Celebrating 12 Years and Many Many More......

Our wedding anniversary fell on a Sunday this year, so Jeremy surprised me on Friday with an overnight getaway. (Thanks to Eliza and Lahti's for watching my kids!!!!) We stayed in Canada on the 28th floor of a hotel overlooking Niagara Falls. The view was beautiful and the fireworks at 10:00 that evening made it that much better. On Saturday,we headed to Niagara on the Lake and rode around on our bikes through the charming little town and on the bike trails along the river. I loved seeing the sailboats, beautiful flowers and vineyards along the way. Minus Canada's ridiculous prices,(glad Jeremy was paying :) it was a spectacular date! During my 24 hours without any children I reflected on our past 12 years together and feel very blessed to be a wife and a mother. Since I was little it is all I ever imagined myself to be. My wish has been granted and I am grateful to be married to my best friend, I am blessed to be a mother to 4 boys, one girl and hopefully a baby in the future. I am grateful for our Temple marriage and I am grateful for the laughter and tears we have experienced these past 12 years. Life is good. Really good.
(These pics are not the greatest, I took a picture of a picture. At the time they were remodeling Temple Square grounds, notice the crane? :)






This was some of the best grape juice I've ever had. It was made from the concord grapes from local Ontario vineyards.

On our bike ride we rode past sailboats on the Niagara River, a lighthouse and a whole bunch of fruit stands. It was a beauitful ride and we ended up going about 18 miles. I can't wait to take the kids on this bike ride in the Fall. On the way back from our ride we stopped at this particular fruit stand and bought some peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums and both purple and green grapes. The fruit was all from local Ontario orchards and vineyards. So good! We also decided we needed an ice-cream cone. I was tempted to get the coconut ice-cream. I asked for a sample and am glad that I did, it tasted like suntan lotion. Anyways, I went for the ice-cream they can't screw up and that is mint-chocolate chip.Jeremy got a scoop of chocolate with brownies in it. It was all so so good! Oh yes I forgot to mention. Fruit cannot cross the border. Jeremy reminded me of this in the car and told me I needed to eat it all or throw it out. I opted for the first option. So I hurried and ate a peach, 2 plums, a nectarine, a bunch of purple and green grapes and one too many cherries. Thankfully no evidence of fruit when we crossed back into the U.S.

Jeremy zooming past the lighthouse on his bike. He likes to think he's so fast. :)

A little parade that just so happened to be marching along Queen Street.

Niagara on the Lake was very charming. The flower gardens were stunning and the hanging pots were seen everywhere bursting with beautiful flowers.


On our bike ride my pedal flew off. I wonder if it had something to do with my kids playing with tools near my bike the other day? :) Fortunatly we found the screw and a local bike shop that let us borrow their tools. We were back on the trail in no time.

At 10:00 we watched the fireworks over Niagara Falls sitting on a couch in front of our hotel window.

At night they light up the falls. They changed from blue to green to red and then to purple.

On Friday night we headed to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. We have always taken our children with us to visit. It was so relaxing and wonderful to walk around with just Jeremy. While walking around Jeremy suggested we stop and get an Orange Julious. It was perfectly frothy and delicious.


Maid of the Mist...




Standing in front of our hotel window that overlooked Niagara Falls.

The view from our hotel window was amazing. The Rainbow Bridge in the picture connects the U.S. and Canada.

A good looking view for sure! :)

Pittsburgh, PA. Zoo and Aquarium

We had a great time at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. It is a gorgeous zoo! Chief loves animals so it was fun to see his reactions.


Chief pointing at the rhino.

A beautiful zoo!

This gorilla loved toting around his baby blanket. It was pretty funny!

Goose checking out the fish.

Glad I didn't come across this in the ocean. Yikes!

Shark!

Chief LOVES animals and especially loves goats and dogs. He spent forever following around the goats in the petting zoo.


This little boy brings me so much joy and happiness! I discovered on our mini trip that he loves to have his feet rubbed. He was crying on the way home and wanted out of his car seat. I started rubbing his little foot and he went fast asleep. Now when we get in the car he thinks he gets a foot massage.

HoTel

Every year we have to travel 3 1/2 hours to Pittsburgh for Grant's doctor appt and then 31/2 hours back home. Usually I just drive down with Grant and drive back the same day. It makes for a long day. This year we decided to make it a mini family vacation. The kids loved staying in the hotel and swimming, I loved not making my bed and having a hot breakfast that I didn't have to clean up.
Never a dull moment when Granny's around!

Granny always has me laughing. He asked me to take a picture of his Mr. Bean face.

Goose all tucked in, he's so sweet!

Chief was exhausted after swimming in the hotel pool and is wondering why the hek he is still up at 10:00 at night.

I can't get enough of this sweet boy!

Chief has a bit of bed head.

Granny having a ball!


Chief loves when his big brother's play with him!

Chief thinks he so big riding on his daddy's back across the pool. Bean and I loved the warm pool!

GRanNy is a CracK Up!

Grant had his yearly doctor appointment in Pittsburgh, PA. today. He was asked a series of questions. I thought I would share Grant's responses. It was absolutely the funniest thing ever! He has always been such a character! The funniest thing about it is he didn't even crack a smile.
Have you recently experienced weakness or fatigue?
Grant replied, "Only when I stay up for 11 hours."
"What about blurred vision? G replied," Only when I open my eyes under water."
Difficulty swallowing?
"Well only when I don't chew my food."
Recent weight loss? "No I just gain weight."
Do you bruise or bleed easily? "Only when my brother punches me."
Do you have a food sensitivity or intolerance? "I really hate tomatoes."
Nervousness or increased stress? "Only when I'm on the Ride of Steel!" My kids keep me laughing! This made my week!

Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca

On Saturday we met up with some friends that we haven't seen since last Thanksgiving. It was so good to see them! We miss them so much! The kids all had a wonderful time playing with each other. We hiked around Buttermilk Falls, which was gorgeous. Unfortunety, the swimming hole was closed. So we headed a mile down the road to Cayuga Lake and let the kids splash around. This summer has been amazing!



These two pictures of Chief crack me up! We stopped to rest and Jeremy purposely stood under some run-off water. Chief automatically opened his mouth and got a little drink.

This picture isn't very good, but I love that Chief's tongue is way out there. He busts me up!

Goose and Granny with their friend K exploring down below. I think those boys were in heaven.



Gorgeous! We all really loved this place.

The kids were having so much fun!

The crew stopped to rest.

Bean with her friend.