Mama Likes to Jitterbug

Vacation: Day 7 - Golf

Before heading back to Boston, we decided to spend the afternoon on the golf course.  Golf is definitely Steve's "thing" with the kids, but I enjoyed riding around on the cart and watching them play. 

 

 

I wasn't the only one who enjoyed driving the golf cart.  The kids quickly figured out that if one pushed the gas pedal and the other one steered, they could get to where they wanted to go.

And then Gracie figured out how to do it on her own.  Surprisingly, this was less scary than having Sean behind the wheel.

Vacation: Day 6 - Natural Caves & Bridges

This was the day we left Lake George.  On our way back to Nana & Papa's house, we stopped at a place called Natural Caves and Bridges (or something like that).  It was breathtakingly beautiful, although admittedly a little dangerous.  There was lots of climbing up, walking down, crawling over, and plenty of places for kids to slip and fall.  So not many pictures.  I managed to hold up my camera a few times and press the button while clinging to a railing, but the photo ops were few and far between.  My favorite memory from this outing was watching "Adventure Grace".  She was so cute and confident leading us around on our tour.  Sean, on the other hand, complained the entire time that his legs hurt and he was tired.  This was definitely not his thing.

Vacation: Day 5 - Hangin' Out

Day 5 was our last full day at the resort.  There was only one planed activity - a pirate treasure hunt around the property.  The rest of the day was spent playing on the beach, lying in hammocks, swimming in the pool, and fishing.

 

   

 

Vacation: Day 4 - Play Day

Day 4 of our vacation was sooooo much fun.  We started out at Goony Golf - one of the many retro-style miniature golf courses located at Lake George. 

 

 

Leave it to Sean to find a way to send Steve diving for golf balls.

 

After Goony Golf, it was over to Waterslide World - quite possibly the worst waterpark I've ever been to.  Totally overpriced, granny-slow slides, terrible food, and not a lot for younger kids to do.  That being said, we still managed to find a way to make the most of it and have fun.

The highlight for Sean was definitely the wave pool.

Gracie, on the other hand, preferred laying out and showing off her "la-kini".

 

Our visit to the waterpark was cut short by a storm, so we decided to finish the day with a trip to the touristy shops and arcades in downtown Lake George.   While I shopped for souvenirs, the kids got their first "real" tattoos.   

 

Finally, here is Gracie playing one of those old-timey shooting games at the arcade.  She is frighteningly at hitting the little targets. 

  

Vacation: Day 3 (Part 2) - Back at the "Cation House"

Our second evening at the vacation house was one of my favorites.  When we got back from Great Escape, we took the kids fishing and finally let them use a real hook and bait.  They were sooooo excited!  Gracie caught a fish on her first cast - which is typical Gracie.  She also wanted nothing to do with the fish after she caught it (also typical Gracie).  Sean caught a fish almost as quickly, but unlike his sister, was incredibly proud of his accomplishment.  And very disappointed that we made him throw it back.

  

Another great thing about the place we stayed was that they had organized activities throughout the week for the kids.  This afternoon's activities happened to be face-painting.  Sean chose a puppy face, while Gracie picked the scariest monster face they offered.  The artist looked at me like she was surprised by Gracie's choice.  What can I say?  The child loves Halloween, and she's not exactly a girly girl. 

 

Here are the kids and I on our way down to dinner at the resort's restaurant.  The food wasn't that great (which unfortunately seemed to be the case for almost every place we ate in upstate New York), but we had the most amazing view of the lake and mountains. 

After dinner, there was a bonfire on the beach.  Another organized resort activity that included smores and a hippie with a guitar.  It reminded me a lot of being a kid at camp, and was the one thing I had been looking forward to the most from the brochure.  It didn't disappoint.

 

After eating smores, which Sean loved by the way, the kids decided that they wanted to take an evening dip in the lake.

 

The ship that's in the background of this picture is one of the many that regularly floated by our resort.  Going for a ride was on the top of my To Do list.  Unfortunately, Gracie hated the horns they blew and refused to go on one.  Maybe next time. 

The Kitchen Sink

Here's a picture of what our kitchen sink now looks like.  According to our kitchen contractor, we are only the second client he's heard of in his 20 years remodeling kitchens that's had this happen.  Fabulous.  Buy us a lottery ticket. 

Gracie is the only one seeing the bright side of this situation.  After assessing the damage yesterday morning, she told Steve, "You don't need to fix it Daddy.  You can just buy us a new house." 

 

Vacation: Day 3 (Part 1) - The Great Escape

First, to anyone who checks here regularly, sorry for the sporadic posts.  I admit, it's been hard getting back into the groove of blogging, returning emails, etc. after being on vacation.  We also have a lot going on right now.  Big decisions being made as a family.  I'm not ready to share those decisions on the world wide web just yet, but they're all things that have required a lot of time, effort, and attention.

