Mural Progress in August

They've finished! Check it out....

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls has been our list of places to see for a while, so we decided to head that way over Labor Day Weekend. Back in April Mom & Dad invited us to their house for Labor Day but decided to take a mini-vacation with us to Niagara instead and Bonus....Grandpa was going to be able to go with us as well! We were so excited to go & couldn't wait to see (Great)Grandpa again.

Then when we arrived in Canada, Paul's parents called and said that they and Joey were also going to be in Niagara for the weekend. So, here's our adventures.

First View of the Falls

The very first thing we did was ride this Ferris Wheel. So here's our First view of the Falls.... Pretty impressive.

Lundy's Lane

After our Ferris Wheel ride we headed down Lundy's Lane towards the Falls Observation Decks and the Maid of the Mist. Lundy's Lane was a wild street, which was perfect for this wild bunch!

Allans at the Falls

Lundy's Lane ends at some observation decks over the Falls. Here's a view from one of the Observation Decks. You can see both the American Falls (Left) and the Horseshoe Falls (Right)

Maid of the Mist

We went on the Maid of the Mist which took us right past the American Falls and up to the Horseshoe Falls. This is a must do if you go to Niagara Falls but they pack the boat with a ton of people so make sure you elbow your way to the railings so you can get some good pictures!

Dinosaur Park Mini Golf

We had some time to kill before our dinner reservations so we hit the Dinosaur Park Mini Golf. I think Joel won.

Dinner at Skylon Tower

After golf we had dinner at the Skylon Tower. I would definitely recommend this. The Skylon is one of those revolving restaurants so we were able to get a 360 of the whole Niagara area and the views were fabulous. The boys especially loved this restaurant...Caleb is a huge fan.

After dinner we walked up to the observation Deck above the restaurant and took in some more great views.


But the best and most wonderful surprise was when we got to see this rainbow.....

Journey Behind The Falls

This was the lookout from behind the waterfall. Since we were on the Canadian Side we were under/behind the Horseshoe Falls. At the end of the tunnel you come out right next to the Falls so you can see them from the side.

Aero Car over Whirl Pool

We took an Aero Car ride over the whirl pool. This was OK but you don't have to pay for the ride...you probably could have just stood on the side and seen just as much. The whirlpool happens where two different branches of the river meet. One side is a class 6 and the other is a class 5.

Butterfly Gardens

We checked out the Butterfly Gardens and Joel had a butterfly land on his hat. At least 50 people took his picture - After the 2nd or 3rd picture he turned to me and said, 'Mom, I think I'm famous!'

American Falls at Night

We hung out at the Falls until the Firework show over the falls. They start off the show by lighting up the falls at dusk this picture is from a post card - they alternate colors every few minutes & its pretty cool.

The Flying Saucer

Before we headed out of town on our long drive home we ate at the Flying Saucer for breakfast.

Joel's alien placemat art....

Another Capitol

Columbus OH

Another Friend in our Zinnias

Bet You've Never Done This in the Middle of a Highway Before

On our way to see Oma & Opa we got stuck in a terrible traffic jam. We were stopped on the Highway for nearly an hour, so after about 10 minutes everyone started getting out and walking around the Highway. When we got out of the car I turned to Joel and said 'so have you ever stood in the middle of a highway before?'

Joel said hey Mom, have you ever done this on a highway before!? .....

Oh yea, we're all about Arm-pit farts these days. : )

Lowes with Oma

Oma went with us to Lowes and helped Caleb build his cool truck.

Buffy

Every time we go to George & Suji's we pass by Trader's World which is a gigantic flea market, with giraffes and palm trees on all their buildings & signs. So this trip we all headed to the flea market. I'm pretty sure we only saw a fraction of the stuff but there was no way you could miss "Buffy" Ohio's biggest.

Two Great Books!

I just finished The Shack by William Young and loved it. It had come recommended by just about everyone I knew. : )


If you like to read you should also check out Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore. It's definitely one of my favorites.

Nutria

We had an unexpected guest show up to our staff watermelon social today. This nutria had been spotted swimming in our fountain on campus but was caught hanging out in the grass. This picture is of him after he had eaten about 1/2 a watermelon.

He was ultra tame. Everyone kept feeding him by hand, taking pictures of him, even picking him up and he just hung out in the middle of 30 to 50 people without freaking out. We're thinking he must be someones pet since Nutrias don't belong all the way up in KY and because he was so tame. Paul came to campus and caught him then let him go at a nearby farm pond, but before he let him go we just had to show the kids.

The kids were amazed and the Mom's all freaked out and stood far far away. : )

(we had tried to send him to an animal refuge but they were concerned about any disease he might spread to their other animals)

1st Day of School

Caleb started Pre-K this year. He goes for 1/2 the day twice a week to a private pre-school with five other 4 year old boys. Here's Caleb & his teacher.

Highbridge Festival

We went to the Highbridge Homecoming festival today. We checked out the View, Crafter's, Music, Food, Playground, Corn Hole, and the Frog-legs.

Caleb at the Kissing Trees