WATERMELON, WATERMELON IN A DISH.....

OOPS....

WE FORGOT TO GET OUT THE DESSERT FOR OUR LAST BBQ...

LOOKS YUMMY DOESN'T IT

THE BOYS SAID IT WAS VERY YUMMY.....

Our final day....

MARK CAME HOME FOR BREAKFAST AS USUAL AND WAS ABLE TO SAY GOOD-BYE BEFORE GRANDMA & GRANDPA LEFT...I GOT A FEW SHOTS IN BEFORE THE TEARS STARTED. IT WAS A SHORT GOOD-BYE, BY DESIGN I'M SURE....

MINUTES BEFORE THEY WALKED OUT THE DOOR

AND GRANDPA WAS ABLE TO GET A FEW TICKLES IN BEFORE THEY LEFT.

Our last Goonie Weekend.....

This had to be the worst week in our entire Summer. It was Humid and Hot, even though temperatures were only in the 80's it was muggy as all heck. Most nights were spent in the back or front of the house since it was so hot in the house even with fans on and the windows open. The last weekend we BBq'ed each night. One night we had steaks and the last we did burgers and dogs.

Marcel working on a dog

and Grandma & Grandpa polishing off their dinner too!!!

afterwards we would retreat to the outdoors...mostly for an evening full of wine,beer & cigarettes and to watch Bella and the boys play while it was cooler outside.

they love their doggy

.....and this is how we ended most of our nights.....

Black River & Retired Military Fighting Vehicles

Here is the beautiful Black River...didn't take shots of the water, but you can see it in previous posts. We walked down to the waters edge and came back up before the kids jumped. The kids threw rocks into the water, like they always do, and then they get really adventurous and think they are acrobats walking across the rocks....NOT.

Below is Mark leading the way to the waters' edge with the boys....no one waits for me, so I took this picture from the bridge.

Grandma didn't want to walk down all the stairs to get down to the edge so she made Grandpa steal her some Black River Rocks...I caught him in the act.

I didn't want to bring Marcel all the way down so I left him with daddy and they watched from above

I stayed down below with the older boys and Grandpa re-joined Grandma on the bridge too!!

Then I got a good shot of the boys...wish Marcel was in the shot, but it would have been hard to have him climb to this little remote spot anyway.

Here we are on Fort Drum

above is a picture of Marcel and Grandpa

and below is a shot of the boys and a big Assault Vehicle.

1,2,3,CHEESE

and the finale......

My ARMY BRATS

concluding the Niagara Falls trip

Before the tour was over, we made a few minor stops, bringing the evening to an end. This is a picture of Canada in the evening all lit up. The last thing we did was watch a fireworks show over the Falls. Then we headed back to the hotel rooms to journey back home.

The kids knocked out...as you can see

I had to grab a picture of this claw machine with the Dodgers toy in the front for my nephew Andrew...it made me think of you right away Andrew, just ask Grandma.

still on tour.....

After the boat ride on the Maiden of the Mist, we came back up to the observation deck to go to the Cave of the Winds. This is us on the observation deck.

Then we took elevators back down to the bottom of the Falls to get wet all over again.

The view was awesome at the base of the Falls, the water is very forceful.

This is the observation deck from down below....

This is a picture while we were "all" still dry....Marcel put up a fight and didn't wear his nifty rain coat.

Taking pictures...can you tell Mark is done...hahaha

On our way up to the Hurricane deck

Oh look ... MOSS...and ALGAE

and some pretty purple flowers

Its amazing I got any pictures with the wind force and all the mist in the air, that our camera didn't malfunction.

The hurricane is what you see to the left....and it is like a major sloshy wet mess, good thing we had the ponchos...as for Marcel....well

He didn't fair so well & he and Grandma & Grandpa didn't go near the Hurricane Deck like we did.

Niagara Falls

Driving to Niagara Falls was fun....we all got naps in the van including Mommy & Grandma.

We left on the first Sunday after Grandma & Grandpa got into town, so it was August 16th.

The kids watched DVD's the whole way down & did quite well on the drive. This is the bridge crossing into Buffalo to get to our Hotel.

Welcome

there was such a beautiful reception when we arrived I had to take a picture...aside from the industrial building in the background, it really was quite lovely...

Here is a shot of Grandma & Grandpa in the front of the Hotel.

There was a playground that the kids fell in love with & a pool that Matt really enjoyed

*there are NO pictures from the pool...and we like it that way

Later in the evening, after settling in and playing, we got ready for our guided tour of Niagara Falls. We all boarded our bus and waited to get a move on.

Here is a picture of Canada

The Rainbow Bridge to and from Canada


Before the boat tour, you are handed ponchos...you definately need the ponchos.


......AND AFTER.....

We were sooo soaked...except Mark

I love this picture of him being himself and the beautiful backdrop

It is sooo amazingly beautiful I'll let you see for yourself.

Next stop...Cave of the Winds