July Folksmarch,Destiny Mall, Tarrot reading and POOL FUN.

On Saturday July 13th morning Kelly and I took the opportunity to walk at the July Folksmarch, as my guest she was FREE. The walk was held in Pennellville this month at the Fire Station.

It was an incredibly humid day, but a pleasant walk. I did however suffer from my lower back pains and we did not complete the whole three mile hike. ( I have been instructed to have this checked out immediately....I concur I will be told to simply LOOSE WEIGHT, but have also looked into scheduling a medical appointment).

The walk was nice just the same and there were many pretty sights along the way.

I lost my camera lens cap along the way and we had to walk back to find it. We found it.

Considering that my hubby was watching the boys back at the house, I didn't take her to find a local place for lunch like traditionally we have done on our Folksmarch. I am hoping once people's lives settle down with summer vacations etc. that the Folksmarch crew can get back into the swing of things. I gotta get my butt in shape too!

Joseph had hoped to go to Destiny Mall as he has not seen it since he was a little kid we made plans to go.We anticipated Katie (Kelly's younger sister to join us for the day, but she refused to go to the mall) The three of us went and hubby kept the little guys.

It was neat to see Joe's reaction to the mall. Sometimes you need new eyes to appreciate the things we take for granted. Joe is a FRAT boy and his style of dress is in my opinion so much like the 1980's "prep". We went into a store filled with pastels, plaids, and flashback to the IZOD style shirts, only these had sheep held up by a balloon. (Brooks Brothers I believe). I made fun of the styles and decided that there was no way I would wear a long crew shirt dress and call it a fashionable outfit EVER.  Then I looked at the price and definitely would NEVER EVER! Joe had to buy some pastel colored shirt, which I poked fun at him about, and we made our way to a few more stores before we decided that we would get lunch and head home.

We had lunch at Gordon Biersch's (I had thought I had a $10- credit on my G&B card from the last time we all ate here in March for the Folksmarch, but when we checked out it was not there....Damn I hate that!) Anyways I enjoyed a nice salad, and the company just the same and Joe got his last glimpse of a mall he remembered only by the Carousel.

Once back at the house, Katie and her son Devon finally arrived, we enjoyed the pool, video games, and the girls and Joe (Renee also came down) spent the evening examining our future through the tarot.

Years ago my friend Karin and I took a non-credit course on tarot card reading, and after discussing our own experiences with psychics (We had discussed attending the Psychic Fair that was going on earlier that day, but we never made it to.) I was asked to preform some readings. I insisted that I had forgotten all of the information and that I no longer had my "cheat" sheets, but apparently you can get card interpretations on the web. All of us had a reading and ALL of the outcomes were RIGHT ON with the person. Strange how that seems to work out that way. It was an enjoyable day and I am enjoying my friend's visit from Florida.

Sundays plans are to BE LAZY and swim in the pool!

Sunday we all went swimming, had a cook out on the grill and simply enjoyed a full filled day with good friends. Kelly and Katie planed to return to Auburn (Her hometown) and we were to all meet up on Tuesday for Kiddy fun at the Mall (free kids stuff, a magician and $1- movies...plans changed and we never did get together on Tuesday.)

We enjoyed that Sunday just the same despite my son having an emergency ear problem, that we still are unsure about. He went to the Dr.'s on Monday due continued problems and there does not appear to be any damage, but he reports being deaf in one ear. He has been scheduled for a follow up hearing test and ear/nose throat specialist.

Here are pictures of the better times of the day.

Much fun was had!

Florida comes to visit.

My bestie Kelly was expected to be in town on Sunday, but Friday July 12th morning I got a call from her stating she was here and was looking to get together. Having just gotten back from vacation the day prior, I was drowning in "things to do", but we coordinated some times to meet and she stayed with us until Sunday night. We have plans to get together again on Tuesday.

