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!

Slip-sliding fun

Here's a little fun that I missed as a result of being on the clock...

We got the kids a Slip-n-slide and they struggled to make a go of it in our yard. Anne decided (wisely) to take it to her mom's house where there's a nice big hill in the yard. Toss in the introduction of the term "mighty fine push" and we're good to go!

Slip-n-slid + downhill+ two under the age of 5 + one fun-loving teenager =




Do you love the part where mommy over-reacts to the incidental contact? :)

An awesome summer afternoon at Seabreeze

This afternoon was a perfect storm of summer fun. Afternoon off from work, family visiting from Arizona, friends visiting from NJ, perfect weather, and a trip to Seabreeze amusement park.

We've been building the kids up for a ride on the log flume, and we all decided today would be the big day. But first, we headed to the water park for some splashing around.

After starting at the worlds slowest water slide, we moved on to the spray park (with a slightly less lethargic water slide), then on to the wave pool. We all had fun in the wave pool, but I think William enjoyed relaxing in the surf with cousin Nate the most (lots of whales in the next shot too!)



Next, it was time for the log flume. Daddy and William in the front and Mary Grace and Nate in the back. Up the hill we go and as we cross the top I hear from behind me "I don't want to go". LOL, too late now!. So down we go to a screaming 5 year old. Once we get to the bottom, both kids agree that they definitely don't like the Log Flume and will not be on that ride ever again!

We met up with NJ friends at this point and took a few first-time rides on the Lazy River.



Lazy River, being a complete opposite of the Log Flume was the kids favorite. We rode twice in a row (not counting a potty break), and they wanted to try again! Alas, there was much more amusement park to enjoy.

We move on to the kid rides, and rode the Teacups, the little cars, airplanes, boats, Carousel, etc. I got to go on a few grown up rides too with cousin-Nate. Woohoo, finally! Thanks Nate!

The fun continued with a drive out to Lyons to have dinner with the rest of the family from Arizona, where the kids kept telling everyone how much they enjoyed the Lazy River.

As we drove home, I commented, on what a perfect summer day it was.

Surprising response from William

Last night I was getting ice cream out for everyone when I dropped a zippy cup on the floor.

Since William was right there I asked him if he would pick it up for me.

His response?

Ey-ey Captain!

It caught me off guard because I've never heard him reply to a question with a quote like that. He probably heard it on Sponge Bob Squarepants and integrated it into his vocabulary.

Now things are going to get really interesting!

Daddy, I look like a queen

No, it wasn't Mary Grace saying that. It was William.

We've been encouraging the kids to get dressed by themselves and it's been working out well. Last night, William picked out his pajamas. He choose the puppy pjs that are a year old now and he's outgrown them. But that's what he wanted to wear, so that's what he got.

So when he noticed that the tops were a little too short to cover his belly button, he started pulling them down. This led to the collar getting stretched downwards.

He looked down, and observing that he could see the top of his chest, he noted "Aww, I look like a queen". It took a few seconds to sink in, but I'm pretty sure he was referring to this queen, from the Strong Museum Royal Ball this past spring. Note how her top got pulled down, likely because her belly button was showing.

What my kids are made of

Last night I was telling William the nursery tale about what little boys are girls are made of. My memory was failing me and all I could come up with was:

Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails.

"What is Mary Grace made of?"

Mary Grace is made of sugar and spice and everything nice!

No, Daddy. Mary Grace is made of apple juice and I'm made of salami.

Apparently, William remembered that Anne told him and Mary Grace about what she craved (and ate in excess) during pregnancy. :)

Lead-up to a dance recital

The kids have been taking dance lessons since the fall. They love their instructor "Miss Kim" and while Mary Grace has taken a big interest, William's interest has been lackluster.

About mid-winder, Mary Grace stated that she doesn't need to go to dance class anymore because she knows all the moves now. Luckily, we convinced her that there was a lot of new stuff to learn and that she should continue on.

We're now heading towards their first dance recital, and this weekend we had their pictures taken in their costumes. It was adorable to see all the kids in Mary Grace's class all made up. Here's a few photos we took ourselves when we got home. Hope you love them as much as we do!

Skinny dipping

This afternoon I set up a little pool in the yard for the kids. Upon seeing this, William instantly stripped down to his birthday suit and jumped in. He ended up putting on swimming trunks at Mom's insistence, but both Mary Grace and William stripped down immediately after swimming time.

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing naked and we just finished a naked dinner. It's the first naked dinner since last summer and it was well planned since we had homemade sauce (which inevitably gets on the kids clothes).

Tomorrow will be the Memorial Day parade followed by Memorial Day celebration at Midtown (including lots of frolicking at the pool)

Loving summer with a 4 and 5 year old! (and my wonderful wife!).

