Chimney Bluffs

Chimney Bluffs are these giant mud peaks along the shore of Lake Ontario. Pretty neat looking.
We got there are sunset which was beautiful!

Brigham's favorite activity was chucking rocks into the lake.
We couldn't stop laughing at the placement of this Stop sign. It was at the end of the one lane road. Right behind it the pavement ended and a there was a steep drop to the shore below.

A very convienent seat!
Brigham was lagging behind on the trail. Then he came running up to show me his new treasure. It was a rock. I am not sure what inspired him to pick it up, but he held on to it for most the the hike.

Fair Haven Beach

We stopped at Lake Ontario to swim at Fair Haven beach. Caleb was very excited to swim in one of the great lakes again. The kids loved it too.

We had fun making and smashing sand balls. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring the beach toys, but no worries. Brigham keeps a Thomas Train in hand at all times, and Kaiya is getting to be a pretty good runner and managed to swipe another toddler's yellow shovel. (He He He)

Actually, I think it was an abandoned toy, however I did spend a fair amount of time keeping her out of other people's bags and away from other children's toys.

Brigham loved driving his train through the sand tracks I would make. He soon wanted tunnels and would have fun crashing his train through the sand mounds I would make. He never gave me a chance to complete a tunnel.

I would make the sand balls and then Brigham and Kaiya would try to throw them into the water. Looking back later I realized I had taught Brigham and Kaiya the bad habit of throwing sand. Oops!

The first time Brigham knocks Kaiya down he says "sorry Kaiya;" I thought it was cute. However, the sand throwing is definately on purpose. Not quite as cute.
I suppose Kaiya has learned to accept Brigham's form of brotherly love since she didn't even cry. Maybe we should have aunt Chalan teach her some "Jungle Woman" attack moves. :)

After the beach we walked along the dock. It was fun to watch the ducks, birds, boats and the approaching lightening storm. Yes, while we were there an electical storm began, so they had to close the beach. Luckily we were already soaked, so we didn't mind a little rain. We watched a storm the entire drive home. It was beautiful.

Fillmore Park and Seward Mansion

On Saturday we went to Auburn. We stopped on the way for gas in a little town. Across the street, was the town's public library. It this not an awesome looking library? We stopped at Fillmore Park, named after America's thirteenth president. This is a replica of the log cabin he was raised in. It took us a little while to find it, but we finally located it in a little town called Morivia. This is the Seward Mansion. It is mansion of one of New York's former govenors. The gentleman was also in the cabinets of President Lincoln and President Johnson.
The Seward famliy kept exceptional records. One cool little tidbit of information is that a 16 year old carpenter by the name of Brigham Young helped to build this home. Our tour was cut short because of two overly active children, so hopefully we can return some other time.

A Walk on Campus

On Friday after class Caleb and I decided to walk around one of the lakes on campus. At one end of the lake is a waterfall. It was relaxing to chit chat about the day and walk on the trail. On the way back to the car we pointed out a squirrel to the kids. Kaiya's face lit up with a big smile and Brigham kept circling the tree that the squirrel was in. I assume he was trying to find a way to climb up. He kept asking me to get the squirrel for him "git'um mom; mom git' the ruirrel."

Mark Twain's Resting Place

Elmira, New York is where Mark Twain summered for over twenty years. In this place he wrote most of his works including Huck Finn. That book happens to be one of Caleb's favorite books. So when we found out his gravesite and restored study were so close, we decided to stop by. The study is located on the campus of Elmira College. I have never heard of this college before, but it's campus was so wonderful. The landscaping was so well kept and planned out. I also loved the architecture of the buildings. The skies were overcast (which is my favorite). Plus, we were the only people there, so it was also very quiet. Well, as quiet as you can get with two toddlers-he he he.

The Corning Glass Museum

We went to the Corning Glass Museum. I know you are thinking toddlers and glass???? However, I figured kids are okay to take when they are restrained in a stroller. At least that was the plan. It seemed to work okay. Towards the end they got restless. My favorite part was the glass making show. Amazing. I had never seen glass made before. It was neat. The museum had some great exhibits. Some of the art pieces were unbelievable. I wish I would have taken more photos.

One exhibit was a huge egg shaped glass room you walked into. One person could sit at each end and whisper to the other. Because of the shape of the room you could hear the other person whispering. Also there was a periscope which was fun. I watched a show on optic fibers. I never realized they were exactly, but now I do. Finally, there were glass shows demonstrating making, coloring, and breaking different pieces of glass. Who knew glass could shatter in so many different ways.

Watkins Glen State Park

Okay, so I have decided if you ever want to see waterfalls and lakes, the fingerlakes region is the place to go. There is unbelievable beauty here. So far the Watkins Glen has been my favorite park. We hiked up the gorge trail which followed the rivers and falls. There were several "caves" as Brigham liked to call them, where the trail cut through the mountain.

Also, along the entire trail were puddles of water. It was fun to watch most people try to avoid them while Brigham would go to every effort to splash right through the deepest part of the puddle. Arent' kids great.

My favorite part of the hike was walking behind one of the waterfalls. It was so cool. I loved that it was even close enough to touch.

Overall it was a fantasic hike. Very gorgeous! Even Brigham would ask every so often to be lifted up to look at the water. Which of course I thought was adorable.

Overall it was about a two hour hike roundtrip. Brigham managed to hike all the way up. He didn't survive the journey down. I think all the puddle plowing wore him out. Luckily he has a strong ol'mama to carry him back down the trail.

Kaiya's Pig Tails

Okay, random post, but Saturday marked a sad moment for me. I was doing Kaiya's hair and I realized she no longer needs little "anntena" pig tails on top of her head. Now she could wear her piggy tails on the sides of her head. She looked like a little girl and not a little baby.

It was a wake up call to me. My little girl is getting older. I felt just like I did on Brigham's first day of nursery. I realized kids only get older and don't get younger. Time with them is precious. They are only a baby once. Just sometimes I wish I could step back in time and savor time with them again at all their stages.