Niagara Vacation: part 3

After our morning and afternoon at the park on Thursday, we decided we wanted to go take a ride on the Maid of the Mist (a 20 minute boat ride that takes you right up to the falls) with everyone before heading back to the hotel for the evening. On our way to buy tickets we saw a wedding going on. So we decided to "attend" it.

{It slightly creeped me out at the age difference between the two of them. She could not have been more than 25 or 30 and he was well in his 50's}


On to the Maid of the Mist. Here is a picture of the boat fully loaded and heading to the falls..

Below is the best picture I could get while on the boat. I put my camera away shortly after this because we were getting SOAKED! Matthew DID NOT like the wind on the boat and getting wet. He was not a happy camper during this part of the trip.

These are called the American Falls.

After the boat ride, we went and stood up on a observation deck and looked out across the falls..

Then we decided it would be fun to go take the Cave of the Winds tour. This is a series of bridges that take you right down to the bottom of the American Falls and the Bridal Falls. Again, we got soaked! But it was fun! This is the deck that you walk up (I took this picture the day before from the Canadian side)

Close up of the Falls
Steve, Micah, Megan and Mason prior to getting soaked!

Kristen and I

Matthew decided to sleep during this part of the trip, and their was a nice place to park his chair and still be able to look at the falls. Steve and I took turns going up the stairs so as not to wake up Matthew..he wouldn't have liked the water anyway..

After the Cave of the Winds, we headed back to the hotel to change, and then decided it was high time for some supper. We headed off to Bob Evans, a restaurant I had never heard of, but quickly became a fan of. We celebrated Elisabeth's Dad, Donald's, birthday. It was a great ending to our evening.

Niagara Vacation: Part 2

Wednesday we decided we would view the falls from the Canadian side, so we once again crossed the border and took in the views of the Horseshoe falls.

This was an "old scrow" that has been stranded in the upper rapids of the Niagara river since 1918Upper rapids of the Niagara River


Kiddos and Daddy posing at the falls

Horseshoe Falls

Then it was on to lunch. We were so excited to meet up with the Sorensons including Lisa's sister and brother, and the Stamm's for lunch.

Kristen and Lisa, talking

After a late lunch and more walking around we decided to head back to the hotel, and meet up with the rest of the group. We ended up sitting by the pool and visiting till late in the evening.

Thursday, we had planned to meet up with all of the families for a day at the park. What fun to be able to sit and visit with everyone in the same place and get a chance to see all of our children in the same place.Some of the guys, standing around and visiting

Our hydro kids: L to R: Tyler, Elijah, Isaac, Elizabeth, Matthew, Cayman, and Owen

Another picture of Isaac, Elisabeth, Matthew and Owen

The siblings

And the wonderful mommy's: Diane, Amanda, Jennifer, Michelle, me, Lisa and Kristen.

New York Vacation: Part 1

Last Sunday, we headed out late at night to start our first part of our vacation. This year we got the opportunity to go to Niagara Falls, to meet a bunch of families we had come to know via the internet; families who also have a child that is affected by hydrocephalus. Our trip would take 17 hours, so we decided to make a week long family vacation out of it. Sunday we decided we would drive through the night, and see how far we could get Monday before we stopped. I drove through the night and we made it as far as Toledo, OH on Monday. We did, however make a surprise pit stop at our friends, Kristen and Mike's before stopping at the motel. The kids traveled exceptionally well and we stayed in a nice hotel with a pool and let the kids swim for the evening. By 8 pm though everyone was tired and we went to bed early to start our next day.



Tuesday we decided to drive up through Detroit and then through Canada to get to Niagara Falls. Once we got to Canada, we decided to take the scenic route for a bit and drove along the shore of Lake Erie. We stopped for lunch along the Lake and to hike around a bit and explore.

After taking the scenic route for a bit, Steve (aka speed racer) decided the interstate was more his style. So we traveled the rest of the way via the canadian interstate. Their were signed posted everywhere that stated the speed limit was 100 kilometers/hour, but no one seemed to be obeying this law. Steve is never one to dawdle or be passed in traffic and he kept up well with the rest of the people. Good thing I slept during this portion of the trip. I woke up to this :
We crossed the border again into the United States and began looking for a hotel. We had been "winging-it" as far as hotels went, but a hotel was hard to come by that evening. We ended up staying about 15 minutes out of Niagara Falls. We knew Wednesday was going to be a big day for us, as we would be meeting everyone in our group, so we just lets the kids swim and called it a night.

26 months

Hard to believe this little guy has been in our life for 26 months.

Hard to believe how much our lives have been changed since his arrival. It's hard to remember what it was even like before.

Sometimes I sit and daydream about what our life would be like had Matthew been born "typical". What would it be like to have an active, busy 2 year old around the house? Talking and walking and getting into everything, annoying his brothers and sister. Just typing that makes me a bit teary. I see other boys that about Matthews age running around and wonder if their parents truly appreciate the normalcy that they have.

