Forts, Waterfalls, and Aladdin!

We had a lovely three day weekend. Although it was raining (in PA and part of NY) while we drove up on Saturday morning and again on Monday night, it didn't rain at all while we were in Buffalo or Niagara Falls. It was heavenly to have a break from the rain which has been almost a daily occurrence for the past month. The man who installed Ian's carpet today said he heard on the news we only had ONE day without rain in the past month. The temps were a tiny bit lower, it didn't rain, and it wasn't humid. In other words it was lovely weather! That's not to say we stayed dry the whole time because we were close to Niagara Falls on Saturday afternoon and early evening as well as Sunday morning. We stayed at a home through Airbnb on Saturday night that was located in Niagara Falls, NY; we could have used up to four queen size beds, but the host only put bedding on three of the beds since only five of us came. I had booked that reservation for seven people when I thought Paul's parents would be joining us. Nadia had a bed to herself upstairs, and on the main floor

of the house I shared a bed with Oliver in the same room that Paul shared a bed with Ian. That night we got for free thanks to credit card points. The second night we stayed at a La Quinta hotel near the Buffalo airport, and that hotel stay included a free hot breakfast. We had just one room with two queen size beds. I shared a bed with Nadia, Oliver slept on the floor, and Paul and Ian again shared a bed.

We had packed food that we ate for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday and for lunch on Saturday and Monday. The food at Niagara Falls (US) was very expensive (even worse than Disney!) so I didn't order a meal for myself for dinner on Saturday. I ate a little of Ian's meal and a little of Oliver's. On Sunday we purchased two meals - lunch at Tim Horton's in Canada (the kids and Paul  had never been to a Tim Horton's before) and dinner at Subway in Buffalo. We had planned to eat dinner at TGI Fridays using a gift card, but when we got there we found out there was a 30 minute wait for a table, and we would have been late for Aladdin so we walked to a

Subway instead, and a gift card we had covered most of that meal. On Monday we used a gift card to get dinner from Wendy's on our way home.

We left the house around 6AM on Saturday and drove to Old Fort Niagara. The fort was used at a few different time periods, such as the War of 1812, but this past weekend they were focusing on the Soldiers of the Revolution. They had a variety of special activities including watching them fire cannons, a demonstration of how the British would punish a soldier, a battle reenactment, musket firing demonstration, etc. We could have participated in more of the special programs but we wanted to allow enough time for Niagara Falls. We parked on Goat Island, got our tickets for Cave of the Winds (the soonest we could buy were 3.5 hours later than when we arrived), walked through the park and across bridges to the place where they sold tickets for the Maid of the Mist, rode the Maid of the Mist, had dinner, walked back, and did the Cave of the Winds tour. The kids really enjoyed both the Maid of the  Mist and the Cave of the Winds. We received ponchos at both. Paul threw both of his ponchos away, but the kids and I kept ours from the Maid of the Mist. We all threw the yellow ones away that we got at the Cave of the Winds because they were much flimsier. We also received sandals at the Cave of the Winds. I have known Paul for 20.5 years, and it was the first time I've ever seen him wear sandals! We saved our sandals, but one of Ian's broke on Monday morning. Nadia and Oliver have still been wearing theirs. Nadia got soaked at the Cave of the Winds. I only took my cell phone (in a waterproof bag) at Niagara Falls on Saturday because I didn't want my good camera to get wet. I took some videos on the hurricane deck which I hope to upload later.

On Sunday we explored the Canadian side of the falls for about an hour and then drove to Fort George in Canada. They also had far more reenactors there than usual as they had "soldiers" from various other forts (even from Ticonderoga) who were participating in various firing demonstrations and also performing fife and drum music. Paul really enjoyed the perfect volley competition with muskets. The kids completed a booklet similar to what they have done lately at US National Parks, and they were each given a Fort George dog tag for completing their booklet. Their favorite part of Fort George was the building that housed many costumes and games. Nadia signed up to fight for two years, and the boys signed up to fight until the end of the War (of 1812).

Ian's favorite part of our weekend was seeing Aladdin at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo on Sunday night. We all enjoyed the show. I would have enjoyed it more if I had remembered to pack some nicer clothes in our suitcase. I was feeling embarrassed at how

casual we looked compared to the vast majority of those in the audience. Oops! It was very well done. I would like to take the kids to one Broadway show a year if we can possibly afford to do so. The kids were already discussing which show they might like to see next year (in NYC) - Frozen, Lion King, and Anastasia were three of the ones they talked about possibly seeing.

Monday morning we went to the Buffalo Museum of Science, which we were able to visit for free thanks to our ASTC membership. We spent about three hours there before driving to Lockport where we took a two hour cruise on the Erie Canal. We went through two locks twice. Prior to this experience I don't think the kids understood how a lock worked. I remember visiting one in Michigan when I was a child with my grandparents. After our cruise, we drove back home. Including a stop to go through the drive-thru for dinner and another bathroom stop, it took us 4 hours to get home.

Nadia and Ian saw the orthodontist again today. Their last visit was in January. This time he said to come back next June. I admit I was hoping he would say they were ready for braces now only because the dental coverage through the university includes $3,200 per child for braces. If I decide to return to being a SAHM next year, then I think Nadia won't actually have braces, and I'll need to set aside money from this year's income to pay for Ian's braces in the future if we have to pay for them ourselves. Thus far no one has mentioned Oliver needing braces. Ian is the only one I'm willing to pay for braces myself because his teeth/bite are definitely the worst of the three kids (he got it from me). A trip like we just took is something I need to think about when making the decision. Although we found ways to make the trip less expensive, it still is something we would definitely not be able to afford if we are just living off of Paul's income. I'm praying God makes it crystal clear what I should do. Thankfully I don't need to make the decision right now. After today we have five more days left of summer vacation before the school year starts on

Monday. In between now and then we plan to go to Dorney Park (amusement park) and give the kids a chance to play with all of their cousins in Maryland. I'm also hoping to get some painting done. The flooding in the basement removed some of the paint on the floor that I had painted last summer so I got another gallon of paint on Friday. I also want to do a little bit of exterior painting if I get a chance to do so. I took a lot of pictures over our three day getaway, but I'm not going to post all of them today.

Usually we don't buy souvenirs on our field trips or vacations, but recently a homeschooling FB friend of mine showed a picture of part of her refrigerator that included magnets from various places they have been. I loved the idea. We bought our first four magnets on this trip one each from Fort George, Old Fort Niagara, Niagara Falls, and the Lockport locks on the Erie Canal. I also splurged and bought a photo package. They took two photos of our family at the Cave of the Winds, and I loved both of them. In one we are smiling and the other we look terrified as we're supposedly going over the falls in a barrel. The download access code isn't working for me yet. Hopefully they will get it fixed soon so I can share the pictures here. Since I usually am taking the picture it's rare for us to get one with all five of us in the picture. I'd like to get some large prints and frame them after I able to download them.