Wanderings

This past weekend my friend Stephanie and her family came to visit. Adam and I took them into Rochester to the public market on Saturday morning. We perused vegetable stands, dug through homemade mittens, bought way too many raspberries, smelled fresh roasted coffee beans, and enjoyed the beautiful, albeit chilly, morning together. I love going to the public market, and I don't know why we don't go more often. There is something exciting about the masses of people, crowding through the stalls, the hawking of goods, hearing the voices of people everywhere. It's invigorating. I enjoy talking to the different vendors and gleaning bits of information from them or about them. We came home with bags of goodies and ate good that night! Although the asparagus I bought is still in the fridge... Maybe I do tend to go overboard.

A Day at the Aquarium

I had never been to an aquarium or seen real, live manta rays before. And I am 25 years old. These kids don't know how cool it really is to have access to such a cool place. When I was in Albuquerque, my cousin took me to the aquarium. My aunt and the little cousins came too, even though they had been there numerous times before. The big kids (including me and Auntie Kim) and the little kids oohed and aahed over the fish and seas creatures with the best of them. Beckett loved watching the rays. He's almost 2. I loved watching them too. (I even got to touch one! woo-hoot!)

My favorite part was probably the jelly fish room. Their eery glow filled the room, while their translucent bodies moved through the water. There was a distinct beauty to these creatures and yet I had to remind myself that these were actually dangerous animals. Still it was a cool thought to imagine swimming in a pool of jelly fish..... Definitely not very practical. I left the aquarium that day in awe of God's amazing creation. He has made so many marvelous things!

Down By The River

Upon our arrival in South Carolina, we were greeting with fine greetings from our host and hostess. It was just after 11pm on Saturday night, so after the greetings were over, Josh, Adam, and myself collapsed into bed. Sunday we were treated to some fine Southern preaching, which brought back childhood memories of our Southern Pastor, who could shout with the best of them. (He had gradually adapted the more Northern way of preaching and was quite tame by the time I graduated High School...)

After church, Carissa and Adam H. (our fine hosts) took us to the river for a picnic. When they said picnic, my mind conjured up images of a gentle, grassy slope, where we could lay out our blanket and enjoy our packed lunches in the warm sunshine. Maybe after our lunch, we could, if we so desired, dip our feet into the cool edge of the river and watch Josh do some splashing... Well, it was awful silly of me to imagine any such thing, because there was no gentle, grassy slope to lay out our blanket on, and the warm sunshine was blocked by a cool canopy of limbs and leaves.

We picked our way carefully down the rocks and stepped into the cool stream. You could see looks of displeasure coming from my husband's face. This was not what he had expected either. He was hungry and had been hoping for a gentle, grassy slope on which to eat his lunch. Carrying the cooler in one hand and holding Josh's hand in the other, he picked his way over the slippery river rocks with a warning to me, not to drop the camera.

We walked for a ways, with Mr. Hall and Carissa in the lead, and Adam scowling more and more, as his stomach began to growl painfully. The river curved round a bend, and there along the shore line, was a rocky beach of sorts. It was here, on the rocky beach, that Mr. Hall unfurled the blanket and Carissa got out the picnic lunch. The river babbled it's watery song while we munched happily on our ham sandwiches, chips and cookies. Our hunger was finally satiated and the scowl lines in Adam's brow had softened.

By this time, the water was calling to us and we left the dry picnic blanket and dipped our toes into the water. We ventured further until the water lapped at our calves. Before we knew it, we were all kids again, our hands in the water, pulling rocks out and moving them to where they would better suit our purpose. Soon, the water was rising and Mr. Hall and Adam joyfully made a game out of seeing how fast they could get the current moving.

There was a lot of laughter and smiles as the boys got in touch with their "inner child". The current was so strong that even as grown men, they struggled to walk through the knee-deep water. One could tell that they were mightily pleased with the results of their hard work, making memories all the way.

Family Fun?

Today was a gorgeous, Seabreeze kind of day. The local union that Adam works in was having their family picnic at Seabreeze. We went with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Jo (Grandpa also works in the union) and tackled the water slides right off the bat and right off the bat Adam threw his back out coming down one of the slides with Josh. He didn't complain about it too much and we enjoyed several hours of water rides and bumper cars, but by mid afternoon he was very noticeably walking crooked. His back was seriously out of whack by two or three inches. Needless to say, we didn't stay as long as we could have. We went home to ice his back and get some pain killers in him. Adam spent the rest of the evening laying on the bed trying to relax his back muscles. Hopefully, his back will have released most of the tension by morning so he can go to church pain free.

