Family

In-between all of these activities, we enjoyed some down time with the family.  We watched Katelyn and Christophers's softball and baseball games, Kim and Karen hung out with us at the lake a few times, and we were lucky enough to stay with Grandma and Grandpa so there was a lot of just chilling with the grandparents.  

 The kids went with Aunt Karen on an errand and had to take a detour through her pool

 Davis and Aunt Kimmy at the Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse

 Lilly and Daddy at the Dinosaur

 Grandma, Grandpa, and Mommy chilling at the Dinosaur

 Davis enjoyed watching all of the bikes coming and going.  We thought of Grandpa Bil while we were there.  He would have loved this place!

 Grandpa, Mommy and Grandma at the Brewster Inn in Cazenovia, NY celebrating Gma and Gpa's 52nd wedding anniversary!  WOW! 

 A sunset on Caz lake taken from the Brewster Inn

 Mommy and Aunt Kimmy finishing the 10 mile Caz 4th of July race.  We did great!  

 Daddy, Lilly and D enjoying the fireworks in Caz

 A little face painting at the Caz craft fair

Davis is always so sad when we leave Grandma and Grandpa.  When they left us at the airport, tears started to steam down his face.  We can't wait for Gma and Gpa to come to CO in December!  

Friends

Grandma and Grandpa's next door neighbors have two granddaughters, Helena age 5 and Delilah age 3.  The kids became fast friends and enjoyed a lot of play time together!

 Delilah and Davis playing Barbies

 Enjoying a sunset cruise together 

 Lilly applies lipgloss to Helena

 More beautification on our sunset cruise

 Delilah, Lilly, and Helena playing in the tent

 Davis gives us a smile before shutting himself up in the tent with the girls!

Lilly and Helena strike a pose

Fishing

Another favorite activity in NY was to go fishing after dinner.  The kids had those plastic princess and Scooby Doo poles which did not deter the fish!  They caught a ton of fish!  The even sat on the end of the dock one evening in the pouring rain for 45 minutes catching fish!

 Lilly catches a rock bass

 Brave girl actually enjoyed holding them by the lip and releasing them back to the water

Davis catches a sunfish

Ropes Course

The big mall, Destiny, in Syracuse is a little bit like Disney World with TONS of activities from bumper cars, to laser tag, to ropes course, and more!  We chose to do the ropes course, which was three levels high and overlooked the atrium of the mall.  Needless to say, I was scared silly and the kids just took off!

 Davis steps across the ropes

 Davis finishes up the rope crossing

 Davis on a stepping stone path

 Jeff crosses a rope ladder

 The boys pause for a picture

 Lilly crosses a sidewalk

A shadow of Lilly that outlines all of the layers and levels of ropes courses

Horseback Riding

Another favorite NY activity is to ride Aunt Kimmy's horses.  The kids rode Luther at the barn and then rode Belle while Katelyn was showing at the NY State Fairgrounds.  Katelyn rocked her flat classes and took home a few ribbons!  Yah Katelyn!

 Lilly riding Luther

 Davis on Luther

 Katelyn leads Lilly around on Belle

Davis on Belle

Water Skiing

We tried to water ski every day that the weather would allow.  Lilly picked it up again, no problem.  She enjoyed cutting across the wake and getting air!  It almost looked like she was carving powder turns in Vail!  Davis also gave skiing a try.  He got up his first try and made it as far as the raft.  The next time he tried, he made it about to the middle of the lake.  The next day that he tried, he made it all the way to the dam!  He started off scared of the whole process, to picking the roughest day to make it to the dam!  Pretty neat.  

Lilly carving right,

 carving on the left, 

and now back to the right.

She even has time to wave to the camera and anyone else we would pass.

 Day 1: Getting the skis on and practicing on the dock.

Day 2: He made it for a quite awhile!

 Day 3: He is totally up and holding his own.

He was so happy that he grinned from ear to ear the whole way to the dam:)

 Mommy even got in a few turns on the ski

Pretty day on the lake

Stand Up Paddleboard

Grandma rented us a standup paddle board for a few days while we were there.  The kids got a few calm days when they could take it for a spin, but really mommy was the one who enjoyed it the most.  I would take it down to the dam and back each day for a fun, new workout.

 Davis paddling around the shallow area

 Jeff gives it a shot too

 Lilly paddling around on a rough day, catching some waves

Kelly and Davis catching some waves on a bumpy day