Stick and Stone collectors

When the kids were really young and we used to go for walks in the neighborhood in the stroller, or even in the wagon. This inevitably led to collecting of sticks that we found laying on the ground (sadly, it was originally my idea to collect sticks).

Mary Grace took this a step further and collected leaves and nuts.

William, being a boy was more interested in collecting rocks. He would get very attached to them and cry if we didn't keep them.

Recently, Anne found Williams "buddy" (a teddy bear backpack with an optional leash) that we had put away over a year ago, and in going through it, she found a nice big baby rock in the pocket. :)

Little phrases of the moment

We've noticed that both kids have little signature phrases that they like to say. A few that come to mind right now are:

William: "What'cha say?" He says that both when he didn't hear you and when he wants to confirm that the thing he's doing is ok.

William: parent name! parent name! parent name! parent name! parent name! He'll repeatedly and continually call out either Mommy! or Daddy! until you respond. We're trying to work with him on this, encouraging to just ask the question but so far it's not taking.

Mary Grace: "I don't mind". Used for any situation she's flexible on. For example, eating frozen french fries rather than homemade.

Mary Grace: "I need to tell Mommy if I can have a treat". She confuses ask/tell. She'll tell you a question and ask you a statement.

William is making great strides

William's efforts are finally paying off as he makes great strides in everything he tries. He knows all his letters, can put together puzzles, tries almost any food offered to him, and knows right from wrong (although he seems to prefer to do wrong lol).

I'm noticing that Mary Grace seems to be becoming a little more independent. Tonight I noticed her in her playhouse in the yard working on an activity while the rest of the family was sitting on the back porch.

Both kids are looking forward to a wonderful summer full a dance recital, cousins visiting from Arizona, swimming at Midtown and going on rides at Seabreeze. I sure hope it's everything their little hearts desire!

Here's a photo of the kids at their family birthday party in March.

Naughty girls

Tonight we had Mary Grace's BFF (and her family) over for play and dinner. All seemed to go pretty well and at one point the girls locked themselves in Mary Grace's room and CLEANED UP. Weird, I know.

A little silence goes by and both girls come downstairs with a powerful coconut smell. Our guest is nearly naked and covered in a red balm of some sort. All the parents rush over and ask what happened. Mary Grace, sensing impending discipline answers "I don't remember". When pressed harder for an answer, she sticks with her first instinct and repeats "I really don't remember!"

We finally get to the truth; they were in the bathroom playing with Avon Kids Bath Body Paint and our guest thought it would be fun to apply it to herself. Liberally.

Lucky for us, she was heading home for a bath shortly anyway. :)

I love you

I noticed that when I tell Mary Grace that I love her, she doesn't respond that she loves me. Now, I know that she does love me, but all the same, it IS nice to hear! (And I have observed her telling Mommy that she loves her.)

I mentioned it to Anne one night and she queried Mary Grace about it. Mary Grace responded that she doesn't say it because she's shy. In other words, she loves me so much that she's embarrassed to say it. I'm ok with that.

Anne later suggested that rather than saying "I love you" to me, Mary Grace could say "me too" in response to me telling her that I love her. So now, every night, I tell Mary Grace I love her and she responds with "me too". I'm cool with that too.

However, yesterday, I got this card in my email, which I'll treasure for a while, I think.

Brothers and Sisters

Mary Grace:

Mommy, did I tell you that William hurt me 90 times today, and he just kicked me with his foot.

He was hitting me with his feet like this (pushes her foot into his forehead, bumping his head into the wall. No tears.)

He hurt my nose when he was climbing on me.

I don't remember what else he did.

Mary Grace explaining the toilet seat rule to William

"William - When you finish going to the bathroom, you have to put the toilet seat down because it's more comfortable that way for me and mommy. You and daddy have a different kind of coo-coo so we can't stand up."

I asked her afterwards who was responsible for changing the position of the toilet seat and got an immediate "William is". Apparently, the brainwashing has already begun :)

Mary Grace meets the queen at Strong Museum's Royal Ball

We had a fantastic time at the Royal Ball at the Strong Museum last weekend. There were so many activities that we stayed for an unprecedented 3+ hours. Here's one of my favorite moments:

There was a line of little princesses waiting to meet her royal majesty, the Queen. Of course we got in line. As we were waiting we noticed that the little girls were curtsying and I didn't know if Mary Grace knew how. Unfortunately, Daddy didn't know how either. So I explained it to her as best I could based on observation. Then came the big moment



By the way, while we were waiting in line, William asked if he could go see the Spider Man exhibit that was just down the hall. I didn't see the harm, so told him to make sure he can see me (and thus, I could see him). As I was trying to explain curtsying, I lost sight of him and he was MIA for a good 5 minutes while we waited in line.

Here are a few photos from the afternoon as well

Princess Mary Grace and Prince William on the royal (Lego) throne.



At the royal hair salon, getting a french braid



The prince enjoying a snack after making his own crown.