I'm kinda glad Josh and I have another Seabreeze date in a couple weeks, because I didn't get to ride the Jack Rabbit this time...

A Day to Play

I had four marvelously free admissions to Strong Museum of Play. Aunt Leta and Lucas were invited and, on one fine day, we went. Lucas is two and Josh is three, so being full on inquisitions, they entered the Museum on their toes. Lucas would've spent all morning looking at the fish in the giant fish tank just past the admissions desk, but Josh, who had been to the museum on February, was eager to get on to the good stuff. If you live in the Rochester area and have kids of any age, the Strong Museum is a highly recommended place to go, although it can get pricey if you cannot get a deal somewhere. The boys wanted to see everything and go up every ramp, but their favorite place was probably the "sand" box. Leta and I got a good break from chasing them while they sat and played in the beads. Josh got the grand idea of making snow angels, which caught on with the some of the other kids. Lucas was psyched to ride the train. Josh wanted to shop at Wegmans and Leta and I couldn't wait to go into the butterfly garden. We spent three plus hours traipsing through the rooms, exploring and investigating the ways to play. Lucas was fond of pitter-pattering over the pirate bridge. I almost lost Josh while chasing Lucas through Story land. (Leta was taking a break.) And then we finally made it to the butterfly garden. Josh stood so still and carefully so as not to squish any butterflies. He looked like he was having a horrible time, but he was just trying to be careful. There were butterflies everywhere and little Dr. Suess-type birds running down the paths. I was able to hold a butterfly, but Josh didn't seem impressed. But he was impressed with the carousal we rode on before we left the museum. I was impressed with the picnic lunch we ate on the grassy curb of the parking lot and the grass stains that I got on my shirt... Maybe not the last part there, but we had such a great day together, Josh, Lucas, Leta, and I. Good times.

A Sunny Day Outing

I woke up to a beautiful, sunny day, and my mind began to run with all the things I could get done outside on such a gorgeous day. It was difficult for me to quell those thoughts, as my stay-at-home time is limited, but an outing had been planned by husband and son and I didn't want to miss out on family time just to spend it with some dirt. Josh had gone to bed the night before chattering about feeding carrots to the cows at Lollypop Farm and he woke up talking about it too. So I tucked my thoughts about raised garden beds into my back pocket and clambered into the car with my men. Grandma Jo and Grandpa Bob were meeting us at the "farm" and Grandma Jo was bringing her carrots. Unfortunately for the carrots, upon arriving, we found that we were not allowed to feed the animals. But we wandered the paths admiring the horses, pigs, emus, goats, cows, and ducks and we were even able to get up close and personal with the goats. Josh had such a ball playing with the goats. There were a couple kids (of the goat type) in the group of goats that were quite friendly. They came right up to us and nibbled on my coat. The not-quite-as-friendly goats were chased by a small boy, and I'm not sure who was having more fun, Josh or the goat being chased! I thankful that I had my camera along as I was able to get several good photos of the kids playing together, the goat kind and the human kind...

Wrapping Up the Journey

Maybe you are all tired of hearing about our trip to MN and our visit with Jim. After all, we've been home since the 4th... But I still have more photos and since I'm sure at least my Mom wants to see them, I insist upon sharing them. (So deal!) One more photo journey. This time to Gooseberry Falls and then a couple additional shots from the next day, so this brings our journey to a close...

Days # 6 and # 7:

We started the day off driving around Duluth, which is where we had spent the night. We were looking for a good place to eat breakfast and our GPS led us to this little cafe. It was quite funny actually... Adam asked Jim to look up bakeries in his GPS and the first one that was on the list was the Amazing Grace Bakery. It was 0.0 miles away. It just so happened to be in the basement of the building next to us. Talk about delicious, homemade, good cooking. And a great atmosphere to boot. I'd recommend any day.

After a hearty breakfast, we headed a bit north to see the falls. They are as follows.

Falls #1 (or 2) Notice the bear cave in the background. We climbed
up and peaked in, but it wasn't really big enough for any bears.

Jim, being a good mountain man, commandeered the falls for us.

