Enjoying Olcott

About a week ago we had a free Sunday with beautiful weather, so I packed up a picnic and we hit the road to Olcott! It is a great little town on the shore of Lake Ontario about 45min away. Nick and I had been there before and we knew the kids would love it. There is a huge park that overlooks the lake so we found a nice sunny spot and has a nice lunch. I packed our sweaters because I knew it would be windy and chilly right by the water, and I'm glad I did!

After that, we headed over to the awesome carousel park that was right by the park. It's free to get in and all of the rides are only a quarter each! They are all vintage restored kiddie rides from the 40s and 50s. We spent $1.50 and Brad got to ride all of the rides. He loved it, and Jacob liked watching all of the activity.

Dirty 30

Today is the day I turn 30! I have looked forward to this age. I see it as a new chapter; one where I'm taken more seriously. One where my achievements can shine thru and I don't have to feel like I'm constantly proving myself to the naysayers. One where the rat race of life is calming down, and I can start enjoying a routine of family and work balance.

I was always one to wish I was older. I was never content with being an adolescent and I can remember wishing I could just start on MY life. Well I did just that at age 16 and I haven't looked back since! I have never once regretted "wishing away" my childhood. Parts of it were good, but for the most part I've tried to forget it. My life took a positive turn at 11 when I met Nick and young love bloomed. At 14 I knew he was my soulmate, and at 16 we vowed to become one.

I can confidently say that I'm very happy with where I am in life at this point. I have followed my dreams and ambitions to the fullest despite being surrounded by those who discourage me at every turn. It seems that those who fear change in their own life will be those who try to undermine the choices I make for mine.

I've learned a lot in these 30 years, and I know there's more to learn every day. But I can also say that I've taught and tried to help many with what I've learned and done. I have a strong urge to keep people from making certain mistakes that I know how to prevent, but I know some people refuse to learn and just have to make their own mistakes. I'm still learning when to observe and when to intervene, but I've gotten better!

What advice would I give to a younger person just starting the journey into adulthood?

• Find a job that you love and that can grow with you
• When you meet your soulmate, don't let them get away
• Failure is NOT an option. You don't fail until you quit trying
• Tell the special people in your life that you love them. We are never guaranteed tomorrow
• Keep connected to those that enrich your spirit. It's easier said than done
• Adult friends are much different than childhood friends, even if it's the same person. People change--some for better and some not. Don't hold on to a hope of the good ole days. Sometimes you have to let go.
• Start your retirement savings early! Check it annually and adjust if able. The more you can contribute, the better.
• Make your health a priority! Eat right and stay active--you have to help yourself before you help others
• TRAVEL. I mean to other countries. It gets harder as you get older with more obligations so do it while you are young. Collect memories, not things. Material things are not that important when you are drinking champagne on a gondola in Venice.

OK guys, that's all I have for now! I'm spending the day just relaxing at home and enjoying my family. 

First Family Trip As New Yorkers

We took a break from unpacking and decided to enjoy the sunny day by taking the boys to Niagara Falls! We only live about 20min away so after lunch I packed the bag with diapers and cold drinks and we hit the road.

Nick and I have been there twice before but the boys had never seen the falls. The price for parking was crazy high because of some random marathon they were setting up for.... And being cheap frugal I refused to pay $20 just for parking (it's normally only $5), so we drove around and found FREE 2hr parking a few blocks away!

At one of the points right in between the falls we got sprayed with the mist! It had an awesome view of the falls looking down and cooled us off. My dad got me an amazing new camera for an early birthday present before we moved, and this was my first time to try it out. It's very fancy, and waterproof!

The boys loved it, and all the walking wore them out. We couldn't cross the bridge to Canada because they don't have passports but there are lots of other neat things to see and do next time we go. Not bad for a free excursion!

We Made It!

Home sweet home! We arrived Monday afternoon in the town of Tonawanda, NY and our landlord met us with keys in hand! Our trip was for the most part uneventful, if you call driving 1200 miles with two vehicles, two kids, and a cat uneventful!

Here are some pics of around the house:

It's about 1300sqft on a culdesac in a beautiful neighborhood. It is a duplex, and the landlord lives right next door. He has taken excellent care of the house. It has three bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a basement, and a garage. The landlord does all yard work AND snow removal!!

It was a huge undertaking to load our house up into this 22ft truck. We sold a few things that we didn't want to take or couldn't use at the new place. Nick drove the truck with the cat, and I drove my car with the boys. We closed on our Norman house on Friday. Brad stayed with my mom Friday night while we 3 stayed in a hotel. We had one last dinner with family at our favorite diner and it was delicious!

Saturday morning we ate breakfast at the hotel, grabbed Bradley from my mom and hit the road! We drive about 9-10hr that day to our first stop in St. Louis, MO. After a little sleep we headed out the next day for the long stretch that ended up taking about 12 hours due to mountains, road work, and rain. We arrived exhausted to our last hotel outside of Cleveland, OH and got to bed about midnight.

Both vehicles ran great, the kids did OK, the cat survived, nothing broke or got stolen, and we are still married so I would say it was a success!!

This move was by far the most stressful, complicated thing that I've ever done. There was nothing fun or vacation-like about it. It was exciting though, and very exhilarating when we pulled up to the house and got the keys! We were both thinking the same thing--we made it!!

We had to get a few things pretty quickly when we got here. We bought a new black couch, a pantry cabinet, and a TV stand. Now once we get these boxes out of the way, maybe we can enjoy the new space!

Early Celebration

Today we had an early birthday party for Bradley at the park so that our family could celebrate with him before we left. His birthday isn't until the end of next month, so we'll do something special with him then too!

It was super casual--just pizza and cupcakes. He invited 4 friends from his class but none of them showed up... Thankfully all of my family came! Brad had a fun time playing and enjoying his presents.

His main present from us was a new bike!! He will be able to grow into it and ride it for many years. My dad got him a new helmet, so he was ready to go!

Of course Jacob had fun eating pizza and grass while toddling around.