Summer Swim

I'll go ahead and say it. I haven't been swimming all summer. But who can blame me? We had so many cool and wet days, there was no way I was going in the pool. Now that it's been in the upper 80s, though, I've changed my tune. So when I went to pick up Xander from his overnight at Grandma's on Sunday I joined him at the Richmondville pool.

It was cold at first (see my chilled expression?) but I finally just dunked under and then it was fine.

Xander loved having me in the pool with him. He rode on my back, and we had races from one side to the other.

Might have to break down this year and get over to Minekill for a swim, especially if these scorching temps continue!

Workin' at the Carwash!

Our poor vehicle has been languishing all summer without a single wash, and Xander was determined to right that wrong. He got Joe to commit to a car washing day, and as soon as we got home from daycare he had Daddy up and going.

As usual with Xander, what he lacks in experience he makes up for with enthusiasm. He do a little here, a little there, but not a lot of dirt actually came off. And since Joe was involved, Xander got good and wet from frequent "accidental" hose dousings.

I love watching these guys work together!

Cobleskill Sunshine Fair

The annual Cobleskill Sunshine Fair is in full swing. We don't always go, but this year we made plans to meet up with Destiny and his family for the day. Once we got there, we also ran into my in-laws, and Xander somehow got his Pop-Pop to buy him a wristband so he could go on rides all day. The first thing he went on was the bumper boats. And let me tell you, that's a place I'd have hung around all day because it was HOT and water was nice and cool.

Xander certainly made the round of rides this year, and even got some grown-ups to ride with him. Pop-Pop took him on the ferris wheel, and Grandma took him on the Flying Bobs. Even Joe, who almost never goes on rides, was talked into a spin on the bumper cars. This is my favorite picture from the whole fair!

Of course, we took a turn through the livestock barn and Progress Land. Xander loves going there to stick his hand in the hot tubs set up for display. But unless we were in the midway, he was bored and whiney. Business as usual! But I stood my ground because I wanted to see the bunnies, and the sea lion show which was hilarious.

Even though I hate spending the money, we did play some games. (They cost way too much for the junk you get.) Despite my misgivings, Xander took a turn at darts and the carny made sure he won a little something. We played the water game, Xander did one of those prize-every-time fishing games, and he joined Destiny and Joe in the quest to win one of those huge ring toss prizes. Needless to say no-one brought one of those home this year!

At the end of the day Joe and I were about dead on our feet. We'd been at the fair for six long hours. Joe's knees were hurting, and I was sporting a nice burn on the backs of my arms. But Xander wanted to keep on riding. I found a couple more kid rides he could tackle on his own, then went with him on one of those rides that whips you around really fast in a circle. He loved that one!

By the end of the day, we were out of money and Xander had an armful of junk. It was fun, but I'm glad we only go to one day of fair!

Thursday Night BBQ

My family and Eli's family got together for a BBQ last night. Dylan is visiting this week and we wanted to see him before he went back home. I can happily report that the kids got along unusually well!

Xander of course had to hit the pool. Carlyn and Aislin went in with him, even though all the kids had already taken a dip before we got there. I personally didn't think it was warm enough, but apparently kids feel the cold differently than grown-ups do, LOL!

As usual, whenever Dylan is visiting I made the attempt to take a picture of all the kids together. This is no easy feat! Either they're making bunny ears on everyone, or they've got a weirdo expression on their face, or they're trying to make cool hand gestures. I got one nice picture, after much coaxing, and then I told them all to let loose and scream. Love those scream pics!

It's always nice when the family can get together and hang out.

Bruno Family Vacation - Day Three

The weather was against us today, Day Three of our vacation extravaganza. Dark clouds were threatening and rain was forecast, but we head out to Darien Lake anyway because it was on the schedule and I live and die by my schedule. :)

First thing Xander wanted to do was ride the ferris wheel. I was surprised when Joe came with us - he has a fear of heights and never goes on those things. He kept a death grip on the rail and his eyes closed the whole time. Xander was nervous too. Well, it was a really tall ferris wheel!

Then we played a lot of games. Xander won a bunch of stuffed animals. And I even won something for playing Whack A Mole. Yay me! Xander was just beside himself to win things, and there were plenty of games that gave you a prize even if you didn't do so well. It drizzled a bit while we wandered around, and when Joe, Xander and I went in to get our old-time portraits done, it POURED! Man, that was a lot of rain! It was also a breezy 62-ish degrees, so we didn't hit the water park.

