The Strong Museum

One of the days while in New York we drove into Rochester and went to The Strong Museum.  This place was amazing!  I think we spent 5 hours there, but it was not enough. (Editor's note: Yes, it was.)

 This room made you into Lego-type figures that move around.  The boys had a great time dancing and watching themselves.

 I had to pry them away from every exhibit so they could at least see half of the museum.

 We had to take our picture in front of the Sesame Street door.

 As you can tell this wasn't as exciting as the other activities.

 I'm not sure what happened right before this.  Although I'm sure the wind just blew the wrong way.  As you can see, Anders was in a mood.  Shocker, I know.

 Hans made friends with a troll.

 John wanted to do the same thing as his dad.  And this must be what his dad's facial expressions look like to him.  Love it.

 Anything art the boys are game.  These light tables are so simple and yet kept them captivated for a long time.

The museum also had a pretend grocery store.  The kids could take little carts, shop for things, and check out themselves.  Gus loved using the register and even put on the store manager apron and talked on the intercom.  

We ended the day by getting milkshakes.  That was the only thing that was going to get these kids to leave.

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.

Fishing

The boys were super excited to go fishing.  They stayed out on the water for a good amount of time.  Gus and Anders were ready to come in, but John would have stayed out there all day.

 Gus caught a fish not long after they got out there.  It was a small one so they threw it back.  Gus said it was disgusting.

 The things grandpas do for their grandchildren.  My dad gets pretty bad motion sickness.  But he braved the nausea for his grandsons.

 John is patiently waiting for a fish to bite.  Sadly, he never caught one.  But he was happy for his brothers when they caught one.  Because he is a sweet boy like that.

Gus ended up catching a second fish that was actually big enough to eat.  The boys had a great time watching Hans prepare the fish.  Fritz was extremely interested in all of this and even got a hold of the fish head at one point.  Gus wouldn't let Fritz lick him for a week after that.

Going on a Boat Ride

I remember driving the boat with my grandpa when I was little.  I love, love, love these pictures.  They bring back such wonderful memories.

It didn't phase Anders one bit that he couldn't see where he was going.  We are in trouble when this kid turns 16.

 We all enjoyed some quality time on the boat.

 Fritz was very nervous on the boat.  As much as this dog did not want to be in the water, given the chance, I'm pretty sure he would have jumped in.

 John had a lot fun trying out every seat on the boat.  But I think his favorite was in the back watching the motor.

 Although he did enjoy telling jokes to anyone who would listen.  Grandma is always an easy target audience.

 Comforting our ridiculous dog.

I LOVE this picture.  My grandmother with her youngest great grandchild. 

 Beautiful.

Saying Goodbye

In just a few days the sale of my grandparents cottage will be final.  Practically speaking this is a wonderful event and a blessing for my grandparents.  Keeping up with the cottage and what I always called "the winter house" was just getting to be too much.  Emotionally speaking it is a little sad for everyone. This is where I spent my summers as a child.  BUT I have two things to be thankful for.  First and foremost is that I still have my grandparents around to continue making wonderful memories with.  The cottage was nice, but what made it perfect was spending all that time with my loved ones that I still have.  Second is that my children were able to spend a couple of summers there. All of us were actually able to be there this past summer.

This is the view when you drive up.  Lots of soft, green grass to play in.

Many, many years ago my Grandpa built this deck that looks out onto the water.  I couldn't imagine having lake front property and not having a beautiful deck to enjoy the view.

 The boys had a great time this summer running around and being loud.  They also discovered that little things can get lost in ground covering.  They looked for a small Toy Story action figure for a long time.  They even roped my mom, Hans, and I into looking.

Anders grew tired of our incompetence and decided to look for himself.  The boys did end up finding it.  Just shows you what determined little boys can accomplish.

The last time we went to New York Fritz was just 11 weeks old.

This year he was a beast.

More pictures to come from our time at the cottage.

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.