Vacation Recap

A week ago Saturday, I packed three little kids into the van, along with a whole lotta stuff, and took off for the Adirondacks. DH and Big Boy left later in the day, packed into the other car with a whole lotta other stuff.

After about a 4 hour drive, we met up with a Ravelry friend of mine, Beachsideknitter.

(Little Girl took this picture). We met up at a local park, and the kids behaved AMAZINGLY well, playing on the playground and enjoying snacks. Mary and I had a great visit. She brought some of her knitting, sewing, and quilting projects to show me, and we talked about all kinds of things. Mary is a Christian, so we prayed together before we left the park. I am so blessed by a particular group on Ravelry, and it was a double blessing to see one of my friends in person!

After our visit, the kids and I headed to our cabin. Initially, I was a little disappointed. The cabins are all situated around a giant parking lot, and obviously used to be on motel. However, once inside, all disappointment vanished. The cabin was gorgeous and clean! There was plenty of space for everyone (including my parents, who joined us on Sunday). We spent Saturday night getting settled in, and DH took the kids to Stewart's for ice cream. (I know, those of you who know the area know that Stewart's for ice cream is no big deal. But when I was a kid, we used to walk from my grandfather's house in Nelliston to Fort Plain to make a sundae at Stewart's and I have great memories of that).

Sunday morning we got up early and took the kids hiking up Severance Mountain. This is the longest hike we've done with the kids. We hiked a total of 2.8 miles in just under 2 hours. The kids are good little hikers
and the baby hung out in her new backpack carrier. Although it was a little cloudy, the view from the top was still pretty good.
I loved that the hike was a bit of a challenge, and the kids obviously felt a sense of accomplishment when we finished. On the ride home, we saw the biggest chair EVER.
When we got back to the cabin, we ate lunch and took a nap, and then my parents arrived! We spent the rest of the day and evening visiting with them, making s'mores in the fire pit and finalizing plans for the week.

Monday, my aunt came up from Fort Plain to spend the day with us, and we drove to Lake George and walked around. The kids all got new cap gun rifles (little girl's is pink) and we ate lunch at a restaurant on the water. We spent the remainder of the afternoon at the beach across from our cabin, and had another nice evening of visiting.

On Tuesday, we left the baby with my parents and went to the Natural Stone Bridge and Caves. This was more of a leisurely walk than a hike, and we very much enjoyed the beauty of God's creation.
Tuesday afternoon my aunt and uncle (not technically, but close family friends) came up from Speculator and spent the evening with us. I haven't seen them in a few years, so it was great to get to introduce them to all the kids.

On Wednesday we visited Fort Ticonderoga, thus passing on a family tradition of visiting forts and battlefields on vacation.
The kids took part in a militia drill, which thrilled Big Boy to no end. He's been running drills with the little kids and their new cap guns ever since. Little girl was quite taken with the Fife and Drum corps
and although all the kids enjoyed the gun and cannon firing demonstration, it was a bit loud.
Despite the busy day, my dad and I stayed up extra late to go to the Painted Pony Rodeo. I've never been to a rodeo before, but it was fascinating! Unfortunately, I didn't get any good action shots of the riders, but my dad and I snagged this picture together. Do you like my new hat?
We spent the next two days at the cabin, relaxing, fishing, canoeing, swimming, and playing in the sand. After all those busy days, we needed it!

I drove home with the kids on Saturday after a lovely breakfast at Suzy Q's. We already have plans to go to Buffalo at the end of August, so it was too hard to say goodbye to my parents (I really hate living so far away from them.)

After we got home, I did laundry and then packed up again. I went on a little overnight trip on Sunday. I'll tell you more about that tomorrow.

Until then, happy knitting!