There are always so many fun, exciting things that happen throughout the summer and fall. It's hard to keep it all documented.
In our usual fashion, we made a trip up to the Albany, NY area for July 4th week to spend some time with family. Instead of going up for the whole week however, we visited with some of our family vacationing in Virginia Beach for the weekend, came back home for two days of work/school, and then did the 12 hour drive to upstate NY on the 4th itself. Our trip up was relatively quick and the girls did great in the car. I'm always so grateful that Colin can drive starting at 2am. The past few trips we have made just a quick stop around 8am for bathrooms and to change out of pajamas, and have actually gotten to our destination by 12 or 1pm! The girls usually sleep until 7a, so we have only about 4-5 hours of lively entertainment. Food usually takes up a solid hour. Music, storytelling, and chatting takes up about 2 hours, and we sometimes resort to a downloaded episode or two of a TV show on the iPad for the final hour stretch. During non-TV time, the girls often sing, take care of their babies, or engage in conversation with us. Colin tries to get us all to do some storytelling, and we have had some trips where the girls engage. Zoe is still a little young for it, but Rose is able to keep the story going and add new plots.
Happy Zoe singing in the car
Rose singing with her baby
Because the girls' cousins were in Virginia Beach for the week of the 4th, I stayed in NY with the girls for an extra week, working part of the time and taking a lot of time off. During the first few days without the cousins, the girls enjoyed time with their aunts and grandparents. During the second week, I did quite a few day trips with them. One day, we drove the 2 hours each way to just outside Burlington, VT to visit with a college friend who has kids almost the same ages. We found out Zoe is a great chicken catcher. In addition to loving the chickens, the girls also enjoyed playing in a kiddie pool (it was so hot all week!), listening to music, getting ice cream, and just generally playing with friends. We took the ferry across Lake Champlain, which they loved. But, since I didn't have much service during the drive, we listened to Bohemian Rhapsody on repeat about 10 times. Do you know the full song is about 6 minutes?? Both girls love belting out "Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia Let me Go!." It was the only song that downloaded in an area of service in northern NY. Thankfully, I left Vermont around 9p, so the trip home was very quiet.
Hanging out in Aunt Karen's neighborhood and showing some sisterly love.
I had been trying to coordinate a day/time to meet my brother, and we ended up making last minute plans to meet on the day after we went to Vermont. Thankfully, we meet between Albany and Worcester, Massachusetts, in Springfield (well, Holyoke technically). There is a cute and inexpensive Merry-Go-Round and a Children's Museum within the same park. We hadn't been to the museum before and were skeptical, but it proved to exceed our expectations. It was perfect for my girls and the relief we needed from the heat. Did I mention we happened to be in NY for a heat wave. And, yes, we are southerners and have to deal with 80-90+ degrees regularly, but we also have a neighborhood pool and everything has central air in the south! And, we go to NY to try and escape the heat! Both girls enjoyed the carousel and the museum, and even got their face painted (Rose's was a little over the top). The best part of course, was getting to hang out with Tio Mark!
Zoe the firefighter
Passed out on the ride home from Holyoke
By Wednesday, our cousins were back and settled from their beach vacation, so we all had a fairly relaxing day at home. The girls' six-year-old cousin is great at entertaining, and Rose in particular really looks up to her. They played all day so I could do some work.k
Our day of relaxation was short and sweet, and we had big plans on Thursday. My sister-in-law drove us up to the Granby Zoo outside of Montreal, Canada! The zoo is much bigger and better than I could have imagined. In the eight-passenger Honda Pilot, we packed the three girls across the middle row and brought my 12-year-old nephew and his friend in the third row. We always take our passports when we visit as we have been known to go up to Canada on many of our trips. The drive was about 4 hours and the kids all did great. They started getting a little hangry approaching the zoo, and I was worried how Zoe would do around nap time. Once everyone was out of the car, given some snacks, and in the zoo, we were all smiles again. I was so excited that our Durham Museum membership gave us half off the zoo, and only regretted I hadn't looked into beforehand to get my niece and nephew in at that price too.
In the zoo, we saw the personalities and ages of the kids shine. The boys went off to do their own thing and the girls packed in the double-seater stroller. Zoe loved the animals in the zoo, and was in element when she got to pet goats, sheep, and pigs. Rose put on her brave face and attitude while hanging out with her older cousin and actually went on the ferris wheel with her cousin by themselves. Zoe went with me and we all really enjoyed getting to see the park from up high. The zoo is actually a zoo, small amusement park, and a water park in one. We didn't spend that much time in the amusement park and I think in another two years the girls would be able to do more things they couldn't yet do (like bumper cars). We ended our day at the waterpark, first in the lazy river and later in some of the pools. Zoe was struggling because she had skipped her nap, and the water was a little too cool/cold for me. The temps weren't quite as high that day, we were farther north, and we got to the water park late in the day. We also watched the "show" they do with the wave pool, which had this skeleton statue chant, eyes light up red, and the chanting builds up to the start of the waves and very forceful fans blowing air straight ahead. The girls were petrified and didn't want to go near it. Zoe was pretty much done with the waterpark after that, and Rose managed to stay with her cousin for another hour while I took Zoe back to ride a couple rides and see a few more animals. After she had another snack, she got a second wind and managed to finish out the day.
