Ithaca, New York - Our First Night

Usually for our summer vacation we head to Wisconsin to hang out with family, but this year we decided we wanted to do something different - a special vacation with just the three of us :-) Our first thought was that we would go up north and stay on a lake there. When I was a child we went up north every summer and the wonderful memories still stick with me today. I love it there!! We knew we couldn't go wrong with that choice. But then Kyle started exploring the Finger Lakes in New York, an area he has always wanted to go to, and came upon a beautiful cabin in Ithaca on Cayuga Lake. Both of us love exploring new places so as soon as he mentioned this idea to me I was in! And then when he showed me the cabin, I was even more excited. I love nature and trees and lakes and the freedom that comes with having your own special spot away from everyone to just breath and take it all in. This cabin had it all and looked...perfect :-)

We were all so excited for this trip and eager with anticipation in the days leading up to our journey. Brett has looked forward to vacations in the past, but nothing like the joy and eagerness he showed this year. As he gets older the excitement becomes more and more real. He gets what a vacation means: a new adventure away from home, a chance to see new things and explore new places, and above all, have FUN :-) The morning of our excursion Brett woke up bright and early, and the first thing out of his mouth was "I'm ready to go!" We quickly got ready, packed up the car and were off. It was a long drive....longer than I thought it would be...but so worth it (around 8 hours or so). Brett could not have been any better in the car. He just went with the flow and enjoyed watching movies on the DVD player, listening to music, snacking, and playing games like Bingo. When we finally arrived we were more than ready to get out of the car and explore the cabin that we would call home for the next four days.

We came down a steep driveway and parked our car, and then walked down a path and went over a little bridge to find this. Just like I thought...perfection. 

After unpacking all of our things it was time to explore! Off we went down the path to the LAKE :-)

There is just something magical about an evening on a lake. So quiet. So peaceful. Just what we needed after a long day of driving.

It doesn't get much better than this :-) Stay tuned for the fun we had the rest of the trip!

A Special Day for Brett and Molly

Something crazy happened about a year and a half ago on December 24th, Brett's birthday....my best friend in the whole wide world gave birth to her daughter, Molly!!! Now really, what are the chances of THAT?! I guess it was just another sign from the universe that are friendship is meant to be, and having our children on the same date is just another bond we will share forever :-) Because the holidays are usually so crazy and busy, we decided we should start a tradition where we we get together on their half birthdays to exchange birthday gifts and enjoy a special treat together :-) Even though we've made a point to never let Brett's December 24th birthday get forgotten or jipped of specific b-day presents, it's still nice for him him and Molly to have a designated day to look forward to, a day that is all theirs with no holiday gatherings getting in the way.

For our first annual half birthday celebration Rachel and I took the kids to get cupcakes. Brett was super excited and had been looking forward to this day for awhile! After that we stopped at Berry Bagel's to get lunch and headed to Gallop park to eat, play, and open presents :-)

Of course Brett picked out the confetti cupcake :-) He knows a birthday cupcake when he sees one!

Little Molly had the same kind....and I think she liked it :-)

There was a long line at Berry's so I took the kids outside to play while Rachel waited in line. Brett loved how Molly wanted to do everything he did :-)

Present time was Brett's favorite part! Thanks for the Legos, Rachel!!

I think Molly liked her Music Box too...she stared at for a long time trying to figure the whole thing out! :-)

Once Molly saw Brett holding her new bracelet she realized it must be something fun :-)

And, of course, a half birthday hug was in order after all that fun! They may not realize it now, but they are destined to be friends for life :-)

Unfortunately our day took a turn for the worst soon after this picture was taken. Brett was off feeding the ducks and Molly was sitting so nicely on the bench....so Rachel and I started talking away. Then, all the sudden...CRASH....Molly fell face first on to the ground, splitting open her lip. Rachel quickly went into mom mode, scooping her up and trying to console her sobs. Poor little Molly was bleeding pretty bad and bruising up fast, so we both knew what had to happen. It was time for our time to end so Rachel could take Molly home to clean her up and put ice on her lip. The good news is that after a few fussy days due to pain, Molly was fine...the bad news is that our celebration was cut short. Well, that's just another excuse to get together with our cuties later this summer :-) And make some better memories next year!!!

Gallup Park!

A couple days ago some friends and I decided to take our kids to Gallup Park for the first time this summer. As always, we all had so much fun! The highlights were exploring the trails, running over the bridges, and feeding the ducks and geese who were so tame they would take bread out of my hand! Brett LOVED the wildlife and pointed out every animal he saw (birds, chipmunks, ducks, geese, swans, butterfly's, etc). He is definitely a nature lover like his mommy :-)

Since we slept in, we were the last of our friends to arrive...so here is Brett leading the way over the bridge to go find them :-)

Once we found them the kids all ran off together through the tunnel of trees. Pure freedom :-)

After running around for a little bit it was time for the best part....feeding the ducks!

It was a good day :-)

Binder Park Zoo

Ever since the warm weather arrived I have been dying to go to the zoo. Our weekends kept filling up though, so finally I just picked a random date on the calendar and wrote down "Zoo Day". That day came last Sunday, and what a fun day we had!! We had never been to Binder Park Zoo before but had heard good things about it from friends. Plus, it was really easy to get to...and there were Giraffe's that you could feed yourselves there! That alone had me so excited! Brett was really looking forward to the zoo as well, and proclaimed a million times within the 24 hours before we went how "EXCITED" he was. He would randomly come up to me and tell me "I'm just so excited to go to the zoo and can't wait! When are we going!?" He was so cute :-)

As soon as we arrived and walked in to the zoo, the boys had to check out the map. Brett loves maps just like his daddy :-)

Then we were off to explore the park and see all of the animals! 

This little Lemur wanted to come home with us :-)

 

While we were waiting in line to ride the mini train around the zoo, we happened to look up and saw this beautiful Peacock just over head! 

The train ride around the park was definitely one of Brett's favorite parts! 

And the Red Panda was one of MY favorites :-)

After looking at all the animals in "America" it was time to walk to the Tram that would take us to "Africa" where the Giraffe's live!

As soon as we got off, it really WAS at if we were in Africa! Just take a look at these pictures! :-) 

Look at this! Dinosaur bones!!

Feeding the Giraffe's was by far my favorite part! Definitely something I want to do again! Brett, on the other hand, preferred to stay back and just watch from afar :-) 

Yes, we were really that close!

I love how the animals had such large pastures to roam in.

I was so proud of Brett because he walked the whole way without any complaints at all! He's definitely a trooper :-) We were there for over 3 hours, and as we were walking out of the park, Brett looked at us and said "I think I want to stay longer!" I think that sums up his thoughts of the zoo :-) I can't wait to check out the Toledo Zoo next!!