This vacation felt especially over due when it first hit. Usually we are ready for a family get away in March when Spring Break hits but this year Dave decided waiting until June when the store is slow would be a better choice. It seemed like it was all falling into place as a dear friend of mine was moving her wedding date up a year this June in UT and we had talked about taking the kids to the Grand Canyon! However we forgot to take into account that his bosses daughter was getting married that same weekend and trying to fit our whole trip into the time allotted was proving to be beyond challenging. I did not give up hope of making this wedding until about two weeks before when my plan of finding someone to drive home with me while Dave flew back to work seemed impossible.
So one week before our newly planned trip we change course to...
Niagara Falls to be exact since neither Dave nor I had ever been there ourselves, it is only about 12 hours from us and we actually had our pass ports! We didn't care if we stayed in Canada or not but found a much better deal and were quite happy we did after seeing the falls. Now we did plan far enough in advance to know we needed our pass ports and all of the children's birth certificates to get into the country... or more importantly back into our own. But we did not take into account that our GPS would no longer work once we crossed the boarder. Thank goodness my mother is a good girlscout and put an atlas in our truck years ago to help up through the country... however when it came to navigating through cities we were winging it.
Niagara Falls to be exact since neither Dave nor I had ever been there ourselves, it is only about 12 hours from us and we actually had our pass ports! We didn't care if we stayed in Canada or not but found a much better deal and were quite happy we did after seeing the falls. Now we did plan far enough in advance to know we needed our pass ports and all of the children's birth certificates to get into the country... or more importantly back into our own. But we did not take into account that our GPS would no longer work once we crossed the boarder. Thank goodness my mother is a good girlscout and put an atlas in our truck years ago to help up through the country... however when it came to navigating through cities we were winging it.The QEW became our Achilles heel throughout our trip... Canadians do you directions such as North, South, East and West but for whatever reason when we needed these the most there were no where to be found! Now we were following signs that looked like this for quite a while...
Since we were headed north/east for a good chunk of our trip but somehow we missed that when we got to Hamilton we were suppose to follow this sign... silly Americans!
It's clear as day right? Luckily we figured it out before we reached Toronto and it didn't set us back too much. The lesson was learned though we will still print off maps next time!
Since we were headed north/east for a good chunk of our trip but somehow we missed that when we got to Hamilton we were suppose to follow this sign... silly Americans!It's clear as day right? Luckily we figured it out before we reached Toronto and it didn't set us back too much. The lesson was learned though we will still print off maps next time!We reached our hotel around 4pm on Monday afternoon. Anxious to see the falls we dropped our stuff off at the room and headed out for a walk...
Gage with the Days of Thunder Car outside Planet Hollywood...
Kain's hands are almost the same size as Johnny Depp's!
Not sure why Brody is so crabby... it might have something to do with waking up at 6am, driving 7 hours and now being expected to sit for this picture... I don't know?
Usually he is full of it but today Dave is...
Sorry this picture never gets old for us... I think it might be because we live with a bunch of boys... again just a guess.
Kain's hands are almost the same size as Johnny Depp's!Not sure why Brody is so crabby... it might have something to do with waking up at 6am, driving 7 hours and now being expected to sit for this picture... I don't know?Usually he is full of it but today Dave is...Sorry this picture never gets old for us... I think it might be because we live with a bunch of boys... again just a guess.The kids loved The Hershey Store. Really why wouldn't they, they are my kids!
Kain and Aubriel...
Gage and Brody...
Ozzye was still on Duty's back... poor kid.
Kain and Aubriel...Gage and Brody...Ozzye was still on Duty's back... poor kid.The falls at last! The area was much more touristy than we expected but at least the walk along the actual falls on the Canadian side was quite nice. No grass like on the American side but much prettier view.
I loved this little house...
My little Super Man!
Aubriel's lack of sleep caught up to her at this point and we left for dinner soon after this picture was taken...
At this point we realized we forgot the jogging stroller which we wanted for Aubriel and Brody more than anything since we had a Mei Tai for Ozzye. So after dinner we ventured out to Wal-mart to buy the cheapest stroller we could find in hopes it would hold Brody and Aubriel so they could at least take turns the next day when we walked our to the American side.
I loved this little house...My little Super Man!Aubriel's lack of sleep caught up to her at this point and we left for dinner soon after this picture was taken...At this point we realized we forgot the jogging stroller which we wanted for Aubriel and Brody more than anything since we had a Mei Tai for Ozzye. So after dinner we ventured out to Wal-mart to buy the cheapest stroller we could find in hopes it would hold Brody and Aubriel so they could at least take turns the next day when we walked our to the American side.The falls before we walked across the bridge...
The new stroller... worked great on steps as you can see.
On the Rainbow Bridge.
The rapids over the American Falls.
The rapids over the Canadian Horseshoe...
