Busy Back in Buffalo

Since we've been back in Buffalo we have sure been busy. Busy working & busy having a lot of fun! I love that Doug has been around all summer & that we've been able to do a lot of fun things together as a family. I apologize ahead of time that this post is going to be a long one.

First for the work. We spent a few days re-painting our garage door, porch ceiling, iron railings & shutters. It was a lot of work & we couldn't feel our finger tips after using a spray paint for that long. I think in fact that Doug is still missing some feeling in his pointer finger. Not good for a dentist! :) Gavin helped out a lot! He did pretty well at not getting into the paint too much, but how can a little boy resist right? I'm sad to say that I didn't take a single picture during this process. :( And that is exactly why we were painting too. To take photos of our home for when we put it on the market for next year. Oh well. Now onto the fun!

One night when it was just me & Gavin we decided to make some chocolate chip cookies. Gavin is very into helping these days so what better thing to help at right? :) His job was mainly dumping in the sugar & flour & turning on the mixer. He loved it! To this day he is constantly asking to sit on the counter. And when he spots the Kitchen Aid, he says, "Cookies!?!". Of coarse I think the best part of making cookies is eating the dough. As you can see from his face, he agrees!

So Regal Theatres have this Kids Summer Movie Days where every Tuesday & Wednesday they show 'G' & 'PG' movies for only $1.00. We have never taken Gavin to the movies before & thought this was the perfect chance to give it a try. We went with our friends Wayne, Rachel & their daughter Ragan. The kids had a blast! It was so weird being in the theater completely packed with children. It made the movie very amusing that's for sure. :) We saw 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'.

Gavin LOVED it! He did such a good job sitting in his seat & eating his popcorn & candy. Of coarse by the end he was completely pumped full of sugar & was a little wired.

We had fun & it was $1.00 well spent for each of us.

We've lived in Buffalo for 3 years now & there are still some places we haven't tried. TED'S Hot Dogs was one of those. There are always coupons in the paper & I've always wanted to try it, but really, spend money on a hot dog? Well we decided to finally give it a try. We liked them, but decided one time was enough.

As you can see by our attire, this was a last minute run to TED'S on one of the days we were painting the house. We figure it's a hot dog joint, how out of place can we be looking so white trash. :) Well after seeing this picture....WT indeed! I love that Gavin is wearing his tank top & cut off jeans which you can't see. And that Doug is stuffing the dog right in Gavin's mouth. :) We're quite the family!

Last year Doug was so busy studying for his boards that he never made it up to Crystal Beach. He made it perfectly clear that we were most definitely going this summer. Multiple times in fact. So one day our little family of 3 & a (1/2) packed up the car & drove to the beach.

Playing in the sand with Daddy!

We did a lot of swimming too. Gavin was quite the little fish. He couldn't get enough of the water. I'm sure it helped that the temperature was so pleasant. He practiced his kicking & paddling & did awesome! I wish I could have gotten some pictures while we were out in the water.

I don't think we've ever been just as us & I must say it was really nice. I love my boys & am so glad that we were able to spend some good quality family time together.

One morning the weather was a bit cooler so we decided to make it a zoo day. It's so nice having a membership & not feeling guilty for only staying an hour or so. Gavin loves the animals! I think his favorite this day was the elephants.

While we were there our friends the Evans' met up with us. Collin & Gavin are such cute little buddies. I love watching them together.

Riding the Merry-Go-Round. I got them to say 'Giddy up' & 'Yee-ha'. Too cute!

Me & my little monkey.