a little kid sand toy set at BJs a few weeks ago and surprised the kids with it today. It was made for little kids, but my kids had a great time with it anyway. Everyone loves sand toys, especially my kids who usually are stuck with yogurt containers and other things from the recycling bin.
Back to the lake for some sand time.
Somehow I managed to sit in a chair and read a book for almost an HOUR! All by myself while the kids played and swam. It was pretty excellent.
Then we packed up and headed to karate. Unfortunately during the packing/changing/leaving process the kids decided they were just too tired for karate. I told them that while they are at karate I had to go grocery shopping, but they both chose to come to the store instead of go to karate. They were really tired!
We got the shopping done and headed home for dinner. A good day was had by all!
(… with one tiny downside. I bought new sunscreen this year, based on Consumer Reports ratings, and applied it correctly three times throughout the day… yet both kids got sunburns. :( Not horrible, but more than they should have considering my diligence with the process. I’m thinking I should go back to the Aveeno I’ve always used in the past.)
Caterpillars and butterflies
This summer we ordered caterpillars to live in our butterfly habitat. They came in a little cup with lots of food. The directions said to leave them in the cup until they formed chrysalises and then move them to the habitat. We decided to let them live a better life in the habitat directly. The kids picked some branches and we put the food cup in and let the caterpillars roam.
The first step of the transformation is noticeable when the caterpillars attach to something and hang down in a J shape.
I used a high-tech tracking system to monitor their progress. :)
After 17 days in the habitat we had our first butterfly! These are painted lady butterflies that are drab on the underside and brightly colored on top.
Can you see the drab colored butterfly?
It’s hard to take pictures through the habitat walls. The camera just wants to focus on the netting, not what’s inside. Plus, of course, we have clutter in the background as well.
Three of the butterflies hatched in one day. We had a houseful of kids who enjoyed the process and eagerly prepared some butterfly food (sugar water) for them.
Three butterflies hatched the first day and a fourth hatched the next day. One caterpillar never fully completed the chrysalis transformation and one chrysalis fell and didn’t survive the butterfly transformation, so of the six caterpillars we started with we ended up with four butterflies.
We left them for a few days for our trip to Franklin and when we returned they were actively trying to fly in the habitat, despite the dried leaves and sticks in the way. We decided to let them free!
We took the habitat out on the front porch and opened the top.
Fly away little flutter-byes.
The first three butterflies flew away, one at at time, over the course of the first five minutes. We waited awhile on the last butterfly, but it didn’t fly away. After awhile we just left it on the porch. Then we put fresh branches in the habitat and put the butterfly food back, right near the top, hoping to tempt it up to the opening. Didn’t work. Eventually Eve just picked it up with her hands and blew it away. Success!
Overall a fun experience. I was thinking, later, that if I were a real sciency teacher/mom I should have made the kids keep a science journal with observations and predictions and whatnot. Instead we just ignored the directions and did what we wanted to with them. Great example to set. :) But we had fun and that’s important to. Maybe we’ll do it again next summer with more precision. Or not.
A walk in the country
The kids were playing outside today (all on their own without me kicking them out!) and I suggested we take a walk. Much to my surprise, they agreed! They grabbed their safari gear and off we went.
Checking out the wildlife.
When going on a safari it’s best to wear your pajamas.
Happiness is.
Catching tadpoles.
Catching tadpoles at pond number one. The kids wanted frogs and we only found tadpoles. so we decided to head over to another pond.
Pond number two. Surveying the area.
This boy. <3
Catching frogs.
Froggy girl. <3
Catching frogs.
Lex caught one!! They worked together to get it from the small container to the bigger container, gave it some grass and rocks, and a friend (they accidentally caught a stick bug as well) and then sat back and enjoyed their new pet.
Ben the Frog, or Jumpy, depending on who you ask. :)
Just a boy and his frog.
Ben the Frog/Jumpy, happy to be free again.
We found a newt on the way home, inspiring a newt-related rap for the walk home.
Life in the country. Fresh air and open spaces.
Eve really liked these flowers. The look like dandelions, but much bigger!
Life in the country. Happiness is.
