August / Buffalo Trip

Well, we got back from the Dells and had just two weeks of down time before we were back on the road again, this time to Buffalo.  We used those quiet two weeks to spend MORE time at the pool and just enjoy summer.  Sawyer took more tennis lessons with her new friend Kate from the pool, and the others just enjoyed seeing friends when they could.

On one particular day, our neighbor Lily asked Margot to come over and play, and Mark had an appt so I had these two sweet girls.  We scootered into town and went out to lunch together to one of our favorite spots.  They LOVED that it was just the three of us, and surprisingly got on well with each other.

It wasn't long though before we were back in the car driving to Buffalo.  We got a new DVD player (died before Columbus) and were armed with a stack of movies, which made the ride really easy.  We stopped twice and were greeted by Grandma and Grandpa in the driveway with hugs and a glass of wine.  We had a pizza party with Michelle, Al, Jon, and Harlow to kick off our first night - perfect.

Only to be topped by a day at the pool the next day which also include Kate, Ryan, Maeve, and Rory...and some superior diving board displays by Mark and Ryan.  The kids spent all day jumping, swimming and having fun and we went right to Aunt Kate's for dinner and more playing, and more cousins - getting to see Luke and Aidan too.

Now while we're there during the week most people have to work so we found things to keep us occupied and would see people at night.  We went to Niagara Falls, which I'll post pics from separately, and we did the walk to the Eternal Flame at Chestnut Ridge.  This was a fun outing because (1) it got our girls back into the woods, which we know Isla loves, and (2) was somewhat of a challenge for them to watch tree roots, etc.  Despite Margot tripping and wanting to be carried some it was successful, and as you can see we made it to the flame.

We also did lunches out - one in particular we met Grandpa Joe out for lunch.  Always good to see him.  Mark and I also, somehow, managed to get out three nights in a row without our children.  We went out with my parents to the waterfront, where I snapped this beautiful sunset...and had some great food and drinks.

We went out to dinner with Al and Jon while the girls had a slumber party at Aunt Michelle's...which we'll need to repeat because they are still talking about the chocolate pretzels they made with her. And then we went out another night with lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, and parents while my cousins watched the kids and sat on a rooftop having drinks.  To say I can't remember the last time we were without our kids three nights in a row is true - I guess it would have been our trip to San Francisco a year ago.  Was a treat to know they were off having loads of fun too.

We also spent time at the pool - Aunt Jeanne's pool twice, Mark and Jen's pool, Eagle Ridge pool, and Wanakah's pool....not to say nothing of the day we spent in Lake Erie at Barb and Mark's new house. We actually did two different pools and the lake in one day which was crazy but fun.  The kids had fun with every single relative they hung out with which is what makes each trip special, though sometimes we end up a little pooped at the end of the day...

One other thing I wanted to do while we were in Buffalo was let Sawyer try golf.  I had toyed with the idea of getting her a few clubs at Play It Again Sports before we left, but quite frankly just ran out of time and decided I'd see what Aunt Kate had when she said she "had some clubs".  Turns out Aunt Kate had a whole bag and nice set handed down to Maeve from her cousins that they graciously let us borrow while we were there.  See how happy this girl is just to carry them...

We figured out a time with Grandpa and went over to the club to try and swing the club.  Literally, Sawyer had never hit a ball before today but she wanted to try and did really well.  She wanted no instruction from me, but did listen to Grandpa....who I should add was far calmer teaching his granddaughter than he ever was teaching his kids.  Here's our girl lining up.  She hit a bunch of balls on the range, then went and putt for a bit, and then when Grandpa went off to meet friends she went back to the range for more....and would have kept going if Mark hadn't come to pick us up for our trip to the lake.  She probably hit the ball about 75 feet and was really proud of herself.  I think we may just have a date at the range in the near future....

And I would be remiss if I failed to mention the Olympics with our trip to Buffalo.  This year was the Rio Olympics and we spent a lot of time watching while we were on vacation...mostly in the morning and at night.  Sawyer especially got into it - she would watch any sport and cheer on the USA, but her heart was in swimming and gymnastics.  She loved to cheer for Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps and wants to join the swim team next summer because of it!

Speaking of the pool, ours is closing soon.  It's been a great summer and while I personally have only gotten there 5-10 times, these kids have gotten our money's worth.  We went to the end of summer party last weekend where we took some funny pics, and danced to a DJ, and had some food truck pizza.

 And that leaves me with the rest of August - well, I went away for work to London and Brussels after returning from our vacation.  Was a very busy, productive, and fun trip.  I saw a good friend which was a bright spot, and ate lots of interesting food - indian, middle eastern, british pub, etc.  i love that.

While I was gone, Mark kept the house running as per usual.  He took the kids to Legoland one day too which they loved.  Here they are posing with Darth Vader.  Such attitude on the little one.

Though it was not too long after that shot that I got a text with this one.  That's right, Margot gave herself a haircut.  This picture kills me.  I love it so much and look at it often.  I love the expression and the eyes, and the fact that she didn't give herself a terrible cut.  It felt very 70s shag/girl mullet to us.

She was told not to cut her hair again, and we'll see if that sticks.  I think so many people asked her what happened to her hair that she's actually kind of proud of it.

And the remainder of August was spent getting ready to start school and activities up again...and boy do we have a lot of activities on tap.  Margot is doing art and ballet/tap, Isla is doing soccer, art, and ballet/tap, and Sawyer is doing lacrosse, tennis, art, gymnastics, and when some of that ends basketball starts up.  Crazy, but we were actually telling them no because they wanted to do more.

And because of the cuteness factor, here's a quick snap of my girl trying on her ballet clothes...

Margot walks on her tippy toes frequently (like 75% of the time) and so I wonder if she'll be good at ballet?  Here she is practicing.