Renting a double stroller, which fit all three girls at the Granby Zoo near Montreal
Loving the piggy at the Granby Zoo
Zoe is in her element with the animals
Rose loved how soft the animals were
Riding the carousel in the amusement park
Zoe emerging from a dinosaur egg
The only bummer from the whole day was our adventure trying to get dinner in downtown Granby. They spoke mostly French and told us it might be a bit of a wait, but we decided to stick around anyway. We didn't realize that a bit of a wait would mean a 3-hour dinner process. It didn't take that long to sit down, but it did take a long time to order and even longer to get the food. I must have made about 5 trips to the bathrooms with the girls. Thankfully, they did well considering how long it took. They didn't each that much dinner, and unfortunately, we didn't leave Granby for our 4 hour drive home till well after 9pm!
By Friday, Colin was back from his 4-day work week and the family decided to take a day trip up to Lake George to go out on the boat. We had taken a boat ride on Lake George the first week we were there too, and we joke that Zoe is like her father, who always fell asleep on boat rides! Rose got to try (slow) tubing, and we were able to be on a boat ride while trying to bump our nephew off the tube. Our nephew and my brother-in-law also tried their hand at water skiing. Colin and I opted out, mainly because we both have had on-and-off back issues for a few years now and didn't want to mess anything up before driving back home. The one and only time I tried water skiing I did get up and got to do it a little bit, but waters in upstate NY are a bit cold for my liking. I like the NC beaches in August and September!
Zoe sleeping on the boat ride
On our last day of the trip, we did a small birthday celebration for Colin, whose birthday is July 24. Colin doesn't love celebrating his birthday, but indulges his daughters. And, with our toddlers, every birthday requires cake and balloons.
Happy Birthday to Colin!
Our trip back to North Carolina was uneventful and the girls did more sleeping because of how tired they were from the trip. We made it back in 10-11 hours and managed to get to the pool to cool off and stretch our bodies the afternoon of our arrival.
Once back, the highlight of the week was finishing out the swim team with final practices, a meet that got rained out, and the swim team banquet. I missed the meet because of work travel, but made it back in time for the awards banquet, and to see Rose get her medal that she'll keep throughout her time on the team. In addition to her 2018 pin, she also received the most improved award. While the coach said she could do freestyle in the beginning and all three strokes by the end, she actually couldn't swim without floaties before she started practicing. She was also the only true four-year-old (2014 birthday) to make the team (notice how much smaller she is than the other kids in her age group). We have been so proud of how far she has come, how much she enjoyed being on the team this year, and her constant work to improve week to week. She halved her time from time trials (50 sec freestyle down to 25sec), and demonstrated her ability to perform all three strokes as they were taught in a matter of eight weeks!
To engage Zoe, we decided to hire one of the coaches to do 30 minute lessons for the girls in August. Rose continued to practice her strokes and Zoe received a little instruction on how to swim, but with only 5-6 lessons, didn't get to swim on her own by the end of the summer. I really think the daily practice, and doing the same thing with other kids (watching others and practicing) was so helpful in getting Rose to swim on her own. Since Zoe has a September birthday, she actually has to wait two more years and will be an older four-year-old when she starts.
Rose and Coach Mary
Rose and Coach Liz
In typical Miller fashion, we celebrated Colin's birthday two more times, once with my mom (whose birthday is July 14) and again at the pool on his actual birthday. In our household, most people get 2-4 birthday celebrations!!
Happy Birthday to Colin #2!
During the rest of July and into August, we spent our weekends at the pool and occasionally trying something new. We went up to the Duke Gardens in Durham one day and I brought my nice camera to take some photos. Rose was in prime form, posing for the camera all afternoon.
Girls posing at Duke Gardens
Rose the photographer
One of Rose's many poses of the day
Zoe smelling some flowers
This year we made a second trip north in late August for a wedding. My parents flew up to join us and we rented a house near Narragansett. Unlike our trip to NY in July, the weather was not hot. We had the week between the two heat waves, which was probably a good thing since we stayed in a house that didn't have the best air conditioners. Unfortunately, it meant we didn't have idea beach days. Half the week was rainy/foggy/misty, and we did manage to have a couple sunny nice days towards the end of the week. Since we had to check out by 10a Saturday morning, we decided to drive to Albany Friday evening so there would be less for my parents to do Saturday. Of course, Saturday was a great beach day.
