New York

We made it to NY late Thursday without any problems. We flew into Rochester and Friday morning my parents came to pick us up to go to Niagara Falls. We drove to the Canadian side and had a great time. We bought the Adventure Pass that had 4 different things to do. We started with Niagara's Fury. It was a 4D movie that told the history of the falls and spit water and "snow" on us. The platform we stood on moved and shook. It was pretty cool. Then we did Journey Behind the Falls. You go down in an elevator and are actually walking behind the horseshoe falls. There was also a platform right on the edge of the falls where you can see the falls from the bottom. After that we walked up to Clifton Hill which is where all the tourist shops and food are. We had lunch and played mini golf. It was a Dinosaur theme. It was a pretty close game :-) We walked back down and rode Maid of the Mist. It doesn't seem like you would be able to see much when you get so close to the falls, but you could really see the whole falls through the mist. It was awesome! After Maid we took the People Mover (we all loved the name of the public transport hehe) to the Whitewater Walk. We got to walk right up close to some class 6 rapids. It told of all the people and rafting companies who have tried to go down. None of the trips turned out to be a success and now no one is allowed on the river. Despite the cloudy day we still got sun and it didn't rain. We also got to see a rainbow over the falls right before we left.

Saturday was the Pig Roast. Our family has an annual Pig Roast every year. It was the 8th year this year. It was a gorgeous day! Lots of food, family, and friends. There was a band and Dad did a great job with the fireworks as always. Jason has helped with the fireworks for the past two years.
Sunday we just relaxed and played some family games :-) Heather, Julie, Jason and I even played a basketball game of around the world. Lets just say I wasn't even close to coming 1st haha.
Monday I drove Jason back to Rochester to head back to Idaho. I told him to take good care of the kitties hehe. I'm staying in NY for my grandparents 60th anniversary party on Saturday and will be heading back to Idaho a week from today (next Tues).

Before we left for NY we got quite a few cherries off our tree. I think there are 6 or 7 quarts in the freezer. I made a cherry and almond cake which was very good. I will have to think of more cherry things to make. Next year Jason wants to plant tomatoes and jalapenos.
Can't believe summer has gone so fast!

Our cherry tree

one of the bowls of cherries we picked

First adventure in Niagara Falls. It told the history of the falls.

Mom and Dad ready to go!

Jason with his awesome Adventure Pass

One of the portals behind the falls. 

Jason on the observation deck at the bottom of the falls. We got pretty wet

Me and Jason on the upper observation deck

Top of the horseshoe falls

Dad, Jason, and Mom near the falls

American Falls

Canadian horseshoe falls

pretty flowers

Jason taking a swing

we were all so close

Mom and the dino

Jason and the baby dino

Ready for Maid of the Mist

we survived!

Mom and Dad on the Maid

Me in front of the  class 6 rapids

And Jason near the rapids. (not sure if his eyes are open)

It was crazy how big the swells got

end of the day rainbow over the falls

Mom and the aunts dancing with the band at the pig roast

some hardcore volleyball playing

the pig before we cut it

oink oink

Jason loves pig

Having fun!

More dancing and tambourine playing

the end of the night sparklers... haha

Concert and California

We have been busy as usual over the past couple weeks. On the 10th we went to Salt Lake to see the Kenny Chesney concert. It was a lot of fun and it was a nice night. Much cooler than all those concerts in Raleigh haha. We stayed the night and drove back to Idaho Falls Sunday. We tried to relax a little and pack for California. We left very early Monday morning for San Francisco. We stayed in Livermore, CA and spent Monday hanging out with Jason's Grandma and visiting a few wineries in the area. Tuesday we spent the day in San Francisco. It was a great day! We rode the Bart into San Fran and then took the cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf. We saw the piers and went on a bay cruise which was fun. We got to see most of the bridge, only the very top was still in fog. Jason got clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl from a street vendor which made him super happy haha. The sourdough was very tasty as usual. We also got to have some Irish coffee at Buena Vista and after we walked around Ghirardelli Square and got some good ice cream. We walked through china town and to north beach for some good Italian food for dinner. Wednesday we went to muir woods to see some redwoods. It was a nice day and we walked a couple miles through the trees. We also stopped by a beach and walked in the very cold pacific ocean for a short time. Then we took the long way back around the top of the bay and met our friend Becca for dinner. She is living in CA for a few months and it was great to see her!!  Thursday we drove to Bass Pro Shop since Jason has been feeling deprived because there isn't one in Idaho. We got some new hiking stuff :-) Thursday night I got to meet Jason's aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was a fun and relaxing time. Friday we got ready to head back to Idaho. We made it back early Sat morning and then spent the day helping one of our friends here pack for her move to CA. 

We were able to get some more strawberries from our "garden" and I made a strawberry pie yesterday. Our cherries are starting to ripen so we will have to find some good recipes for those. It has been pretty warm here 90s during the day, but its nice that it cools off at night so we can still open the windows. 

Not much else has been going on. The kitties are happy we are home for a bit. We will be heading to NY next Thursday. Hope all is well with everyone. 

Here are some pictures:

So happy to be at the Kenny concert

Looks like its going to be a good time

Woo hoo Kenny. 

The view from where we sat at the concert

Some grapes

Me at one of the wineries in Livermore

more grapes

Jason after a tasting at concannon

union square

the cable car we rode. 

two lone sea lions. They migrate this time of year so there weren't too many.

Alcatraz

Windy street we walked to the bottom.

Jason in all his glory with his clam chowder

our Irish coffees. Yum!

our cruise ship

we sat in the very front until it got too windy. We got audio sets for the cruise. 

The golden gate in the fog

me trying to hang on to everything. It was very very windy

San Francisco from the water.

China town

Me with a statue in chinatown

our yummy appetizer at dinner 

restaurant we ate at in San Fran

before Muir woods we drove over the golden gate bridge and walked halfway across

The beach we stopped at.

Redwoods

He was trying to get in the tree haha

Jason touching the water. I don't know how those people were swimming burrrr

a grass fire we saw driving back from Bass Pro Shop

The one and only Bass Pro Shop.