O Canada - Day Four - Toronto Zoo

After a few days on the road and lots of sightseeing we made our fourth day an easy one. Our hotel was located about 10 minutes from the Toronto Zoo.

Day Four:
- Toronto Zoo
    - Animals
    - Splashpad

- Head back to the hotel for swimming and night in

O Canada - Day Three - Niagara Falls

***Picture Heavy Post***

Our plans for our third day on our road trip were centered around Niagara Falls and then eventually heading over the border to Canada.

Day Three:

- Niagara Falls State Park
     - Maid of the Mist/Observation Tower
     - Picnic Lunch
     - Aquarium of Niagara
     - Discovery Gorge
     - The Cave of the Winds

-Cross US/Canadian Border via Rainbow Bridge

- Canadian Side of Niagara Falls
     - Dinner
     - Skywheel

- Drive to hotel in Scarborough, ON

 

O Canada - Day Two - Darien Lake Fun!

 Day Two:
- Darien Lake Amusement Park

O' Canada! - Day One - On Our Way!

We took our first international trip as a family to wrap up our summer. Final Destination was Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Day One:
-Leave home & drive to Ithaca, NY.
-Swimming &  Lunch at Robert H. Treman State Park
-If time allows visits to Cornell etc.
-Drive to hotel in Niagara Falls.

A lil Mad Hatter Tea

Leah wanted to have a small tea party for her birthday this year. She picked out pink and black as her theme colors and left the rest to me. Leah loves Alice in Wonderland and especially the Mad Hatter.

 

Happy 8th Birthday!

So here we are, 8 years later. 8! 8 years ago our little girl was born and made us a family.

Leah at 8...is precocious, funny, obnoxious--unabashedly so--, lovable, stubborn, strong willed and sweet. She's quirky and a self affirmed nerd. She has a huge heart and her feelings are hurt easily but she bounces back just as easily. She wears her heart on her sleeve and often asks me if I feel she is too soft. While the overly emo moments can be a lot for one to handle all the time? I wouldn't have her any other way. She is who she is and is a wonderful person because of her big heart and how much she cares, how strongly she feels. This also means that she has a short temper and is easily set off. We're working on it.

Leah marches to her own drummer. She has made an effort at times to conform to society's standard of what a young girl is 'supposed' to be like but it only made her miserable. Leah is a girl who will throw on a purple and zebra stripe dress with mismatched socks and dig around outside with her brothers for worms. She wanted purple hair and when it washed out? She fell in love with the blonde and insisted on keeping it that way. I try to support her individuality and her choices to be who she is, and how she expresses herself.

She has big dreams of one day being an artist, a mother (sometimes), a scientist who will make a machine to make us all live forever because she cannot fathom a world without her loved ones in it---or for others so they can always have their loved ones with them.

She loves nature. Throw her in the woods and she'll be happy for days.

Leah - 6 years old - Lake George - August  2010

Leah - 7 years old - USDAN 2012

She has an amazing relationship with her brothers. I try to be a gentle parent but I can stand to learn a thing or two about patience from Leah. I don't think the boys could have a better big sister. She wished for them and told me just the other day they are the best birthday and Christmas presents she's ever gotten. The boys are pretty lucky to have her as their sister.

Leah is often happy and sullen all at once. She sometimes worries so much that she carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. Yet she dances and she dances all the time. It is the best way for her to let loose and drop some of that worrywart weight of hers.

I couldn't be more proud of our oldest. She is already a great little person and I cannot wait to see what she does with herself in the future. All I know is that we'll be there every step of the way helping her grow, supporting her. Working hard to give her the opportunities in life she deserves to grow into the amazing young woman she will be someday.

There is a quote that is popular and I see everywhere. Every time I see it I think "that just screams Leah".

“Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth.” 

Leah- 4 years old - Disney October 2008

Dress Up Time

Leah wanted to dress up in her comp outfits and play dress up. Her dye washed out and she asked to leave it this way. I'm not the biggest fan because it looks a bit too mature for me BUT it is her hair. All good by me. She pulled off some gorgeous shots.

One of a Kind

Just got this great upcycled newsboy cap for Leah via Homesewn by Kelly Hogaboom. I've been adding pieces to her wardrobe over time, one of a kind pieces. Just like Leah, one of a kind.

She loves the hat.

Pretty Purple Girl

Leah loves wearing dresses and being so physically active she doesn't wear them as much as she'd like. Today she was happy to wear a cute maxi dress.

