Swimming

Caitlyn practicing her kicking

I love having a pool in our apartment complex.  We go swimming about 3 times a week.  In this hot weather the pool is the best place to be.  I always loved swimming when I was younger and still do, I am glad my kiddies are loving it also. 

Liam putting his head under

They are really improving with their learning to swim and getting more brave being in the water also.

She will blow bubbles but still doesn't like her eyes in the water

Liam swimming with this noodle.  He can go around the entire pool like this.

Squirting me with this water gun

She was splashing me

Dunking his head under

and coming up out of the water

HOT, HOT, HOT!

Everyone told me that Virginia summers would take some getting used to, they were right.  IT IS HOT!  Basically, we stay inside with the A/C or plan activities where we can get wet and cool off.  Luckily, we have these fountains not far from our house that we can go play in to help us stay cool. 

DOUGHNUTS!!

Doughnuts all shaped and rising for that nice light, fluffy texture

The last couple of days I have been craving doughnuts.  Probably because I started a new challenge with some of my siblings and one of our goals is to not eat sugar or sweet treats so of course that is all that I am craving.  Another reason could be that I have been thinking back to days of cooking with my cousin and one of our favorite things to make was doughnuts.  Unfortunately, he gave me his recipe so I couldn't resist but to make a batch.  I halved the recipe but still ended up with too many doughnuts for my family to eat but we tried our best.

Dark chocolate glaze - YUMMY!

Cooking them

Chocolate with sprinkles, my weakness

Now, who to share them with?

MMMM, they were as yummy as I remembered!

Rollercoasters!!

So after surviving a day at Colonial Williamsburg the kids and I can add myself were all really excited to go to Busch Gardens and ride some rides.  We had quite the system of two of the adults going to ride a big roller coaster while the other two rode some rides with the younger kiddies and then we would switch.  Somehow my older nieces always ended up on the bigger rides with those adults, not sure how that happened. 

All my pictures will be with the little kiddies since the big roller coasters don't allow cameras and for good reason, just ask my brother who thinks he lost his out of his pocket on Apollo's Chariot. 

With the 3-4 days spent there we ended up riding my favorite roller coaster, The Griffon, about 15 times.  My nieces total was 23.  My dad would be so proud, he taught us well to make the most of our amusement park experience.

my niece teaching the younger kids how to pose of the rides

Needless to say by the end we knew where the camera's were and had done about every pose you could think of.  The other roller coasters I rode probably about half of the time.  I must be getting a little older because after 5 times in a row I was a little dizzy and had a small headache. 

my son's favorite ride, he called it the up and down ride

The younger kids had just as much fun riding their roller coaster and dragon rides.  They played in Sesame Street and were able to get wet when the days were too hot. 

cooling off from the heat of the day

We also went to the water park which also had several fun rides and kiddie play areas but I didn't risk taking my camera there.  Overall a very fun vacation, one that I needed a vacation from, and a lot of fun spending time with my brother and his family. 

stomping on the grapes in Italy

my daughter and her best friend, her cousin - they were either loving each other or fighting over something

Williamsburg

We were invited by my brother and sister in law and family to join them on vacation to Williamsburg, VA.  We went there Memorial Day weekend with my cousin and family but only to Busch Gardens so we went again this time for the entire week so we could explore around even more.  I am definitely more of a thrill seeker than a history buff but my husband and sister in law love history so we spent one day in Colonial Williamsburg, which really was quite interesting, just not as exciting as the roller coasters in Busch Gardens.  Basically, it is a town set back in Revolutionary War times with fun buildings and actor portrayals of what was happening in history at that time.  We visited several buildings, my highlight was the bakery, but the cabinet making and blacksmith was also pretty interesting.  It was hot that day which didn't really help with the kids and keeping their attention on what the people were telling us about their trade but they did like the drummers and sword fight.

At the end of the day we went to the Governor's Palace.  Definitely my favorite building in Williamsburg and where I learned that Williamsburg was the capitol of Virginia for a while.  The kids enjoyed the grounds, especially this maze at the back of the building. 

While I didn't complain as much as my older nieces about why we were spending time there instead of the amusement park we were happy to be headed to the roller coasters the next day.  I did enjoy teasing them that we decided to skip the amusement and water parks and focus on history this week and ultimately we did gain more knowledge and information about the circumstances of the beginning of our country which is humbling indeed. 

4th of July in DC

We decided that since one is never sure when life will take you to new places that we had better take advantage of being in DC for 4th of July and brave the crowds to see how the Nation's capital compares with Delta for my favorite holiday, Independence Day.  Growing up 4th of July was always a very fun and traditional holiday with my Dad being born on that day.  I have only missed going to Delta for the 4th about 5 times in my entire life and my sister said that was the only day she was homesick on her mission, not even on Christmas but on 4th of July.  So we invited my brother and his family to come join us so maybe I wouldn't be so homesick for Delta's festivities, having family around always helps.  We headed into DC on Sunday to visit some museums while they were here and get an idea of how things would be for the 4th.  After a crazy day and some very tired kiddies we postponed going into DC Monday morning until the afternoon and headed to our local town for their parade in the morning. 

 We arrived about 20 minutes before the parade began and the streets were fairly empty, no problem finding a place to sit unlike Delta where you put your car out two nights before the parade begins.  The parade was fun though not nearly the candy but the kiddies did get some.  About 50% of the participants in the parade were politicians which was different but they did have a John Deere tractor so that reminded me of home. 

