Week

So I get home from vacation and I slack in the writing posts! Go figure. I guess it's just taken me all week to try to get back into the swing of things. I still get tired really early because of the time change, so I fight trying to stay awake every night when I have stuff I need to do.

On Monday, it was our 8th anniversary! It surely doesn't seem like 8 years. It has gone so fast! It was really a low key celebration since we just got home and had had a fun trip. After family home evening, we had ice cream sundaes for the treat, so that was fun.

Sheesh--I can't remember what we did this week. We had swimming lessons 3 days. They are all having fun with that. Wednesday night was mutual--we cut out sleeping masks for Camp Rainbow. One day my mom and I made bread. I met with my fellow cabin mom for girls camp, went visiting teaching, went grocery shopping...etc. etc.

On Thursday night, we took the girls to pick out backpacks for school. We had one rule and that was to get a Jansport backpack. Last year they picked out Hello Kitty ones at Kohls and they totally fell apart about mid-way through the year. So they got Jansport and will keep them for several years (that is the plan at least). Then I took Eliza and Libby to Target and got all their school supplies. They had fun picking things out. We ended the night at Baskin Robbins for a treat. They want to make that a back-to-school tradition. I am totally game for that!




On Friday, we went to Old Navy and took full advantage of their half off clearance sale. I totally loaded up on mainly t-shirts for my girls. At $1.50, I couldn't pass it up! We got out of there with about 50 items at such a good deal. In the afternoon, I picked up my niece Sara and she came over and helped me out. She is learning how to babysit as she'll be starting to do that soon, so she is "practicing" with my girls. It was a dream. I was actually able to get some things done. I could get used to it. Then in the evening Sarah came over and Brian and I headed out for a little anniversary trip. Kind of a vacation after our vacation. I didn't find out what we were doing until Thursday night. We went up to his parents' cabin in Mund's Park for a relaxing day. We first drove to Flag to get a couple things at Wal-Mart and to pick up some sheets from his sister's house. Then we went to the cabin. We got there late, and just ate some ice cream and read. I stocked up on magazines at Wal-Mart and was in heaven! I haven't done that is so long!

We slept in a little in the morning. At first I woke up at 6:30 and thought, "You've got to be kidding me!! Sleep in, darn it!" I eventually fell back to sleep for a little bit. We got up and ready and read a little more before heading back in to Flagstaff. We went to Old Navy again and found mostly clothes for Brian--$5 shorts and jeans. Score! Then we drove around for a little bit, explored and finally found a little Mexican cantina for lunch. We shopped a bit after at the little downtown shops, did a self-tour at the Riordan Mansion which was fun. On the tour we learned that some people think that the Ponderosa Pines smell sweet like vanilla or butterscotch. I totally agree! It smelled really good. The weather was so great up there--such a nice change from here!










Before long we headed back to Mund's Park, gathered our things and headed up home. We stopped in Camp Verde from Dairy Queen, then came home. We got into some REALLY hard rain. We couldn't hardly see. We saw an SUV that had just barely rolled over coming down off the mountain. There were lots of people stopped to help, but it sure made your heart jump. We made it home around 7:30. Everyone who was still awake was glad to see us!

Last Day and Coming Home

On Saturday, we got up and ready, then went on a short little nature hike right by the hotel. It was along the edge of the lake and was so pretty with all the trees and greenery. The girls liked looking for acorns and pretty leaves.






After our little hike, we boarded our boat for our lunch cruise. The boat was called the Morgan and it was an old time boat that the hotel does lunch and dinner cruises on. We were going to go on Thursday, but one of the wholesalers from Goldman Sachs invited us to go on Saturday so we did that instead (plus he was paying!). We ate lunch soon after we got on—it was a buffet of salads, sandwiches and soup. For dessert there was carrot cake, mini cheesecakes, whoopee pies and fruit tarts. Yum! After we ate, we went up on the top of the boat and enjoyed most of the rest of the cruise from up there. The lake is 32 miles long and is just massive! It’s just beautiful, too. It’s surrounded by trees and lush greenery. We saw lots of boaters and people camping on tiny remote islands on the lake. I would love to do that!







Soon enough, we arrived back at the hotel and got in our swimming suits. We went to Happy Jack Kids! store and let the girls pick out a souvenir from our trip. Ellie got goggles for swimming, Libby picked a Curious George stuffed animal (so she can remember Lake George) and Eliza got a pair of green Crocs with a sailboat “charm” thing you can put in one of the holes. Libby picked out a Tweety Bird “charm” thing for Hattie’s Crocs. After the store, we swam inside again and Brian swam in the lake for a little bit for one last swim.

