More Vacation Fun....

Okay, I'm ready to write more about our vacation so far! Where was I?

Backing up, we arrived in Olean, NY around 4:00 pm on Saturday after leaving home around 8:30 AM. GG had dinner almost ready - stuffed grape leaves and salad - yum! Mike, Kym, Caden and Colin arrived not even 10 minutes after we did, so we all had dinner together. Kym and I even got a few minutes of girl bonding time alone in the car as we did a quick run to Tasta Pizza to supplement dinner. It was so nice having everyone together. Well, we did miss Courtney, but she had a sleepover that night so she couldn't come.

After dinner we went to a local parade. There were so many firetrucks - Dominic was in his glory! Oh, and the Shriners were in these little go-carts zipping all over the place which was very entertaining. People in the parade were throwing candy to all of the kids, so Dominic and Francesca were scrambling to get their share. Not that they can eat much of it, but half the fun is grabbing it! They did have dum-dum lollipops, Starburst, and Smarties, which is more candy than they usually eat in three months.

When the parade was over, we went to the carnival. The first thing we had was taffy - fresh made! Talk about dangerous for fillings - it was so good but so soft and sticky! After 5 minutes later, Kym and I shared a fried dough with lots of cinnamon and powdered sugar. Thank goodness Gail let me know that I was literally covered down my front with powdered sugar on my dark clothes! Chris would probably have let me walk around like that the entire time! :)

All of the kids rode a bunch of rides - Francesca, Dominic, Caden and Colin - and Chris and Mike rode with them sometimes. They even rode these adorable little ponies. Colin was a little reticent and didn't ride, but the other three did - thanks to GG's splurge. I need to see if she has a cord that fits my camera so I can upload some pictures here rather than wait until we're back in MA!

By the time we got home and the kids got in bed, it was late. I'm talking 9:30 late - which is an hour and a half past their bedtime. We had spent the whole day in the car and neither of them napped (Dominic doesn't usually but Francesca often needs to), so it was a very long and busy day for them.

Of course they were both up early and out their bedroom doors promptly at 7:00. Sleep in? What's that? My kids are incapable of sleeping in. (Although I'm sure I'll eat those words as the teen years approach!)

More on Splash Lagoon and other visit details soon!

July Vacation

Summer is here! Well, in that the kids are both out of school and the official first day of summer has come and gone. Unfortunately it's been rainy and chilly for weeks now so it doesn't feel like summer. Dominic keeps insisting that it's not summer. The kids don't quite get that the temperature is not what determines the season.

We're currently in Olean, NY at GG's house. Our whirlwind week of vacation will be spent half here with my mother-in-law and half at my parent's house in Trafford, PA - complete with their big Fourth of July picnic.

Yesterday we spent the whole day in Erie, PA at Splash Lagoon, and indoor water park with GG, Uncle Mike, Aunt Kym, Courtney, Caden & Colin. Our kids had a fabulous time on the waterslides and in the pool. I was so proud of both of them, but especially Dominic for going down the "Shark Attack" slide by himself. It's a body slide - no inner tube - and not only does it go pretty fast, it's pitch black inside the enclosed slide! Francesca was more timid and at first wouldn't go down the bigger slides in a double tube with me or Chris, but finally decided to try it and ended up loving it!

Ooop, I'm being summoned. We're off to the YMCA for family swim this morning (this is turning into a water vacation!) so I have to put on my bathing suit and head out. I'll write more about our trip soon!