Slyfest V

This past weekend, Mommy and Daddy took me to see Uncle Brian play at Slyfest. It was sooo much fun! Uncle Zachy was there, too. I got to camp in a tent in the woods and sleep in a sleeping bag. We cooked hot dogs on a stick over the fire. My racecar chair got a hole in it, and Mommy keeps telling me we don't need a new one, but I think we do. (It's just a little hole!) It happened when a rock in the fire went BOOOM! and little bits of fire went all over the place. Another fun thing to do was play caterpillar in the hammock. It was just like a cocoon!

We also heard lots of music. Uncle Brian played in 3 different bands, but I only heard two of them. The other one was too late; I stayed up until 1 but they didn't play until 2 in the morning. We heard other bands play, too. There was a playground right next to the stage, and I liked the big sandbox and the swings. I also liked to play frisbee with Daddy and Uncle Zach. I'm getting better at it. I also got to go on the Dinosaur ride (Motion Simulator). I rode on a dinosaur and we went under the water! It was so cool! I hope I can go to Slyfest again next year.

Lots of Vacation IV

So the last part of our big vacation was going to Camp. The numbers were smaller this year. Only 29 went up this year instead of the standard 30-something. But it was a lot of fun. This year, instead of the No Mercy Kickball Game which had been getting out of hand (video replay should not even be an option for a "friendly" kickball game in a town that doesn't even have electricity), we had The Amazing Race - Beaver River. As Phil, I didn't get to compete. But, I have to say, I think it went pretty well. People mostly looked like they were having fun. People even learned things! There were a few kinks and glitches. I've got some ideas to improve it next year (like nixing the hike up Burnt Mountain!) and make it a little less intense. For a first attempt, though, I think it was a success.

The first day was the Camp Triathalon (swimming, hiking, boating). And being International S'more Day, we also had a S'more Making Contest. Even though it had been Fajita night, which Aunt Jill pulled off like a pro even without Tia, I volunteered myself to be the S'more Judge. Next year, I think I'll have a panel of judges, but everyone was just getting into the team spirit, and I felt bad asking people to be impartial judges. I ended up awarding first place to The Cheatin' Scum for their inspired banana usage. One Big Team's peanut butter cup/caramel creation was a VERY close second, but that S'more Sub was just fantastic. I also kinda wished the dark chocolate/strawberry/oatmeal cookie creation hadn't crumbled so badly. That was tasty, too. But, you can't have a crumbly S'more while you're sitting around the fire.

The next day was the Trek up Burnt Mountain. I was glad I didn't go. I've been up there once, and I'm good. But Zach really wanted it to be a part of the AR, and since it was his idea, I felt I should honor it. (But now that it has been honored, I'm going to replace it with a Beach Day instead!)

The third day's event was the 'Round The Lake Beer/Pop Relay. The Cheatin' Scum won again. It came down to the chug, and Morgan out-chugged Cole like a champ. The logistics of that probably could have been worked out a little better, but it went off better than I expected.

The last day of The Race, people finished up their scavenger hunt lists and their various other challenges. We had the Euchre Tournament, which Aunt Patti is a 2 time champion of. In the end, The Cheatin' Scum emerged victorious by 1.5 points over The Elderlies, with One Big Team coming in third, and Team Hmmm.. bringing up the rear.

Outside of the Amazing Race, I had a lot of fun. We canoed over to the sandy point beach on the other side of the lake to hang out one afternoon. That is one of my favorite places to hang out. We saw lots of shooting stars. The Perseids are the whole reason we always go up that week, and while last year was slightly better, they did not disappoint this year. Jack was finally old enough to go places and do things, so it was fun to watch him want to go out in the 'noe and go fishing and hiking. He and Emma may have had the most fun of anyone, aside from their bouts of Beaver Fever!