Getting a Lil Manic Panic'd

Leah has been bugging me and asking to dye her hair purple for 3 years. Every year I've told her "maybe in the Summer" but the Summer would come around and we'd never get around to it. I promised her once it was the last week of school I'd do it for her.

I struggled quite a bit with the decision. I spoke to other friends, including two top of the line Vidal Sassoon colorists (one does Dakota Fanning's hair and other celeb kids) about it and at the end of the day I decided that it Leah's hair and she could do what she wants with it. Her stake in her own individuality is more important to me than what others may deem as appropriate for a 7 year old.

Hair at the end of the day is a decoration and as such she can choose what to do with it. My only guidelines were that she had to take care of it and that it would only be for the Summer. In elementary school hair colors can be a bit too much of a distraction for some kids.  It was just like her ear piercings. I refused to take her until she wanted to have it done and was willing to care for them on her own.

In order to get the purple she wanted I knew we'd have to lighten her hair, after some research on what the best natural alternative would be we settled on a plan of action. She wanted just the front of her hair done so we lightened the front. Followed by an application of Manic Panic Purple Haze. Manic Panic is a great choice for anyone who wants some alarmingly unnatural colors. It is gentle on the hair as it is a vegetable based dye (Vegan too!) and it is a conditioner. It stains the hair, is semi-permanent and on hair like Leah's? It washes out very quickly. She will be swimming every day at camp so it won't be long before it's gone and I'll have to retouch it.  I've been using it for years (since childhood) and considering all the comments I get about how vibrant and shiny my hair is? I felt confident that her hair would be fine afterward and that her health would not be adversely affected.

She absolutely loves it and I do love that she shares my love for the quirky and fun colored hair. It suits her.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We celebrated Matt's birthday today at Red Robin.

Leah wearing one of her newest fave t-shirts. She LOVES Big Bang Theory. After Jeopardy we usually watch the syndicated episodes on Fox 5 at 7:30 pm.

This is her 'Sheldon' Face.

Leah & Baby G

Kiddie Pools for All

It was a hot one today. I was filling up the kiddie pool for the boys. It is very small and ideally for a baby to splash in. I use it for big bubble play but the kids wanted to sit in it to cool off. It worked. Even if it is a bit on the silly side.

Beach Season Begins

It is Memorial Day weekend and we did what 90% of people out here do is head to the beach.

The TOBAY sprinkler park opened up this weekend. The kids couldn't wait to play. I could go on for paragraphs about how much I love this park. It has something for everyone and makes it easy to have all three kids in one place. It can become a bit hectic when it is busy but it's still great.

Water Table Play- Good for Big Kids too!

We finally got around to picking up a water table for the kids. The weather has been unseasonably warm so it has turned out to be the perfect activity for the kids. It isn't always easy to find something they can all do together without getting in one another's way. All three of them enjoy it, even Leah.

Recital Weekend 2012

After a fun competition season Leah rounded out the year with a weekend full of recitals. 3 shows in 2 days. She had a great time and did beautifully. The dance teams are a great group of young ladies who are positive and work hard. They help one another out and have fun too.

Leah's tap routine outfit. 

 Behind the scenes in the dressing room getting ready for the big production number that kicks off the show.

Mother's Day 2012

The three beautiful reasons I can celebrate on Mother's Day <3

Bailey Arboretum

There are so many places out here on Long Island that we have yet to visit. I have a growing list of things I'd like to do and fortunately the kids are totally up for it. Today we headed out to the Bailey Arboretum. It is a beautiful place, easy to walk trails. Plenty of picnic areas. They have some nice gardening, as well as perfect photo ops. The Children's Habitat leaves open a lot of creativity for the kids. They also a wildlilfe group that helps rescue and care for birds on Long Island.

We had a great visit and will be back soon. If you are out on Long Island and looking for some place to visit on the North Shore? Good place right here.

If there is a critter to be found? Chances are Leah has her hands on it.

Leah took some photos. She played around with the macro lens.

  

Muah!

Leah doing some last minute stretches before the dance team heads out to perform.

Play and Bugs

We went to Eisenhower Park again. Unfortunately their great new playground was having some work done but we still had a great time. They have a couple of playgrounds so we headed over to one to play for a while.

Leah and Louis looked for grubs in the trees. They managed to find some pretty decently sized ones.