Strong Friday Afternoon & Seabreeze Fun!

Well my Friday started with an emergency trip to the dentist when I had a twinging tooth...and it ends up being not my tooth--but I still have had a splitting jaw ache and headache for the past two days! I think my chiropractor pumped on my jaw too hard...ugh. (note to self: ask her not to do that on Monday!)

But I popped some advil, and the girls and I headed for the Strong National Museum of Play this afternoon! The girls met Mamma and Sister bear, and we had a great afternoon and night. We ate at the diner car inside the restaurant, and played our hearts out! Proof below that Anna loves the limelight!

We visited daddy quickly at ch 10 before heading home....

These are some fun photos from our July 20th-24 vacation--so it took me a bit to post them! One day, we went to Seabreeze...the fun old-fashioned amusement park near Lake Ontario--not far from us! It was a beautiful, perfect day--some other days of that week were iffy...so I was so glad this day was great. The girls even got to enjoy the water slides..it wasn't too crowded since it was a Monday, and they loved it! Rob was on big ride patrol with Catie, our over 48 inch rider, and i was on kiddie ride posse with Anna, which suited me just fine! All the spinny, dizzy rides I used to love--don't like me anymore... I get dizzy so easily! :)

Beach and Pool Fun!

Thomas and Catie building their sand dams

We had a great week of "Staycation" last week! I'll post more photos all week, but I had to share these photos from our past weekend with the Longs of LaFayette, and with Rob's mom and dad at their house! It was a great way to end our week of summer fun.

The four cousins having a blast at the beach!

We went to a small beach near Greg, Mary Ellen, Emily and Thomas' house (the Longs of LaFayette) which is actually a reservoir that Emily said was built to feed the Erie Canal--our little history buff! The weather got stormy on our way there...but after a few minutes of sitting in the van, it cleared up!

Our bathing beauty!

Anna really enjoyed herself in the sand...the last time she was at the beach was during her first infamous beach vacation when she was one..and got sick for the whole week. Now--at age 3--she was really into it!


Rob and his brother Greg didn't hit the beach with us--but instead chose a round of 18...only to get rained out with a torrential storm. Poor guys...but they still managed to have fun anyway!

The kiddos all slept in Emily's room on Friday night...and I think it was close to 11:30 p.m. before they hit the hay--wow...way past bedtime, but it is summer with cousins...what could be better!

Enjoying a moment on Gramma and Grandpas's front porch!

The next day--we headed over to Gramma and Grandpa Long's house a short jaunt away and the kids couldn't wait to swim! Catie has been talking all summer about getting a life jacket so she could jump in the deep end, and she did it! I ended up waiting in the water for her the first time to ease her jitters...

Catie's first ever jump off the diving board!

She did a great job --and proceeded to jump in many more times! She thought it was funny that Gramma said she popped up to the surface like a "cork" with her lifejacket on!

Our Princess poser!

Then, there is our little princess Anna who just loved jumping off the pool steps into the water, over and over and over! She loved the pool and playing with her cousins!

We had a fantastic meal of chicken, fresh corn, homemade potato salad (Anne's prize-winner!) and her homemade baked beans! THANK YOU! Wow...and who can forget homemade carrot cake..that we all pretty much demolished on impact! :)

A great vacation...we are so lucky to have such wonderful family!

Oatka Fest Fun!

We really missed seeing Pris and all my college friends in Pittsburgh...I was thinking of them a lot on Saturday! But, we decided to take the girls to the local festival in our town...with lots of sticky treats, and fun! Check out Anna as a butterfly ballerina in the backyard circus! She got so dizzy keep your eye on her as she twirls through the other ballerinas and almost goes flying! But she recovered nicely! :)


Catie loved the big blowup obstacle course! Here is a quick video of her, too!

We're officially on vacation for the week! Today we went to see a Civil War Re-enactment at the Genesee Country Museum and watched an amazing Abe Lincoln actor recite the Gettysburg Address.

Tomorrow, we're headed up by the lake to an amusement park!

Special message to Priscilla

Pris- the girls and I wish we could have been at your baby shower
on Saturday!...here is a little greeting for you (sorry I cut off the
beginning of your name on the video!)

Enjoy every moment, and say hi to the GCC gang! MISS you!

