New York Vacation Part 3

Okay y'all my mission today is to finish uploading vacation pictures.  We have had 3 parties this weekend and I have so many other fun things to share with you.  So my goal for today is to get all caught up-hopefully!

My kids got to take one of their first rides on the T into downtown Boston to head to Quincy Market.  Along with Bill's brother's family, my mom & dad & Bill's dad.

We landed here for a few hours....

After a little confusion we finally settled at Build A Bear to create our very first bears!  How fun!  I see $$$$ since our visit we have purchased shoes, roller skates & a kennel.  (Thanks Uncle Chris & Aunt Linda for the GC)

Gabe created: Toby and Lily created: Pink

Bill & his brother went to the Samuel Adams brewery to go on the tour while we hung out in Quincy Market.  Once they returned we all headed to the aquarium.  It was so busy in there!  The busiest I have ever seen it.  But it was a lot of fun seeing all the fish, seahorses, jelly fish!  We even got to hold some starfish, hermit crabs, snails, and touch little sting rays!

We topped off our day in Boston with an eventful time to Dick's restaurant.  Let's just say it was VERY eventful!

Didn't you know Bill shaves his butt?  

New York Vacation Part 2

We just got back last night from an amazing mini vacation in Colorado.  I can't wait to show you those pictures so I am motivated to get through our NY vacation pictures.  I hope to get them done this week.    

I kind of like going through them again-I get to remeber the sweetness of the trip.

 Like Gabe riding Bill's bike around the very same neighborhood Bill did.  Precious!  Neighborhoods like that are far & few between where the kids can just ride there bike out front, not very many cars, and it is safe.  The same people live there that were there when Bill was raised.  Love it!

We also spent many days over at Chris & Linda's house-Bill's brother's house.  The cousins LOVED playing together!  We also kicked off 4th of July there and then ended it by going to Saratoga to watch fireworks & visit my brother & his family.

One of my favorite days was heading to Lake George to go to the beach!!!

Topped off the evening with a stroll through the village.  Such fun!

One of the days we went to The Great Escape!

I was SO proud of Gabe-he rode some of the scariest rides & coasters!

Just look at those stats!

Of course I was with him the whole time-Poppie & Kailyn too!

We rented a cabana for the day-lovely!

Seriously, I want flowers like that!

 Beautiful times in Lake George!  So much fun!

New York Bound Part 1

Well, I am finally getting around to it.  After hours of working on new things for Papercutz I am FINALLY getting around to sharing some road trip adventure photos with you!  This is just part one of the journey...I didn't want to completely overload you with pictures.  So, take a look to see how it went...

We ditched this popsicle stand around 5:00 on Monday night...we drove all through the night until we landed in....

Louisville, Kentucky

 We finally took a break and toured the Louisville Slugger Museum and received our very own sluggers at the end!

Disregard all production photos I didn't realize we couldn't take pictures inside...oops! 

Then we toured the little sights of downtown Louisville before...

PASSING OUT at the hotel...Drury Inn to be exact!  They are amazing...no seriously they are!

We got up early the next morning...and hit the road jack...but we were definitely coming back!

We drove through...Ohio....Pennsylvania...

and stopped for a picnic lunch...

and did lots of this...

and finally landed in Niagra Falls!

 where we visted the fall...on the American side...and then we walked around for a little bit...and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe!

We spent the night right outside of Niagra Falls and headed to our hometown the next day...

Once arriving at home I realized

1. how GREEN everything was

2. how ENVIOUS I was of the beautiful colonial houses...and amazing porches

3.) how JEALOUS I was of the gorgeous hydrangeas that easily graced so many porches!

 (I mean seriously look at them!  GORGEOUS!)

That is part one of our little journey...stay tuned there's LOTS more adventure to come!

Today is the day...

Well it is finally here and I still have more work to get done than I think I have time for.  I totally work better under pressure.  Plus it's my own fault that my house must be spotless before we leave to go on vacation, all the linens fresh, dishes away, no clutter left behind.  It's nice to come home to.  Well, we are just 10 hours away from hitting the open roads!  My bags are still not packed & the laundry is still not finished.  But the dogs did get a bath.  :-)  I aome across some fun tips about family road trips.  

You must read this experiecned travelers 18 Travel Tips for Planning a Road Trip!  They are exactly what I was looking for.  Some realistic expectations and advice for taking a road trip....a long one!

I also visited Moms Minivan for lots of great game ideas.

After hours of reading & research this is what I am bringing in my "keep my sane box"  a.k.a. the Fun Box!  I am not going to let them just dig in & have at it whenever they want.  My current plan (which might fly right out the window) is to award them with new activities-good behavior, winning a game, or do it now because you are driving me insane!  Here's a few snap shots of what I have inside.

 Free printables found on Papercutz - I laminated mine so we can play over & over again without all the paper.

 I picked these up at Cracker Barrell.  I can't wait to play these!

 Yes, when it gets dark what can be more fun than glow sticks??  Picked up 2 different packages for each night along with flashlights for each kid and one for the emergency box.  I also packed pipe cleaners-I see hours of fun ahead of us with those!

 Just some little activities they can do.

I also purchased some mini crayon rolls off Etsy.  I thought they would be fun & it would keep them from spilling crayons all over the place.  This book I got from Cracker Barrell also-I think it just might be a lifesaver!  It's packed with fun games & ideas!

I also packed some cards, kerplunk travel game, coloring books, puzzles, books, video games, dvd's, & baby dolls for there backpacks.  That way they have their little treasure bag they can dig into when they want to.  