Then of course, while I was editing photos and typing this post last night, our kitchen sink fell out of the counter.  Literally, as I was typing, there was a huge crash and I turned around to find our sink sitting in the bottom cabinet with water gushing all over the floor.  So that's another thing that's going to require some attention - trying to track down the granite company that installed it and convincing them to come out and fix it.  I'm pretty sure that a kitchen sink should last more than 3-4 years.

Anyway....next on the list of things that were awesome about the location of this year's vacation was that it was only a few miles down the road from Six Flags Great Escape.  My kids love that place!  What makes Great Escape so fabulous is that while it's owned by a big franchise, it still has the charm of an old-timey amusement park.  For example, there's a petting zoo.  Gracie thought it was disgusting, but Sean loved it.  Especially this goat.

 

Characters - Another thing that Sean loved, but Gracie hated.

Of course we couldn't go to Great Escape and not see the dive show.  We actually saw it twice.  While both kids wanted to meet the pirates after the show, Sean was the only one that would pose for a picture. 

 

Another fabulous thing about Great Escape are the tiny houses that are scattered throughout the park.  The kids didn't go on a single ride that day.  They spent almost the entire time playing in these houses.

The kids were so tired from staying up late the night before that I think if I had left Gracie here, she would've actually taken a nap.  She loved this little house.  And I'm pretty sure it's why she's now obsessed with us buying her a house of her own.  A day doesn't go by that she doesn't tell us that she wants a house.  "A big yellow one."  "Not the kind she can put in her room."  "A real one." 

   

I love this picture of Gracie kissing Steve.  Not sure if she was just happy to be there, or buttering him up for a new house.

I also love this picture of Gracie that was taken on our way out of the park.  She was actually trying to fly.

 

Video: Gracie's Round-off Back Handspring

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program of vacation recapping to present this video of Gracie doing her first round-off back handspring.  She's been working really hard to get this skill, and today she finally did it by herself.  In case you can't hear/understand the audio, she says "I'm Gracie.  I'm going to do a round-off back handspring.  I'm four.  And I'm going to do it with straight arms."  Can you guess what I told her to do right before I hit the record button?  LOL!  And yes, that's her old gym's uniform that she has on.  She insisted on wearing it for her "show".  I feel so bad because she realllllly misses all of her old coaches and teammates.  Still hoping I made the right decision.

Click on the image to view the video.

Vacation: Day 2 (Part 2) - Our "Cation House"

Day 2, Part 2 of our vacation was the drive to Lake George, New York and the arrival at our "cation house".  I'm not exaggerating when I say that we could have spent the entire week just hanging out inside our cabin and the kids would have been happy as clams.  It was that fabulous.  My only regret was that I didn't have the video camera rolling when they stepped out of the car.  It was worth every penny spent to see their excitement over the littlest details.  But the smiles on their faces when they discovered their bunkbeds, and a "real TV" in their room, was PRICELESS!!!

Here's the first view we had of our cabin. 

Located right behind it was an AWESOME playground.  It had a putting green, a rock wall, and a gigantic pirate ship.  The best part was that we could just let the kids go out on their own and still keep an eye on them from the house.

 

When we went to the circus earlier this spring, Gracie's favorite act, hands down, was the trapeze show.  So needless to say, she was very excited to have one right in her backyard.  She spent every chance she got practicing her act.

One of my favorite memories from our first night was putting the kids to bed and settling into the front porch rocker with a glass of wine, only to discover that they had locked us out and decided to throw their own party. 

 

 

   

Last but not least, here's the amazing view that we woke up to every morning. 

Vacation: Day 2 (Part 1) - Nana & Papa's House

While Gracie and I were finishing up with cheer camp, Steve and Sean headed to Nana and Papa’s house to drop off Steve’s car for some repairs.  The plan was to meet there and then drive over to New York together. While the boys were waiting for us to arrive, Sean spent the afternoon fishing and making a birdhouse with Papa in his workshop. Based on these pictures that Nana took, and the grin that was plastered on Sean's face when Gracie and I finally arrived, I gather he had a pretty fabulous afternoon.

Sean in the shop with Papa.  (Love the work glasses!)

 

 

Carrying the birdhouse outside to put in a tree.  He looks so proud!

  

I think it's funny that Sean insisted on putting his dog, Sophie, up in the tree with the birdhouse.  Guess he thought it needed a guard dog.

All painted and ready for its first occupant.  This was done after we returned from New York (with a lot of help from Nana).