Here are all of our kids together. (minus Ben). My older two Nick and Lex grew up with her eldest Joseph when she was living in the area. Kelly and I are like family and we met when we worked together for the state when we were about the ages of our older kids in this picture. She and I have been through so much together. Bachelorette days, men troubles, parenthood, single motherhood, new jobs, moves, family troubles, marriages, divorces, and anything in between. She and I have been each others rock through all of our young adulthood, and we have continued to be close (even though she moved to Florida about 9 years ago). She is one of those friends that no matter what you know she "gets you" and you can count on!

Having her come to visit and getting our children together was a great treat. It just so happened that July 12th was my daughters 18th birthday so we were able to do some celebrating as well.

 happy birthday to my beautiful little girl. Below is a picture of my daughter, me and Kelly.

We enjoyed ice cream cake, got caught up, the boys went swimming and then we took a quick trip to the SPCA.

 

 Before we had gone on vacation, Gavin and my husband had discussed the prospect of getting another dog. My son was very convincing, and it was decided that we would contact a breeder to look into getting a Husky puppy. The first breeder my husband had spoke to said he would not sell us a puppy because we already have a dog, so to cheer up my son, and hope that we could possibly find one he might fall in love with, we took a trip to the local pound.

These guys were super cute, most of the dogs were Pitt-Bulls or Boxers (MY LEAST FAVORITE DOGS EVER), but there were some cute ones that were not these breads.

We even found some puppies. I have no idea what breeds they were, but their little old men faces were adorable. One of them couldn't use their back legs. I asked and was given little information, but apparently she was born without the use of them. It made me so sad!

 

 We took some time to say hello to the kitty's. We cannot have them, hubby is allergic.

With NO love at first sight made at the SPCA, we headed back home to prepare for an evening of fun by the pool.

The boys had fun in the pool, while us adults enjoyed some adult only beverages. Tami, Renee, Carol and Kelly and I tried some new pink lemonade drinks called Kinky and consumed way to much alcohol, but had lots of fun in the process.

My oldest son, Nick and Kelly's oldest Joseph kept their crazy mothers in line and enjoyed the remember whens of their youth when Kelly and I would take them all over the place, and other crazy antics.

The night reminded me of why I do NOT drink so much! We all got a little NUTZS! but it was lots of fun. Thinking I will be taking a hiatus from the alcohol for a while. WOW! 

Summer Vacation Part VIII: Breakfast with Bubbe and home here we come.

The very last day of our Summer Family vacation July 11th we had breakfast at the Silo in the Lake George area with Bubbe. This place is DELICIOUS and they also have a small Adirondack style gift shop. We all ate a yummy breakfast and headed towards our Liverpool home ready but NOT to soon for our next big adventure! Thanks for coming on the ride!

Summer Family Vacation Part VII: Homeward bound Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory and the Vermont Hills.

Homeward bound on Wednesday July 10th, we set off towards Vermont for a visit to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory as a side trip before we got back to Mark's mothers house in the Lake George area.

 

We drove through Maine, and into New Hampshire and the White Mountain region, which was absolutely beautiful. As we rode along I continued to search for moose in the woods, and eagerly anticipated any moose crossing road signs along the way.

I caught a few mountain ranges with the morning steam rising off them. We talked about ascending White Mountain, but decided against it and hurry along to Waterbury VT.

We made one last stop in New Hampshire at a visitor center (something, I forgot the name reservoir pictured above), and guess what I finally got to see my MOOSE.

Okay, so he was stuffed. What can I say, I did look for one of these guys. Glad at least I got to see one that wasn't made of plastic, pictured on a shirt or hat, a cartoon or made of cement.

On to Vermont, we past through the capital of Montpelier, and made our way to Ben and Jerry's!

Vermont's state capitol.

 WE FOUND IT! Ben and Jerry's

 I had wanted to visit Ben and Jerry's for years after I found out it was only (on the map anyways) a jump, skip and a hop away from Mark's mom's house. Of course it is much father then it seems, and I never made it, but since it was on the way (sort of) we had to stop and get a glimpse of where one of our favorite ice creams come from.

 

I was actually surprised to see how touristy the place was, as well as how crowded. They must get tons of visitors. We decided that we would take the $4- factory tour,(kids FREE) but first we had to make a visit to the flavor grave yard.