Another tip we are taking up is packing some of our own food.  Lets be honest-4 days in a van eating fast food-barf!  So, today I am cutting up fresh fruit and making deli sandwiches.  I am also going to make some chicken salad to keep in the cooler, and bring some rolls to have for lunch.  At least we can get a couple days in with eating good food rather than so much fast food.

I bought both the kids lap trays from Michaels...

I think these will come in handy when eating & coloring....don't ya think???

Well, I guess I better get packing....time is ticking...and my list isn't getting any shorter!

Check It Out :-)

I stumbled across this blog one day & thought hey I could make that!  So, I know we are leaving tomorrow & I should be packing & cleaning but I would rather be sewing & crafting.  :-)  I did just that.  I follwed the instructions from, Make It and Love It to create this adorable headband.  Cute, huh?

(don't mind my treadmill behind me, lol)

They have a super easy tutorial to make them.  You should go check it out & make some up!  I just think I might have to whip a few up for the farmer's market when I get back.  :-)  Happy Sewing!

Cannot Wait

I am going to start pulling the suitcases out today!  we are just DAYS away from being NY bound.  I am so excited to see our family that we have not seen in 3 YEARS!  3 years people!  I have a neice I have never even met & the same for my brother & his family with Lily.  I think Gabe is so excited to play Mario with Christopher & Lily just wants to go fishin' with Papa.  She don't even know what a fishin' pole is but she can't wait to do it and prays about it every night before bed!  

I am excited to see what God shows us while we are there.  We have been in Midland almost 6 years now! Our journey together has been developed more here than in NY.  Our children don't even know about NY-just what we tell them about it.  I think BIll & I are so excited to share with Gabe all the places we went to & miss.  Like the places Bill would go & play when he was a kid.  I love to think Gabe will get to experience Family Day in Mechanicville & eat ice cream at Bubbles.  Things we just thought we would naturally do when planning our future together when we got pregnant with Gabe.  God had such bigger plans for lives.  Bigger than we could even imagine ourselves.  Just goes to show you how big our God truly is.  Hello, we live in TX!  

So needless to say, it's just days away from making the big trip & then I get to hug those nieces and nephew!  We get to do the simple things with the kids-go swimming, play dress-up with their cousins, take a walk, watch movies, just enjoy the special moments in life!  I am also excited to get to see extended family-wish it was for better reasons-but still glad to be able to see them all.  I think it will be an emotional trip, but healing, refreshing, and joyful too!

Well, I just wanted to share this little video I made for Bill for Father's Day-I thought it came out super cute.  I had my bestie take soem pictures of the kids so I could get Billa mug for Father's Day but it didn't come in on time so I thought I would make this video so he could enjoy all the pictures.  We truly are blessed with him-he's the best daddy & husband a wife & mother could ever dream of.  Check it out :-)

Week without Daddy....

This past week Bill went to kids camp (5th & 6th Graders) to lead worship.  So, we had lots of time to do fun things to keep us busy and not think about how we all missed daddy!  Check out what we got to do!

We kicked off our week with some VBS at First Baptist which was awesome!  Gabe had such a great time going each morning.  On Monday night we went to Barne's & Noble for there Pajamarama-er something like that.  The kids could wear their PJ's, hear a story & get fun goodie bags filled with stickers & a book from PBS.

 After we were done I was going to drop off an order to a customer and head home.  Well, little did I know someone rear-ended me at a stop light.  Seriously?  Don't they know this is my new van?  Not to mention I have 2 kids in there?  So, we get all that sorted out.  Luckily no one was hurt...except my van :-( but at least their insurance will cover it.

The next night we decided to stay home and make some home made lemonade!

All you need is:

8-9 Lemons-1 Cup Squeezed Juice

1/2 Cup Sugar

3 Cups Water

oh so yummy!

Then we had a little living room picnic for dinner.  MYO Taco Night!  Seriously one of Gabe's favorite nights.  Pretty much anything MYO is his favorite.  :-)

One evening we decided to make up these fabulous little treats!  S'Mores on a stick.  I came across this on a blog recently and knew we had to make them.  Perfect since we are under a burn ban-for like the rest of our lives!!!  No rain in like 8 months :-/

 We just followed the directions:

Melted Chocolate (we used the easy one above but you could use whatever you had)

Marshmallows

Graham Crackers

Sucker Sticks

You will also need a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  I like to use clothes pins to keep the paper down so it doesn't roll up or blow back into the melted chocolate when you walk it to the fridge.

I also like to stick my sheet in the freezer while we get everything ready so everything sets up quickly.

Lily loved this part wayyyy too much!  She smashed all of graham crackers into crumbs.

 while Gabe stuck the sticks in.

 TaDa!

 Let the fun begin!  We just dipped them into the chocolate & then into the graham crackers & stuck them on a cold cookie sheet.

 I stuck them in the fridge for about 30 minutes before I took them out & plated them  up!

Of course I let them lick the melted chocolate container until it was clean-who wouldn't?

 yummy!

They were SO GOOD!

 It took them a while to fall asleep that night from all the sugar they had.

On Thursday we got to hang out with all the grandma's....well we call them Nanny & Gea!

 We got to go swimming over at the Russo's for the afternoon!

We had so much fun!

Friday afternoon we painted sun catchers that say I love NY and we hung them all over our front window.  Before we knew it Daddy was pulling up & we had fun, chill family night with him.  We all missed him so much-I SOO appreciate that he is such a good dad & husband!  We are all so spoiled!