Jimmy B.

We're fans....I've written before about our love of Jimmy (and if I had ever tagged those posts, I could link to them now- rats) and how happy he makes Jon and me. We've passed that down to Cooper, who counts him among his favorites and knows quite a few of the songs by heart.

So, when we saw a Margaritaville restaurant down the block from our hotel in Niagara, we had to stop in for lunch. We've never been and wanted to take in the experience. The food was great and the atmosphere was family friendly and full of fun.

They employ "stilt people" to walk around and make balloon animals. She wasn't a freakish clown like in lots of places....just a regular girl on stilts making small talk and hats for kids.







Even Jon got into the festivities!


Anyhoo, we asked whether Jimmy had ever come to the restaurant and the answer was no. He has a habit of just showing up at times though and as we ate, we talked about how amazing it would be if he just happened to stop by while we were there.

And then we paid our bill and left.

The next day we checked out of our hotel and headed to our Day 4 destination. But as we drove by, we noticed a peculiar scene outside of Margaritaville.

Parrotheads.
There were about a dozen people standing outside the restaurant singing songs. So, we pulled over and I got out to assess the situation.
It was 11am.

The verdict?
Something was happening and although we weren't sure, we weren't taking any chances. We parked the car and joined the fun.

At 11:30, the restaurant opened and things seemed a bit different than the day before. We got a table and tried to look casual.



There were rumors...but we still weren't sure. So we decided to take an extended lunch.

About 2 hours later, Jon spied this guy from our seat and I ran to snap his pic.


Yup, that's Mac....Jimmy's BFF.
And then we knew!!!!
And we couldn't breathe, and our hearts were beating and we could hardly stand it.

And so we changed our plans and camped out at a table for the whole afternoon (along with some friendly Parrotheads from Toronto).

Cooper was a champ....


It took 5 milks, 2 orange sodas, a ring pop and a $7 Niagara Falls pocket knife but that kid was an angel- for 6 hours.

And it paid off!!!!

We were among 300 fans who "happened to be there" for a surprise concert.


We were beside ourselves!!


Can you see the excitement on Cooper's face??



It went from this....


To this....in a few hours, and we were a part of it all.


It's a day that we'll never forget!!

Thanks Jimmy- for making our vacation even more amazing!!

Before I forget... (thankful thursday)

The summer is fast coming to a close.....Cooper and Jon start school on Monday and that means we have precious little time until it's OVER.

I am thankful for the time that we've spent together as a family this summer.

I posted earlier that we had a great vacation, but I haven't been organized enough to capture some of our memories- tonight is my attempt.

We decided to drive to Niagara- it was much more economical and at the time seemed like a fabulous idea (sometimes things seem so much better than they actually are- ever noticed that??).

Our plan was to drive 1/2way, spend the night and complete the trip. There's not a ton between here and there.....except farmland, small towns, 2-lane roads and Johnstown, PA. So, that became our destination for Day 1.

And when we got there, the 1st thing on our list was to ride the "world's steepest incline plane". Hmmmm- very interesting!



Unfortunately, I have the world's biggest 'fraidy cats' in my family when it comes to heights!





But, I'm persistent. And we did it!



Not without a bit of a fuss though.....



Once we got to the top, things were much better.



I am thankful for playgrounds in unexpected places!



Somebody got over their fear pretty quickly.


And somebody else didn't!

Somebody even begged and pleaded to go back the next day.



How could we say no?



This time, no tears!
I am thankful for brave little kids who overcome their fears.

So long Johnstown.....



I cannot tell you how tempted I was to take a detour and look up Phil.
Jon was not as tempted.

Instead, we made our way north. And finally....we arrived!



We had a small hurdle to pass with the border agent.
Jon didn't quite understand that the questions he was asking were not because he was simply being chatty. He also neglected to stop at the stop sign right before the check in which prompted the agent to ask,

"Sir, do you intend to follow the REST of the laws in Canada?"
Oh. My. WORD.
I was convinced that we'd be detained- but somehow we made it through.

Day 2- Niagara!


It was really wonderful and Cooper was totally into it.


I am thankful to be able to give Cooper the same experiences that my parents gave me.



I'm thankful for family vacations, wonders of the world, disposable raincoats, kind border agents, and time exploring with the boys I love the most!

More vacation coming....
(I know you're on the edge of your seats!)

347,126,186

There are 31,556,926 seconds in each year.



As of today, we've been married for 347,126,186 seconds.
We sure have had a lot of fun together-

Happy Anniversary to the person who makes me laugh the most in the entire world.

Love you!!

Reunion

20 years ago I spent the majority of my time on my sorority hall at a little school in the middle of nowhere.

This weekend I spent the majority of my time in Alexandria with 4 of my sorority sisters and remembered those times fondly!

We stayed in a swanky hotel.





This hotel provides fish in case you aren't able to bring your pet with you on vacation. We had 2- this is Dora.


We ate yummy food....


with way too many calories!


We toasted a million times....


and attempted to use some of our college education to figure out how much we owed.

(suspiciously it looks like we may have played poker- but we didn't)

We laughed...so much


We laughed so hard it was hard to remain focused!!


We talked, remembered, sang songs, shared secrets, revealed dreams and traded advice for ALL sorts of ailments and issues. We promised not to wait so long to get together again- and I think we really mean it.

There is nothing like good friends....and these girls are the best.