Another view of the above falls. In all there were three or
four different falls. We saw all of two of them. Boo to that.

Jim, being a good photo bomber. I will unfortunately never be as good as he is.

And now we are onto the next day, back in Minneapolis. The weather was cruel to us while we were in MN, but how could anyone expect Minnesota weather to be any different than cruel? The week started off in the 90's but by Friday, it was 55°. We were freezing and ill prepared. I had forgotten to pack Adam a sweatshirt so that was our first order of business. The second order of business was to toss around the "ol' pig skin" at the park down the street. I am not much on playing catch, but I brought a book and found a park bench. Before too long, Adam and Jim had some company. Three neighborhood boys came along and asked if they could play. And they played for over an hour and a half. It was a riot!

We wrapped up the day with a baseball game at the Target Stadium. I got some great picture of the guys and I waiting for the game to start. I hope you like them as much as I do.

Another Day at the Beach Scenario

Minnesota Trip Day #5:
Today I am going to take you on a photo journey. Come with me, through this tunnel, up to Split Rock Lighthouse. Built in 1905, the Split Rock Lighthouse stood to protect the sailor and his vessel from crashing into the steep coastline on the darkest and stormiest nights. Many a sailor was lost upon the ravaging waters of Lake Superior. Especially that cold cruel day in November so many years ago. 29 boats were lost to the depths on that day. And hence the Light of Split Rock shines on brightly, to warn the weary sea captain, lest such treachery befall them.

The now retired lighthouse.

Looking out from the inside.

The lighthouse keeper's homes. There were three keeper's. One house for each.
(If I remember properly.)
Along this coastline is where many a ship foundered
on that dark and stormy night, before the lighthouse was built.

This is how Adam stands still so we can get our photo taken together.This is Jim next to a really big rock.The shore of Lake Superior is equally as rocky (or rather more so) as Lake Ontario, but a bit more picturesque from this angle. Notice the lighthouse on the top of the cliff in the background.
There was a small rocky island next to the mainland, where we could view the lighthouse perfectly. Adam thought it would be fun to dive off said rocky island and go swimming. But I said it was not safe.
A pile of rocks.

Just Another Day at The Fair

(Adam helps Josh check out the John Deere tractors at the Erie County Fair.)

(Uncle Rick is a fireman, and his firetruck was at the fair.
.Lucky Josh, to have a fire captain for an Uncle.)

(Josh trying on Uncle Rick's fireman hat.)

Day #4: This was the day that we went to the State Fair. My camera had run out of batteries, and I left it at the apartment to charge. Therefore, I will share photos from the Erie County Fair, in NY. We had gone there with my in-laws a couple weeks prior to our visit with Jim. The Minnesota State Fair was a little more fun than that fair. There were the typical fair foods, smells and sounds. A few more interesting animals (I liked the birthing center exhibit, where there were newly born animals or soon-to-be mothers) and art exhibits... Food on a stick... You name it, pizza on a stick, pickles on a stick, potatoes on a stick, spaghetti on a stick, donuts on a stick... It was my goal to eat something on a stick while I was there, but I failed. Miserably. I suppose I'll just have to go back next year... Jim made sure that I got to see the historic section of the fair. Adam was not impressed while we dawdled in the printing press room and meandered through the corridors of the antique train cars. But I loved soaking it in. (Thanks Jim!)

When we finally left the fair, Adam was cross and needed a nap. So we headed back to the apartment and let Adam get some sleep. Our evening plan included dinner with a couple of Jim's friends, Dan and Jesse. Dan brought along his wife, Dee, and I got some much needed girl time. Spending days on end with two guys can wear a girl out, you know! It wasn't that we giggled like two school girls or anything like that, but having another girl around was something of a stress reliever for me. Oh, it was also this same evening that Jim took us to IKEA, the most amazing store in the world. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I wish we had an IKEA down the street from us. But then, maybe it's good that we don't. To tell you about IKEA, I would need to write an entirely separate blog post, so I'll save you the details. In addition to seeing IKEA and eating with Jim's friends, this was also the evening I said good-bye to my orange Converse. They were my friends for three days, but they would not fit. It was a fun dream to have orange shoes, but simply not to come true. For just the night before, I had found a pair of black Converse at Target that fit me so much better and were $5 cheaper. Good-bye orange Converse!! And now it is 11:09pm and time for me to go to bed. Goodnight.

