Being Thankful

My American roots were showing this week.  Something about that big turkey-related holiday.  I can try to be as Canadian as I want, but I can't not celebrate American Thanksgiving. 

Cayuga Lake

This is our 6th year celebrating it in upstate New York, where my aunt and uncle live.  My mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law and sister all caravan here from the Midwest.  We rent a house on the lake, so it's a true getaway for everyone. 

Freezing Cold Hike

This is the first year it snowed while we're here.  Thank god I packed the boots. 

Taughannock Falls

But it didn't matter. Middle child couldn't feel his feet midway through the hike.

Kid Table

It's the first year the cousins sat together unattended for more than 5 seconds. 

Family

And the first time all adults were in the picture together.  Thank you, middle child. 

And thank you, family, for making it another memorable turkey day.

Still Away

The official nickname has become "the vacation that would never end."  Mostly because we've been without my better half (who's at home working) for over two weeks and it's taking a toll on me and the boys.  Not to mention him.  Very much him.  But we'll be reunited soon and it will feel so good.

In the meantime, we've been having fun.  Get ready for a family/kid filled post.

Miller Park

What's a great way to entertain two growing boys?  Baseball works.  Major league baseball totally works.

Roof Open

I asked the ticket guy for the three best cheapest seats.  Without skipping a beat, he said the bleachers.  Done.

EATING

They liked watching the game, but they liked eating even more.  We were in line for hot dogs when the Brewers scored a home run.  We missed Bernie sliding down into the mug of beer, balloons and fireworks.  But they were pretty good hot dogs.

Gloves?

We didn't catch any balls, but we had a great time.  NFL visit, check.  MLB visit, check.  Lucky kids, check. 

What else do you do to entertain three little boys?  You revisit what works.  For us, that's fishing.

Winner

Except this time, we caught 12 fish.

Another Winner

It must have been our lucky charm.  My Aunt and Uncle came in from upstate New York to visit for a few days, and my Uncle bravely joined us on our fishing trip.  He may have baited worms on hooks about a thousand times, but it worked. 

Lucky Charm

Henry wouldn't leave his side.  I wouldn't either if I caught 5 fish with him.

Wait...

I know, I know.  I was just watching Jake's pole while he hit the men's room.  Until I caught one or three.  Then I got hooked.  (That was too easy...)

So after we caught half the pond and threw it back, we hung out at my parents' house.

Blastoff!

And shot off rockets.  What else do you do with three boys?  I took a bunch of videos, this was the only picture.  Uncle Mark set the rockets.  My dad set the ignition while taking turns with each boy.  This was a hit. 

Dare I say, the first rocket may have been the best only BECAUSE it landed in the tree.  We spent time running after it, looking up in the maze of branches, and launching baseballs/footballs/tennis balls after we found it hanging waaaaaaay up beyond our reach.  It's still up there.

But what do you do when you're baseballed, fished and rocketed out?  You change the scenery.  And head for my brother's house.  Bro = Pool.

Oh No.

Unless you run into a major accident on the tri-state highway that shuts down all lanes heading north and south. 

Hangin' Out

Then, if you follow me on instagram (@lovingalbany), you see us hanging out on the side of the highway with hundreds of other people for 2-1/2 hours watching smoke and helicopters.

Culprit

And huge tow trucks. 

I know, it could have been worse.  It could have been us.  That would've been way worse than stitches.  Knock on wood.  Twice.

The world's longest trip aside, we made it to my brother's house.  And had a mini-reunion.

Sister, Mother, Aunt

Uncle, Father, Brother

It was all worth it.  And then some.  Such a great time together :)

After my Aunt & Uncle left on their long drive home, we wrapped up the weekend with some kids in a box...

COUSINS!

...a little sweatin' it out...

ROWER!

...and a little group artwork.

ARTISTS!

I only put this last picture in because my brother is a guy's guy.  So seeing him make chalk art is pretty funny.  Anything for the kids, right?  HA!

Breakfast

Here's a shot from our last morning of the weekend at my brother's.  It's something that will stay with me for a long time.  The boys constantly ask when they can go in the pool every morning and my answer is always "after 9-zero-zero."  They are stripped, trunked and splashing by 9:01.  I'm sorry, neighbors.

And lastly, I can't not mention my husband who is working like a dog back home.  Tidying up post-renovation without his wife telling him what to do and kids getting in the way.  But look at what he does when that happens.

Storage Towers

This is the top half of the storage towers in the kitchen.  He said he googled how to style them.  I love it.  And I love him :)

It's All About The Kids

If you've been reading my blog for the last 5 months, it's been all about the house.  Well, life this past week has been all about the kids. 

So here's a little run down of our summer escape to the good old midwest USA.

It started like this:

OH MY GOD

Ok, stop right here.  If you have three young kids and you put them in a car for 10 hours, you can only hope and pray this happens.  And chances are it won't.  Not unless you drug them or bribe them or deprive them of sleep the night before.  We did none of that and it happened.  It happened for a good 45 minutes.  And those 45 minutes were amazing.

