Last Hurrah

Abigail really enjoyed painting an old frame and easel. She was into painting every surface and looking back and smiling at her work! She's going to excel in preschool!

 Grant Park Beach Divas #1 and #2

Yes, I'm ready and super excited for Kindergarten...just as soon as I finish relaxing here at the beach!

I'm stirring the soup. It smells delicous!

Look, a feather for you, Momma!

Wis Dells

We thought we'd take a trip to the Dells next year, but Ben's coworker offered us tickets to Mt Olympus and Top Secret that were about to expire. Why not take one last excursion before the summer ends! :) Mt Olympus was definitely fun, but the kids were a little young to appreciate it all. Lydia went down a big double tube slide with me twice. Ben enjoyed the big slides inside, but the feel was cavernous. The two outdoor lazy rivers were the family favorite!

We may have had more fun touring Top Secret, a gimmicky attraction that lets your imagination explain how the White House ended up upside down in Wisconsin Dells! 

The girls were amazed by furniture bolted to the ceiling.

Lips are sealed! We can't tell you what else we found out!

We can tell you that Buffalo Phil's with the train-delivered food and drinks was a hit! While Top Secret is a place you only need to see once, if at all, Buffalo Phil's is one we'll for sure want to revisit.

Green Meadows Petting Farm

 We love this petting farm. It not only has the animals, it has charming country fun.

tractor tire swing

horse tire swing

well pump duck races

airplane teeter totter

bicycle go round

roller slide

sweet kitten

endearing duckling

brushing the donkey

hand washing & line drying

OK, this is Lydia's latest thing. She wants us to video her with either our camera or hers. I cut off the end bit, but it ends up looking like an instructional youtube video.

"Then take your pinner," hehe :).

pony ride

The fairy garden was new from last time, and so enchanting I almost want to put one in our yard somewhere.

'Keep Calm and Believe in Fairies'

Cousin Time!!

Quincy David was born August 12th. We counted ten fingers and ten toes. He is certifiably adorable!!

 We had our first sleepover with Aaliyah! They had fun outside and making popcorn.

(Aaliyah & Lydia slept next to each other on the playroom floor in their sleeping bags, falling asleep after playing with their dream lites.)

Outside again with the sprinkler. Drinking from the sprinkler is totally allowed.

Cousins are the best!

Family Summer Road Trip, part 2

We drove through wine country and visited Niagara On The Lake.

Ben played with the girls at the park while I walked around the shops for a bit.

We then got settled into our campsite and the next morning went on the Maid of the Mist. 

 It was like we got on a boat and it started raining.  The boat spent a good amount of time up close to the Horseshoe Falls so we could take it all in. 

Just a whole bunch of misting. We could have gone without the ponchos, but everyone was wearing them.

Right after getting off the boat we could walk up the side of American Falls. This is us close to the American Falls mist.

 And walking down...rainbows everywhere!

 View from Maid of Mist observation tower.

 View from Lido Island.

 We walked all around the big park and saw the Falls from a zillion different points. We could see the people in yellow ponchos doing the Cave of the Winds tour and getting blown away on the hurricane deck.

 We drove over to see the big whirlpool, but this was as close as we could get with the construction going on.

 A Kona treat truck was singing the girls' names.

 It was funny to watch them dig into it and keep sharing it as they walked.

 While we were sitting at that table, a tour group came through and we heard how half the water destined for the falls is diverted over to the power plant. Ben happened upon a brochure for the power plant, so we took off there for a look! It was pretty interesting! They had a children's museum set up and an observation deck:

Water being dumped downstream.

 Back at camp, we found the playground and made another yummy campfire meal topped off with s'mores.

 The next day was a nice relaxing one. We spent it watching a caterpillar,

 going to the beach

and then over to Olcott 

 for ice cream

 and a carousel ride!

Abigail is getting better at licking the ice cream drips, but she doesn't know how to keep it from giving her a gotee. And this is after we wiped her mouth a few times already!

Abigail loves the carousel.

 Free time to run around camp and look out at Lake Ontario.

 Packed up camp and stopped at Tim Horton's on our way to Toronto, it's like Starbucks in Canada and really good!

 Walked around High Park's children's garden, zoo, and botanical gardens, stopped for picnic.

Walked down to the Harborfront where they were still in celebration mode for the Pan Am and Para Pan Am games.

 Lydia loved the drum band and even joined in!

 We tied our well wishes for the games on the wall.

 Ben and Lydia had fun with the soccer simulator.

 We walked through the fashion and entertainment district and stayed in China Town. We found Toronto to be a cool, clean and safe big city with chic European attitude. Lee Gardens restaurant in China Town was delicious!

 Beautiful skies as we crossed the border to Detroit.

 No pictures in the factory where they assemble the F-150. Very interesting to see it being put together!