A Camping Trip

*Hiking up Bald Mountain. Josh hiked all the way up
and half the way down before asking for a ride.*

We finally took Josh camping last weekend. He had been asking to go since April. One sunny April afternoon, while driving down the highway, something must've triggered a memory of camping. Because from that moment on, at least once weekly, Josh would ask to go camping. Last year, we had taken him up into the Adirondack's to Old Forge, and this year we returned, just one campsite over from the one we had last year. This year we had an addition to our camping party, as Adam had invited his friend Dave to come along. Dave brought his own tent and his own snacks, but other than that, did everything else with us. We did some hiking, some canoeing, mini-golfing, some cooking over the fire, some bear-hunting, and some hiding under a tarp. Yes, it rained a bit. But I'm not one to complain about the rain. It wasn't all that bad. The sun shone at least for a bit each day and our tent didn't wash away in the midnight torrential downpour. So all in all, other than me being in such a sour mood the whole time, it was a fine camping excursion. But next time, Adam is making the pancakes.*At the top of the Bald Mountain Fire Tower. Over 2, 350 ft up.*

*Dave attempting to get washed down the Moose River. I was so paranoid.*

*Mmm, mmm, good.*

A Weekend Visit

This past weekend my good friend Stephanie and her hubby, Stephan, came to visit. They brought their little boy, who is turning one tomorrow. Steph hails from Binghamton, and though it's only two hours away, we see each other rarely. (We have decided that will have to change.) It was the perfect weekend to visit, if you like to be busy. The town where I grew up was having their annual festival and parade AND the Lilac Festival was taking place in Rochester. We took Steph and Stephan to see the parade shortly after they arrived. I think Josh liked it more than baby Tyler did. Josh thought the fire trucks, motorcycles, and police cars were so great. Adam made sure that he got at least one or two pieces of candy from those who still threw them. (Everyone is currently on an "anti-obesity" rampage, so the candy throwers were far and few between. I don't think a couple of pieces of candy at a parade are going to make someone fat.) In the evening we went to a friends' home to watch the fireworks display. They also had a little girl, so it was fun to watch the three little ones interact with each other. Rosalie spent the first portion of our visit trying to kiss Tyler. So funny! On Sunday Stephanie and Stephan left their boy with us for the day while they went to a friends' wedding. We took Tyler to church with us and then to the Lilac Festival. It was funny the reaction we received at our church. There were two different people who approached us saying that they didn't know we had two kids. I told them we were just borrowing one for the day, to practice. Having two kids was easier than I thought it was going to be, probably due to Tyler's good behavior. Stephanie had made it out to be like he was going to be fussy and horrible. I wasn't too worried, but I mentally prepared myself. In all actuality, he hardly fussed at all and was the best baby at the Lilac Festival. I enjoyed having two kids for the day and I think my in-laws enjoyed it too, as we went to the festival with them. After spending time with thee baby, my mother-in-law made comments about wanting another grandbaby of her own... I told her we might have to go to China to find one. When we arrived back at home, our company had returned from the wedding and we spent another nice evening together. Sometimes I wish Stephanie and Stephan didn't live so far away... I really enjoyed our visit together and am looking forward to another one before too long!

God Knows...

I love God's timing. He sees the whole picture and knows what His children need and when they are going to need it. This week I needed a kick in the pants, but instead God gave me something different.

