Readers

Can't get enough of this guy READING. All my kids have read at different ages, the average being eight. It's the magic year for my extrovert. 8 down, 2 to go. 

Genessee Country Museum

On our last full day in NY, we met up with Marks dear sweet Aunt Carolyn, cousin David, Michael and Oliver at the Genessee Country museum. All the buildings and houses have been moved here to be restored and preserved in a village. Really amazing. 

The Cival War balloon encampment. Back then it was silk and filled with hydrogen. This reproduction was plastic filled with helium. Pretty neat. 

No rides today but the cousins all tried out the basket.

Awesome lunch!

The boys, sleeping "tight". 

A very cool carpentry bench with a craved face. 

School time!

The country store. 

Some houses here are simple settler type cabins. Others are very fancy. 

I thought this post was really neat. 

Sadly on the way out, daddy and Max had a run in with a yellow jacket hole. Dad got stung once on the hand but Max got ten stings :( We are really thankful he did not react badly and once past the initial pain is doing really well. 

I don't have pictures but later in the evening, we met up with Marks good friend from high school and his family at Pineway Ponds park to grill. We had a great time and compared lots of camping notes. They just spent six weeks out west with their camper. 

We got back late to April's but Michael was still there and they had a fire going. We stayed up till 1:30 talking and laughing. Loved it. 

Aunt April's

A fall volunteer in April's garden. She thinks she should weed it. I think it's pretty. I've got to look up the name. 

The kids love being here. It may be small but it overflows with love and fun. 

And here's what the Aunts and Uncles do. Best. Times. Ever. 

Hard for mamas  to get into pictures but here's our goofy selfie. 

Museum of Play

Everyone has looked forward to going here! 

And THIS is what they love the most. Their own Wegmans. No age limit. And they all love it, teenager to toddler. 

Running the bakery. 

And the meat department. 

Checking out. 

Back to the meat department. 

Finally to the rest of the museum! Lots of great play places downstairs. 

Not Arthur. 

Hmmm, nope. 

On to play in the fake snow? sand?

What we really missed was the upstairs. I don't know what they're doing up there but no antique toys, no rows and rows of doll houses. Daddy was very disappointed. 

This place really deserves its own post. Left the museum for...LUGIAS!!!

Home of the gargantuan ice cream cones!

Max has a kiddie, Silas a baby cone.  

This, my friends, is a medium. 

Think they had fun?

Messy face!

Birthday Twins!

Happy Birthday to our 13 and 11 year olds! We now have four teenagers in the house, whew. Birthday party and cookout at Aunt April's and Uncle Shawn's. Always awesome. 

We fit all these kids in their dollhouse! April has the most beautiful gardens. Even now at the end of season she has blooms. 

Grandpa Struble's

Built in 1827

We've had a nice visit with Grandpa Struble and Grandma Cathi. The kids have had a ball in their apple orchard. They don't work it anymore and it's gotten over grown but the apples are still amazing. They leave them for the deer and other wildlife, they aren't sprayed but hardly have any insect damage or bad spots. The trees are just loaded. 

Lots of Asters, Queen Anne's lace and Goldenrod , too. 

The orchard

We took a nature walk around it so the kids could show us around. They were very busy picking apples and are full of plans for them. 

They filled this bin up!

The polished up a few, very pretty. 

These small grapes were growing in the trees but they tasted bitter and yucky. 

Teasel. I was able to scrape off some thorns to bring a few home. They look so pretty dried. 

We don't have milkweed quite like this at home. It reminded me of the Minnesota prairie. 

You can barely see Ferns head here. 

For an immediate return for their labor, I made applesauce. 

I don't have pictures of the finished product. I wasn't fast enough and it was gone!

Three generations of Strubles enjoying an after dinner visit. 

It was really great to have a quiet day after going going. We are gearing up for more fun! Birthday party, Luigias ice cream parlor, children's museum etc etc.