Aubriel continued her whinny streak and was sitting in the stroller for most of the walk.
The new stroller... worked great on steps as you can see.On the Rainbow Bridge.The rapids over the American Falls.The rapids over the Canadian Horseshoe...Aubriel continued her whinny streak and was sitting in the stroller for most of the walk.The only family picture we got of all of us. I wish Brody wasn't hiding!
The bottom of the Horseshoe...
We don't know what that is but thought it was pretty cool... I of course am talking about what is in the background, not Kain.
Look she is walking... but not willingly at this point.
We checked out all the tours and things to do on the American side and the kids agreed on the boat ride over my shoulder...
Make shift babywearing poncho...
The American Falls from the boat...
Another boat view...
and another...
The overlook area after the boat ride...
The tower that over looks the American Falls... 
He had been by railings so much it was funny when he walked by the glass. He was quite cautious which is good I guess.
The bottom of the Horseshoe...We don't know what that is but thought it was pretty cool... I of course am talking about what is in the background, not Kain.Look she is walking... but not willingly at this point.We checked out all the tours and things to do on the American side and the kids agreed on the boat ride over my shoulder...Make shift babywearing poncho...The American Falls from the boat...Another boat view...and another...The overlook area after the boat ride...The tower that over looks the American Falls... He had been by railings so much it was funny when he walked by the glass. He was quite cautious which is good I guess.And Aubriel back in the stroller...
After lunch we returned the stroller and got a wagon, for the sake of Dave's back.
Kain took this picture of us...
Look there really is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!
some of the rapids before the Canadian Horseshoe on the Canadian side...
Ozzye tried to throw a rock over the wall which was down farther from this fence and it came back and hit him in the head. Then as he would run down to this point to throw his rocks he tripped and got a blister on his face which he of course picked the next morning until it bled. So the rest of the trip he got to look like we beat him or something.
Kain took this picture of us...Look there really is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!some of the rapids before the Canadian Horseshoe on the Canadian side...Ozzye tried to throw a rock over the wall which was down farther from this fence and it came back and hit him in the head. Then as he would run down to this point to throw his rocks he tripped and got a blister on his face which he of course picked the next morning until it bled. So the rest of the trip he got to look like we beat him or something.The next day we decided to head to...
We pretty much already knew the way so why not? They had a ton of ads like this on the side of the highway which the kids and I thought were the coolest!
We pretty much already knew the way so why not? They had a ton of ads like this on the side of the highway which the kids and I thought were the coolest!We started out at a beach....
Lake Ontario!
Note his road rash...
Yes, he almost hit his siblings several times but luckily only injured himself...
I loved the rocks on the beach...
From my sweetie....
That is about all we have of Toronto. We opted to go to Toronto that day since we woke up to Rain in Niagara. We made it to Toronto and had clear skies for about an hour... the it poured for about 20 minutes. Basically just long enough for us to make it to our truck soaked. I then made the mistake of telling Dave to get off the highway too soon thinking that if we drove through downtown we would find something fun to do. After getting stuck behind a street car for the whole of our trip, being passed by the SAME biker about a dozen times, trying to take a left turn where you couldn't one too many times and having a lady run up to our open car window screaming that she needed a quater, Dave had about all of the downtown area he could handle. So we got to add about an extra hour to our drive to the beach for no other reason that "culture."
Lake Ontario!Note his road rash...Yes, he almost hit his siblings several times but luckily only injured himself...I loved the rocks on the beach...From my sweetie....That is about all we have of Toronto. We opted to go to Toronto that day since we woke up to Rain in Niagara. We made it to Toronto and had clear skies for about an hour... the it poured for about 20 minutes. Basically just long enough for us to make it to our truck soaked. I then made the mistake of telling Dave to get off the highway too soon thinking that if we drove through downtown we would find something fun to do. After getting stuck behind a street car for the whole of our trip, being passed by the SAME biker about a dozen times, trying to take a left turn where you couldn't one too many times and having a lady run up to our open car window screaming that she needed a quater, Dave had about all of the downtown area he could handle. So we got to add about an extra hour to our drive to the beach for no other reason that "culture."Our "highlight" of driving back to Niagara was seeing this...
Which quickly turned into the biggest buzz kill since somehow we managed to wrap our heads around kilmiters while driving but it never occured to us until we got out to fill up that this of course is prices in liters! Silly Americans!
