We finally went to Niagara Falls!

I've been trying to motivate the family to go on a daytrip to Niagara Falls all summer long. Checking out the calendar I noticed that there are just a few weeks left of summer so I scheduled a day off and announced my intentions. So on Friday, August 27, off we went.

We had a brainstorm to invite Sarah along for the fun and were psyched when she said yes. So after about an hour and a half drive to Buffalo, then the falls, we arrived.

Our first stop was Goat Island for a great view of the American falls. We took photos from two vantage points, then headed back towards the car for lunch.



After lunch, we proceeded to the Maid Of The Mist! After watching it ferrying people towards the falls, we were all very excited for the ride. At only $15ish or adults, it was a steal. Kids 5 and under are free, too!



The approach to the American Falls gave a great view and we took advantage of the photo opportunities. Then we proceeded towards the Canadian Falls, where the mist was so thick that we all got soaked! It was the best part of the ride though. I'll always remember Sarah and I screaming "I'm on top of the world" with our hands up in the air. LOL.



Even the kids enjoyed it, although William cinched up his raincoat as tight as he could to keep from getting wet. This from my boy who takes every single opportunity to get wet and play with water when at home. Towards the end of the boat ride, he asks me "When are we going to see Niagara Falls?". "This is it, silly!".



After we disembarked, Sarah and I climbed the steps on a path that leads right up to the edge of the falls, where we got even wetter than we did on the boat. Luckily we still had our raincoats from the boat ride on! Sarah remarked that the enjoyed that part of the experience more than the boat. You must do it, if you go. Here's Sarah getting soaked!



So the major stops visited and dinnertime approaching, we decided to head back to Buffalo for dinner with Grandpa.

Next post about the rest of the evening and weekend.

Boy got ink.

Turn your back on a 4 year old boy coloring with markers for one second and this is what you get!

First harvest

A big part of the end of winter and the beginning of spring is a Saturday afternoon of planting seeds with the kids. This year we planted a multitude of flowers and vegetables, but as always, tomatoes are king.

We planted 10 salvaged seeds from a pack of organic seeds we bought in 2008. I wasn't sure they would be viable, but up they came and slowly they grew. While my brothers family was enjoying July tomatoes, ours were still small and green.

In early August, we got a few, but then they all went crazy! Here's a picture of the first harvest, most which went into 10 jars of salsa which we'll enjoy all winter long.





The shopping cart is what the kids harvested into. :)

At the Rock Wall playground

One of the things we haven't done a lot of this summer is go to the playground. So to correct this situation, we piled up the kids into the wagon and headed off to what the kids call "The Rock Wall Playground".

It's actually two playgrounds at a school down near Berkely and Milburn streets. I can never remember the name of the school though. :)

We arrived an instantly made a new friend, a very nice little girl whose name escapes me. After playing on the slide, the "submarine", the monkey bars, and the swings, we headed over to the little kids playground where you can see Mary Grace sitting on the Rock wall. (Nate, you were at this playground with us a few years ago!)

Want to buy some kettle corn?!

This weekend, we leveraged the additional traffic in the neighborhood for some old-fashioned entrepreneur-ism in the form of a kettle corn stand. "50¢ Kettle Corn" reads the sign that Mary Grace made all by herself!

The kids had a great time manning the stand (Mary Grace dressed in her Arial princess costume) while Anne and I observed from the front porch. Most of our customers were neighbors, but some were friendly strangers, like the guy that gave Mary Grace a $1 tip, or the folks who bought 3 bags (exhausting all our inventory and forcing Daddy back to the kitchen to make more).

Mary Grace was the sales person and accounts receivable and William was in product fulfillment and the treasurer.

They made over $11, of which the majority was spent the next day at the Park Avenue Festival on jewelry and kids inflatable "rides".

What a fun Park Ave Fest weekend we had!