But our lives have also changed for good. Matthew has given us a perspective we would have never gotten otherwise. To appreciate each day. To be in awe at the kindness of strangers. To be in even more awe at the support from friends. To be brought to tears because of the depth of love from our families.

I've made so many friendships had it not been for Matthew. Friendships I cherish. I belong to a new club. One I didn't exactly ask to join. One most of my friends that have always known me don't understand and can't join. But that's okay.

Matthew has so much joy and has taught me so much. Would I change it? Yes and no. I would not change the life lessons I have learned. I would not change the fact that Matthew is here. I would only wish to change the pain and struggles Matthew has gone through.

I am not the same person I was 2 1/2 years ago. I hope I am a better person because of Matthew. I know I am stronger.

And if Matthew can go through all he goes through, and still have the sweetest personality and a big smile on his face; then who am I to complain?? He is content...and is teaching me the same.

Unwelcome company

Update: Thanks to my friend Cindy, and fellow blogger friend Jennifer, for identifying this bug as a "house centipede". Still makes me shiver to look at the picture. The information Cindy sent me via email says that these are harmless little creatures that like to live in dark, wet areas; hence the reason he was in my laundry room. We've been getting a ton of rain her lately, so maybe that is why I got to meet one of them. They also eat spiders. Okay enough talk...I can't even think about them without doing a full body shiver.


{disclaimer....anyone who reads my blog that does not want to see insect pictures may want to skip over today's post}

So... the other night I was cleaning out some paint brushes late at night after painting our basement. I was pretty sure I saw something out of the corner of my eye crawling down the wall. I looked over and sure enough, it was the GROSSEST bug I had ever seen. Now, I'm not scared of bugs; but I don't necessarily seek them out either. I don't normally freak out about them, just keep my distance. After shuddering a couple times looking at it, I got out my camera. I had never ever seen a bug like this. [Side note: Last night I quickly learned how to use my camera in a dimly lit area, and get a good close up shot, without actually getting close. Believe me, I would've never gotten as close as these pictures seem.]

Now...I don't know what this thing is; and neither does Steve. Do any of you?? Anybody good at bug identification?

Blech..that's all I gotta say. The worst part of it is after I came back to the laundry room after showing Steve the picture......the bug was GONE. He is still loose. That.gives.me.the.shivers.



So anyone, anyone??? Anyone know what this thing is?
(pay no attention to the poor paint job and the dust in the back corner of my laundry room)

Tell me the duck story

My kids were introduced to the "Duck song". It's a super cute, catchy little song for kids on Youtube. and it might be from someplace else too, but that's where my kids heard it first and they run around the house singing it all the time now.

Mason, my little artist, drew this cute picture the other day. Look in the grass for the duck. For 6 years old, I was SUPER impressed with his drawing. He tells me that that is HIS lemonade stand in the backround.

{you can click the picture to enlarge it if you would like}

And to fully understand the picture; you much watch the Youtube video of the duck song:

Home Tour: Day 4

The Master bedroom, the master bath and the laundry room

I really like our bedroom. It's nice and spacious, it has a regular closet and also a walk in closet. There is a 3/4 Master bath also in the room.

We will be repainting this room and re-carpeting this room soon. The carpet in this room, we're pretty sure, is original and pretty stained. The window covering are also going to replaced. This room will then be ready to go. (The dresser on the left has a matching mirror for the right side, but it is broke and needs replacing.)

Another view of the bedroom, taken outside the master bath

It was hard to get a picture of the master bath cuz it's little. On the other side of the shower (if you busted that wall out) is my walk in closet that will someday be sacrificed to enlarge the master bath and make the shower handicap accessible. For now we will be ripping out the carpet (again...who puts carpet in bathrooms...and when was the last time you vacuumed your bathroom??? I prefer to scrub my bathroom floors thankyouverymuch), the countertop and sink, and the toilet. The lighting is funny, but the toilet is a blue color and matches the sink and walk in shower. Funny trends that were popular 30 years ago.

And finally the laundry room. This room doesn't seem to fit in the flow of the pictures I been putting up, but it's the last room upstairs to show. This room is off the garage (right when you walk in the house, sort of like a mud room) and right behind the kitchen.

I almost re-took the picture because it's a bit messy, but then I decided to leave it as is. This is what my laundry room looks like most day's anyway.
Behind those spindles is a toilet, and opposite it (behind the dryer) is a utility sink. The room does close off with a pocket door for privacy. I personally like the toilet in here, especially when the kids are running in from outside.
And I love the utility sink for soaking things.
There is a cabinet to the right of the washer that holds my cleaning supplies and such. I love having this laundry room. I don't plan on doing a thing to it. It's a LAUNDRY ROOM. My last laundry room wasn't even finished. I'm just happy it's on the main floor and it has some space to it. Ah...the simple pleasures in life :)

Up tomorrow:

The basement including the big kids' rooms