We checked out the headstones of the "buried" former flavors enjoying the comments on the stones. I never had PB and J ice cream, but I can see why it only survived a few years. Yuck!

 Rainforest crunch was not buried because of a dislike of consumers, but rather the nut factory they had been purchasing for the ice cream went out of business. I don't recall ever eating the stuff, but I know it had been a hit, I also recall, the proceeds went to help the rainforest.

Another flavor I never ate, but certainly one with a name you don't forget.

Oh my! For being on the shelves for so long time, this was the first time I had heard of Turtle Soup.

 

 

This is a view of the factory from the flavor graveyard.

After exploring the graves, we headed back to the factory for our 12pm tour.

 The current flavors.

 Check out the ice cream scoop door handle. First stop on the tour, "cow over the moon theater" where we were entertained with a brief history of the Ben and Jerry company.

"Soooo, after splitting the cost of a $5 correspondence course on ice cream-making from Penn State University, they combined their $8000 life savings with a $4000 bank loan, leased an old gas station building in Burlington, Vermont, and opened for business on May 5, 1978.

Using an old-fashioned ice cream freezer, they began churning out all the rich & creamy, fun & chunky ice cream flavors they’d always dreamed about, flavors loaded with all their favorite chunks of fruits, nuts, candies, and cookies.

Soon there were long lines stretching out the door of the old gas station, as more and more folks clamored for a taste of Ben & Jerry's flavor creations.

Their ice cream was such a hit, it wasn’t long before they began selling it to local restaurants, then grocery stores and supermarkets throughout Vermont and beyond. Way beyond.

And the rest, as they say, is history. (Or, as we say, it’s a long, strange dip, most of which just won’t fit on this page!)"  I took this directly from the Ben and Jerry website.

What they failed to mention and what possibly got the company "on the map" so to speak, was after a low in sales they decided to tour the country giving away their ice cream in a hippie Volkswagen van after the tour and on their way back to Vermont the van blew up. The story caught national news and the sensation began.

NO PICTURES ALLOWED in the actual factory area. I suspect it has nothing to do with secret formulas, but more out of respect for the employers since it is an actual working factory. The claim is employee's get 2 pints of ice cream a day. Now that's an employee incentive.

Exit the factory into the best part, the Tasting room. Todays flavor; cookies and milk.

What a nice way to end any tour! Yum
After the tour we took in the gift shop, the boys got ice cream; Chocolate Chip Cookie dough and my favorite Phish Food.  Then it was back on the road, only about another 2 hours to NY and Bubbe's.

I continued to get pictures out the window on the way home, and Mark even stopped at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory so I could get in a quick visit. The boys refused to come in with me, it really isn't their thing. The Teddy Bear Factory is very close to Ben and Jerry's so if you are in the area I recommend both. I didn't take the Teddy Bear Factory tour, and I actually spent the most time in the rest room while I was there, but if you love these cuddly creatures, you'll love this place. I got a few pictures, (took a look at the price of an actual Vermont teddy bear....OMG!!!!) and meet back up with my family.

 The factory had several fun activities for kids, things like creating your own bear, dressing them, parties etc. The actual factory tour might have been interesting, but knowing my family was waiting in the rain for me got me on my way out the door.

On the way back to NY I caught these funny guys on the side of the road.

They seemed to be everywhere. I tried to find some information about them online with no luck. Perhaps this is just fun to do. There were just so many and in several different locations along the road I thought it was some sort of contest or something. If anyone knows...please comment, I' nosey.
There were so many strange road side attractions along the ride home, I wish I could have been faster at getting the shots. In one town there was a giant metal reproduction of The Predictor and a store sign vacuuming up a man, only his legs were exposed. I did catch this guy....talk about some thing you don't see in the pasture on a regular basis.

CAN YOU SEE HIM??????  Yep! Its a camel. Of course Mark had to quote the "hump Day" commercial. We all laughed as it was a Wednesday. I could have easily just stopped and took pictures of the things along the way, but NY was just over the bend, and we were all ready for home.