Our Trip to Niagara Falls

 Visiting Niagara Falls has been on our list of places to see since we moved to the East Coast. For some reason, Chris and I thought it was the perfect time until we noticed the weather report the week before we left.  They had a huge snowstorm a few days before left, but we decided to make the trip anyway and we are so very glad we did! 

The snow was practically gone (our boys were disappointed) and there weren't any crowds. It was lovely! Lots of stuff was closed for the season (ice cream, zip lining, etc) but its stuff we would not have wanted to spend money on anyway. We decided to stay on the Canada side because we heard it was better and we already had passports for everyone! 

Our first stop was at the Bird Kingdom. Luke loves all birds and so he was just in heaven. 

When we went in this caged area, we thought we were going to look at the birds up close, but soon the guy inside told us to cup our hands and he poured some milky liquid into them. Immediately the birds started swarming us and we were all screaming. Then he quickly said, "smile!" So the smile you see in this picture is half scared, half confused and right after we took it we walked out. It's pretty funny now, but at the moment we were a little terrified. 

Chris is an amazing trip planner and he surprised the boys with a hotel room with a view of the falls. It was so stunning to wake up to this every morning and watch it lit up at night. 

The first place we ate at was a super cheesy but fun restaurant called the Flying Saucer. It's really old and the food isn't the best, but it was fun to experience just once. 

Then we walked around the local tourist trap, Clifton Hill, and ventured inside the Hershey Store to load up on chocolates and Christmas gifts. 

It was so fun to be there during this season because we got to see all the Christmas lights. We loved walking around in the evenings to see the town lit up.

The next day we set out to explore the beautiful falls. We were able to through 2 different tunnels to get a view from behind the falls. So cool! 

Those are the falls behind them. We were inside. 

This rainbow was out all day and it was just stunning!

After exploring the falls we took a bus to the Butterfly Conservatory. We were all blown away by how amazing this place was. The butterflies were so stunning and they let you get right up close to them, which was amazing! I could not get over their vibrant colors!

The last really cool thing we did (thanks to our amazing trip planner) was see a light show at the Niagara Parks Power Plant. It was interactive and really neat to see and listen to- a great way to end our visit to The Falls.

Second Part of our Fall

This fall has flown by... I feel like it was just September last week. We have been on the move and doing exciting things. Here's some pictures from what we have been up to.

Our second fall here and I am still amazed at the beauty God has provided for us as summer slowly turns into winter. God could have just made the leaves fall to the ground, but instead He gave us this stunning season, fall, where the colors of the trees are just breathtaking. The bright yellows, golden oranges and fiery reds- just a daily reminder of God's goodness to us. 

As soon as Chris got home from Rwanda, he switched gears and took the boys and his TrailLife group on a camping trip. It was chilly, but they had such a fun time with the other dads and boys. Abram has been working towards his knife badge- this weekend he received it along with his first knife from Chris and he was just grinning from ear to ear.

As soon as we knew it, Halloween was here. We don't do a lot to celebrate Halloween, but I do try to make the day fun for the boys. We had monster donuts for breakfast and for dinner we had mummy dogs, jack-o-lantern mac and cheese and black berries.

This was a big year for Abram, and for us... he went trick or treating this year on his own with some of his friends. After listening to our long list of rules, he met at his friends house where he heard more rules, and then they were off. Unfortunately, it did rain most of the night, so they were soaked, but when we "ran" into them, they were having a blast. Abram has a really cool kids watch that allows him to call us and we can call him, so we could get in touch with him when we needed to. He had a great time. 

There is a really cool display in our neighborhood where a family carves 50+ pumpkins and then puts them on display. They are amazing!!

Of course when we got home, the boys look through their candy and ate a ton... Jack sorted his first which made me laugh because its the same thing I did when I was younger!

We also participated for the second year in our local Homeschool Soccer League. It is so wonderful... all homeschool families (so my boys don't feel weird or left out), practices and games alternate and they are at two in the afternoon, and all three boys play. They love it and so do I. This year we played with a lot of our homeschool friends from church. We loved getting our children together each week. 

This cycle in Classical Conversations, we have been studying about the solar system. Our group took a field trip to a planetarium in a high school. It was so cool to learn about the nighttime sky we can see from our houses. Chris also took his TrailLife group here in November for their astronomy badge.

One of our favorite things we did this year that took absolutely zero effort on my part and it was completely free was pumpkin carving at our local produce stand. Apparently, every Saturday after Halloween, they allow the kids to come carve their left over pumpkins. They provide the pumpkins and materials. It was just the best to watch the boys design and carve their own pumpkin! But the best part of the day was coming back in the evening, where they had all the pumpkins on display and lit up. So cool!

We have a wonderful babysitter who attends the local high school in our area. She told us that she was going to be in the play, "Peter and the Star Catchers." This book has been on my list to read to the boys for awhile, so we bumped it to the front with the goal of finishing it before her play... we did! The boys loved seeing the book come to life. They even wore their pirate costumes and brought flowers for Miss Jade!

Chris won a lottery at the Pentagon and he was given two tickets to see the premier of the movie "Devotion" before it came to theaters. It was extra special because the actors and the pilots family would be at the movie along with distinguished members of the military. Chris and Abram got dressed up and had an amazing time. Abram even got his picture taken with the lead actor (also from Top Gun: Maverick). Abram felt so special. They had a terrific evening together!

With his free coke!

And finally, I learned about a roller skating rink that has homeschool Fridays so I loaded up the boys and took them roller skating for the first time. The funny part is that I brought a book so I could sit and read while they skated. I didn't realize that I would need to be out there the entire time with them teaching, encouraging and picking up. It was difficult at first, but they got the hang of it and in the end, and they really enjoyed it! Abram asked me why all the moms knew how to skate so well, and I told him this is what we would do for fun on Friday nights! He just wrinkled his nose and said, "why?"

It was a wonderful fall and now we are onto the holidays!!