Rockin NY trip 2008

We had an AWESOME vacation to NY....here's the scoop:

Friday, July 18th: We drove up thursday evening with two of our closest friends. With a total of 5 kids and 7 adults, there were lots of potty breaks and stops, but we got there with no problems. On friday, we visited a few of the church sites and then stayed in Palmyra for the Hill Cumorah Pageant.

Palmyra, NY Temple
Woah....whose this crazy man with a beard holding me?
Having fun while waiting for the Pageant to start
Cute kids with the Pageant girls

Saturday, July 19th: We met up with another family from our ward in MD and headed across the border to CANADA. We had a huge group, but did great staying together and enjoying all the fun Niagara Falls sites. We went on the Maid of the Mist boat that takes you up close to the falls. Carson loved seeing the big waterfall and getting all wet.

What a good looking group!!
All wet after the Maid of the Mist!
"Horseshoe Falls" - Niagara Falls
"The American Falls" - Niagara Falls
Lynette and Mary on "da boat"
Our little family at Niagara Falls!

Monday July, 21st-Wednesday, July 23rd: To celebrate our upcoming 5 year anniversary, Dan and I went to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio....WITHOUT the kids!!!! My mom (and dad!) were kind enough to watch the kids. This was the first time we have ever left our kids overnight and they did great! On the first day, Carson hid behind the curtains and started to cry saying "I want to go home". He was easily consoled, but did get sad every now and then...poor kid. Dan and I, on the other hand, had a great time!! We definitely missed the kids and kept saying "oh, Carson would LOVE that!"...but we had a FABULOUS time riding all the crazy roller coasters and water slides. It was soo fun to be together and do whatever we wanted. We had fun at the amusement parks, fun shopping, and lots of eating! It was a great little trip!

MAVERICK! Our favorite Roller Coaster....95% grade hill!
TOP THRILL DRAGSTER....over 400' tall!
"The Erie Falls" - my favorite waterslides

The rest of the week we were able to spend time with family and friends. It is soo fun to hang out with our family and to see friends that I've known since I was little. The kids had fun playing with their cousins too! We also enjoyed some of Rochester's favorites, including white hots, frozen custard, anything Wegmans, and a "garbage plate" from Nick Tahou's. It was a great vacation! Thanks mom and dad for letting us stay so long!

Cousins!! Brooke, Carson, and Tyler

**Here are a few pics my dad took. They are pretty cute, but it was hard to get them since it was already past bedtime on the last night we were there. I know, Bryn's flower is HUGE...and Carson wanted to go shirtless b/c Bryn was...silly kid!

Happy 10 months Bryn!

How did this little girl get so big!! She is already 10 months and we are getting to know her personality more and more every day. This is "what's up" according to Brynlee:

*I love to eat! I love eating little pieces of big kid food and I always I'm eyeing what Carson has....like gummy worms! I can eat almost anything, even with only ONE tooth!

*I'm a fast crawler now and I can stand up on anything. My balance is getting better and I'm starting to take a few steps while holding on to something. Watch out world, here I come!!

*I love attention! I'm easy to take care of...give me attention and I'm happy; don't give me attention and I'm not happy.

*My big brother, Carson, loves to make me smile. My favorite thing is when he "roars" at me...he's so funny!

*I love my crib, I don't like to sleep anywhere but there. When I am in there, I like to take nice long naps.

*My hair is getting long enough for my mom to put little clippies in it. She thinks I'm super cute, and I'm sure I am.

*I love to talk...I can say "dadadadada, mamama, babababa,"

Swim Lessons

Carson had a great time with his two weeks worth of swim lessons. His teacher was McKaela and he just loved her. He did swim lessons with one of his favorite friends, Lindsey and they had a great time together! Carson learned how to kick, do big arms, and big circles. By the end of his lessons, he also would put his whole head under water...yeah Carson!

July 4th, 2008

Our little patriotic family
Clapping for the fireworks...she loved them!
Ride'em cowgirl
Pretending to sleep while watching the show...silly kids.
Playing in the dirt at the ward 4th breakfast

Waterslide fun at the pugs
The men playing RockBand...don't worry, the girls got in on the action too!
Sparkler fun!
She's driving already...watch out!

What we've been doing lately....with lots of pictures!

Playing! The kids love playing together...with bubbles, balls, toys, and mom and dad! Smiling before lunch...what a little ham!

Swim lessons. Carson is taking little swim lessons at our community pool. He loves the water and is eager to swim with his teacher, we're still working on the kicking and "big arms". Carson said a prayer before lunch the other day and said "thankful that we go to the pool and do big arms...like this (and then did his big arm actions)"...silly kid. Pictures of swimming still to come!

Getting a new tooth! Bryn's first bottom tooth has finally BARELY broken through! She also just started to pull herself up to things, she's getting so big!

Walking. Mary and I have walked at 5:30AM several mornings now. It is sooo worth waking up that early to walk without kids and talk to a good friend...we are never lacking in conversation!

Getting Fish! Dan cleaned out our fish tank (the last fish died several months ago) and got things all ready for a new little family of fish. Carson loves his new fish....Lava, Pebbles, and Bekah.

Sewing!! Really, when am I NOT sewing. Walmart has had some cute $1/yd fabric and so I made this cute dress for Bryn (well, it will be for her in a couple years when she can fit into it) and this fun bag....both little projects were quick, fun, and only a dolla! I also love this cute watermelon tablerunner that Tami gave me the pattern to...so cute!