buffalo!

This post has a gazillion pictures.  Because I like taking pictures and I like being on vacation.  and I really love fall.

We went up to Buffalo to visit Laney and fam- and gramps decided to fly in for the fun, too.  We missed you Nannie Annie!  Was Germany better than us?!  doubtful :)

First Stop- the great pumpkin farm.  With the world's biggest pyramid of pumpkins.


We did the Hayride first.    Zeb and Henry are almost exactly the same size (even though they are almost exactly one year apart).

I'm glad Laney and Taylor stuck around on this side of the country.  Hopefully with Taylor's new job- they'll be there at least as long as we are in Ohio!  It's great to be able to see family within half a day's drive.

Ike always wants to sit with his dad. Every night before Ike falls asleep he tells Kent he has a secret for him.  Then he whispers into his ear: "Dad, you're my best friend- not mom's".  He really really loves Kent.

 Gramps did a lot of Metta Holding.  That's one of the things I miss most about family nearby. Somebody to pass the kids off to when you need a break.

The farm had some exotic animals to pet. Because nothing shouts halloween like camels and tibetan yaks, right?  Zeb used to be sooooo afraid of animals at petting zoos. Maybe we scarred him?!  He loved all of the ones here.

 Up the nose pic of taylor.  I told him to look at me!

 My cute little pumpkin.

 look at those squinty eyes.

 Favorite part of the day- jumping off staircases and giant pumpkins.

 This little Monkey Milly is adorable. and she loves me.  She calls me Auntie Ce-Ce.  I hope I can get Metta's hair in little pigtails like these.

 Ike found this little pumpkin and became obsessed with it. And then he somehow/somewhere set it down and we couldn't find it! we tried replacing it with several look alikes but Ike would NOT be fooled.  It was pretty rough convincing him that another similar pumpkin would be just as good.

 goofy best pal cousins.  Seeing them interact makes me so excited for when they are even older. I had the BEST friend cousins and I want my kiddos to have the same great relationships with their cousins!!

 Ralph and me.

 this is the best pic we could get of all the kiddos with gramps.

 Ike insisted on pushing around his baby pumpkin in this large wheelbarrow.

 We found this very strange man and asked to take a picture.  Laney loves strange people and things as much as I do.

After the pumpkins- we got a sitter for the kids and went to dinner.    One of the restaurant specials was Chicken and Waffles. I've ALWAYS wanted to try them and took the plunge that night. They did NOT disappoint.  Really- maybe my new favorite food.  The sweet and savory combination was AMAZING.  Syrup with chicken? and delicious belgian waffles??!  They couldn't have tasted better. thanks, dad!

Laney and my kids all associate gramps with a hotel and swimming pool for some reason :)  When we got into town- gramps checked into his hotel and we took full advantage of the pool.

All except for Metta- who HATED it.  All of the splashing and echoing screams freaked her out.

We almost got her to go to Kent a few times.

But then she'd stop and start shrieking.  She did this almost the entire time.


We did eventually get her feet into the hot tub with auntie Laney.

Laney's kids LOVE water.

Terrified that I'm going to try and throw her in!

 The rest of the time in Buffalo was spent laughing, eating, and playing.

Best toy ever: the giant snakes that fly out of the opened can.  I think these came from my grandma's house!!

 and the Buffalo scicence museum.  You can check out passes to the local museums at the libraries in Buffalo!!  How cool is that?!!  we got in free.

 and they had all sorts of amazing exhibits.  Here's gramps racing the kids in an exercise light bopping competition.

 And gramps helping Zeb perform surgery with robotic hands.

 my favorite place was the hurricane force wind tunnel.  Metta didn't love it!

The drive to and home from Buffalo was WONDERFUL this time around (except for the part where Kent got a little car sick and was dry heaving).  We drove diagonally through the entire state of Ohio- and then along Lake Erie through Pennsylvania and New York and the fall colors were breathtaking!   I tried to get some pictures while we were driving- but I couldn't do the trees justice!!   I didn't take this picture- but we drove past this very bridge and it looked just the same :)

 It was lovely.  and so was our trip to Buffalo!

thanks a million times over Laney, Taylor, and Gramps!!