Day 4 – Niagara Falls

Our last day!  Our main purpose for this trip was to see the Falls.  It didn’t work out as well as we had wanted it to, but we did get to see a bit of Niagara.  We didn’t actually get to them until around 6 pm.  As soon as we got there we headed for The Maid of the Mist.  It is as incredible boat ride that takes you down into the falls so you see them up close! 

The kids LOVED it!  Well, everyone except Drew.  He didn’t think too much of the water splashing all around.  Since it was sunset we saw so many rainbows!  When Andy took the kids up the side walkway up along the falls they actually walked under a rainbow!  So cool!When it gets dark they illuminate the falls with different colored lights.  It is really beautiful.  Matt wanted to take a “romantic” photo of us!  The last time we had been up there was pre-kid time!  He’s so funny!

We then stayed for the fireworks display over the falls.  We waited FOREVER!  When we called we were told it was at 9 pm – when in reality they didn’t go off until 10 pm.  As it turned out it was only a 5 minute display!  But we saw it and the kids liked it!  We got home very late that night!

Though it wasn’t how we planned it – it worked out well and we saw an amazing display of God’s power and beauty!  We’ll go back another day when Drew is older and he can enjoy it more!

Day 3–Hamlin Beach State Park

Another gorgeous day!  Today we headed to Hamlin State Park which has a beach on Lake Ontario.  I never realized just how large Lake Ontario is!!!  It looks just like the ocean – with waves lapping up against the shore and sandy beaches – though the sand was a bit coarser than the Ocean City, NJ beaches we are used to.  The pictures say what an incredible time we had! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drew had an amazing time!  He loved every minute of it and was so pleasant the entire 7 hours we were there!  To say I’m a lobster would be an understatement!  The weather was so absolutely perfect – a beautiful light breeze and sunny skies – I didn’t feel myself turning crisp!  But it was definitely worth it!  Tomorrow is Niagara Falls!  The weather has been so amazing – I so don’t want to go home to heat and humidity.  We are having such a great vacation.

Day 2 - Erie Canal

Today we awoke to beautiful blue skies and cool temperatures!  LOVELY!!!  Today we ventured out to the Erie Canal Boat Tour. 

It was a great trip – though Drew didn’t think too highly of being stuck on a boat for 2 hours.  Truth is he didn’t get a nap and I really thought he would sleep on the boat – but he decided that he wasn’t going to cooperate!

You go through the locks and see first-hand how the canal works.  I thought it was quite fascinating!

After the boat tour we walked around the locks to see it how it all worked from atop of the bridge.  It was really neat to see how the water from one side rose and the other side fell – making the water level even on each side of the lock. The first picture below is of a boat in the upper lock – the water is receding.  The lower picture is the lock on the other side of the door – the water is rising. The above picture is the water level on both sides so the boat can continue traveling down the river.  The other fascinating aspect of it was that it all works by gravity. 

The levels of the four locks.

After seeing the locks, we walked around the town of Lockport and visited a church with 12 Tiffany stained glass windows – absolutely beautiful!  They are reported to be worth more than 12 million dollars! 

The windows start at the bottom like the first picture above and go up past the balcony as one long window.  The balcony was built a number of years later after the stain glass was installed.  They had an audio tour of the windows and the kids found it amazing how the different textures were created.  Andy liked the fact that the church had Lexan on the outside of the stain glass just like our church has!

We ended the day with ice cream sundaes!! It was a great day!

Gasport, NY!!!–Travel Day/ Day 1

We made the trip!  We are here visiting with close friends from college – the Ragonese family.  We had planned this trip for last year but one of our kids got sick and then one of their kids got sick – so we cancelled the trip with the plan to do it this year!  And it worked out!!!!  They live about 30 minutes out of Niagara Falls.  The kids are so excited to see the falls!  Daniel keeps talking about it – but he has absolutely no idea what to expect!  It’s going to be fun to see his reaction when he actually sees it!

The trip took about 9 hours and Drew didn’t think too highly of the trip!  He was a whinny mess almost the entire trip – except for the last hour.  Then he was happy and talking – go figure!  I was really hoping he would sleep – but he only slept for about 45 minutes the entire trip!  The other three did great – but watching movies really helps with that!We only made two stops – once for breakfast and another at a Wal-Mart to stretch our legs and get a drink! 

As soon as we got out of the car the kids started playing together.  They have three kids - 14 (girl), 12 (boy) and 8 (boy).  Our girls are extremely excited that there is another girl to talk/ play with! 

And the boys have been running around like banshees enjoying the fresh country air.

It is raining right now – but the temperatures are amazing!  SO MUCH COOLER than where we live!  I am so going to enjoy this week!  We had planned on doing an outside activity today (Tuesday) – but that was pushed off until better weather comes around.  Instead we enjoyed a couple of games of bowling – followed by pizza and a movie – Rio!  We all had a lot of fun.

Plans this week include seeing the falls, riding the canal, and visiting a lake beach.  Most of all it’s just going to be relaxing and fellowshipping with friends!

Race Day, Mother’s Day, B-day!!

Yup!  The trifecta occurred on May 8, 2011!  It was an incredibly busy day – but so much fun and full of blessings!

We started our day bright and early – 5:30 am!  Not exactly how I wanted to start my Mother’s Day/ B-day!  But it was for a good cause – The Race for the Cure.  Many of you know that my sister is battling breast cancer and this race was developed to raise money and awareness.  My sister formed a team and we committed ourselves to walking the 3 miles. I have done the walk before – and it was emotional then.  It’s even more so when you KNOW someone standing on the survivor’s steps.  We weren’t sure how Lisa would fair during the race – she gets very tired easily – but she FINISHED the race!!! It was great to see her looking so full of energy and smiling from ear to ear with all the support and encouragement from friends and family.

After the race we went to church and enjoyed some fellowship with others.  It’s funny – but Mother’s Day is always a well attended service!  One of the best parts of the Mother’s Day celebration was a YouTube video that Pastor Bill played prior to the message.  If you get a chance, click on the link and watch the video.  The church was full of laughter!  It was great!

After church we went to a friend’s house, the Hatfield’s, to celebrate Joan’s birthday.  Her husband put together a surprise birthday party – and he got her!  She was so surprised!  The cutest thing was that he got all the family members shirts that read “No, I’m 29!” and labeled the party “the first anniversary of her 30th birthday”.  We had a great time talking with friends and the kids had a blast running around with the other kids playing games and taking a hike.It was also my 42nd birthday!  Yup!  I’m getting old!  But I am so blessed! I praise God that I was able to spend my day with family and friends, celebrating life and all of God’s blessings!