Goggle girls !

Just a quick note from my iPhone with a photo of the girls in their
hot pink swim goggles at Gramma G's house !

Sent from my iPhone

Beach Memory

I am behind in my fabulous frame-up and photo editing class over at Jessica Sprague.com--but today's lesson on my lunch break was fun!

It has been 2 summers since our family traveled to Sandbridge Beach, VA for summer vacation with the Longs of LaFayette. Anna was only just 1, and she had a horrible first beach experience...in a nutshell-a double ear infection made for a week of not keeping down any food or drink, along with a trip to the ER. talk about stress...

But, we all managed to have a wonderful time anyway, and here is a photo that I LOVE. Catie and her cousins, Emily and Thomas...proof that they grow up so fast in a couple years. sigh...

I put some cool textures on it this photo, and voila!

We are on vacation next week, and we're going to take some fun day trips--along with going to see Emily, Thomas, Greg and Mary Ellen...we're also going to the beach--but it will just be a fun sandy beach on one of our local lakes this time! (gotta save for Disney!)

The Tooth Fairy Missed Our House!

Well...I guess even the Tooth Fairy forgets sometimes! Catie lost her tooth on Sunday night while playing outside in the yard...the fourth one on the bottom!

She stayed up a bit late watching the very first "Harry Potter" movie with Daddy--and then went and got right in bed herself! She LOVED the movie...but I guess her tooth didn't make it into the tooth fairy's "book of visits" that night...and Catie's tooth was still there on Monday morning! oh -no!

Catie didn't seem to worried...she thought maybe the tooth fair has a deadline of a certain time that kids need to lose their teeth by each day...

So, last night--we made sure it was in her little pink tooth box under her pillow and this morning --WOW--a $5 bill! Abraham Lincoln went right into her piggy bank...she was thrilled. The tooth fairy must have been feeling extra bad about her mis-step! :)

At the Carwash!

Here is an impromptu video from our Friday night "at the carwash!" (I know all of you are singing the song, now! :) )

We took my mom to Applebee's...the girls had free dinner coupons from their summer reading program at the library, and we had a nice dinner! Then on the way home--I decided that my van was awfully in need of a wash...so into the carwash we went!

Anna's face is priceless isn't it!?

Jessica Sprague Class fun

Hi! Just a quick pop-in on my blog to let my faithful readers know I am here! I'm trying to go to bed at a normal hour these days....too many 1 a.m. bedtimes doesn't help a gal out! So, that severely cramps my style of trying to digiscrap and blog--but I'm trying!

I'm taking a free class at the divine Jessica Sprague.com--she rocks...and here is a lesson on vintage tinting...I also was told to add the cool frame and little star effect...love how it looks with the Fourth of July photo of my sweet girls!

Red White and Boom!

Here is the video my brother Matt shot of the fireworks display that we went to on July 4th! Yes, it is his good friend's family who puts on the backyard display--and I've never been so close--it was fantastic! Kudos to the Tresco family! thank you!

Ooh, and update...we ended up getting a family membership to the Genesee Country Museum! We went back the very next day to buy it--because they said on the ticket that we could use our admission from July 4th towards the membership! We had already paid for 1/2 of it! What a great deal--the girls, Rob and I will love it!

Next up is a Civil War Re-enactment! Calling the Longs of LaFayette!

Happy Fourth of July 2009!

We had a great Fourth of July...even though the weather certainly didn't feel like summer...we didn't mind! We went to the Genesee Country Village & Museum today...it is great! Just 10 minutes from our house (I acutually worked there in high school and college during summer) and it has a special Independence Day celebration every year! It is a 19th Century village, with old home that have been moved there an refurbished..very cool place. Similar to Williamsburg or Sturbridge Village...

We also saw AMAZING fireworks tonight at the home of family friends...wow, it is a big backyard party...the girls and I went after having an indoor picnic with mom! The Fireworks were so great...we have never watched them at their house--and we just sat on a blanket, and had a great time--the girls just LOVED it! (and shout-out to Molly--so nice to actually see you in person there, not just in blog-land--sorry I was chasing the girls and couldn't talk more!)

Plus--My very first YouTube video that I recorded and uploaded straight from my iphone! tada!