After swimming we got ready for our farewell dinner. We all got dressed up and headed down to the Bellvue ballroom for dinner. The kids had a buffet of salad, hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled cheese, French fries, fruit, cookies, etc. and the adults got salads, yummy vegetables, au gratin potatoes (which were my favorite of the meal—so good!), turkey, pork or salmon. The highlights of dessert were pumpkin cheesecake and chocolate peanut butter torte. There was a DJ at the dinner and Eliza and Libby had a BLAST!!! Eliza met a friend from Tipp City, OH, so they danced and played around a while. They had a mummy contest where you wrapped someone in toilet paper—they loved that. Then they had tons of fun playing with all the toilet paper the rest of the night. Libby would gather up a bunch, then throw it on me. I couldn’t believe it and if you know Libby’s personality, you’ll be surprised, too, but she actually did the Cha Cha slide with me when they played it! It was so much fun and I was glad to see her getting into it. After that, she was twirl around in her dress and just had a great time. Brian went back to the room with Ellie who (no surprise) was having bathroom issues, so Eliza, Libby and I stayed for a while and enjoyed the music and dancing.







When we had had enough dancing, I dropped Eliza off at the room and Libby and I went to a little corner store for some donuts for breakfast, then we went to Happy Jacks—a cute little store—they have one with adult clothes and a store just for kids. I had seen these really cute Croc shoes and went in to see if I wanted to get them. I tried them on but just decided to wait. In the store, Libby found some reading glasses and had so much fun trying them on and getting her picture taken!





Soon enough we were back in the room and sleeping!

Yesterday morning we just packed up, drove around a while since our flight didn't leave until 4:30. We saw the state capitol and downtown area then we grabbed a bite to eat and went to the airport. When we got there our flight was delayed until 5:45 I think. Ok--that wasn't too bad--we were still okay to make our connecting flight in Atlanta to Phoenix. Then it went down hill from there! It was delayed till 6:30 then 7:15 then 7:30 and finally I think we left at 8. We were late because the plane we were to get on was late and because of the weather we were supposed to fly into. We got to Atlanta and holy cow--that is the craziest airport I've ever seen. It was a madhouse! Our connecting plan was late thank goodness, so we still made our flight which left around 11:45 I think. The flight home was miserable to put it lightly. One of my girls decided on this trip that she only likes to use the bathroom at our house or our hotel room. So she was a wreck. I tell you--if I have one more bathroom issue I think I will crumble! We finally made it to our car at about 2 this morning and got home around 2:30. YUCK!! I thought everyone would sleep in but they were up at 8. We hurried and got ready and went over to Brian's parents' to pick up Hattie. WE were all so excited to see her. When she saw us, she just kind of stared at us like...are you really here?!?!? It was funny. But she is happy to be home.

We hurried back to swim lessons this morning and now we are trying to get back in the groove and trying to do some laundry.

Friday at Lake George

Today after we got up and ready we took a horse and buggy ride around the hotel property. Eliza even got to drive the horses for a time. She really enjoyed that and was pleased with herself that she got to drive. The buggy driver even hopped off to take this photo as we were going...


We grabbed Subway for lunch and came back and ate at the picnic tables out by the playground. The girls played there for a bit, then they spent a couple hours in the TeePee club at the hotel. It's a kids club they have and they were in heaven with all the crafts! That is what they did all the time they were there. They did craft collages, those melting bead things, painting, necklaces, etc. In order for Ellie to go, we had to get a babysitter through the hotel for her. So the babysitter just played with Ellie in there with Eliza and Libby. We put them in the TeePee club because Brian wanted to go kayaking and I wanted to get something done at the spa. Well, Brian went kayaking but there were no spa appointments during that time. So I changed my clothes and went running at the fitness center. Brian had a great time kayaking and decided he wants to get one to take out on the lake at home. After we were both done, we had an hour before we had to pick the girls up so we went to some shops and looked around. I found a charm for my charm bracelet.

We picked the girls up and Brian took them swimming while I went to the spa and got my late birthday or mother's day gift (I can't remember) and a little early anniversary gift--a facial. It was very nice--I loved the foot and hand massage, too. I didn't like the "deep pore extraction" as it says in the description of the facial. It HURT! It was all I could do to not turn around and squeeze the esthetician's face between my fingernails and see how she liked it. She even had the nerve to tell me as she was prying my face apart, "You made my day." What??? "That is our favorite thing to do." I am glad I could make her day at the price of feeling like my face was never going to be the same. The part before and after felt great though. And my face glistened when she was done (and wasn't all mangled like I thought it would be based on the pain of her "extracting").

We regrouped and went into the Village of Lake George for dinner and had Mexican food. They have a bunch of street vendors and Eliza got her hair wrapped. Libby didn't want hers done. :(


We headed back and went to the EJ family activity--s'mores. Yum! Then it was back to the room for bed. Another fun, busy day!