For the past week, there had been some pretty serious contention in my house. Between my love and myself. It was yucky. I hated it. I hated him. I didn't like him, not one bit. And he didn't like me either. (Face it people. We've been married nearly four years and if you've been married for any length of time, you've got to admit it. There are times when you just. don't. like. your. spouse.) He informed me on Wednesday evening that on Thursday, his Dad needed us to go to Buffalo with him. There wasn't any options. No getting out of it. We were going, even if there were previously scheduled things to attend to. Like worship practice. It's always every-other Thursday. Well, now I couldn't go. *grumble-grumble-grumble* I didn't want to go to Buffalo. Thankfully I held my tongue. Thursday. We drop Josh off at Mom and Dad's house. He's beeping the horn at me while I get Josh settled inside. It's just after 5 and I think Adam is just being a jerk. (Yes, that's the inner workings of my mind when there is contention. Don't you like knowing what a horrible wife I really can be? Aren't you glad YOU aren't married to me?) .The two hour drive to Buffalo was pretty quiet. I think I even dozed off for a while. After all, it was dark and quiet. Perfect for snoozing. Sports Talk Radio was on and that is extraordinarily boring, even if there is a big hype around the Buffalo Bill's head coach being fired. I think I actually felt a little less grumpy after snoozing. (2 points for me...) Adam had said his cousin Kevin, from Orchard Park, had some band thing we were going to. After stopping for some Mighty Taco, we got back on the Thruway. Hmm.... "Is this the way we usually take to Orchard Park?" Adam smirks. "We are not going to Orchard Park." "Where are we going?" "To the HSBC Arena." More smirks. I'm confused."Kevin's band thing is at HSBC Arena?" I'm wondering to myself, are we really going to a Sabre's game? Cause I'm not dressed for that! I'll be cold! (Hockey games are cold.) Adam reply's, "The Rockette's are at the HSBC Arena." "Kevin's playing for the Rockette's?" Sometimes I'm really good at being stupid. "No, Kevin is not playing for the Rockette's." He rolls his eyes. Unknown to me, my friend Wilson had convinced Adam to buy tickets for the Radio City Christmas Show weeks earlier. She had no idea that Adam and I were going to be in serious need of a date night. And not just any date night, a special date night. Boy, was I surprised. And tickled. My husband had bought tickets to an extraordinary show, like nothing I had ever seen, just for me. What a guy! The thick-walled exterior of my heart melted away as I took Adam's hand. Together we ran through the rain hand in hand toward the arena. We weren't too terribly late and as we took our seats the Rockette's came out onto stage. Boy, they were good. True to form, the dancing was in perfect time and choreographed beautifully. For an hour and a half, we sat mesmerized and at the end, the real Christmas story was told. Tears welled up in my eyes. I was so glad they didn't leave out the best part of Christmas. And I was so glad that God knew that I would need some hubby time this week. I am so thankful. And I guess Adam isn't such a bad guy after all...

A Farm Market Sort of Day

I was going to clean my house today. At least that is what I had in mind before I climbed out of bed and found the sky to be, oh so blue, outside today. The outdoors look rather inviting, so I threw any plans I had made to stay in and clean, right in the garbage. I called my Mom and practically dragged her and the girls she babysits to the farm market. It was the perfect sort of fall day for playing. The farm market has all sorts of "playing" things. There is a wooden train, a wooden castle and a wooden big-wheeler. I'm not sure which Josh liked best, the train or the big-wheeler. The sand box was a big hit. I think the three kids (or should I say four?) spent the most time digging in there, making castles and footprints. Josh and I took a walk in the maze with Grandma, but Josh didn't care for the "flowers" that hung low in his face. (The flowers were actually the long grass bending down into his line of vision, which kept hitting him in the face.) I let him lead the way through the maze, and a"maze"ingly enough, we actually found the exit. I am so glad we didn't stay at home all day on such a beautiful sunny day. I really need to make more of an effort to get out in the sun throughout the year. There is so much for us to enjoy around here! And the house can always be cleaned later... Or not. ;)

What We Are Going to Be Up To

I had no idea before I looked up this photo that Nashville was such a beautiful place. Adam and I will be spending the whole week in this city starting on Saturday. We've never been there and it's not on my top 10 places to visit, but he has a two day class that he has to take for work in Nashville, so we decided to make a vacation out of it. We are leaving Josh home with my parents, so we'll be kid free. I've been taking suggestions for things to do and so far, I have a little list of possibilities. And since Josh is not coming they don't necessarily have to be kid friendly. Here's a few options:

• Andrew Jackson's plantation
• Opera Land Hotel - I hear that there is an indoor boat ride, which sound fun
• Grand Ole Opry
• Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman are singing together on April 28. I think I may be too late to get cheap tickets, but that would be really cool...

Anyway, we are leaving this Saturday, so I have 5 days to figure out what we really, really want to do. And on top of that, I will be all by myself while Adam is taking his class. Thankfully, there is a girl that I grew up going to church with who lives in the area. Our plan is to get together for one of those days. I just need to be a big girl and find something to keep myself busy on the other day... But I think this will either be really fun, or really horrible. Really horrible only if Adam is too cranky ;). (That is just a joke, for those of you out there who take me too seriously!)