Becker Farms

One of my most favorite spots was Becker Farms. We went to pick blueberries and raspberries. Now, you may not think this would be a highlight but the berries were so good and fresh. We probably ate more than we bought and we bought quite a bit...

Here is Garrett peering through the blueberry bush

Abby picking

And Em judging if these ones were ripe enough

This is my mom with the kids and their many bags of Blueberries. I was holding/snarfing the raspberries. Later that night we made homemade berry ice cream.

I was so excited about this jaunt that as soon as I got home I started this project:

Fruit Leather!
Don't ask cause I won't share.

Lilly

This is the song we heard day and night in the car. We miss you Lilly.

Day 2...Fort Niagra and The Anchor Bar

We started day 2 off with a visit to Fort Niagra. Here is a very brief history...

The fort played an important role in the struggles of France, Great Britain, and the United States to control the Great Lakes region of North America, and also helped shape the destinies of the Iroquois (Six Nations) peoples and the nation of Canada.

Gilly at the wrong end of a cannon

Jeff showing Lilly where Toronto is...

A beaver

All the kids taking a break from the rain...

After that we hit the Anchor Bar. Never heard of the Anchor Bar? Well, ever heard of Buffalo Wings? This is where they were invented...(and this is me pretending to eat them. Come on, they have those veiny parts and I can't stomach that)

On a Friday night in 1964, Dominic Bellissimo was tending bar at the now famous Anchor Bar Restaurant in Buffalo, NY. Late that evening, a group of Dominic's friends arrived at the bar with ravenous appetites. Dominic asked his mother, Teressa, to prepare something for his friends to eat. They looked like chicken wings, a part of the chicken that usually went into the stock pot for soup. Teressa had deep fried the wings and flavored them with a secret sauce. The wings were an instant hit and it didn't take long for people to flock to the bar to experience this new taste sensation. From that evening on, Buffalo Wings became a regular part of the menu at the Anchor Bar. The phenomenon created in 1964 by Teressa Bellissimo has spread across the globe. Although many have tried to duplicate Buffalo Wings, the closely guarded secret recipe is what makes Frank & Teressa's the proclaimed "Best Wings in the World."

Day #1....Eternal Flame Falls

We got an early start in order to catch our plane....(I had less than 3hrs of sleep so I was looking forward to the plane ride).

Off to NY!!!

Of course Garrett fell asleep before takeoff...

We arrived in Buffalo..starving and soooo tired (no sleep for mama yet)

and Rachel had cooked up the best dinner yet. Homemade Rosemary bread with pasta. Yum. Just as I was getting ready to crash with a full belly someone suggests going on a hike. What?

Well this is where they took us...Eternal Flame Falls (its a small hike they say)

The sun was starting to go down so darkness was upon us..

And here we are...

(by the way, it wasn't a small hike. My legs were sore for two days after)
Here is a little info about Eternal Flames Falls...

The Eternal Flame Falls is a small waterfall in the Shale Creek Preserve, a section of the Chestnut Ridge Park in New York. A small grotto at the waterfall's base emits natural gas, which can be lit to produce a small flame.
It was featured in the book Secret Places by Bruce Kershner.

Awesome place

Marineland Canada

Here we are at Marineland in Canada. The kids loved this ride, thats me and rachel in the boat behind the kids...

Here...do you need a closer look?

Okay, we know that I was just kidding about that being me and Rachel. Do you think she is pointing at me...I was trying to be sly but maybe it didn't go over like I thought....
Em seem to know whats going to happen to me after I publish this.

OH NO!

Yesterday to entertain the kids and keep their reading skills up we got some old magazines and newspapers and cut out words to glue to a piece of posterboard to create a short story.

This is what I found this morning:

My advice is to not hang out with us today cause we are going to be struck down.

The Clacker Post

Since I've got everyone on pins and needles about my latest colonoscopy I decided to post. I can't find my cordless phone and I keep falling asleep after all the drugs this afternoon so I figure this will take care of the grapevine.

The spot where there are pre-cancerous cells is still there but it is less inflamed and, in fact, my entire colon looks preeetttyyyy preettttyyyyy (anyone watch Curb your Enthusiasm?) good. Dr. Canale is going to let me know in 7-10 days if I need to create a bum hole in my stomach, or in other words, if the pre-cancerous cells were a diagnosis of an overenthusiastic pathologist.

I will let you know.

Thanks for all the love and calls.

I am going back to sleep.

j

I'm feeling the need to blog......