LarrabeeFamily.com

Just uploaded another 60 or so images to the august gallery.  First of the new pictures was the day of daddy shirt fun

Then later on that weekend my company had our annual family summer picnic at Knoebels.  As usual the kids had a blast on the rides - I have to admit I never thought I would see the day since Oliver was so afraid of rides for so long, but not Summer she has been a daredevil from the start.  This year we played it smart and made use of the wagon - the kids loved it, but my shoulder didn’t love it as much.  It is really something to take the kids and have them ride some of the same rides I used to enjoy summer after summer.  Most of the rides are still a bit big for them, but things like the train ride, and the sky tower slide for example.  A couple of our friends were there that day as well, one family we got to spend time with and the other family we couldn’t get in touch with - thank you so much Verizon wireless, perhaps we should have them try to shoot one of their comercials there.

Well I have been pretty busy with a bunch of different things lately - and that has made me slack pretty seriously in the photo department.  Luckily we are still taking them, I just wasnt uploading them - but I just uploaded 200 new pictures, which span over June till August 2008.  You can check them all out here, or click the random pictures i selected to throw in this post below.

The biggest family news is probably our newly installed racetrack out front - ok so it isnt really a racetrack, simply sidewalks - but Oliver has learned to ride a tricycle and flies around them like a world class pro.  Then we also got some scooters, which he picked up pretty quick as well - so most days are spent racing down the sidewalk and such.  Oliver also got his first wasp bite recently.  We were at a friends swimming and it nailed him right on the arm - it didn’t go over very well to say the least.

A few weekends back Kim and I went to NYC for the weekend.  It is the same trip we do every year, a FAM trip from my work to get to experience NYC.  This year there was a few extra required items to do than other years, but it was still a fun time.  The start of the trip was a site visit of the New York Helmsley Hotel.  It was a pretty nice hotel, and the fitness center was one of the best features - it had a great view and all kinds of great equipment.

After that was off to the company cocktail hour.  Where we met all of the other guests, who had a little adventure finding their hotel (we got out of this adventure by driving - though we didnt know what we were missing out on until we got to the cocktail hour).  We took a short trip over to Top of the Rock - which by that time Kim’s feet were killing her so we didnt spend a ton of time there - and sadly our photos we took up there didnt come out either.

The next day was another hotel inspection for me, and a couple hours at a massage - we both got facials and massages - a first for me to say the least.  After the spa we had some time to roam around and shop, the next thing we had officially planned wasn’t until dinner.

We had dinner at Cafe Nicole - and went to see Rent before it is taken off broadway for good.  It was a pretty interesting play, a bit crazy to start, but once you get a grasp on what all is going on and the backstory - it make s a bit more sense.

After the play we headed back to the room and got some rest - the next morning was a required Duck boat tour.  You know those crazy buses that drive through town and then into a body of water - it wasn’t horrible, but I was expecting it would cover some more sites - and the actual trip in the water seemed to serve no purpose except to prove the bus could drive in the water.

click the photos below to see all the pictures from the trip

http://photo.larrabeefamily.com/v/FamilyPhotos2008/nycfam2008/

For our final day (we came home a day early) we went to Eaton Center.  A shopping area that Kim had never been to in her previous adventures as a child in Toronto, but a place she always wanted to go.  So once again no pictures - pictures of us just shopping does not seem very interesting to me.  The mall is a few levels above and below ground, and there is a pretty good amount of stores there.  Besides a little bit of an issue with the parking payment machine eating our ticket - it was an nice day of shopping.  We passed another shopping center on the way there that we wanted to check out - and we headed there on the way back to the hotel.

The place was called Yorkdale - and for future reference it seemed to have almost all the same shopping we had at Eaton Center, and it was closer to the hotel - and easier to get to since it has its own parking lot and was right off the highway rather than right in the middle of downtown Toronto.  For dinner we went to Rainforest cafe - which I always enjoy, and thought the kids would too - but they were a bit scared with the mechanical monkies, and random weather noises (which I dont remember having those in previous visits to the chain in San Fran).  They loved the fish, and I personally enjoyed my meal - but maybe the kids would like it better if they were older.

At the end of this final long day we decided to head home in the morning (which was July 4th) so that we would be home a bit early to rest and celebrate the 4th at home.  So we were able to experience both the Canadian and American independence days in their respective countries.

As I type this, vacation is officially over, we are still unpacking and recovering - but tomorrow morning we return to work - and back to reality - it was fun while it lasted, and we all have stories from our adventure - just ask Oliver about the deer at the park.

As planned today was a road trip to Niagra Falls, but first a quick mention about an interesting thing that happened yesterday which I seem to have completely forgot to mention.  While Oliver was napping the fire alarm went off, so we all had to scurry out of the room down the stairs and wait for the fire company to come and clear the hotel as not having an actual fire.  Oliver slept through the whole thing except the moment before we went back upstairs and he got a quick glimpse of the firemen on their way out of the hotel.

Now for today’s adventure.  We actually set the alarm (first time this vacation) and were up early for breakfast - which made it possible to snag a few extra chocolate muffins for the kids.  Which happens to be the vacation favorite it seems.  Then it was off to Niagra in the car, a little under 90 miles if I remember correctly.  We first went to Marineland - which originally we were comparing to something like Sea World - which is true when you consider they have rides and sea animals - but not as true when you consider the low number of animals and actually not very many rides.  Overall we enjoyed the park, but the price of admission was a bit high for what was available at the park.  The rides had short lines so we were able to get on the rides quickly - which was a great benefit, and both kids loved feeding the fish in the feeding pond.

