NY-Boldt Castle

My mother had SO been wanting to take the kids up to Boldt Castle, on the St. Lawrence River, so we prepared ourselves for the long 2&1/2 hour drive and set off.  It was...ahem...a very difficult trip.  What was supposed to be a 2&1/2 hour drive up, turned into 4 hours.  I felt so bad for the kids, they had just had enough.  My sister's youngest, 18 month old Clara was just done with not having her naps and being stuffed into a car seat and not being able run.  BUT, we made it.

Here is a picture of the boat that I took Kristoffer on for a lunch cruise right before we were married.  Such happy memories!

 Four of the five kids on the ferry over to Boldt Castle.  Owen is totally loving the ride, if you can see his happy little cheek.

 Happy....and very tired.  I think this boy was in the middle of a growth spurt while we were there; his appetite was absolutely insatiable!

 It was a gorgeous day.  Personally, I was hot, but these days, I'm *always* hot.  Hands and feet on fire....all the time.

My mom with little Clara.  Having kids around the water and on the docks made me on NERVOUS pregnant mama, oy vey, I was a bundle of nerves having five non-swimmers on the docks!

 Boldt Castle *was* lovely.  It reminded me of everything in Downton Abbey.  Just so pretty and stately.

 The ballroom.  All of the girls were happy to dance and run.

 The Castle guides were a little on edge having kids there.  I thought one of them was going to have a heart attack when Owen ducked underneath one of the rope barriers and ran to sit on a chair!

 The grounds were so pretty.  After we took our hasty, self-guided tour, we sat on the lawn and let the kids just run and run.  They needed it, poor things.

We managed the drive back a little better and ended up feeding the kids in the car on the way and then they fell asleep watching a movie.  It was a day that, as a tired, swollen pregnant mama, I could have skipped, but in the end, we got some great pictures, eh?!

NY-Blueberries!

We took a morning to find a place to pick blueberries, and while we didn't end up at the place we were looking for, the one we found was absolutely delightful!  In NY, there are so many U-pick places, and this one was super cute.  I don't think I've ever seen a blueberry patch as well taken care of as this one.  Each bush was surrounded by it's own, square patch of hay, and the grass was trimmed, no weeds, it was gorgeous!  The blueberries were amazing.  If you've never had a FRESH blueberry right from the bush, you're missing out!

Owen did such a great job picking.  In fact, I kept hearing this happy humming from all around me, and I just assumed it was Marin, but lo and behold, it was my little Owen, happy as a clam, filling up his bucket. 

 The day was absolutely gorgeous, bright blue skies, big puffy clouds, and a nice breeze on the hill.  Marin was a great picker, she contributed quite a bit to the final count!

 Look at those berries!

 Wearing my super comfy pregnancy shirt, I was so content to pick berries.  Picking berries brought me back to my childhood; we would go and pick berries a couple times every year.  So nostalgic.

 Across the road from the blueberry patch was this gorgeous field and barn.  Nothing to hear but the sound of the breeze.  Absolutely perfect.

We stopped for some pizza.  Nothing like a NY style crust.  No matter where I've gone for pizza, it's never the same as is it in NY.

 Aaaaand a little soft serve dipped in chocolate.

I think blueberry picking was honestly my favorite day.  So relaxing and perfect.  I think for my bedtime snack while I was there, I had a bowl of blueberries with milk and sugar about three times.  SO good, there really isn't anything like it.

NY-Skaneatales

When you get a bunch of little kids together, you may just end up with a mouse funeral on your hands.  My mom has a cat that is quite the hunter, and the kids found one of his....ummm...catches.  They were strictly instructed not to touch the mouse, but were permitted to cover it with rocks and flowers, which was promptly executed. I'm totally cool with that.  It's a dead mouse, I'm sure they will survive.  They also washed their hands after anyway.

 We took the kids to the Science Center in Ithaca one day, SUCH a great things for them.  A million things to do, and indoors, so this mama was happy.  Of course I forgot to take my phone inside, so...no pictures for you!  We stopped at a farmstand on the way and it was wonderful.  I love NY farmstands.  So beautiful!

 And then we ate lunch at a park on the lake.  The breeze coming off the water was absolutely divine!  I could have stayed there ALL day!

The next day we headed up to Skaneatales (Skinny-atlas).  It's just not a trip home without going to Skaneatales.  Usually we like to do this trip as just adults, but we couldn't get a sitter, so we took the kids....and it was uh....busy.  Not the usual trip for us, but at least we got to go!

 The kids had to check out the little jewelry shop...even my poor son.

 Marin found something she liked!

 How do two moms look after having a hectic lunch with kids?

And then we drove over to MacKenzie Childs.  A home furnishing/decor company that owns some property near Auburn and has their showroom and offices there.  It's so gorgeous there and the grounds are just lovely.  The kids ate their treats on the grass by the pond. 

 Picture perfect.

 Um, gorgeous!

 The geese hoping for a few crumbs off little Clara's cookie.

Lydia....she is A+ photobomber.

 And this random picture...this old lappy was the one I used in Nursing school...and the one I sent and received all those e-mails to and from my Kristoffer....all those years ago.  So nostalgic.

Stay tuned for more!

New York, The Beginning!

The kids and I flew out to Upstate New York on August 2nd for a ten day stint, and honestly, the whole trip is kind of a blur.  We were SO busy and I was SO tired, sheesh!  WE flew out on a red-eye, and let me tell you, I would rather fly with a newborn and two kids, than to be pregnant and fly with two kids.  Flying while 7 months pregnant is the pits!  I was so uncomfortable and had tired, sleeping children sprawled all over my lap.  And my feet...oh my poor feet really took a beating.  I was able to stave off constant swelling before the trip by making sure I kept them up for an hour during the day, and Kris would rub them at night for me.  But since the trip, there is no recovering.  They are swollen all day, every day...even in the morning.  They will be swollen until delivery!

We landed in Syracuse in the morning and we all had naps.  My sister and her husband and two kids drove up from GA with my brother's little girl, and they arrived around dinnertime.  My little brother, Jacob came downstairs to join in, and the kids were highly intrigued.  Jacob pretends to have this disdain for children, but for some reason, the LOVE him.  We're not sure why, exactly but they just think he's hilarious.  He actually does have a good time, even though he deny's that in full.

 That first night we played a board game...one that I am so not familiar with.  I was really struggling.  My poor brain had so little sleep, and pregnancy makes me kind of...well, dumb anyway.  It was all I could do to get through the game!

 Sunday we went to the Greene Branch.  It's always so nice to see people I have loved for so long.  We took the opportunity after church to take some pictures.  The kids were really so good all things considered.

 My mother with five of her seven grandchildren.  She was in heaven!  From left:  Lydia Welch, Clara Welch, Emily Owens, Marin Lyman, Owen Lyman.

All together!  My sister Tabitha on the left, my mother, Alison and Myself on the right.

 JUMP!

 Just the three of us.  I have to tell you, every time someone comments on my belly, it's something along the lines of  "Oh, not much longer for you, it looks like!".  They seem a little surprised when I tell them I'm due in October!  I didn't think I was that big...

 A picture of me and my babies.  I love this picture, so so cute!

 I have more pictures to share, but I'll need to post them another day.