The Journey Home, pt. 1

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OK, so the background: Remember how I told you how we were going to swing by Grandma Pat's on the way out of the state this morning? Well, after a lovely brunch at Panera with Mom, Dad, Karl, and Erica; we did. We had to pick up my cousin Suzy's 'new car'. We got a panicked call from Suz on Thursday. Her car had died. A Horrible Death. Her mom (living just about 15 minutes from where we were) had one for her, and would it, could it, even hypothetically be possible for us to caravan and bring it home. We were like, uh SURE, no problem. Sounded like Fun actually, being able to have a spare car, to escape to when the kids got to much, just stop and switch drivers. Turns out that's exactly what it was like.



We charged up the cell phones, and caravan'd home: It's been a little different, but we each separately got to listen to our Book on CD, Moby Dick, probably more today than the whole trip, because no one was yelling for more Veggie Tales. ;)

So the first stop we made was Grandma's (Grandmas Pat's House) to pick up our stash of Ted's Hot Sauce and Sahlen's Hot Dogs, in the fridge, load up the coolers, grab the car, and go.



But the Boys discovered Grandma's Magnifying Glass. Not only had it been Cleaned, but it had been put back within reach of sweet boys. And they fought over it.



Grandma offered to take it and put it away, but the boys were too content to just sit and cuddle with her. And we were only too happy to let them get their fix before we hit the road. Hopefully she'll come out for Thanksgiving.



We made it into Pennsylvania before the boys started getting Ootsy, so we decided our first stop should be Lunch. How about a Chick Fil-A. We just happened to know where one was--Erie, PA. And when Eric (who was driving the kids in the mini-van) pulled in to the Chick Fil-A lot, and Chris hopped out of the car, he saw where he was, and said, "Good Job Daddy! You found the SPECIAL Chichen Fil-A." It must be special because the entry (which is still all decorated for Spicy Chicken Sandwich intro) are red streamers and a whirling red ambulance light. He was thrilled to hit their Play Area too, it has a Car attached to the upper level; the Cow Car chris calls it. And for some reason the cow was out making a scene by the road today. Chris was thrilled.



As we continued on, the phone rang; E's parents had made it to Columbus, and were thinking of calling it a night. Would we be able to join them? Well, the boys crashed for naps just outside Cleveland. (Did so both there and back again) So we thought Sure. So we continued on to Columbus. Had Mom and Dad not been waiting we probably would've stopped about 1/2 hour north of Columbus because that last stretch was quite hard on Eric. They boys were done. I got the naptime shift, but all I got was fighting sleep fussage, and the post waking yell of Sam, which prompted my stop and switch for a diaper and snacks. I definitely got the better end of the deal on the car caravan today!
We insisted that we all get a hotel with an indoor pool, because Chris had been so good today I wanted to reward him with a swim. He really was. So we did. And so Mom and Dad had a bit of trouble scoping out this Hampton with the Indoor Pool, wifi and breakfast. We were in such a frenzy by the time we got here and the car stopped, that one of the coolers came Tumbling out the side of the minivan when we started unloading. Unfortunately, it was the cooler houseing our special jars of Ted's Hot Sauce. We did manage to save 2 jars, but that was our casualty of the trip home. The hot dogs are safe though. :) But all the insanity was worth it, we got to have a nice dinner, and a lovely swim, and we've got a nice room. So nice that Sam doesn't want to have anything to do with his toys, he's content to play with the remote control and the night stand.


And Chris?
Chris wanted to sleep on the floor. And that's where he is right now...all the snoring in here is making me sleepy, so I better sign off too. Good night.

Man of the Hour

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Today was another big day. Today was the 50th Ordination Anniversary for Eric's Cousin Don. We started off the morning with a Reception hosted by a bunch of church ladies. I've never seen so much chocolate coated stuff in my life: strawberries, bananas, pretzels, pringles (they went fast, Super Yummy!) on top of other usual brunchy fare. LOVE Church Lady Food!

Then we got to go to his church, and listen to he and the Bishop do the service together. It was pretty cool. If only it hadn't started at noon, by the time all was said and done, the Boys were So Tired.



But the photo Jam session had to continue.

