Back home, safe and sound
Well, mostly sound. Hmm, where to begin. So many stories to tell! Sorry if this post is disjointed and out of order, I'm just going to tell stories as I remember them.
As I mentioned, we had a great time with Gavin and his parents. NYC was fun, but I didn't really like going into Manhattan this time. Kaitlyn can really throw a fit when she wants to (she's nearly two). It's the full-body type where the legs kick and arms flail and back arches. She didn't do it often. Usually she was just her cute little self.
It was great seeing John, Carrie, and the "qrew." The kids were excited to see us. Mary drew some pictures for us, made rings for us (from pipe cleaners) and gave us little toys. Keith was showing us how fast he can run and how hard he can stomp his feet. Izzy... well, Izzy ran around, jumped, shouted, and complemented Paula a lot ("I like your teeth. Do you like my teeth? I like your eyebrows. Do you like my eyebrows? I like your neck. Do you like my neck?") She's just too cute for her own good.
John showed Paula and me around Rochester and we stopped by the Visitor Center for a quick tour. They had some photos and art work from some locals on display. John pointed out one interesting piece... a photo of ridged (ruffled?) potato chips, sitting on a paper towel. Yours for only $100! Yeah right. I think I can manage that photo myself, if I were so inclined, and save $95. If I'm going to buy a photo, it's going to be of something I'm likely to never see in person or a very clever angle or arrangement of a common item. But chips on a paper towel?
We went with John to pick up the kids and took them to the Strong Museum of Play. It’s like Science Central times 100. The kids had fun running around, doing arts and crafts, and playing on the equipment. It's a very cool place, and we didn't even get to see all of it.
Saturday we all went to Niagara Falls. It was quite an eye-opener riding in a minivan with three young kids like that. Trying to arrange potty breaks for all of them is pretty challenging. We were just passing a rest area's ramp as Izzy stated "I have to go potty!" Ten seconds earlier and we could have taken the exit, but because of her timing she had to wait about 30-45 minutes for the next stop. But it was a fun trip.
One evening we were sitting around watching television and stumbled across some concert (LiveEarth or something). Anyway, The Police were on stage and Sting sounded great. It was nice seeing them perform live. Then half-way through the song some punk got passed the security guards, grabbed a microphone, and started trying to "rap" along, adding in various grunts and "yeah" whenever he thought it would fit in. It took a second before we realized it wasn't some punk from the crowd, but a real rapper. I never did find out his name, not like it matters. A group like The Police has a very well established career, they don't need some wanna-be ruining their music. Blah – it was horrible.
Overall it was a great trip. We had fun seeing all the kids and the new homes. It would be fun to get all the kids together sometime (I can just imagine the conversation Gavin and Izzy would have, "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!"...) Every few years I get out there to visit John and the Q-Collective, and each time he has a new kid. How long can they keep that trend going? Do they have their own kids or just assimilate them?
We got back in town around 8 PM on Sunday. Paula was sick of snack food and fast food, and thought Thai or Indian food sounded good. I called Keith to get the phone number of the Thai place we usually go to. He told us it was closed for a few weeks, but there was a new Thai place not far away. He gave us directions, but as we walked up to the door we found it was also closed. Grrr! Fine. Indian food then. We got back in the car and drove to our usual Indian place, walked up to the door, and it too had a sign saying it was closed that evening for a private event. By this time poor Paula is starving to death. I wasn't hungry when we started searching for dinner, but my stomach was beginning to rumble now. I saw a wings-and-ribs place across the street, which mercifully was open.
When we finally got home, the cats were indifferent. They made a mess of the litter box, which was a pleasant surprise after spending 30+ hours in the car this week. Stupid cats.
Hope to see you all again soon! I plan to post pictures on flickr tonight.
-- C.
As I mentioned, we had a great time with Gavin and his parents. NYC was fun, but I didn't really like going into Manhattan this time. Kaitlyn can really throw a fit when she wants to (she's nearly two). It's the full-body type where the legs kick and arms flail and back arches. She didn't do it often. Usually she was just her cute little self.
