Keeping up with the Manssons: Beautiful Brennan's

Yeah for fireworks

Brennan's really started to fill up with kiddos towards the end of June (once the NY schools were out). Henry and Jillian had so much fun playing with all the kids. It also gave me a little break as I had other parents who were willing to watch them for a while...and the Grand Aunties came up. The weather also got nicer. Warmer days, warmer lakes...but it was still VERY windy. Much different than the cold and lonely June. Plus Andrew was able to come up and enjoy the lake for a week. It was really nice to have him up there with us.

Our 4th of July cart

Before he made it up, we celebrated 4th of July at the lake and it was crazy. It was SO busy, but the fireworks were AMAZING. My kids loved that they were able to sit on the beach, right under the fireworks and watch them. It was extremely loud, but they didn't seem to mind. Especially because all the kids were together. The weather was also not so cooperative as the actual 4th of July was WAY too windy for fireworks, so everyone had to do them on Sunday night. This also cut down on how many nights the festivities occurred. Me and the kids got into the spirit by decorating our golf cart and participating in the Golf Cart parade...I know...It sound absolutely ridiculous...but when at Brennan's.

The rest of July was pretty much spent at the beach. Most of June was spent at the park because the weather was cold and blustery, but towards the end of June and into July the weather was lovely. Perfect beach sitting weather.

Henry did the big climber all by himself...brave boy

I also promised Henry that we would go to Wonderworks. He has been asking to go ALL summer, but it just didn't work out. We actually went there the day we dropped Grandma off in June, but they didn't open for another 2 hours. So, it just so happened that I found a Groupon and we were able to go for the day for not too expensive. It was hard because the weather had improved so much that we didn't want to spend the day away. Next year, I will definitely make this a priority in June...when it is cold and windy. Henry made the most of his day there. He did the Virtual Reality roller coaster with a TON of flips, plus he did the gyroball. He actually did it twice because he liked it so much. He also did the giant 3 story climber...all by himself. Jillian didn't want to do it. The only thing this girl is scared of is heights. I am also not too fond of it either. So, she stuck to the mini-climber which Henry was stories above us. Could have given me a heart attack. He made it a point to cross every 'hard' one...like the tight rope with nothing to hang onto. So Brave.

It was very bitter sweet when Andrew actually arrived. I was so happy to see him and have him with us, but it meant that our wonderful beach vacation was coming to an end. Andrew and I were able to go out for a night on the town and we stayed in Syracuse. We ate at a great restaurant called Pastabilities and went out afterwards and tried a brewery. On the drive home, we took a slightly longer route because we were invited to stay with friends on the way home. Our first night, we stayed with one of my college friends and her family. The second night we stayed with Andrew's best man and his family. It was great becasue they all have kids around the age of our kids. So instead of stopping during the day to play we drove and then the kids would play at night and in the morning before we left. The only stop we did make was in Buffalo at the Billy Beez, because I had promised the kiddos that we would go there and we didn't make it. The drive home was long, but it was worth it. This summer was so perfect, I didn't want it to end. While I am not necessarily looking forward to having to drive across the country again, I am looking forward to going back next year. Being able to be away from the hustle of everyday life and enjoy spending time outside with my kids is something that I never will forget. I hope they will always remember it too.