Uncle Jon patted Sam into a blissful slumber before all photos were done, he conked out for 1 1/2 hours, at which point we had to wake him to take him to the Dinner. A formal dinner, a hall all decked out like a wedding, with a bit of a 'roast' for Don. It was fun. The kids were done though. Sam took a while to bounce back. I think we're at that point where they've been 'on the road' too long.



We still managed to get a few compliments on how good the boys were though. They certainly have/had their moments. ;)

Saturday's Soirees

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Big Doin's Yesterday. Why? These guys. The one in the hat is Cousin/Uncle Don. Not really sure why we call him Uncle Don, he's not our Uncle, he's our cousin, but he's definitely old enough to be an uncle. So I've been calling him Cousin Uncle Don. Even though he's Eric's First Cousin, Once Removed. Here's the Chain: Eric's Dad's Dad, is Wilbur Willman (seriously, not making it up). Grandpa was the youngest of 8 kids, spanned over 18 years. Uncle Don's Dad was 16 years older than Grandpa, so Don followed Grandpa around like Grandpa used to follow Don's Dad. Anyway, Don is a Pastor, and this weekend marks his 50th Anniversary of his Ordination into the Church. The end of the month also happens to be his 50th Anniversary of wedded bliss to Aunt Shirley. Thus the Family Reunion was being held in Western NY this year. So that was what prompted this road trip, and why we tagged an extra long visit with my Grandma Pat on to our trip. Anyway, yesterday was the beginning of the Festivities, starting with the Family Reunion at Don's daughter Laurel's place. They were out in the middle of nowhere, and it was really pretty out, nice and sunny. Yes, Mommy was a slacker with the sunscreen and baby got his first sunburn. They had a giant garage, that we just took over, and they put up a western new york spread: Wings, Beef on Weck, locally made cheese, loganberry drink (they even told me where I can buy the syrup!) And we sat about and mingled all afternoon.

So here you see Grandpa Wilbur imparting some great words of wisdom to Uncle Don.



After the meal, comes the Family Meeting, where we all sit around and listen to the patriarchs talk. And Uncle Don and Grandpa can be a little long winded. Grandpa has been writing his 'memoirs' with help from Aunt Betty, so he stood up to read as he has done the last two years. However, he pretty much read the same stories as last year, but with a bit more gore about hunting than I remembered. Something about Grandpa standing to speak causes all the Willman's to be quiet...even the kids...but of course, that didn't last. So Chris started trying to play with the cousins. Cousin Katie lent him her camera and her sunglasses, and he went around taking pictures. She says he actually took some Good Shots, some were terribly funny, but some were good. That made me a bit proud, he comes by it honestly. ;)




Chris also discovered the beauty of Skype, a free phone like program, where you can video chat with people. Well, turns out that a few of the branches that didn't make the reunion were Skyped in, and Christopher was our representative to every Call. He was hysterical, and quite mad when we turned it off. The festivities began at lunchtime, and the plan was for them to run right through dinner too. But the boys began to show signs that they needed naps. Rumor was Karl and Erica wanted to pop up to the Falls at night, so did Mom and Dad, and a nice drive to Canada was exactly what some tired boys needed. Only they didn't sleep, Sam did, about 30 minutes, better than nothing, but Chris chattered at us the whole way, mostly about how he didn't want to see the waterfall, but how he wanted to ride in Grandma and Grandpa's car. We got there at the same time a rainstorm hit, but that didn't stop us. We parked on the American side, and Walked over the Rainbow Bridge (bridge that crosses the International Line) into Canada. That was pretty nifty. Here we all are at the halfway point with Niagara Falls behind us.




Someone said that it doesn't matter much if it's raining when you see the falls; you'll either get wet from the rain, or wet from the mist of the falls. And it won't change the pictures, there's so much mist, the water is kind of blurry anyway. That was true last night too.



So we padded around in the rain a bit, before stopping to have dinner at a Sushi place, very good, very quiet, and it was quiet nice to just chill out a bit. By the time we were done it was dark outside. Did you know they light up the Falls at night from the Canadian side?



Yup. They do. And the light colors change every 10 minutes or so. The white seemed most romantic, all HoneyMoony and stuff. The boys did great. So yes, we let Chris ride back with Grandma and Grandpa. But we all didn't get to bed until 11:30. Oy. We're having a great time, but it will be nice to get back to a regular bedtime and nap schedule again.

