06/25/2017

Our Granddaughter Charley has a big announcement to make.  She is going to be a big sister in 2018.  We will be expecting a February grandchild!

I was quite surprised, when I came upon the link to this blog, that I hadn't posted anything since my Mother passed away.  Wow...so much has happened since then. 

Nick and Jamie divorced.  Dakota and Mariah got married.  We have a second granddaughter, Charley Renee.  She is named after her grandpa.  Whom she calls papa!

This is a picture of Mariah and Charley on Mothers Day 2017.

We have had many fun vacations.  We bought a Harley the year Dakota graduated and have fun riding. 

A lot of things happen in 5 short years....we are very blessed!

Our 3 Day Weekend to Niagara Falls

We took our Granddaughter Gracelyn to Niagara Falls for her Golden Birthday this year.  She turned 8 of June 8th. 

It was a 12 hour Road Trip and we got there late on a Friday afternoon.  We checked into our hotel and then decided we needed a quick peak at the Falls.

Gracelyn must have been a little tired and a little hungry after our long drive because she said...."This is not that cool".  So, we decided we should find dinner somewhere. 

We ended up at Hard Rock Café, Niagara Falls on the New York side for dinner. 

After dinner, we went back to the falls to see it lit up at night and for a little sight seeing and pictures.

We started walking back as the fireworks started so we got to see a few but we had a really long day and wanted to beat the crowd out of the State Park.

Saturday was our fun day and Gracelyn thought things were pretty cool on Saturday.  We had a great day exploring Niagara Falls State Park in Niagara Falls, New York.

We chose to do the activity pack and it featured 5 activities throughout the park.  Cave in the Winds was our first stop.

We had to change into special sandals that the Park provided so that we wouldn't slip and fall while on the Hurricane Deck.  It was a deck built between 2 of the falls and the water was cascading down all around us.  Needless to say we got wet.  Its a good thing that it was 75 degrees out that day. 

And If we hadn't gotten wet enough, we decided to ride the Maid in the Mist next.  It was a boat ride that took us right down into the middle of the Falls.  All of that water cascading down was amazing.  It truly is a sight to see. 

The Maid in the Mist was definitely a highlight of our little trip.  The Falls are so powerful and beautiful.  I'm very happy that we were able to experience this with our Granddaughter, Gracelyn.  She did tell me that it was pretty cool after all and that she was just "Hangry" the night before. 

After a couple of other activities that were actually pretty lame we headed over to the Canada side of Niagara Falls for a different perspective.  I have to say that the Canada side does have a better view. 

and lit up at night was just beautiful.

 

Gracelyn had fun playing in the "C" of the Canada sign!

We had dinner at the Rain Forest Café on Saturday night.  Gracelyn enjoyed it...we enjoyed the atmosphere and loved that she had so much fun.  The food left little to be desired. 

Sunday we headed out early for our long trip home.  We decided to drive through Canada and Michigan on our way home.  On the way there we went through Ohio, Pennsylvania and Up State New York.  I have now officially seen all 5 Great Lakes.  Huron was the only one that I hadn't yet seen but that changed when we crossed the border from Canada into Michigan.

Back in the United States.  Home Sweet Home!  Decided to have lunch at a Big Boy in Michigan.  The food was good as I remember from years ago.  Its far and few between these days to find a Big Boy. 

June 2-4, 2017

Our little weekend trip to Niagara Falls comes to an end.  Hopefully we made memories of a lifetime for Gracelyn.  I know we made memories for Charlie and I for the rest of our lifetime.  Now I'm home planning the next getaway.  Can hardly wait!!

While on vacation Gracelyn made a bucket list.  She rattled off the first 6 destinations and then I had to start naming states.  She picked the ones that sounded good to her I guess.  She told me Hawaii next, Grammy!!  She dreams big....