Niagara Falls

When we found out that Niagara Falls is only 5 hours away from us, we thought we would try to go there sometime this summer.  I wasn't completely sure we would go because traveling with a newborn is not always easy and Marissa can be a loose cannon sometimes.  But last week we decided what the heck, we don't know how long we'll be here and how much free time Josh will have to do stuff like this in the future so we might as well just seize the day and do it.  (Plus we had some unredeemed rewards on our credit cards) And I'm so glad we did!!  Sure, the car rides weren't always pleasant (we also tacked on a 2 hour drive to Palmyra, NY in there too...) and traveling with 2 kids is definitely harder than with 1, but it was all worth it.  And besides, I am a firm believer that if you want your kids to be adaptable you gotta just go and do things sometimes ;)  We left our house Wednesday morning as soon as we could get ready and drove through Canada to our hotel on the Canadian side of the falls.  My first time in Canada!
 

Of course a 5 hour drive with a newborn takes a bit longer and we got there around 4.  We checked in then walked down to the falls.  Shane was so excited to see the "BIG waterfall" and as soon as he saw them said "Wanna go IN there!"  It was a good thing we were headed to the Maid of Mist boat ride.  Do you think he was excited?!

Trying to get everyone situated with their ponchos

This was before we started moving- once we started he wanted to be carried.  That is no easy thing anymore!

The ride seemed to satisfy his need to go IN the waterfall and the getting soaked was an added bonus. 

I'm sure many of you have done this and know that it really is so amazing and you can't realize describe it with words very well

Then we walked back to the hotel, got some outrageously priced dinner (Canada is beautiful but dang all those taxes!) and crashed.  The next morning we got ready and drove across the New York border for a quick day trip to Palmyra (more on that later).  We got back to Canada later that afternoon and got the stroller out to cruise around the town.  It is a little crazy (think Vegas) but some good people watching.

And we were glad we had another chance to walk around and soak up the falls (and splash in puddles). 

and swim in the hotel pool

We slept in yesterday and then headed home. And how can you go to Niagara without taking a million pictures?  Here are just a few ;) 

Swimming

We took Marissa to the pool for the first time on Saturday.  She wore an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny yellow polka dot bikini one-piece.  Have I mentioned how much fun it is to have a little girl?

Some things never change ha ha.

And we learned that chubby babies really do float :)  She loved her first swim, what's not to love about one giant bathtub? 

2 Months

Marissa turned 2 months last week and she had her well-check today.  Looks like we have a hefty healthy girl on our hands!  She is 25 inches long (off the charts) and 14 lbs 11 oz (off the charts).   I can't remember what her head size was, but it was- can you guess?  Off the charts!  What can I say, she is proportionate!  Funny thing is a lot of the time she would rather talk to me than eat.  Good thing chubby babies are the cutest.  If only rolls looked so good on all of us :)    She continues to melt our hearts and has her big brother completely smitten.

The Zoo

We do have a little zoo here in Saginaw, and since every Tuesday is half-price we decided to check it out last week.  We were expecting a small petting-zoo farm animal type place and it mostly was, but it did have some other animals too.  Not like Shane cared too much anyway, he was just as excited about the rocks,

and woodchips and walking paths as any animal.

In fact we were trying to get him to pet these turtles and we told him "Look Shane here's some turtles!"

and he pointed to this and said "Look, it's a rock!"

I tried for some photo opps with him but he wasn't too interested

And thankfully Marissa spent most of the time doing this because it was a hot day!

The womenfolk hung out in the shade a lot while the boys rode the train

and Shane's new favorite, the carousel.

When he first got on he was a little stiff and just wanting it to move,

but then he lit right up when it started and he rode it over and over and over again.

I took this picture of him running to the carousel when he first saw it and a lady was just smiling watching him and stopped me to tell me how cute he looked.  We get that a lot, you really can't help but smile when you see him prancing like that ha ha.  We just say he's practicing his high knees :) 

And my favorite picture of the day.  He LOVES his daddy!

This Week

It has been a little over a week since Josh finished his test and we have been having so much fun with him!  We both go a little stir crazy at home for too long, so we try to make it out to at least one place fun a day (and let me tell you, that's a lot easier with a second adult!)  This week it's been to the outlets at Birch Run 

(Don't let this picture fool you, I think this was the only wink she slept there ha ha.  She was not a happy camper that day but we managed to replace some jeans I've had for like 6 years, Josh's Dominica-worn shorts, and get some new Crocs for Shane)

and they had a Sonic there!!!  I was in heaven.

We've been to the children's museum,

and a few different parks.  We've actually been quite impressed with the parks here, since they were buried under the snow most of the winter we weren't sure what we would find, but they have all been pretty good

and Josh and I decided we could get our workouts by just playing at them

we also went to the zoo, but I took way too many pictures to include with this post so I'll just do another post.

And Josh and I have gotten sucked into Season 1 of this (on Netflix) and are watching it in most of our free time :) 

Thanks Aunt Shannon!!!

My sister sent us some of her girls' old clothes last week and I am having so much fun playing dress up!  Thanks so much Shannon and girls!  And check out those rolls on her thigh, I could eat them up!

Summer Begins!

Josh's Step 1 is done!!!  (Course we would be able to enjoy this time off a little more if we knew the results (we won't get his score until July 13th), but I'm sure it went fine.  A few extra prayers are always good though :))  We drove down to Grand Rapids on Tuesday night to stay in a hotel there so Josh wouldn't have to wake up and drive the 2 hours before his test the next day.  We ate dinner at Chili's, put the kids to bed (Shane in the other double and Marissa on the floor) and relaxed for a bit.  After a delicious breakfast, Josh headed to his test and my Aunt Pat came to pick up me and the kids.  What a lifesaver- Josh's test was from 9:30 to 5:30 and I don't think I could have done it without her!  We went to the children's museum there in Grand Rapids, it was huge and Shane had a blast!  He even got to decorate his own little tote bag.   

After stopping for lunch at Panera Bread, we drove to her house an hour away in Fremont and hung out there while we waited for Josh.  We went on a little walking trail and to a park and then to the store to pick up some food for dinner.  Pat is so good with these kids and Shane really loves her.

When Josh got back we celebrated with a dinner of spaghetti (they had his pasta at the store!), corn on the cob, a big summer salad, and watermelon.  Then we braved the line at the hot spot in town, Lakeside Swirl, for some ice cream and Shane got his own little cone for the first time.  Do you think he liked it? :)

Family time here we come!

We played on the playground for a little bit and Shane was just so happy to be with his daddy.

The next morning we went back to the playground,

and ventured down one of the many nature trails for a little walk.

Shaners almost took a tumble into the creek but aside from a few scratches and hurt pride he was fine.

Then we went back to the lake and enjoyed a little bit of people watching with the social gathering there.  They were really nice and let Shane look at their horses. 

He had the time of his life throwing sand into the lake and Josh and I enjoyed just being together. 

We left Thursday afternoon after lunch and are now back in Saginaw packing in the fun while we can!