FamTabulous Friday

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I know, I know, I'm amazingly behind in my blogging. But we've been pretty busy with the FamFest that has taken over this weekend. Friday was a big day; we packed up from Grandma Pat's in North Tonawanda, NY and drove to Lockport, NY. Yeah, we did the laundry, packed up the car, ran to the store, all to drive 30 minutes.
Really it was a busy day. Actually, by the time Grandma got back from having her hair done, we had everything ready to go, and all I wanted to do was have a nice farewell lunch with her. Chris and Sam were playing in her backyard when she arrived. Daddy and Chris were singing the Lori Berkner song, "Under a Shady Tree".



Sam toddled right over to Grandma when she came over to us, and reached up for her. He's becoming almost obedient, and so friendly. It's hard to tell but he was wearing his Little Brother T-shirt, and Chris was wearing his Big Brother shirt.



We went to lunch at the golfcourse, that my Papa helped to design, Grandma even showed us a stone where he'd had his name as being on the Golf Club committee. So on one side we had a scenic view of the Golf course, and on the other the Erie Canal, with a park on the edge of the canal. Love me some scenic views! I can totally see why he Loved that place. But the best was just having Grandma love on the boys. We started to get a little sappy, telling stories, and such, and it led us to run over to the cemetary to visit Papa (my Grandpa Harry) who passed away when I was expecting Sam and too preggers to travel. His remains are in a really lovely facility, and it was good to have some peaceful closure. While we were there we visited some other family member's graves too, which was great to have Grandma tell stories. By the time we left to take Grandma home and get underway (and let the boys nap on the trip), she and I were teary messes. We made it easier to say See you Monday morning instead of Goodbye. That is another story, I'll get to later, but we'll be swinging by there on our way out of the state.



She's so loving, and it was so sweet to see her waving happily goodbye as we left. The Boys LOVED visiting their Great Grandma Pat, and I swear I'm not going to wait 20 years until we get up here again.
Honestly, when we settled in for the night at the hotel, the thing I missed most was Grandma saying "Happy Face in the Morning" which is what she's always said upon going to bed to her kids, to us, and now to my kids. Got a little teary hearing it nightly, and now am missing it.

Luckily all was made better when we arrived at the hotel in Lockport, and we found Eric's family, and a Pool. First thing Chris wanted to do was go for a swim. He said he saw an alligator in the pool, and wanted to play with it. Whatever? Since there was no family plan for dinner (fast decisions aren't our forte!) I put the kids in their suits and we padded over to the outdoor pool. Turns out he was right, there was an alligator in the pool, an alligator shaped Pool Filter swimming around the edge. And then I learned pretty quickly that the pool was NOT Heated. And even though it was 80 outside, it was NOT in the pool. On top of that, there were no stairs in, it was 3 ft on one side 6 on the other, and ladders in on both ends. Which meant that Some Parent was going to have to get in, if the kids were going to get wet at all. Yes, I'm a Good Mama, and wasn't about to deal with the meltdown of having to take Chris back without swimming, so I went in. Full body jump, hair wet and all. Then grabbed both boys, each on a hip, and started walking around. Sam happily splashed. Chris kicked. It was all Lovliness as more and more family members (not dressed to swim) showed up to observe us. Chris then flipped out at the sight of a Bumblebee on the rope, I mean, FLIPPED OUT! So I was headed back to the ladder when my MIL asked what was floating in the deep end, it was not the alligator. Someone said Chipmunk. Erica said, It's a Dead Rat. At which point I got out of the pool. Post Haste. And the kids and I got out, and into the shower.
Turns out it was only a dead chipmunk. However, we're not getting back into that pool. Luckily, rain and a busy schedule have not made that too difficult to explain to Chris.
So for dinner we went to Garlock's, a NICE restaurant down the street, on the Canal, as it turned out. Steaks and seafood were the fare, and it was Good. The kids had a great time climbing from family member to family member. Here's Sam with Cousin Marcia.



And Chris borrowing Katie's Sunglasses. He looked like Jackie O.