Which quickly turned into the biggest buzz kill since somehow we managed to wrap our heads around kilmiters while driving but it never occured to us until we got out to fill up that this of course is prices in liters! Silly Americans!After lunch we decided we didn't have nearly enough of a disapointing morning so we let the kids talk us into taking them to Chocolate World. On the map it looked like it was down the other way from the falls... on the map it didn't look too far... and on the map it looked like it was close to the Whirlpool (which we still to this day have not seen). So we figured after spending WAY too much time driving the last few days we would just walk. It isn't that far after all and we have a wagon. What we didn't realize is we probably should have had a wagon to pull all of us! About half way there we were over the trip but already invested too much time walking to not continue. Upon reaching our desitination there was nothing about this 7/11 like store to deserve the name "Chocolate World!" With sad children in tow and a slap happy husband we stopped here on our way back home to take some fun candid shots. Walking any farther to see the whirlpool was OUT OF THE QUESTION!
We did enjoy this view from under the rainbow bridge on our way back home but that could be due to the fact it was a familar site with signs of civilazation. We looked upon the touristy vegas strip like feel with a new found appreciation so the trip did in deed serve a purpose!
This was the highest we saw the mist rise while we were there... we think it must have something to do with the storm we had earlier that day.
We went and checked out the inside of the Hershey Store but after playing around ullimately decided on ice cream as a much deserved treat for our somewhat stressful day!
I asked each of the older boys to go stand and get their picture taken but I couldn't convince them it would be cool. However Ozzye went and posed without even being promted which should come as no surprise to us...
This was the highest we saw the mist rise while we were there... we think it must have something to do with the storm we had earlier that day.We went and checked out the inside of the Hershey Store but after playing around ullimately decided on ice cream as a much deserved treat for our somewhat stressful day!I asked each of the older boys to go stand and get their picture taken but I couldn't convince them it would be cool. However Ozzye went and posed without even being promted which should come as no surprise to us...The next day was water park day. I don't have any pictures of that but we went soon after breakfast and played until lunch. After lunch we walked down to the secret garden that sits in between the falls and the row of hotels.
We had walked by it several times on our way to and from the falls but never expored inside it. It was beautiful and ended up being on of our favorite parts!
I love this tree!
Aubriel took this picture...
Kain took this one...
They were finally getting the hang of the picture taking...
I am not sure why she is horrified but I found it funny...
I am not going to feel the least bit bad that there seems to be more pictures of me with my children than Dave. I took some of him with the kids I guess he just did a better job this trip! Usually there are none of me with my kids so I love that there is finally proof of me being in their young lives.
Aubriel took this picture because Kain took one of us kissing by the fountain and she was upset we didn't do it for her picture....
I lve this picture and think it is one of my favorites. I love that our kids are getting old enough to really participate and enjoy our family vacations. Even with all of the frustrations and Dave and I second guessing ourselves at times all the kids said how much fun they had and enjoyed our trip. We went back to the water park after our break in the garden and swam until dinner time. After dinner we all headed back out to the falls to get our last look of them before we left in the morning.
We had walked by it several times on our way to and from the falls but never expored inside it. It was beautiful and ended up being on of our favorite parts!I love this tree!Aubriel took this picture...Kain took this one...They were finally getting the hang of the picture taking...I am not sure why she is horrified but I found it funny...I am not going to feel the least bit bad that there seems to be more pictures of me with my children than Dave. I took some of him with the kids I guess he just did a better job this trip! Usually there are none of me with my kids so I love that there is finally proof of me being in their young lives.Aubriel took this picture because Kain took one of us kissing by the fountain and she was upset we didn't do it for her picture....I lve this picture and think it is one of my favorites. I love that our kids are getting old enough to really participate and enjoy our family vacations. Even with all of the frustrations and Dave and I second guessing ourselves at times all the kids said how much fun they had and enjoyed our trip. We went back to the water park after our break in the garden and swam until dinner time. After dinner we all headed back out to the falls to get our last look of them before we left in the morning.The Canadain Horseshoe at night...
The American Falls at night...
This is a hard picture to understand but it was the best I got of them. Across the river in front of the American Falls you could see lit creatures flying about. Dave thought they were birds, the kids and I thought they were bats. Either way they were super cool to watch, kind of like large fireflies!
Aubriel and Brody passed out before we even got back to the hotel...
Crossing back into the USA!
The American Falls at night...This is a hard picture to understand but it was the best I got of them. Across the river in front of the American Falls you could see lit creatures flying about. Dave thought they were birds, the kids and I thought they were bats. Either way they were super cool to watch, kind of like large fireflies!Aubriel and Brody passed out before we even got back to the hotel...Crossing back into the USA!We stopped in St. Ignace, MI to stretch and let the kids play since we drove straight through on the way back home.
Mackinac Island across the lake...
And we stopped to eat too!
Mackinac Island across the lake...And we stopped to eat too! I must say after every long trip we take with our kids Dave and I are amazed at how well they travel. Ozzye had a rough time on the way there but was perfect on the way back. I am not sure if it is just something the kids are use to after so long or if they have inherited mine and Dave's lust and passion for seeing the unknown but we love it! I can't say any trip is free of it's normal stresses but all in all our family vacations continue to be some of our best memories together as a family!!!