Six Flags

Today we were up and at Six Flags Great Escape soon after it opened. The weather was great--not terribly hot and really not too many people. When we first got in the park, we walked by a show that was about to start, so we sat down and watched. It was a pirate/splash show--it was about some pirates on a ship looking for a treasure, so they had to dive down and get it. There was a "pool" and diving boards and the "actors" did some fun and crazy dives. There were two very small--like 1'x1' platforms that a couple of the people jumped off from. One of the guys dressed in all black, lit himself on fire, then jumped in. It was crazy! And one time, one jumped off a 70' platform--did a back flip and a dive into the water. So crazy! We were in awe!




Then we went into the Looney Toon area and the girls went on several rides. Ellie's favorite in that area was the swings--Libby's too, I think!
While I bought lunch, Brian and the girls watched a show with all the Looney Toon characters.



We ate lunch, then moved on to other rides. Ellie got pretty dizzy on Dorothy's Rosy Tea Cups, but they enjoyed the rest of the rides in Wiggle Town. They also did a cute Wiggles show that my girls enjoyed.




In the park, there is also a water park--Splashwater Kingdom, so we changed into our swim suits and played there a while. We took turns going with Eliza and Libby on the Black Cobra slide--one all in the dark. The line was long, but they both enjoyed it. After we had enough water stuff, we changed back and finished in the ride side. Eliza and Libby really wanted to do the log ride, so we hurried to make it before the park closed. They only let 4 on a log at a time, so I went with Eliza and Libby and Brian took Ellie on another one. It was a fun ride and I got soaked. Libby and Eliza got pretty wet, too. They all enjoyed that ride. At the end, people can pay to squirt people on the ride, so some punk totally got us wet. The cold water went all over my back! We did a couple other rides before the park closed...little Indy cars and some hot air balloons...I just thought that ride was going to be a nice, calm one, but it totally was crazy! It went around in circles, quite fast and the balloons swung out to the side and went up really high. Libby was in balloon and was a little scared and I was quite dizzy (no surprise). We ended on the carousel--Libby was glad it was still open when we got there. That is one of her favorite rides.





Overall it was a great time. The park was really clean and had a lot to do.

On the way home, we found a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria for dinner. It turned out to be fine. No one fell asleep on the way home like we had hoped, but they fell asleep fairly well after we got back.

Late Start

I couldn't believe it...this morning we slept in until 10 o'clock (NY time). But still...10 nonetheless! So we got off to a late start today. We hurried and had breakfast in the room and got ready. They we drove about 25 minutes to the Natural Stone Bridge and Caves in Pottersville, NY. It was such a beautiful drive--so green and serene. I was telling Brian, "Can you imagine living here?!?! Like looking out your window and having that view?" It would be wonderful! We got to the bridge and paid for our admission in, then we started our hike. It was so fun and pretty. There were railings, but it was over rocks and such, so it was good hike for us and our girls. We saw the huge natural bridges, whirlpool, natural potholes, look outs, rushing water, etc. It drizzled on us during part of the hike, which was refreshing and fun actually.








When we were done with the hike, we bought some waters and a snack and ate those, grabbed a couple things from the gift shop and headed back. We got back to the room, and Ellie and I went to the gift shop for a minute. Then we went down near the rec. center for "Mr. Ding-a-ling" (the ice cream truck). We each picked out an frozen treat and enjoyed those. Well--all but me. Libby got a fudgesicle, but she dropped it on the ground. We picked it up quick and it seemed fine. I got the same thing and she wanted to trade (mine had a different wrapper), so I had hers. But after discovering some crunchy, gritty stuff in my teeth (probably asphalt) I threw it away. It must have been the humidity because they melted so quickly! Brian ended up holding Ellie's and Libby's while they hurried and ate to try to prevent from getting too much on their clothes.





We did a little swimming in the indoor pool before getting ready and going to dinner. It was "theme" dinner--a cookout theme--so there was coleslaw, potato salad (which I really liked--it had a kick to it which was yum), corn on the cob (so good) and I had BBQed chicken, but you could also have fish, steak or ribs. Dessert didn't disappoint--carrot cake, chocolate cake, wild berry shortcake or apple pie. I tried the first two!


After dinner we drove around Bolton Landing for a bit and drooled over the beautiful homes and the beautiful scenery they have! We were hoping the girls would fall asleep but no luck! So when we got back to the room, we got ready for bed. Libby started being a little crazy, but I tried to dispel it with singing and little counting games. That seemed to settle her down and wear her out so she would sleep. I'll have to add more pictures later as I don't have the software on my computer to download the ones from my other camera.