Xander's two favorite rides were the carousel and the swings. Andrew and Xander took several spins on the swings, and another ride called the Raging River. There was one other ride they went on together that Xander was all excited about when it started and then cried when it was underway. He's such a goober!

Joe and I really left our diets behind today. We had fried chicken, fried dough, pretzels, giant chocolate chip cookies, and curly fries. Joe's favorite thing of the day was sitting and tossing fries to the horde of seagulls that were hanging around. He got some to come really close! Xander enjoyed winning games and getting a free face painting.
After we hit the arcade and let the boys ride the swings a couple more times, we headed out. It had been a long day, and I was freezing! Andrew fell asleep in the car, but Xander hung in there refusing to admit he was maybe a little tired. When we got back to Aunt Margie's I took a nap and woke up to find both Joe and Xander asleep in the living room. That was around 8:30pm and Xander is still asleep - we just moved him upstairs. My cousin Heather stopped by for a quick visit, and everyone else is now upstairs in bed except for me. (I'm so dedicated to my blog, LOL!)

Tomorrow I have to scan a bunch of Aunt Margie's pics and then we make the journey home. Oh, and you'll be happy to know that we seem to have fixed our car problem. I put a call in to my garage guys back home and they suggested it might be the power steering. Joe put in some fluid this morning and no more scary noise. Yay!!

Thanks for sharing our vacation with us!

Bruno Family Vacation - Day Two

Another long, on-our-feet day today. After Aunt Margie headed off to work (after a long night that included several rounds with the local fire siren and a window-rattling thunderstorm), the Brunos and Andrew headed out for the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester. To say that place is big is a wicked understatement!

First thing inside is a carousel, which Xander rode three times throughout the day. I took a turn on it before we left. Our next stop was Sesame Street, which was pretty cool. There was lots of hands-on activities, like a pipe organ made out of pvc pipes and things to climb on, in and around.

After a turn through the Reading Adventure (with areas like Mystery Mansion and Wizard Place) we took the noon tour of the Butterfly Sanctuary. There were so many butterflies, and they were so pretty! Xander walked around with his hands cupped, hoping to lure a butterfly to land on him. He got his chance when one of the guides found an injured butterfly and let Xander give it a ride.

Then of course we had to take a stroll through Berenstain Bear country. Xander got his picture taken with Mama Bear, built a "stone" wall, and checked out Brother Bear and Sister Bear's clubhouses. Here, as throughout the rest of the museum, were books that could be read if anyone had the inclination.

There was a break for some whining (Xander, who didn't want anyone else to look at anything in the museum) and some lunch at the food court. Xander ate a Subway ham and cheese, a yogurt, and most of my little bag of Baked Lays. Piggie! We also took time out for some ice cream at the diner. It was so delicious!!

After we toured through the museum part of the museum, and I got to check out the cool Barbie exhibit they have to celebrate her 50th Anniversary, Xander went to the mini Wegmans to do a spot of grocery shopping. Once he'd checked out his items, he went back to the bakery/deli, donned an apron, and started hawking pizzas and bread. Too funny!

Our last stop at the museum was the videogame exhibit. They had an amazing array of old arcade games in there that we could play. All the greats were represented - Pac Man, Frogger, Asteroids and Donkey Kong among them. Xander played the Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back game for a while (I think it was broken, because on one token the game play never seemed to end!) and then played something called Gauntlet.

After a quick trip to Walmart to pick up discount tickets for Darien Lake tomorrow, we crashed back at Aunt Margie's. Xander and Andrew went in the pool - something Xander has been impatiently waiting for. When Aunt Margie came home from work, Joe and I treated her and Andrew to dinner out at Applebees. Way too yummy! (And yes, I brought leftovers home. Didn't eat it all in one sitting this time!)

Now Xander and Andrew are upstairs reading a book, Aunt Margie is folding laundry, Joe is watching UFC highlights on TV, and I'm here updating all my fans (or maybe just my mom, LOL!). I plan to relax with a new CK magazine and then hit the sheets. Tomorrow: Darien Lake! My feet are already wincing!

Please Let It Be Summer!

So far Summer hasn't felt much like summer. We've had a ton of rain, chilly temps, and too many gray and dismal skies.

Yesterday we had a good day. It didn't rain and it wasn't windy, so I got to finally have some BBQ turkey burgers. And it was warm enough for Xander to play with the hose, one of his favorite things to do.

Now I'm crossing my fingers that we have good weather this weekend and next week when we're on vacation. Please, oh please!