It was great seeing John, Carrie, and the "qrew." The kids were excited to see us. Mary drew some pictures for us, made rings for us (from pipe cleaners) and gave us little toys. Keith was showing us how fast he can run and how hard he can stomp his feet. Izzy... well, Izzy ran around, jumped, shouted, and complemented Paula a lot ("I like your teeth. Do you like my teeth? I like your eyebrows. Do you like my eyebrows? I like your neck. Do you like my neck?") She's just too cute for her own good.
John showed Paula and me around Rochester and we stopped by the Visitor Center for a quick tour. They had some photos and art work from some locals on display. John pointed out one interesting piece... a photo of ridged (ruffled?) potato chips, sitting on a paper towel. Yours for only $100! Yeah right. I think I can manage that photo myself, if I were so inclined, and save $95. If I'm going to buy a photo, it's going to be of something I'm likely to never see in person or a very clever angle or arrangement of a common item. But chips on a paper towel?
We went with John to pick up the kids and took them to the Strong Museum of Play. It’s like Science Central times 100. The kids had fun running around, doing arts and crafts, and playing on the equipment. It's a very cool place, and we didn't even get to see all of it.
Saturday we all went to Niagara Falls. It was quite an eye-opener riding in a minivan with three young kids like that. Trying to arrange potty breaks for all of them is pretty challenging. We were just passing a rest area's ramp as Izzy stated "I have to go potty!" Ten seconds earlier and we could have taken the exit, but because of her timing she had to wait about 30-45 minutes for the next stop. But it was a fun trip.
One evening we were sitting around watching television and stumbled across some concert (LiveEarth or something). Anyway, The Police were on stage and Sting sounded great. It was nice seeing them perform live. Then half-way through the song some punk got passed the security guards, grabbed a microphone, and started trying to "rap" along, adding in various grunts and "yeah" whenever he thought it would fit in. It took a second before we realized it wasn't some punk from the crowd, but a real rapper. I never did find out his name, not like it matters. A group like The Police has a very well established career, they don't need some wanna-be ruining their music. Blah – it was horrible.
Overall it was a great trip. We had fun seeing all the kids and the new homes. It would be fun to get all the kids together sometime (I can just imagine the conversation Gavin and Izzy would have, "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!"...) Every few years I get out there to visit John and the Q-Collective, and each time he has a new kid. How long can they keep that trend going? Do they have their own kids or just assimilate them?
We got back in town around 8 PM on Sunday. Paula was sick of snack food and fast food, and thought Thai or Indian food sounded good. I called Keith to get the phone number of the Thai place we usually go to. He told us it was closed for a few weeks, but there was a new Thai place not far away. He gave us directions, but as we walked up to the door we found it was also closed. Grrr! Fine. Indian food then. We got back in the car and drove to our usual Indian place, walked up to the door, and it too had a sign saying it was closed that evening for a private event. By this time poor Paula is starving to death. I wasn't hungry when we started searching for dinner, but my stomach was beginning to rumble now. I saw a wings-and-ribs place across the street, which mercifully was open.
When we finally got home, the cats were indifferent. They made a mess of the litter box, which was a pleasant surprise after spending 30+ hours in the car this week. Stupid cats.
Hope to see you all again soon! I plan to post pictures on flickr tonight.
-- C.
posted by Cerpicio at 1:11 PM
3 Comments:
OMG! The girls and I were craving Tai food last Friday. They went to pick up an order at our favorite spot, only to be greeted by an empty parking lot and a sign saying they were closed for two weeks! Must be some sort of Tai holiday going on here! Hmph!
Glad you got something decent to eat, anyway. I am also sick of fast food--specifically hamburgers and french fries. Bleh!
This comment has been removed by the author.
Izzy to random Muslim at Niagara Falls: "I like your burka. Do you like my burka?"
Post a Comment
<< Home