After we traveled all of Marineland and had some lunch we headed to the Canandian side of the falls.  We walked around down the road a bit and took some pictures of both the American and Canadian falls - the kids really seemed to enjoy looking at all the boats, the rainbows and the falls.  We also took the journey behind the falls tour.  After a battle with Oliver about wearing the poncho to stay dry, we just let him go without it.  After taking the tour, it was clear he had more fun without it on anyway - he was soaked but grinning from ear to ear - it was like the largest sprinkler he had ever played in.

Click to see all the new pictures (56 new pictures)

No pictures today!  Today was pretty much a down day.  We didn’t go on any real adventures.  We woke up whenever we felt like - except Oliver had a little help from his little sister because she wanted breakfast right then.  After breakfast we relaxed in the room for a bit, and went over to Dave and Buster’s for some lunch and to play some games.  We picked up a pretty good amount of tickets which the kids cashed in for various toys and candy.

After we got back from food and games, we took advantage of the empty pool and swam for a pretty good amount of time.  After that we took advantage of BBQ night at the hotel, which they provided burgers, hot dogs, etc for dinner.

One word of warning - EVERYTHING, I mean EVERYTHING closes for Canada Day.  There is a Wal-Mart right across the road, and we were going to stop over there to get some milk for the kids - and we found out even Wal-mart is closed for Canada Day, as well as the grocery stores.  Something that I was not really expecting since in the States everything is not only open but throwing big sales to try and get people to shop on almost every holiday - especially on July 4th, the comparable holiday to Canada Day.

We went out for a walk after dinner, which was cut a bit short with a fall on the pavement by Oliver.  Tomorrow is looking like a day trip to Niagara Falls, but you never know what might happen.

Day three was an adventure to the Canada’s Wonderland.  It was pretty crowded, and looking back I think the reason for that was Canada Day - which is technically tomorrow, but why not celebrate today and make it a 3 day weekend?  We pretty much stayed in the kiddy area, the wait for larger rides just didn’t seem worth it, and the kids were having a great time.

Today marks Oliver’s first rollercoaster ride which he ended up saying “I AM SCARED OF IT, I AM SCARED OF IT…” and then instantly after exclaimed “THAT WAS FUN!”.  He was very upset that he couldn’t go on the bumper cars, but other than that the kids had a blast.  We got to see a few short shows as well, one with some divers that dove off a waterfall into the small pool below, and a sing a-long Dora show.

Right now as I type this Oliver is playing all over the room with his loot for the day, his two favorites is a hook that you can use to grab things, and a Wall-e robot.

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Today we decided to go to the Toronto Zoo.  We all woke up, had breakfast downstairs, and then got dressed and were on the road towards the zoo.  The weatherman said that it would be clear for the morning and sometime in the afternoon there was a chance of scattered showers.  Of course, they are just as bad - if not worse than in the US at predicting the weather and as soon as we got ot the zoo it started pouring.  Correction, as soon as we paid the admission it started pouring.  Luckily though as the day went on the rain finally calmed down and we were able to enjoy the zoo.

We walked the entire zoo, and even rode the trolly through the zoo - the one thing Oliver was talking about since the moment we stopped into the zoo.  Both kids really enjoyed the animals, and minus some areas that were a bit crowded, it ended up being a completely enjoyable experience - even with the rain.

The kids got a few shirts, and some other things - and I got my squashed penny, this time I actually remembered to take the camera with me though.

click the pictures, or this link, to view all the pictures of our trip so far.

Well we are here, we got in about 2:30am, which was a few hours later than estimated, but there was one thing that was forgotten during our planning.  I completely forgot that Pennsylvania has 2 seasons: Winter, and Road Construction.  After tacking on an extra 2 hours before even getting past Scranton - we finally were on our way.  The police were out in full force, so luckily we stuck pretty close to the speed limit.  We pretty much just crashed when we got in last night, but now as I sit here I can take in all the extra features the room comes with - such as stainless steel appliances, and marble counter tops - even one of those gas powered fireplaces, but I dont think thats going to get much use this time of the year.

Today was mostly a down day, as expected with the late night travel yesterday - but we got quite a bit done actually.  First we stopped downstairs for the free breakfast buffet that comes with the room, and then we took a run over to the local wal-mart to pick up some supplies.  Unlike my previous trips to Canada - the American dollar is actually less than a Canadian dollar (thank you George W!), so it was pretty strange to watch the price go up when they seen we were paying with US Dollars.

We stopped at one of the outlet malls - which ended up being more mall, less outlet - but we picked up a few things anyway.  While the girls were at the mall shopping, I took Oliver over to the theater next to the hotel to watch Wall-e, a movie he has been begging to watch for almost 2 months now.

We stopped at an Irish pub for dinner and now we are getting ready to plan tomorrow - and possibly go do some swimming in the hotel pool.  No pictures today at least not yet - pictures of shopping are not generally that interesting, and the frown on video and or cameras in the movie theaters.

The passports are in hand, the navigation has its destination set, the dvd player is powered up and ready to blast hours of child movie enjoyment, and the car is (mostly) packed and ready to go.  In just a few short hours the Larrabee family will begin our trip to Toronto.  We are headed up north until July 6th.  On the agenda is visiting Canadian Wonderland, park Kim went to quite a few times as a child, as well as a stop over to visit Niagra falls. 

Just like most of our vacations the agenda isn’t really set in stone, the only thing on the agenda is fun….well that, and driving - lots of driving!  I am going to try and write a daily entry at the end of the day again like i did on our last vacation to Disney - we will see if it actually happens or not.  Either way I am sure we are going to end up with quite a few new pictures to share.