Day 3 and 4 of our trip

What fun ~ a nor'easter in New England! Actually, we didn't see the worst of it. It only rained where we were. Some places saw inches of snowfall. The kids actually thought that would have been "cool" (sorry for the pun) :)

This is the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. (Notice the weather!) It was nice, but we again think that they charge way too much on admission for what is there. Nonetheless, it was pretty neat inside.


Joel shooting at the peach basket hoop. Noah was (and still is) sick, so he didn't do much there. You know he wasn't faking it because he was very much looking forward to the stop on our trip.


In South Deerfield, MA is where the Yankee Candle company is headquartered. And, I "demanded" that we stop at their factory store. You would never believe this place unless you have been there. Brian estimates the size of this shop at around 100,000 sq. feet. Everything you can imagine is at this place. It reminded me of the Longaberger homestead, only bigger, and yet different. I got out of there with some great 2nds and just a small hit on my wallet. :)


When you go to Vermont, you HAVE to go to Ben & Jerry's. It is required! The tour is short, but you get a free sample. Need I say more.


About 1 mile up the road from B & J's, is a place similar to Tanner's Orchard. However, at this place, you actually get to watch them make the cider. It is an interesting process. Good thing I like apple cider, because the apple "puree/mush" they use to make it does not look appetizing at all.


Moose sighting! Moose sighting!! Saw him and a couple other moose just off the interstate/parkway in New Hampshire. The kids were extremely excited ~ well, Joel was anyway.

Marilyn and Joel at a natural pool spot called the Basin. Notice Joel with his moose. He has named it "Puddyoneshoe". Tomorrow he plans to call it "Puddytwoshoes". Where does he come up with these things????


Most of the colors are gone, but not all of them. It is so beautiful here.

Wish you were here to enjoy this with us!
Kendra

Finally, a new post!

Sorry to my faithful followers (my sister, etc.) that I have not update my blog for about 2 months. You know, I would have been more diligent in posting, but my children demanded my attention (i.e. schooling!)

OK, OK, here is my newest post. And as time allows, and if I have internet access, I will try to update at least every other day. I promise!! so check back often!!


At the border, waiting to get into Canada. It took about 15 minutes to get through this.


We made it!!


Niagara Falls at night. They light it up every night. I was told, "You have to see it lit up at night." True.


This picture is a bit blurry because it is at night, but I love it!


Horseshoe falls.


We took this tour "Journey Behind the Falls". It was pretty cool, however, it cost way too much money. In fact, EVERYTHING on the Canadian side of the falls costs WAY TOO MUCH!! The falls are beautiful, but it really has become a tourist trap.


This doesn't even look like me! Brian picked up some lady and pretended it was me. HaHaHa!! Some movie star with shades :)



Until my next post,
Kendra

2009 version of the home movie

Do you remember having to go over to the relatives to watch their home movies, or look at their pictures that they took on vacation? Boring, right? Well, not mine!! ;-}

At least I hope I don't put you to sleep. I tried to pick out some of the fun ones out of the over 600 we took. Digital technology is the best! I'm probably going to delete well over 1/2 them eventually. Duplicates, blurry images, and such, you know.

Anyway, to start, here is a picture of my sister and mother on the pier at Seal Beach. Notice the heavy outwear and blankets. The beach is always cool with the breeze, but this year has been exceptionally cooler than normal. It actually warmed up after the sun went down. Weird... And, I could have used a more embarrassing photo, Susan. Just remember that!


Seal Beach IS named for the seals. Who would have known! This is the 1st seal that my sister and brother-in-law has ever seen there in their many travels to the pier. This guy was loving our bait that we threw down at him. So, he kept coming back.


Marilyn (self photo) at sunset


I caught the biggest fish of the night. I was so proud of myself!! My brother-in-law was a bit jealous. Just a bit. It is a croaker, of the perch family. Never heard of it. Wonder how it tastes?? Maybe like a frog??!!!


Joel caught a couple too. We didn't have a lot of bites that night, though.


Next night: Orange County Fair ~ bigger than the State Fair. Amazing amount of people!!


