Tubing with the Boys

Today my brother and nephews joined us on the Niagara River for a day of boating and tubing.  This was the kind of adventurer that justifies the boat, reinforces our decision to live in Buffalo and makes me realize just how lucky I am.

It started off a little rocky when we hit traffic on the 290.  As we are standing still, my brother called to say he needs gas.  Thankfully the fumes took him to the marina safely.

The sun was shining, the water was clear and the boys were ready to go.  Matty has obviously grown as a boat captain.  His ability to make waves, flip the kids and bring the tube airborne was impressive to say the least.  At one point, my nephew Gavin skipped across the water like a stone after being thrown from the tube.  Another time brought my other nephew Ethan under the water as he held onto the plummeting tube.  I think it may have even scared this adventurous and fearless daredevil.

The day become more adventurous when Captain Matty let Max take the helm and drive the boat.  All was going well until... we hit someone's wake and our novice driver accelerated instead of slowing down.  Capt. Matty was thrown from the front into the stairs and landed on his back like a turtle on his shell.  Gavin and Ethan were hanging on for dear life, Scott's jaw hit the deck and I screamed. Max recouped quickly but those 30 seconds felt like two hours.  Our captain suffered a few bruises, most obviously the bump of his leg that looks like another knee cap.  Max may need a little more practice.  He jumped back in though with one hand on the wheel, one on the window and cranked up the Ipod to bounce to the tunes.  Obviously he was not as frightened as his crew.

Max continued his learning as he experienced the strong river current.  We anchored the boat and the boys hung out on the tube.  Max fell from the tube and it seemed that he was being swept away.  After a few seconds he was several yards away.  He started swimming toward the tube, only to tire himself and get farther away.  The current had him, terror struck and we all jumped into action.  My brother Scott screamed to Gavin to hang on and to Max to stay where he was.  Scott was "man overboard lookout".  Ethan and I pulled up the anchor and Matty swung the boat around to get Max.  As he was drifting quickly toward the falls, we pulled him in and decided it may be time to go somewhere calmer.

We went to grass island and the boys swam to the shore while the adults relaxed in the sun. Atlas, everyone was getting tired and hungry.  It was 6:30 pm and time to head back.

I've spent a lot of time complaining to Matty about the cost of the boat, the effort to maintain it and the little time we are able to spend using it.  Those days are over.  The laughs from the boys and memories we made today are worth any dollar amount.

Max in red, Ethan in Front, Gavin on knee in back.

Just starting to take off!

Ring Pops and Silly Bands

When my husband and I had had our son we decided to move back to Buffalo, so that our child could experience the benefits of growing up with his extended family.  We never anticipated what an amazing experience it would be for us to grow old with our extended family, specifically our nieces and nephews.

The entire family was over on Sunday and the kids, true to form,  were wound up and crazy.  I had spent the better part of the week, cleaning the house, shopping for cocktails and cooking, cooking, cooking.  My husband, as usual, thought of the kids.  He is so good at that.  He makes sure there is always a special treat for the nieces and nephews.  It has gotten so that our little niece Helana calls him "Uncle Matty the Candy Man".  This party the treats included giant marshmallows, ring pops and silly bands.

The fun started with a conversation with the 5 year old Christel who informed me that she was using her play phone to call Noah.  When I asked if that was her boyfriend, she very sternly said " No Auntie Bonnie, I have a crush on him that does not make him my boyfriend".  Nice.

Next our dancer Avery came, still in her dance recital make up.  I was able to lift and spin her a little before she saw the eldest girl Cameron.  Everyone loves Cameron as she is the mother figure to all the girls. The boys Ethan and Gavin let me kiss their beautiful faces while they pretended to hate it.  It's the price they have to pay to get to play video games with our teenager.  I adore these guys.

Here is where it gets crazy.  My adorable little nieces (3 and 4) came in and were in fabulously talkative moods. The little ones Nathan, Helena and Sophia found our son's play lazer guns and decided to attack.  My brother had one on his leg, my husband battled with one on his arm and I was trapped in the kitchen.  We were all laughing and falling down being attacked by the toddlers.  I could not stop laughing.  The only way to stop them was to throw giant marshmallows at the little rebels.  So much for a clean house or a quiet evening - this was so much better.

The highlight came when my husband brought them all out to stand in line and bid for silly bands. The rationale of a 4 year old is incomparable. 20 minutes later they all had a bunch of bracelets and a bunch of ring pops.  We love sending the kids home jacked up on sugar.

I truly hope the kids remember these parties fondly.  As my son gets bigger, his cousins provide an excuse to act like a toddler.  The same excuse they provide to us adults.  Guess moving back to Buffalo was the right decision.  Thank you my sweeties!