Devil's Hole

This trail is a mile or so down the river from Niagara Falls.
The river is such a beautiful color.

Checking out the trail below.

The kids thought this would be a great "bear cave".

Oliver wanted this guy to join our hike.

Uhh these creatures were ALL over the trail. Oliver wanted to point out and play with all of them. I wanted nothing to do with them!

This huge rock fell right in the middle of the trail.

Violette's ride. I didn't think she would want to stay in it, but she did great.

They did so good for how long the hike was. We tried to hike to the whirlpools as well, but it was too far.

What posers!

Summer Vacation

Due to the rain our summer vacation camping trip was not possible. So instead we stayed and played and relaxed at home, which in all honesty is Ryan's favorite vacation.

Oliver's first time at a skate park. We just found this park and Oliver could have spent all day here. Too bad its not closer.

She's a wild one.

She knows how to play hard too.

Violette takes her water girl calling seriously.

For some reason I can't stand Chuck E Cheese, but the kids of course LOVED it!

Allegany State Park

I think every child loves to play with fire. Oliver did learn how hot it is with a little burn.

This girl thinks she can do everything her older brother and sister do.

Hiking up to the Bear Caves. As we were hiking whenever Oliver saw someone else he would yell out, "There's a hiker!", like it was so amazing to see someone else hiking where we were.

Going down into a cave.

Inside one of the caves.

This cave was just right.

I loved the moss all over!

She is stuck, it doesn't look steep, but it was. She would get so mad when she couldn't follow.

That little girl was trying to give me a heart attack.

Inside another cave.

Violette wasn't sure if she really wanted to follow this time.

So I am one of those paranoid Moms constantly telling their children don't do this or that because you'll fall and get hurt. By the end of the hike I was a little better at letting Oliver climb where he wanted to.

They seriously could throw rocks for hours!

Saturday night it started dumping rain on us. So we were stuck inside.

It poured all night long with out letting up. It rained so much water came up from the bottom of our tent and soaked half of our bedding.

Violette was not a happy camper on the way home, can you see Penelepe has her ears covered. Our poor car was packed! Plus we had a cargo top carrier and bikes on the back. We started our trip planning on being gone for a week camping at Allegany and then making it over to the Finger Lakes area, but we only made it 2 days! Our car was already having trouble before we left and we sure didn't help it by packing so heavy. Then when our bedding got soaked, its not like you can hang it out to dry here with all the rain and humidity, so we decided to change plans and go home. It has rained the past 2 days so we're glad we came back.

Time flys when it's summer

We found the BEST park at Pendelton! We need to go back soon. The surrounding areas of Buffalo are so beautiful and peaceful.

Someone in the church donated a bunch of toys to the nursery. I knew this would be a good one for the kids because Violette squealed when she saw it and played for about an hour with it.

Our New Favorite summer treat. If you love peanut butter and chocolate and cheese cake then you will love this. It's not really a cheese cake but it's so good and super easy to make. I added melted chocolate on the crust and on top we put Reese's hard shell. mmmmm

She is a crazy driver.

Penelepe has been teaching Violette how to sleep.

Real Life NIGHTMARE

So..... the other day Oliver got a bag of hand-me-downs from his friend. After leaving the bag one night at Rozannah's house we brought the bag home on our dinner break (we've been helping Rozannah with stripping wall-paper). I left the bag on the living room floor planning on taking it to the basement to sort through it when I got a chance (like in a couple months or so). While I was doing the dishes Violette got a hold of the bag and dumped the shirts all over the living room floor. We needed to run back to Rozannah's to finish up, so the clothes sat on the floor for several hours. We returned home that night at 10:30 and we were exhausted. We all walked around the dimly lite house brushing teeth, getting drinks, and putting our pjs on. When all of a sudden I looked at the living room floor and noticed that there was a bunch of rice all over the floor. I was annoyed that Violette managed to get rice all over the living room floor and I wanted to just leave it because I was so tired. Then I noticed that the "rice" was kind of long and fat. And then I realized it was MOVING!!! MAGGOTS - MAGGOTS all over the floor! I immediately started screaming AT Ryan, Not for Ryan, but AT him. Why? I'm pretty sure I was in shock. As I'm screaming AT him, he is asking me in his calm parenting voice why are you yelling at me? I couldn't move all I could do was scream. Finally after forever (maybe a minute) of yelling I ran into the office and made Ryan go out there. They were all over. Not just a cute 4 or 5 of them but they were ALL over! In our kitchen, under the coach, in the office, and some trying to escape through the front door. And here we were walking around with them under our feet the entire time! Ahh it still freaks me out! Ryan got out the bleach and sprayed them but they just kept squirming and flopping all over. He realized that wasn't working, so he asked me to get the vacuum. He probably asked me about 10 times to get it and I couldn't move. I just stood there clutching Violette to me. Poor girl I'm sure she is traumatised for life. It took us (meaning Ryan and Oliver) 2 hours to vacuum them up. The maggots came from the hand-me-downs. Ryan would lift a shirt and 10 or so would flop out. What a nightmare! Luckily Ryan was home, I'm pretty sure I would have been hospitalized if he wasn't here! The next morning when Violette woke up the first thing she said was Bs (translated into English that means bug). Gross. Now we have had carpenter ants sneaking in.... what's next radioactive boars?

Pass it On

We are so excited for our friends Rachel and Ryan because they are in the process of adopting a baby! We know they are going to be great parents. Rachel has got to be one of the most giving people I know. She is one of the major reasons Ryan has done so well in school, thanks to her time and editing! My kids also love Ryan. For Oliver's 6th birthday Ryan was the second person on the list of people he wanted to invite! Sometimes the adoption process can take a long time, but everyone knows the power of word of mouth so please pass on the message that they are looking to adopt. You never know who might know someone who is pregnant and considering adoption. Click here to know more about them.