I can't wait for our next trip-


Thanks for a wonderful weekend!
Hugs!!

Verse

For a while now, Cooper has been obsessed with sports teams....no particular team, just teams in general, although he does have some favorites.

And you know how when you're talking/reading about teams and their games- it's US vs. Canada or Redskins vs. Eagles?

I realized that Cooper thinks that vs. is the plural of verse. Because we'll be watching or talking about a game and he'll say- who did they verse or who are they versing? Or my favorite when he's playing a computer soccer game-

"Momma, who should I verse?"

I feel like we're coming upon the end of little kid-isms.....which makes me sad.




Like when he'd say ignoring instead of annoying. So, Savannah would be licking him and panting in his face and he'd yell in, "Momma, Savannah's ignoring me!!"

I LOVED that one!

Merry

We visited a little town in Canada that had a vintage merry-go-round by the sea. You could ride for 5 cents.



I loved the merry go-round when I was little....although sometimes the faces on the animals can be a bit creepy.



Cooper loved it...and thought it hilarious that we rode too.



What's not to love about a 5 cent merry go-round ride with a happy little kid?

Back!

We're home.

And despite what this picture may indicate....



We ALL had a fantastic vacation.
We loved seeing Niagara Falls and have many adventures to share.


Hope you had a super week- we're happy to be home and are trying to get back into the swing of actual life.
(rats!)

TGIF

It's Friday....and I couldn't be happier. Although I have 5689 things to do before the days end, I'm trying to calmly move through them and not be subjected to procrastination. Um, clearly not working since I'm blogging.

Cooper has been going to Chess Camp all week- and has hated every second of it. It does sound terrible, doesn't it. I had such high expectations- he loves to play chess with Jon and he's pretty good. So, I figured it would be a great change to his normal summer routine. Plus, his friend P was going and that meant he'd have a friend.

You can do anything if you have a friend.
Evidently, anything but Chess Camp.

He said it was the hardest thing he's ever done in his whole life.
And the thing that was the worst?

The algebraic notations.
WHAT???? I had no idea there was algebra involved.

My childhood was not spent at Chess Camp- which is why I had higher hopes for my child. Ah well, not to be.

Everyday can't be filled with a cup of dry ice and wonder!!!


Can you even stand that tooth???
It makes me laugh (and a visit last week to the dentist did confirm that another will soon join the existing chic-let!)

Hope you had a great Friday.

(and ps- I didn't even come close to getting through my list today)

Two Word Tuesday

Love zinnias!!

3 generations

My brother was in from California this weekend. I should have had my camera at the ready but was a little lacking on the upswing.

The shadows are a nightmare in this photo but it's going to have its place in our history based on the subject alone.

My dad, my brother and my son....



Love you all!

Harvest Time

Last week we picked 100 of these!



It's one of my favorite parts of summer...



And this year, we've got a fabulous little picker who's quite eager to help.



Sadly, he's not much on eating.
Unless it's one of these....



Hope you're enjoying the taste of summer too!!

jaws

i was playing dominos with the girls last night and got the following text message.

is is ok for us to watch jaws?

i almost choked on my tortilla chip.
and many response options ran through my head....

my 1st response...have you LOST your mind?? was quickly replaced (at the guidance of my friends) with-

no- bad idea.

i'll give him credit for asking- but really?? jaws?

in the middle of the summer
for an newly turned 8 year old
with an over active imagination and a tad of anxiety thrown in for good measure
when we have a boat
and routinely travel in deep salty water???

yeah- bad idea.
silly daddy.

Have Passport, Will Travel

They arrived yesterday via overnight mail.



Never ones to plan in advance, we had to expedite them to ensure they arrived in time. And now that we've got them, I have promised myself that we will never let our passports expire again. EVER.

We're going here-



And I simply cannot wait.
I have memories of going as a kid....and having a ball. Jon has never been. To me, its one of those rite of passage type deals and Cooper's just the right age to love it too.

Glamorous vacation? Nope, not by a long shot.
Good old fashioned road trip with the family? Absolutely.

The countdown begins!

Long time, no post

I'm a weekend behind....or maybe 2.
We passed a milestone- Cooper invited a friend to come to the river with us. And I'm not sure I'll ever be the same.

Talk about stressful. How do people take other kids on vacation with them for an entire week? My word- I'd need medication.

On the way down, I thought about every terrible circumstance possible...and then said little prayers that everything would end up ok.

Clearly, Cooper was thrilled to have a pal-


They were non-stop the entire time.


E was chosen based on a few key criteria. 1) he's a sweet kid 2) he tends not to get homesick (key because there was travel involved) 3) E's the youngest...and as such, his mom has been through a lot and is very calm and super easy going about everything 4) Cooper's been asking me since March whether we can take him.

The dates finally worked out.

Just in time to go to the work boat races.
The local watermen come out and race their work boats. It's a ton of fun- and really something to see.



The more weight on the back of the boat, the better. There are easily 3 generations on the back of this one!


There were more boats watching then actually racing but nobody cared at all.


Weekends are always better with a friend.


Especially if there are dolphins!


The boys had a blast- with a few minor exceptions. Will I do it again- I'm sure. The super great outweighed the extreme stress.

As soon as we dropped E off Cooper said, "Momma, when can he come again?"

When I'm recovered little kid, when I'm recovered!!