New York

This summer we went to New York to spend the week with my family.  This is the first summer our Fiene clan has been up there and not gone to the cottage.  It was different, but I loved exploring the area around my grandparents house.

Our first stop was my Aunt Diane's house.  It is always our first stop and we are always excited to be there.

 Aunt Diane always has fun things to do.  There were fun whistling arrows for the boys to shoot AND they made their own ice cream in this ball.  After the ice cream ingredients were put in the boys were charged with rolling the ball around without stopping for 10 minutes.  They had tons of fun.

After we got to my grandparents we did a ton of stuff.  I kept forgetting my camera.  I'm sure there are pictures floating around somewhere.  We went to the Herschell Carrousel Factory.  This museum was pretty neat.  We were able to see the process that went into building a carousel and carving the horses.  It is actually pretty sad if you think about the fact that people don't work with their hands like this as much anymore.  Everything is mass produced.  After walking through the museum the boys were able to ride on a few older carousel type rides.  They had a wonderful time.

 It wouldn't be a true visit with Grandma if there weren't marshmallow shooters involved.  The boys, and Fritz, has a blast with these.

 Anders had a hard time getting his marshmallows to shoot out.  He huffed and puffed, but nothing.  But that didn't stop this little warrior.  He eventually figured it out.  I'm just glad he didn't start bashing his brothers over the head with the shooter.

This kept them occupied for hours and Fritz had a great snack.

 We also got to go on the Maid of the Mist.  I haven't been since I was a kid.

 All ready to get wet.

 The falls were beautiful.  These are the American Falls.

 This part of the horseshoe here is part of the Canadian Falls.  

 We survived and managed to only get our shoes wet.

The day before we had to come home we all (aunts, uncles, and cousins) had a gathering at my Uncle Mark and Aunt Anne's house.  Or, as the boys like to call him, Uncle Whitey.

The boys really got into the Can Jam game.

We had good food, games, and laughs.

Trip to New York

This summer the boys and I headed to New York to celebrate my cousin's graduation from high school.  We had just gotten back from Germany a week earlier, so Hans had to stay behind and do pastor stuff.  I'm sure glad the boys are good in the car.

 The boys seem to like being on vacation.

 Hopefully Jimmy will always tolerate a good beat down from the Fiene boys.  They love tackling him.

 My Uncle Tim is so kind and always offers to take the boys for rides on the tractor.  They LOVE driving the tractor.

 John looks so intent and Uncle Tim looks a little worried.  These are completely normal things when it comes to John.

 Although, out of all 3 Fienes, I would be most worried about this one.  Anders is a stinker.

 My aunt always has fun things for the kids to do.  Tractors and bubbles...the boys couldn't be happier.

 The boys loved this outdoor dog kennel.  They played in here for a long time.  I should get one of these at home!

Gus was given a SpongeBob camera for his birthday.  John and Gus had a great time taking picture of each other.

Mother and daughter.

Love these two to pieces.

We had a wonderful weekend.  The boys and I got to see a bunch of family and the boys managed to charm them all. 

Great Uncle Whitey and Aunt Anne's House

It seems to be the tradition that every time all of the Ruppert kids are in town there is a get-together at the house of my uncle Mark, the guy my kids lovingly referred to as "Uncle Whitey" since the whole Great Uncle Mark and regular Uncle Mark was getting too confusing.  I think my mom came up with the name.  Or my Aunt Diane.  Either way it was the name thought up by one of his sweet older sisters.

When we all arrived a photographer came and took a big family picture. Which reminds me that I actually need to order one of those.  The guys were all ready to change out of their white shirts and jeans.  Just when my cousins thought we were all done and had changed, the ladies made them get dressed again so we could get a picture of my grandparents with the grandkids and great grandkids.

 While we absolutely LOVE our grandparents/great grandparents the only difference between Gus and the rest of the guys is that Gus is not as good at showing his displeasure.  Three of these guys had already changed into comfy clothes and had to dig out the white shirts again.  They were great sports about it though.

 Everyone enjoyed talking to long lost Mark.  Since he hasn't made an appearance in 5 years.  Mark goes for quality, not quantity.

 The boys enjoyed playing with the trains my Aunt Anne keeps around.  My cousin Ben was a big Thomas the train fanatic too.  My Aunt Nancy also brought the boys some new Hess vehicles.  These were a big hit.

 John always gives a hug to show his thanks.  Gus says thank you quietly without looking at you.  And Anders is quick to say thanks but doesn't always want to take the time to stop what he is doing.

 What's a birthday celebration for my grandmother without cheesecake?  My aunt found these cool candles where the fire matched the color of the candle.

 Anders wanted some cake.  He is asking with his eyes.  He usually gets his message across.

 Fritz enjoyed the cool air and the grass that was not filled with thistles or ants.

 Fritz also believes he is a lapdog.  There is no convincing him otherwise.  He isn't always good about giving a clear signal before he plops right in your lap.  If you are on the floor he assumes you are there to pet him.

Gus and my Aunt Nancy had some nice bonding time over Fritz.  I'm pretty sure he told her that Fritz was a comfort dog.  Seems only fitting that I can't convince Gus otherwise.

Summer Travels: New York

We had one busy summer!  When the pictures keep piling up I keep finding reasons not to go through them all.  Before I knew it, I had 1,322 pictures to go through and that does not include the disc from Disney that came last month.  With all of those pictures there must be one or two good pictures, right?  Let's hope.

This summer we headed to New York to spend time with the family and celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday.  We drove to my Aunt's house in Fredonia, NY to stay the night before meeting the whole family the next day.

 Gus felt that 8 hours in the car right next to Fritz just wasn't close enough.  These two had to have a little snuggle time before running and playing.

 Gus was in dog heaven with Maddy and Fritz.  Maddy and Fritz got along very well.  Which was good because they were going to be boarded together for the next 3 1/2 days.

The next morning my Aunt Diane (or "Diant," as Anders called her) had fun showing Anders pictures of the place we would be staying.

This is where we stayed.  This sits on top of the sky slope at the Peek 'n Peak Resort.  It was great because we had access to all of the amenities, but were away from all of the commotion.  Because let's face it, with 18 people staying here we had enough commotion all on our own.

Within an hour of our arrival we hit the pool.

John always looks a little worried when he is going down slides.

 Ericka is always a big help.  Anders likes having undivided attention.  He takes full advantage.

 This place had a large indoor and outdoor playground.  After swimming for a bit we let the kids play.

 Anders has no fear and will climb absolutely anything.

 I figured I should help him out on this one before he decided to do flips.  I'd like to save some stitch inducing activities for when this kid turns 3.

After the pool and the park the adults were all ready for a nap!

Jimmy

I realized when I was looking through my pictures that I don't have any of my cousin Ericka.  I plan to remedy that the next time I see her.   I had a good time trying to get pictures of Jimmy because he hates having his picture taken.

 He was refusing to pose for a picture so I waited outside the basement door to snap some pics.

 I'm not sure what Aunt Diane is saying, but I love the look Jimmy is giving her.

 And, because I keep snapping photos, I too am getting the look.

 Jimmy just refused to pose with his mom.

What a stinker!

Next time I will focus my efforts on those who want their picture taken....I'm talking to you, Ericka.