 Afterward we prepared for our trip into the city to watch the "best" fireworks in the nation.  With plenty of snacks and water aboard we drove to catch the metro which was surprisingly sparse.  Our stop was also sparse as we started walking to the Capitol building on the National Mall. 

 As we approached it was then we were directed to four blocks down where we would need to enter a security checkpoint to reach the Capitol grounds.   While carrying all of our snacks, water, blanket, camera, and tugging along 6 children, my sister-in-law and I finally made it through the crowds and security to find the lawn pretty full, at least we thought it was.  We did find a spot where we could see the Washington Monument where the fireworks were to be displayed.  The kiddies had devoured our water on the walk to the Capitol and the heat and humidity were draining all our energy so we sat in the shade and tried to entertain them with cards, climbing trees and some snacks. 

As the lawn continued to fill up it became more difficult to keep the kiddies on our blanket and not stepping on other people around us.  Luckily our husbands came as reinforcements and some dinner so we were ready for a few more hours of waiting.  I had read some tips on taking pictures of fireworks and had carried my tripod to try them all out so I set it all up ready to enjoy the fireworks and hopefully get some cool pictures.  At this time the concert was starting and the lawn was completely covered with people and blankets.  The concert was fantastic with Josh Grobin being the highlight though Steve Martin playing banjo with a bluegrass band and Little Richard stirred the crowd up.  The fireworks began at 9:15 in the middle of a song and everyone stood up to see them.  Well I was all set up to take the pictures with everyone sitting down so was scrambling to get things set up to try to get pictures over their heads.  They also had lights on that I thought they would turn off for the fireworks but no, a bright light was shining right on us so again not ideal.

 Amazing fireworks though, unlike Delta, they would light off 4-5 at once and one right after another, not a single break waiting for a firework to burst.  There is one problem with this however, the smoke from the fireworks did not clear away because they were shooting off new ones all the time.  While the fireworks were big, bright and beautiful we also saw a lot of smoke that really took away from the enjoyment.  The fireworks lasted about 15 minutes and then we gathered our stuff to work our way through the crowds and metro to luckily a hotel instead of having to drive home.  The walk, metro, shuttle and waiting with the crowds only took us about 45 minutes to get to our waiting hotel room which was reasonable considering I had heard to plan on 2 hours.

  
Needless to say I did miss Delta's small town celebration of Independence Day.  There is nothing like; a parade where you know most of the people in it and they throw you a bucket full of candy, going to a city park that is packed with people you grew up with and you can visit with and hearing music from local bands, (I doubt Josh Grobin would ever make it there but Dyer Highway is just as entertaining) a demolition derby, neighbors with fireworks that are as amazing as the city's and the added fun with wondering if they are going to burn down the school or houses around them, taking fireworks up to the cemetery to light a few off for my dad, the city's fireworks that last 15-20 minutes with no smoke and you can get a seat about 30 minutes before they start and most important just spending time with lots of family, playing games, eating good food and making memories.

 Ultimately though 4th of July is about celebrating our freedom and remembering all the men and women who died to give us that freedom.  Being in the Nation's capital on the same ground where many of those founding fathers walked and lived and fought for those freedoms was very humbling.  So while it wasn't Delta, it was the 4th of July and still my favorite holiday where I truly remember how blessed and lucky I am.  

Canada trip with G&G

In front of the Palmyra Temple

First log home of Joseph Smith

Grandma and Grandpa were kind enough to invite us on their vacation to Canada.  We met them on Saturday in Palmyra, New York to see the church history sites.  We saw the Printing museum, then went to the Joseph Smith homes and the Sacred Grove.  Unfortunately, it started pouring and lightning while we were walking through the Sacred Grove so we had to make a mad dash back to the car.   We stayed the night in Palmyra then drove to Niagara Falls.  

Overlooking Niagara Falls from New York

Looking across to the Canadian side

 We stayed there for about 30/40 minutes then headed into Canada.  The resort was about 3 hours north of Niagara Falls and we didn't want to get there too late.  The plan was too come back down and spend more time at Niagara falls later.  Our family was there a year ago and we did the Maid of the Midst and looked around for a while then also.  The resort we stayed at was at the Southern end of the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron.  It is a ski area and plenty chilly for the middle of June.  Having left 90 degree humid weather in Virginia though the cooler weather was nice for a change.  Luckily the pool was heated and they also had a hot tub so we were still able to go swimming.  Swimming in the lake though was a different story. 

Throwing rocks into the lake

Daddy teaching him how to skip rocks across the water

Brave enough to get his feet wet. 

Caitlyn playing with the rocks also

Backwards throw

I couldn't get that close and not say I put my feet into Lake Huron, it was COLD though

View of the shoreline

We had to take a walk around all the sailboats waiting to be used on the Lake. 

The kiddies were fighting over holding Grandpa and Grandma's hands.  Also riding in the car with them and sitting by them at dinner. 

After that beach we drove around to a more populated beach where there was actual sand.  The water was a little warmer though really dirty due to a very shallow shoreline.  People were walking out 50 feet and it was only waist high.  Still a little too cold for much swimming though.  The kids played in the sand for a few minutes. 

We had a fun time and were very thankful for being able to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa.  We have been missing them the last couple of months.