Here is Noah and my nephew, Brandon. These 2 were inseparable during our trip. They got along better than they ever had!! They are also so much alike it is scary.
I like this picture because it looks like "gangsta" Noah is wearing an ear of corn on his head. If he only knew it was there!


The race on the slide ~ from left to right ~ Joel, Adrian with Audrie, and Marilyn.


Ok, this was such a "wicked" ride, I had to publish it. In this picture, it looks like Marilyn is praying. Let's just say it wouldn't surprise me if she really was.


Here it is in action: Three arms, lifted high in the sky, rotating on both the main "arm" and their individual "arms". They thought they were going to fall out because the seat belt felt loose! Like I said before ~ Wicked!!


On to a more serene ride. A surrey in the park. What a beautiful day!!


Dodger Game. Joel isn't really a Dodgers fan so much as he is a foam finger fan. I think this makes 4 in his collection of foam fingers.


We sat in left field, 2 rows up. It was so fun! I'm a Cardinal fan, but I was actually rooting for the Dodgers that night: they were playing the Milwaukee Brewers who are in the same division as my beloved Cardinals. Noah just wanted to see Manny Ramirez. Manny could have won the game for them in the 9th, but he popped out. Still, it was more fun than I ever thought it would be.


Brian and the twins spent the last day in CA at the beach. Check out the wave action. And this was down from what it was a few days earlier.


Joel on the boogie board.


Marilyn's turn on the board.


Goodbye palm tree ~ Hello corn fields.


Hope you enjoyed our trip too!!

Kendra

First day in California

Just a few pictures from our 1st day in California.

My niece, April, and nephew, Nathan, eating a skillet cookie.


My nephew, Adrian, also eating a skillet cookie. Must be the toddler way to do it. Learned this from the dogs!


Group shot from the restaurant.


Brian, Noah, Joel, and nephew Brandon went to the X Games at the Staples Center. This is taken from their seats.


If you look closely, you can see the guy on a skateboard. Vertical jump ended up being over 20 feet. Wickedly insane!!


Check back for more updates,
Kendra

Random pictures

Took Marilyn and Joel to see Up 3-D on their 1/2 birthday. They are now 10 AND 1/2.


From my 96 year old grandma's house: The cement block foundation is cracking and buckling out. We have had ALOT of rain this year and it has caused this. My parents hired someone to come and fix it. These are pictures of the basement walls. As you can see in the pictures, some of the walls only required reinforced carbon metal strips. One wall required new steel beams to hold up the rafters.




We spent July 4th on the farm. And it rained. Kids had a ball! Jumping on a wet trampoline is apparently the best ever.


And they rode the go-cart. In wet grass. Marilyn tried the blanket technique to keep all the grass off her.

Didn't work.

Joel's turn. WHY did he have to wear a church shirt??


It is all about looking cool, even if you are covered with dirt and grass clippings.

The hose off.


We went to the HOI fair this year. It had been 16+ years since I had been. We went on a date there before we were married. It was fun, but alot has changed over the years. For one thing, it is alot smaller. The Marilyn and Joel participated in the kiddie pedal tractor pull. Marilyn is pretty good at it, and Joel is OK too.

Marilyn on the pedal tractor.

Joel on the pedal tractor.

They both won 2nd place! There was a boys AND girls division, otherwise Joel would not have participated because he hates losing to Marilyn. I'm so glad they "tied".


And, there was an adult class. Here is my mother-in-law. No way you would get me on that thing. It nearly "killed" her!!

And my adorable husband. He came in the top 5. (I think he ended up with 4th place, but we didn't find out. One guy broke the tractor in one of the pull offs, so we don't know who won.)


Enjoy your summer!! We are.

Kendra

For all you softball fans out there (and Aunt Susie!)

Here are a couple of videos of my daughter playing softball. If I knew how to do it, I would have made just one. One of these days I will figure it out.

This one is of her pitching only.


This one has pitching and hitting.


I love watching her pitch. She is like a machine! (That is also a quote from the umpire!!)

She handles the "pressure" very well. Very calm and cool. The only games her team have lost was when she wasn't pitching. But, I know, she can't win them all.

Enjoy!

Kendra