Eve’s summer schedule
Eve woke up this morning and made an exercise schedule for herself. She also wants me to do this too! She has taken it upon herself to train me to run a 5K this fall. Eek! She just ran in place (and around the house) for 35 minutes straight! Talking the whole time! Oh, what we could do if we could harness her energy! We could power the whole neighborhood!
Yay! Christmas Cookies!
It is hard to take a picture of them both looking good these days. I don't know about that face Eve is making. She was very happy about the cookies.
“We are celebrating the first day of summer by eating Christmas cookies!” said Lex. Mom, thanks for the freezer suggestion so many months ago. It was a fun treat to pull out today.
Eve’s first track meet
We had a super fun day today. Eve ran in her first track meet, an AAU Junior Olympic qualifier! She did awesome!! We drove for over two hours to get there, but it was totally worth it. One of the best things about having kids is all the new areas they bring you in to. I remember watching the track team practicing, way back in my high school days, and being so amazed that anyone could run like that. It seemed like a world I would never know. Now I do! Anyway, back to Eve.
The meet was supposed to start at 11am, but we got a call from the coach at 10:30 saying Eve’s first field event, the long jump, was about to start! Luckily we were only five minutes away. I thought we were doing so good to get there early! We got there as fast as we could, Eve hopped out of the car, and ran over to do her first event! Whirl-wind! :)
Practicing the long jump before the actual, official jump.
I have some videos of this and Lex is working on an iMovie project, so I’ll try to get those posted soon too.
Long jump
Eve jumped 6'7" and earned the silver medal.
After the long jump she had a little break. We used that time to find the bathrooms and unpack the car, then it was time for the 400m. Mandy came to join us for the meet to so we helped her unload her car too. Mandy used to run track in high school so she had lots of good information to help us understand what the heck was going on. :)
The start of the 400m. Eve is in front, on the right.
Lex ran out to congratulate her at the end. He has the iPad because he made a video of the run and is working on an iMovie of the day.
Eve came in second, just three tenths of a second behind the first place finisher. She was ahead of the other girl for most of the race, but the girl pulled ahead right at the end. Eve’s coach was so impressed with her 400m that she suggested Eve try the 800m at the next meet. We’ll see what Eve thinks about that. :)
Another long break, then time for the 200m.
The finish line of the 200m.
This is the same as the picture above, just zoomed in more. Notice her feet aren't touching the ground?! I love this picture. She looks so happy.
Her final scores:
* Long jump – 6’7″
* 400m – 1:35.40
* 200m – 0:42.20
Official results are posted here on the AAU website.
After Eve had finished her three events we hung out for awhile longer, cheering on the rest of the team through their events.
Comparing medals. That fine social dance of being proud of your three and supportive of your friend's one.
What did the girls do during their down time? Run around, of course. Racing to the bathroom, playing tag, hopping and skipping. Oh, to have that energy!
Triple medal winner! Two silvers and a gold. Happy girl.
We were going to swing by the Atlantic Ocean and put our toes in the water on the way home, but everyone was so tired and they kids were falling apart, so instead we headed to Panera Bread for dinner at 4pm, and then headed home.
The cool Boston bridge!
After a long day in the sun ice cream seemed in order. :-)
This meet was the District Qualifiers. Eve qualified for advancement in all three of her events. Unfortunately the Regional Qualifers are being held in Conneticut, the same weekend we will be at Niagara Falls! Bummer. We will plan our vacations a little better next summer and see how far Eve can go. For this summer she’ll continue to run in the rec program and enjoy the two meets they do. Next year, if she wants, we can try AAU and Olympic Qualifiers again.
(Full disclosure, Eve is awesome, but participation in her age bracket was also pretty small. There were only two girls participating in the long jump, three in the 400m, and four in the 200m. She did win medals, and ran hard, but the competition wasn’t abundant.)
Happy Summer Vacation!
We celebrated the last day of school (yesterday) with ice cream sundaes, despite the fact that it was Friday, as Eve pointed out several times. :-) Let the summer fun begin!
The mudroom
New floors and sunshine!
Check out our beautiful new mudroom floor! The light shining in is from the new screen door. Alan and Amanda worked so hard on this. Eve helped too. I love all the love that went into making this house beautiful. ?