Last Weekend (2019 Summer Trip Part 4)

Once we got back from the Airbnb we had a few days before we left for home.  We were able to spend more time with my cousins and their kids.  They shared their slip-n-slide with us and the kids played in the water table.

We went to the movie theater and saw Toy Story 4 with Larissa, Rusty and their kids.  

Sunday we went to church with them again, played in the rain, and went on a Sunday walk with a million strollers.  We also celebrated Larissa and Rockwell's birthdays early so that we could celebrate them together.  Rockwell's first cake experience started out rough when he burned his hand on the candle, but in the end Rockwell LOVED his cake  It was the cutest/messiest thing ever.  

Monday was our last full day on our trip and we decided to go to the Rhode Island zoo.  My kids really miss the zoo that we used to live by in Idaho so this was a special treat to be able to visit the animals.  It was especially cool because they had Elephants there and they were awesome.  We also let the kids pick out a toy at the gift shop at their "souvenir" from the trip and they were in heaven being able to buy their own toy.

What a trip! it was a joy to spend so much time together as a family and so much time with my family.  We all really enjoy being together and are so grateful to my parents who are wonderful event planners.  They made all of our adventures fun and well planned.  Thank you thank you mom and dad for this awesome trip!!

The Barn, Brooklyn, and the Beach (2019 Summer Trip Part 3)

After a weekend spending time with extended family, we headed to a Airbnb for a week.  We lucked out and found this beautiful 100+ year old barn that had been transformed into a 3 story home.  The couple who owned the home had raised their kids there and now they rent it out to vacationers.  The home was located in Brooklyn, CT.  It was plenty big for all of us to stay there together and I LOVED being able to stay in a very new England type home that was filled with character and charm.

The first day there we got settled and celebrated our sweet niece, Afton's 2nd birthday.  

Day #2 there we headed out on our biggest adventure of the whole trip.  We took 11 kids and 4 strollers to New York.  First stop was the Statue of Liberty.  That morning we had to wake up and be out the door by 5 am to get to the ferry by 9 am.  We left at the right time, but with traffic and everything we were running behind schedule.  We ended up splitting up the caravan of cars and it turned into a race against time to see which route was the fastest.  This was McKay's second favorite part of the trip (first one was the beach).  He loved  driving around the streets of Connecticut and New York with our brother in law Stu.  There was only one really close call that I had to close my eyes and pray that we wouldn't get in a crash so I would consider it a success.... a very stressful 3 hr trip success. haha!  Thankfully we made it and had a wonderful time at the statue of liberty.  

Taking our 5 kids to the Statue of liberty was truly a dream come true for me.  I still remember going to the statue of liberty when I was a kid and I hope a few of my kids can remember this adventure as well.  The ferry ride over to the island was pretty magical with the wind in our hair and the beautiful views of Manhattan in the morning.  Once we got to the island we climbed the stairs to the balcony and took in the views.  One of the things I remember most about the statue of liberty was hiking up all the stairs to the crown.  This time we didn't go all the way to the crown, but I still made sure we took the stairs instead of the elevator just to reminisce.  I loved hearing the kids comments about the experience and they were well behaved in the statue.  After going up the statue we took a very hot and muggy lunch break and then headed back to our cars for the next part of our adventure.  

Next up... Downtown New York.  Our main goal of going downtown was to see the 9/11 memorial.  And honestly this event ended up being my least favorite of the trip.  Not because the memorial was not cool, but it just wasn't a great place to take 5 kids.  They were tired after a fun yet early morning and they were restless.  I was stressed because it was super crowded and I was nervous that we might loose someone.  So in the end I felt like we couldn't fully enjoy the memorial.  But thankfully we all made it home safe and for now I am grateful to not live in a busy city with my large crew of kiddos.

Back at the Airbnb we were ready for some down time.  We spent the next 2 days relaxing at the Airbnb and visiting little sights around the area.  We did A LOT of swimming (The Airbnb had a pool).  McKay, Addie, and Jensen spent a whole day in the pool.  We played games, watched movies, and watched babies play together.  

We took a little visit to the University of Connecticut.  We had some ice cream at their dairy bar and even got to see the local cows there.  We walked around campus a bit and checked out their book store.  We have cheered on UCONN basketball for years since our cousins have lived there so it was fun to see it in person.  

Friday was check out day so we packed up and headed to Rhode Island to visit the beach.  This was my kids first time at the ocean and beach and I was super thrilled for the them.  What a fun day this turned out to be.  We all loved the ocean and the weather was just perfect.  The waves were not too big which helped calm this mother's worrying mind about a child being swept off by a wave.  We played in the sand, we ate yummy food, we did some boogie boarding, and we found the cutest baby sea turtle. 

We left just as the sun was starting to set and all the kids crashed hard on the way home.  So so grateful for these sweeet and special memories with our kids and family.

Once we left the Airbnb we headed back to my cousin's house to finish out the rest of our trip.