Pirate Day @ Alexandria Bay

As planned, we made our way to Alexandria Bay to visit the Castle with Grandma & Grandpa and when we got there we realized that it was Pirate Week also.

Here are some shots of what we saw while we waited to go to Heart Island and visit Boldt Castle.

this is Marcel on Grandpa's shoulders in front of a festive store at the Bay.


People were walking around all dressed as Pirates ...or were they dressed normal...it was hard to tell with some!!!

Marcel freaked the first time we past this outside a store front...but after a few times he started to point it out to people and tell them it was a pirate.

Here is a shot of a ship that was docked at the time.

left-right:Marcel and daddy...Grandpa,Ronan,& Matt

this is a monument in Alex Bay for fallen sodiers that was decorated for the occassion.

THE DAY BEFORE CALIFORNIA ARRIVED

GREETINGS FROM CALIFORNIA

.....IN THE MAIL WE GOT A SURPRISE, AUNTIE JAMIE & ANDREW SENT A CUTE GIFT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO COME WITH THE GRANDPARENTS.

THE GRANDPARENTS LEFT EARLIER THAN PLANNED AND THE POSTERS CAME VIA MAIL.

SURPRISINGLY , THE POSTERS GOT HERE BEFORE THE GRANDPARENTS.

WE PUT THE POSTERS UP AS SOON AS WE GOT THEM.

THEY ARE SO COOL & WE LOVE THEM VERY MUCH.

IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT WE MADE THAT JOURNEY A YEAR AGO.

THIS ONE WAS MADE WITH LOVE BY ANDREW. YOU CANT SEE, BUT SOME OF THE SAYINGS ARE PLACES WE USED TO GO WHILE WE LIVED IN CALIFORNIA

THIS NEXT ONE WAS MADE WITH LOVE BY JAMIE.

THEY ARE PICTURES FROM OUR DRIVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND WHEN WE GOT HERE.

THEY ARE STILL UP TODAY. WE LOVE THEM AND I'M GOING TO KEEP THEM UPSTAIRS SO WE CAN LOOK AT THEM ALL THE TIME.

MARCEL IN 80 YEARS

EVER WONDER WHAT MARCEL WILL BE DOING IN ABOUT 80 YEARS ????I THINK HE IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK...CROSSWORD PUZZLES & WRITING JIBBERISH

WHERE'S MY COFFEE MOM?????

I'M BUSY HERE!!!

KEEPING UP WITH BELLA

WE SURE DO LOVE BELLA & SHE REALLY LOVES THE WATER AND US TOO!!!

HOW DO THE 2 FIT TOGETHER EXACTLY...WELL HERE YOU GO

BELLA JUST JUMPS IN AT BATHTIME...& YES ITS GROSS!

SHE IS BANNED AT BATHTIME AND IS TETHERED SO SHE CAN'T SNEAK IN.

YES SHE IS VERY SNEAKY, THE BOYS HOWEVER LOVE IT...

LOOK HOW BIG SHE IS NEXT TO RONAN

THIS IS THE OTHER NIGHT. I TOOK A BATH & AFTERWARD I FOUND HER LAYING IN THE TUB ...SHE SLEPT IN THERE ALMOST ALL NIGHT. SO NOW ALL THE BATHROOM DOORS HAVE TO BE SHUT. EVEN THOUGH WE ONLY HAVE 1 BATHTUB, SHE DRINKS FROM THE YOU-KNOW-WHERE....EEeeWWWWww.

I REALLY DIDN'T THINK THIS WAS POST WORTHY BUT AFTER SHE SLEPT IN THE TUB AND I TOOK THE PICTURE I FIGURED I NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT.

HARRY POTTER PARTY

COUNTDOWN TO HARRY POTTER 6

WE HAVE ALREADY BEGUN TO COUNTDOWN TO THE HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE PREMIERE. SINCE MARK IS GONE, I WILL BE TAKING ALL THE CHILDREN TO SEE THE MOVIE...AT THE DRIVE IN.

WE HAVE AN OLD FASHIONED DRIVE IN THE STILL HAS THE SPEAKER BOXES.

WE STARTED TODAY WITH A HARRY POTTER PARTY HELD AT THE LIBRARY ON FT. DRUM. WE WERE THE FIRST ONES THERE FOR A CHANGE AND WE ALL DRESSED UP FOR THE OCCASSION EXCEPT MARCEL WHO REFUSED TO WEAR THE SMALLEST ROBE I HAD.

THE EVENT WAS SMALL SO WE WERE ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING AND GET HOME TO HAVE A MOVIE MARATHON....

HERE ARE THE BOYS JOKING AROUND BEFORE THE PARTY

THEN THEY GOT SORTED INTO THEIR HOUSES...FOR ALL YOU MUGGLES (NON MAGICAL FOLK) ...IT'S LIKE BEING PLACED IN A FRAT HOUSE.

MATT WAS MAD THAT HE WASN'T CHOSEN FOR GRYFFINDOR & RONAN WAS ALITTLE MIFFED THAT HE WAS NOT PUT INTO SLYTHERIN...BUT THEY HAD EACHOTHER CUZ THEY WERE BOTH SORTED INTO HUFFLEPUFF....I WAS SAD TOO!!! BUT ON THE UPSIDE- CEDRIC DIGGORY WAS IN HUFFLEPUFF & SO WAS TONKS!!!

