Friday
We arrived. Ate beef stroganoff (yummy!) and hung out. Played a little Wii.
Saturday
The party. And although it rained the entire day, LOTS of people still showed up.
Justin - Master of the Grill:
Sunday
Jaime's In-Laws took us to their church. Afterwards we got Chinese food from Wegman's (which was surprisingly good) and we all trucked over to Tom's (Jaime's FIL) for Father's Day. We played Kan-Jam (Very hard) and LadderBall. Zeke learned how to drive a tractor and we all took a walk through the woods in the back of Tom's house.
Monday
There is a Coney Island type Amusement park in Rochester called SeaBreeze. They have a bunch of rides and a waterpark. It was a lot of fun.
Things we learned from that trip:
* Spray on sunblock still needs to be rubbed in, otherwise you just end up with splashes on burned and unburned skin.
* Roller coasters are much more bearable with your eyes closed.
* Some employees (Bumper Car man) are pretty disgruntled with their jobs, even though it is early in the season.
* It is never too early in the summer for water slides.
* Anything that looks historical takes precedence over everything, in the eyes of Justin and Adam.
* Carousels are always cool, no matter how old you are.
Here are a few pictures from the day:
And some video of Bumper Cars, before the evil boy running it made us put the camera away:
Tuesday
Adam, Justin and Zeke went to Grammy's house to fix a few things. The women stayed at Jaime's and made pierogies. 140+ to be more specific. They were very tasty too.
Wednesday
We all went kayaking. Yes, even Grammy. Adam & Zeke shared a boat, Grammy and I shared a boat and everyone else was on their own. We all managed quite nicely. Saw some wildlife, raced around a bit and Grammy and I even managed to nose Johanna (and ourselves) into the reeds.
Twice.
After kayaking, we decided that a little sunburn just wasn't enough. Jaime's coworker Jackie had graciously offered to let us use her pool, so off we went for more sunshine and water. We met Justin's brother Jordan and his wife Michelle and their daughter Abby there.
Wednesday also happened to be Adam's birthday! So we celebrated that evening with obnoxious singing and a cake & ice cream.
Thursday
Jaime had to go to work and school until 2, which left us an entire morning wide open. Mom suggested we do something educational and life-enhancing and picked visiting the Susan B. Anthony House.
The volunteers who met and toured us were VERY enthusiastic about good ol' Sue. Adam & Justin were more interested in the house (wood floors, antique furniture... you could just see their minds whirling with ideas on how to confiscate a couple of pieces and take them home), mom & Zeke were listening intently to the guide, asking all kinds of questions while Clare, Johanna and I did much better with the pictures. We all learned a lot and enjoyed the morning.
Here we are on the porch:
And here are some pictures in the park across the street:
After that, we met Jaime for lunch, browsed the RIT Barnes and Noble for a bit, then departed for Letchworth State Park for 2 days and one night of camping. It rained almost the entire time we were there and we had to make some emergency purchases (a tarp and rope for instance) but we still had an amazing time. We bought a new tent and therefore bestowed upon Jaime & Justin the old tent Adam has owned since he was a kid. After putting both tents up side by side though, we felt a little bad sticking them in what Jaime affectionately dubbed "The Love Shack".
Our tent:
Jaime & Justin's tent:
Justin taught Jaime how to chop wood:
Letchworth is called the Grand Canyon of the East. It has three waterfalls and absolutely gorgeous scenery. Here are a few pictures of what we saw whilst walking around in the moments between rainstorms:
The dam, without a whole lot of water behind it. Apparently this is the dry season. The only time we let our kids swear was on our way and while visiting this. We were on the dam road. Looking at the dam view. Doing some dam sightseeing etc. The kids were tickled. Here it is:
Cool shots in an extra large chair:
All of us together... seperately:
In this shot, you can see Clare running down the hill to look at the beautiful waterfall. What she did not understand was that waterfall mist+thunderstorms = muddy ground.
More of us together after a night of tent sleeping and no shower:
The Glen Iris Inn, where you can stay in Letchworth and enjoy the views without sacrificing a comfy bed:
Friday
When we returned from camping, Jaime had a pizza/leftovers party in an attempt to get rid of a TON of food she had cooked for us all week. We played more games and walked down the road for ice cream for dessert. Thanks mom!
Saturday
We all drove up to Sackets Harbor, NY for the weekend. It is a small town outside of Watertown, in the Finger Lakes region. My dad grew up here. His brother Brian & his family live in that same house (albeit with a bunch of gorgeous remodeling), his sister Nancy lives in Watertown and brother Steve & family live on a bunch of land in Brownsville, about 20 minutes from Sackets.
Saturday we had a surprise luncheon party for Aunt Nancy, who is retiring from her job of 30 years next month. Uncle Jim treated us all to the meal at Tin Pan Galley, which has a gorgeous courtyard and tasty food. It is located right in the heart of downtown Sackets Harbor.
Part of the War of 1812 happened here too, so the whole village is very historic. We took lots of pictures of old buildings, the battlefield and even some reeanctors. You can see pictures of our whole vacation, inlcuding these, here:
 |
| Summer Vacation |
Saturday evening we drove out to Steve & Jennifer's beautiful house out in Brownsville for a cookout. Great food and a fun visit with the family. Zeke found a friend in cousin Hunter. They played with the bonfire and jumped a bunch on the trampoline.
We stayed overnight at The Ontario Place hotel in downtown Sackets, which was wonderful. Thanks again Mom!
Sunday we went to services at the local Catholic church. Mass was 35 minutes long. Adam called it "Vacation Mass". We then headed off to Brian & Marcia's for Matt's high school Graduation Party. Hung out there for awhile and then drove back to Jaime's.
Monday morning at 3:30 AM, Adam, myself and the kids piled in the truck for the 11 hour drive home. We made great time and got home with enough time to spare to clean up the house, start laundry and grocery shop.
Thank you to Jaime & Justin, Mom Kall, the Rowleys, Jim & Babs Kall and all our relatives in the Watertown area for a tremendous vacation. It was so wonderful to play, visit and hang out with everyone. We love you all immensely and hope to see you all again soon!