Lots of Vacation III

The third part of our 3.5 week vacation was Greg and Stephanie's wedding. It was really beautiful. It was held at Bristol Harbour on Canandaigua Lake, and we had such a wonderful time. The view was spectacular and the food was amazing. Do you really need anything else? The best part, however, was Jack and Madelyn, the Ring Bear(er) and Flower Girl. They were completely adorable. Daddy was the Best Man, and he looked nice, too, but not as good as the little ones. Maybe I'm partial, though. Jackson was convinced that he was not the Ring BearER, but just the Ring Bear. To that end, the rings were not tied to the traditional pillow but to the pillow on a Boyd's Bears Ring Bearer bear. It was really adorable, but I think it may have solidified the bear thing in his mind. Actually, I was rather nervous because the morning of the wedding he told me he could not wear his wedding clothes, which Nona had painstakingly sewn herself (including tea-dying the stark white shirt to ivory!), because it didn't "have eyes and bears have eyes." We did overcome that glitch somehow, and everything went off perfectly albeit a little slowly. There is a small decline on the way down to the wedding area, and at the rehearsal I watched them run down that hill the first time they tried it. So after that, we made several trips walking very sloooowly down the hill. I could just see someone running down the hill in new and slippery shoes, taking a header, and needing bandaids and boo boo bears at the beginning of the ceremony. They both listened VERY well, though, and Jack can still tell you that you walk slooowly down the aisle. Luckily, Aunt Steph didn't mind at all.

Lots of Vacation II

Our next trip was to the Jersey Shore. This was for the 6th Annual Married to Math Jamboree. It is basically just us hanging out with our 4 friends from DC (+ kids!). It used to be a camping trip, but this year it graduated to a beach vacation in our friend Kerry's cousin's beach house 1/2 block from the beach in Surf City, NJ on Long Beach Island. Generally, I don't go into the ocean much north of Virginia Beach, but having just come from the Cape, the water wasn't too bad. I actually went in once or twice. We all had such a blast! Mike missed the camping part, but I think some of us were definitely wondering why we didn't graduate, oh, 5 years ago. The location may have changed, but the activities really didn't. We basically hung out, drank, and ate a ton a food. One evening, we consumed almost $300 worth of seafood in one sitting! It may have been too much, but it was sooooo good. The King Crab legs were amazing! The three Mathematicians did get to go on coffee field trips this year, though. I think it is pretty funny that, out of 3 couples, it is only the Mathematicians that drink coffee. (Although, Mathematicians are the machines that turn coffee into theorems!) And on 2 of the mornings the daddies took the boys to watch the boats go out. I think Jack really enjoyed that. The mommies really enjoyed it, too. We don't get to see our DC friends nearly as often as we would like, so this is one of our favorite parts of the summer.

Lots of Vacation I

We're back! We've been gone a long time. We were on vacation for 3.5 weeks. We were actually on a lot of vacations. We left Niagara Falls on Sat, July 24th. On Sunday we went to Cape Cod until Thursday. We had Friday to repack, and then left for the Jersey Shore on Saturday and were gone until Tuesday. Wednesday was the Bachelor Party, Thursday was the rehearsal, and Friday Greg and Stephanie got married. Saturday was (part of) the Cafaro-Lamberti 75th Annual Family Reunion and repacking. Sunday we left for Beaver River, NY until the following Sunday. Monday, August 16, we finally returned home to Niagara Falls. We are EXHAUSTED! But, we had sooo much fun. Jack made it to his 17th state (including DC), and Tucker has now been to 6 states. I think that's pretty good for a kid who is not yet 3, and another who was not yet 3 months. (But does it mean that maybe we travel just a little too much?)

Let's just start with The Cape. Mike's family always used to go to Orleans, MA. We haven't been in probably 8 years, so it was really nice to go back especially since my brother Joe has taken up residence there for the summer. (Yes, he is rockin' a mohawk.) It is always nice to see him. We mostly just went to Coast Guard Beach. Jackson was amazing on the boogie board! (But not for the camera. He was always too cold by the time I found it.) But we also did a few other things. The highlight for me was probably walking at Rock Harbor during low tide. The sand went on forever! We got to the last tree, and then just kept on going. If you look closely, you can see all the trees in the background of the picture of Jack showing you his clam shell. Jack and Madi had a fantastic time finding clams and crabs. We also went to the Ponds at Nickerson State Park where Tucker got his first taste of "swimming." He just sat in the water with me and kicked and splashed a little bit. We also made the obligatory trip to P-Town, where Mike and his sister rode jet skis for her birthday. P-Town is always a great time. We also had the opportunity to take the kids up into an actual light house. Tucker was unamused, but I think Jack got a kick out of it. We went up into Nauset Lighthouse. It was a really fun vacation, and we got to spend some quality time with Mike's parents, sister, and niece. I can't wait to go back!