NEXT UP...POTIONS CLASS- COUPLE OF SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS

NEXT UP, WE HEADED TO DIVINATION...HE READ MATTS FUTURE AND FREAKED HIM OUT- HE SAID HE WAS GONNA MARRY A SUPER MODEL.

MATT WAS LIKE ICK....I TOLD HIM IT WASN'T A BAD THING.

RONAN WENT TO CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES & HAD TO PAIR UP THE ANIMALS SO THEY COULD EAT THE RIGHT FOODS...YUM

IT WAS A GAME OF MEMORY---GOOD FOR HIM.

MATT THEN WENT TO HERBOLOGY...NOT SURE WHAT HE WAS DOING????

RONAN WAS IN TRANSFIGURATION CLASS AND MADE A MASK.

WE THEN HIT OLLIVANDERS AND WE MADE OUR WANDS.

AND LASTLY, WE STOPPED TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH ONE OF THE HOSTING PROFFESORS

IT WAS A FUN COUPLE OF HOURS. IT WAS THUNDERING & STORMING HEAVY BUT WE GOT OUT OF THE HOUSE...GOOD FOR ME. WE MISS DADDY AND CAN'T WAIT FOR HIM TO GET BACK HOME.

AND NOW FOR THE HARRY POTTER MARATHON...

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

THIS IS OUR SKY AT 8:45 PM AS WE WERE DRIVING TO SACKETS HARBOR TO WATCH FIREWORKS THAT BEGIN AT 9:30...WE WERE EXPECTING TO HAVE TO PARK A MILLION MILES AWAY ANYWAY!!! AND THE KIDS WERE ALREADY TIRED...
RONAN FELL ASLEEP A FEW MILES AWAY FROM HOME AND MATT WAS GETTING CRANKY TOO!!!
MARCEL ON THE OTHER HAND WAS HAVING A BLAST WATCHING OTHER PEOPLES FIREWORKS OUT THE WINDOWAND THIS IS MOM & DAD WAITING IN A SEA OF TRAFFIC AT 9:15 THINKING ABOUT TURNING AROUND SINCE 2 OUT OF 3 WERE ASLEEP
BUT WE PARKED ANYWAY AND WOUND UP IN THE BEST PLACE TO SEE THE FIREWORK SHOW. HERE WE ARE MESSING AROUND ON OUR BLANKET BEFORE THE SHOWMARCEL WAS BEING CAMERA SHY UNTIL THE FIREWORKS BEGAN AND THEN HE WAS ALL ABOUT BEING IN DADDYS LAP
(L-R) MARK WITH MARCEL IN HIS LAP, RONAN, MOM, AND MATTIAS .

WE WERE ALL COMFY ON OUR BLANKET AND WATCHED THE FIREWORKS TOGETHER.

FOR THE FIRST TIME NONE OF THE KIDS WERE SCARED OF THE NOISE

ORGANIZATIONAL DAY

THE ARMY PLANS ORGANIZATIONAL DAYS. THEY HAVE EVENTS THAT EVERY UNIT, COMPANY,BATTALION,AND EVERY OTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE COMPETE IN. IT'S A FUN DAY EVEN THOUGH IT IS A WORK DAY. KINDA LIKE A COMPANY PICNIC & YOU CAN BRING YOUR FAMILY ALONG. EVENTS WERE FLAG FOOTBALL, VOLLEYBALL, TUG-O-WAR, SOCCER, AND SOMETHING ELSE. THE BATTALION PUTS ON A BBQ- SO THERE WAS FOOD AND THEY HAD JUMPERS FOR THE KIDS AND JUNK FOOD GALORE. EACH COMPANY WAS COMPETING FOR THE TOP BRAGGING RIGHTS. MARK WAS SUPPOSED TO DO THE TUG-O-WAR CUZ THEY NEEDED GUYS WHO WERE BIG AND HEAVY AND CAN BENCH PRESS OVER 250. ---HE INTENTIONALLY MISSED THE EVENT. HAD I KNOWN THE TIME OF THE EVENT I WOULD HAVE MADE SURE WE WERE THERE SO I COULD HAVE GOTTEN PICTURES, BUT HERE ARE SOME PICS OF WHAT WE DID INSTEAD....FIRST WE ATE....SEE THE TENTS IN THE BACKGROUND???

....MOMMA SAID....

MARK AND RONAN ATE CRAP WHILE MATT AND MARCEL PLAYED. IF YOU SEE BEHIND THEM THATS WHERE ALL THE EVENTS WERE TAKING PLACE

MATTIAS LOVED THIS SLIDE...

WHILE RONAN LOVED THIS JUMPER....AND YES THOSE ARE SUMO SUITS IN THE BACKGROUND AND WATCHING THE PEOPLE IN THOSE WAS HILARIOUS!!!

JUST ANOTHER FUN EVENT THE ARMY HAS PUT TOGETHER FOR US. WE HAD A BLAST!!!