And they behaved decently and ate even better. The high and low point of the dinner occurred at the same time. I ordered Creme Brulee for dessert. They brought dessert to those around me, but theirs were cold pies, I just figured mine was taking longer for the heating. Well, when everyone got up to leave, I began to pout, I'd been really looking forward to my Creme Brulee. Well, she'd forgotten, so she packed it up for me To Go. Yeah that togo Creme Brulee didn't even make it back to the hotel before I dug in, using the strawberry they'd added for decoration as my spoon, and my finger. Then I came back to my room, and sat here ALONE for 10 minutes while Eric and the boys ran over to his parent's room for something. I forget what. I don't care, I had Creme Brulee, and was able to enjoy it All By Myself.

Momology: in Review

Being on Vacation has given me an opportunity to review the book our MOPS group is going to be taking on for the next year. I'm really going to enjoy it; it's going to be So Exciting! My background was in science, specifically Biology. And this book takes an interesting turn from the traditional books our group reads; it's more of a laboratory analysis...of Motherhood. Which of course, is so hard to truly study because there are so many Variables. So this approach is nifty because it recognizes all the differences, and uses them as a guide in parenthood to developing and growing in5o great families. There are sections devoted to Field Study, which are real Mom testimonies. Practicum, which really means Real World use of some of these thoughts. It's this Real World analysis with scientific elements of things that are hard to scientifically quantify like Family, Motherhood, and Faith that makes this book so great.
Normally, if the book asks me a thought-provoking question, I write my answers, because this is my journal and it helps me remembers better when I write it down. However, this book has so many little sections like that, it would take me all year to write them down...oh yes, I thought, THAT is the idea! So I'll redo that portion later. But of course, since I can't just read through this book like I was reading Harry Potter, I still wanted to contemplate and discuss. Also, we can check out Momology.org to get into the Community of other Moms, MOPS or not. So being that we were on vacation, I did so, with Eric. It was fun to review some of these practicum questions with him; it gave us insights into each other. Much discussion was about our Strengths and Weaknesses, which prompted lots of thought as to what steps I need to take to develop my own Strengths, not just as a Mother, but as a Person.
This book really went along with my long standing theory that if a Mother is well rounded, and is constantly working towards becoming a better Person; she'll naturally be a better Mother. We don't have to just work on Mom Things. I liked how in particular, it made me want to develop my Core. Traditionally I think of this as just my torso, on me is pretty weak ;) so my first thoughts as I read kept coming back to how weak I am. And how I should take the time to develop it, but this was more aimed towards the further development of my physical, emotional, and Spiritual core. How I spend my time on things that include or don't include my family speaks volumes to my kids as to what I consider as important. Who do I surround myself with? There's a whole big section on my community, my inner and outer circles. If I take the time to develop ME, then I'm showing my kids what a valuable commodity They are too. God loves us so, he wants us to be healthy: mentally, physically, spiritually; and by developing all the gifts, we show Him how much we care, and how grateful we are for All the Gifts he's given us.
Here's to the new year!

Changing Sides

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It occurred to me yesterday, as I was trying unsuccessfully to post pictures from our trip to Niagara Falls that no where did I get a picture at the Falls of the 4 of us together! Oh no! Among all the things I've forgotten from passports to potty seats, this by far, exceeds all in importance. I've kind of adopted a "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints" sort of mentality, so by gum, my Pictures are key to my vacation.
So this was high on my mind this morning, when we were plotting what we were going to do today. We had wanted to take Grandma to lunch in Niaga-on-lake, a quaint small town, but while removing the way back seat to make room for strollers and luggage worked well, seating 5 in the mini-van has been tricky, usually calling for someone to sit on the floor in the trunk. Grandma brought it to our attention it might Look Bad to cross the border this way. I am sad to say I hadn't even thought of it, but she's right, it would be Bad Form to smuggle a grandma across the border, so no lunch in Niagara-on-lake for us. So we decided to head back up to the falls, for a picture, lunch, and then if we felt like it we thought we'd sample the falls on the American side. I'd never done this. I got the impression from the step's that the American side was boring the view not as good, so we'd not been. But I was intrigued by how it was set up, so we toyed with checking out.