We pulled into my parents' driveway in Wisconsin later that day and set up camp.  Setting up involves taking over their house.  And yard.  Thank goodness their yard is big.

Where's George?

The biggest hit was the water balloon filler.  This piece of plastic provided over an hour of fun.

The only thing they couldn't do was tie them.  I sacrificed two fingers for that hour of intense rapid balloon filling and no fighting.  Ended up being totally worth it.

Not sure my dad will appreciate finding all the balloon pieces in the yard next time he's out on the tractor.

But George loved it.

Water balloons can't fill a whole week, so we took a 2-hour road trip north to Green Bay, WI.  

If you are a sports fan, related to a sports fan or ever watched the sports report on the evening news between September and January in any year you have been alive, you may have heard of the Green Bay Packers.

Last year was our first visit to Green Bay during Training Camp.  This year was our return trip.  It only got better.  I have to dedicate a whole post to the 48-hour adventure that was full of amazing memories.  But here's a sneak peek.

Yes, that's him.  We ran right into Aaron Rodgers.  It was amazing, he signed autographs, we're texting buddies.

We also went to Lambeau Field, aka: the mecca of football.  This may appeal to nobody but me. 

We watched many Packer games growing up in WI.  It is part of life here.  When I grew up and left WI, the Packers became more important to me.  It's a connection to my home, to my family, to my childhood.  That I'm imposing on my own kids.  And they love it. 

Cousins!

Back to the rest of the week.  All time inbetween parents and Green Bay has been spent squatting at my brother's house in Illinois. 

The best part of being there is the connection between my youngest and their oldest.  They are 2 months apart, so when we get together, it's like managing twins.  Not that I know anything about twins.  I live across the street from a family with twins and I can't even begin to imagine how they operate.  But when George and Charlie get together, I feel like I get a glimmer here and there of how life might be when you have to buy two of everything. 

Even buckets.  Two buckets.  For their heads! 

Home Sweet Home

I think this is the longest stretch I didn't blog.  I didn't like it.  Won't do that again. 

I admit, the move back in thing had lots to do with it.  More than a few things to manage...no wifi, then big rainfall, then wifi issues, then back online today.  It helps to have a general contractor who's a master electrician.  Contact me for his info :)

So let's recap the last 10 days.

If you follow me on instagram (lovingalbany) you would have seen this shot of my mom with us after a long weekend of packing up the apartment.  I'm dead serious when I say our move out never would have happened without her.  I don't know what I was thinking when I thought Steve and I could do it ourselves.  Um, no. 

Really.  No.

Then we left town.

For this.

My 10 week old nephew.  Hello, Ben.  Nice to meet you.  Please do not take notes from my boys. 

Also for this.

My brother's pool.  He lives 8 hours away in IL.  Like Jake said, he wanted to go swimming the whole time we were away for the 4th of July.  He almost did.

We also went to the zoo with my nephews.  One pictured below.

It was more fun than Henry made it look.

Back to the trip.  After the first few days, we continued to WI for the 4th of July. 
My home.

Is there anything better than illegal fireworks on the street?

Maybe a parade.

Unless the sun is shining like crazy and there's no shade for the 5 kids you're with.  Then it's sweatville.

Thank goodness Bubba (my dad) was marching in the beginning of the parade.

Somehow, Henry got a story stuck in his head that Bubba shot a bird out of the sky during the parade.  Hard to do with blanks.  But good story, Henry.

After the parade, it's carnival time at the park.

Then back to the house to eat dinner.  Only to return and watch fireworks.

Still with me?  Good. 

So after the 4th of July celebration in WI, we headed back to IL. 

More antics.

More pool.

Then I received a picture from my contractor. 

Progress!!!  Let's head for home.

Notice the haircut?  They all got one.  Buzzed for summer.

Then we got home.

Kitchen

Main Floor

Pantry

So good to be home.  So good! 

To sum it all up: Beautiful. Boxes. Boys everywhere. 
Oh-my-god-can-someone-take-my-kids-for-a-week-so-I-can-unpack?

Then I took a deep breath and ordered pizza.  Our first meal in our new old house.

Fast forward to today.  Henry is happy to be home.  I am happy for the growing pile of empty boxes behind him.

And the detail being attended to...like the barn door handle installed today!

Ignore the wine glass fruit fly graveyards traps.

Opposite view:

But don't be fooled.  This is the other side of the main floor.  Chaos!!!!

Boxes, sheets for drapes, random fans and tools.  Oh my.

But the powder room is coming along.  And getting lots of use.

So is the 2nd floor main bathroom.

Speaking of the 2nd floor, touchups are ongoing.  Can you see it?  I love it.

I leave you with my regret.  I told my contractor I wanted our 2nd floor closet to be a door that you don't see.  Something "disappearing".  He told me he already ordered the shaker door.  I said it needs to disappear.  So he built it.  It didn't work out.  It didn't match.

So today he built what should have been.  The shaker door.

So. Much. Better.  Keep me out of the way, please???!!!

I promise to post more.  With less pictures.  Promise.