First, we headed into Canada, parked on Clifton Hill, this beast of a hill, made out like a Mini-Vegas. And trotted down to snap our picture of all of us. And yes, we are wearing matching shirts. Oddly enough, we learned in WDW that when we wear the same color, we're easier to identify both with each other, and to others. People move aside for our group, and when scanning the crowd for a toddler on the loose, it's easy to spot one in yellow or lime green.So matching green shirts it was for today!



For lunch, Back up the hill, to the Rainforest Cafe.



I've wanted to take the boys there for Ages. Taking them to the brother restaurant T-Rex fizzled in Disney, so we thought we should stick to the original. Who's afraid of Elephants? Not Chris. Though there was a scary moment, when a dangling animatronic snake that he freaked out. But then he spotted the Fishies, and he was good to go.



Sam on the other hand, thought the snake was so cool. He couldn't take his eyes off it. Awesome Ambience. And the food wasn't too bad either.



It was only 1 when we left the Rainforest, so we decided to cross back over, and give the American side a go. Well from the very first thing, I Loved It! Eric's theory is that because they made Goat Island a State Park, it's held up, and isn't over commercialized like the Canadian side (aka Little Vegas). Probably. We drove across a bridge and wove through the woods. THere was a restaurant looking over the Canadian horseshoe side of things, we were able to get right up close to it, which wasn't as easy to do on the other side. We could feel the mist. It was a beautiful. .



Just beautiful. And quiet! Less crowded, and I really felt more in touch with Nature, and the amazing power and speed of the water.



This time I remembered to get a picture of all 4 of us together too! ;)



Because it was naptime, and we weren't letting anyone nap, there was no way Sam would've been up for a trip down to the Cave of the Winds, where you can walk on walkways, wearing spiffy plastic jackets and shoes, and get good and wet. Yep, not up for that this trip, we may have to hit it again.

So we headed back home, however, we'd spotted a playground by the Niagara River, and told Chris if he was good we'd stop on the way home. So we did.



Sam thought Chris might be thirsty.



When we got back and snagged Grandma, I was feeling like all I wanted was to have some lake food, and sit by the river. So Grandma took us to Mississippi Mudd's, they had beef on weck, hot dogs, and Fish Sandwiches, plus my new FAV loganberry milkshake. Most importantly, the view was great, we were right on the Niagara River.



There's something about the rushing water, that really has been Calming me, probably my favorite part of this trip, has been enjoying the water in all it's various forms.

Rained In

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*Pictures taken on time, but added later*

Today was a rather rainy day. That was OK by us though, we just stayed in, took a leisure morning.



We took our time getting ready for the day. The Carousel Factory Museum here in town was what I wanted to take the boys to see, and it didn't open until noon. By the time we thought of it, it was nearly lunchtime. So we hit Andersen's again for Beef on Weck, Loganberry soda, and custard. Sam loves him some custard. He was rather a teething screamy mess today, so it was extra hysterical to see his Sugar Spike after getting half a serving of chocolate custard. We weren't sure if his hands were shaking from cold or from sheer Joy. Either way, he was pretty cute.

From lunch we zipped over to the Herschell Carousel Factory Museum.



Turns out something like 75% of all carousels were made here from the 1920's to the 1970's. So they took the factory and made it a museum. We met one of Grandma's friends, who has been managing the museum for 25 years. (Love small towns!) Very neat, we got to see where they carved the horses, and put in the organ/band music. Turns out the Wurlitzer family (of the organs)also lived right here in town. Of course, all the kids really cared about was riding on the Carousel, or is it Carrousel, or Caroussel? We saw it spelled all three ways on various signage.



Either way, they were in Awe.



So We did. We rode, and it was good!



We even got Grandma up on a Pony!



This old Carousel was like a roller coaster compared to the Children's Museum (which is not a Hershell Carousel by the way--they have a checklist for the U.S. and we checked). This beast went a lot faster, made Eric dizzy, even. But the boys did great.

That was enough activity for us, and we All came home and took naps. We were not-so-rudely awakened by our cousin Andy stopping by. He just graduated from college, and was working in the area, so he popped by. He stayed the afternoon/evening and joined us for Big Daddy's Pizza and Wings (also best in town) and few rounds of cards. The boys loved him, and he was so patient, letting them crawl all over him. It was a great visit, a quiet day in town.