The wedding was the first the girls had been to, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. The did fairly well during the church service (Zoe slept through half of it), and did a lot of dancing early in the evening at the reception. The food was served fairly late and when they finally dimmed the lights and put on the dance music, the girls were pretty ready for bed.
We enjoyed spending the week with family and celebrated Zoe's birthday early with Tio Mark's birthday at the beach. Zoe had her second birthday with the Millers in Albany when we went there Saturday before driving back home. Driving to RI is so much more difficult than Albany, so it was worth it for us to make that extra stop. On the way up to RI, we decided to drive during the day so the girls would be able to play in their first soccer game of the season. Why they start the leagues in mid-late August in NC, I have no idea. It's always so hot! I wish they would start after Labor Day and go through the nice fall weekends in November. Anyhoo...the drive during the day was awful. We caught traffic in DC, which made for a long day. Leaving at noon meant we got to the beach house around 2am. It was good that the first few days were rainy so we could catch up on some sleep, but I would not have minded resting under the umbrella at the beach with warmer temperatures. I shouldn't make it sound so awful. We did get to the beach and enjoy it for 4 of the 5 weekdays. Everyone else went in the water, I'm just the one who is particular. :)
Girls in their wedding attire, ready to go to the reception
All smiles after loading up on appetizers. It was a chilly August day!
Girls Dancing and Running at Beach in RI
Our final day at the beach, and it's sunny and warm!
Birthday cupcakes at the beach, and shutting it down at 5pm!
Driving back from NY was once again uneventful, and our 2am departure made the trip home quick. Our final week in August was a big one for Colin as it was the end of a chapter for him. After 6 years at the State, he started a new job in September. Colin 2.0 has arrived and I'm glad to see the excitement and determination he's brought!
Colin 2.0 poses on his last day working for the State of NC
July in North Carolina is dog-breath weather, so we try to plan a trip north during the month. This year, we made our way up to upstate New York to visit family for July 4th week. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins, especially Isabella who is just about 3 years older than Rose. Rose adores her cousin and Zoe wants to be part of the action too.
As usual, we left overnight, between 1-2am. This time we decided to pop into NYC to visit with friends who were about to move to California. We made such good time that we were in Manhattan by 9-9:30am. With time to kill, Colin walked around the highline with the girls and we found a playground for the girls to stretch their legs. I'll admit it wasn't the best experience for me. Darwin wasn't allowed on the highline or in the playground, so one of us had to hang out with him. It wasn't too hot, but it was humid and we didn't want to leave him in the car.
On the Highline before Darwin and I got kicked out
Girls playing in lower Manhattan
After a somewhat chaotic lunch, we made our way upstate to the Albany area. The girls took their much-needed naps and I drove part of the way so Colin could rest. We are always pretty tired when we arrive on these 12 hour driving trips. We don't want to just drive through on the way up and often make a stop or two to stretch our legs and/or explore.
After a good night's sleep, we were ready for the week's adventures. We started the week off with a trip to Lake George on Colin's parent's boat. The girls enjoyed it except when Isabella and Rose bumped heads. Thankfully, that was towards the end of the day. Zoe in her usual fashion took a nice nap on the boat after lunch. The day was beautiful and we enjoyed some lunch and swimming off the docks of one of the islands in the lake.
A couple days later, we were back at the lake with the whole family to enjoy July 4th. We spent a few hours at the "beach." Maybe I'm spoiled having grown up in RI, but most of the beaches I've been to on lakes are just not really my kind of beaches. I enjoy taking the boat on the lake, anchoring, and swimming in the lake. But, there is something about walking into the lake from the beach that just doesn't appeal to me. The girls had fun swimming in the lake on July 4th and I enjoyed taking a kayak out on the water.
Because the fireworks are always late and we didn't really know the set up for viewing them in person, we decided to let Rose stay up to watch them on the TV. She seemed to enjoy watching them and we didn't have to worry about traffic, parking, and how loud they might be.
Lunch spot on one of the islands in Lake George, NY
The three Miller girl cousins in their July 4th attire at Lake George
The other highlights of the week included a cousins trip to the town pool and the girl cousins having a movie night at Aunt Karen's house. The weather was very nice most of the week, but the pool was a bit too cold for me. Even the girls didn't last too long in the water. Everyone was pretty excited when the ice cream truck came.
Zoe is our very messy eater
You can tell Rose loved her ice cream
The Miller ladies making silly faces
We all enjoyed movie night at Aunt Karen's house. The girls had a nice set up on the papasan cushion with some snacks. At one point they were all on the cushion, but I think they lost interest in the movie towards the end. I can't remember now, but I think they watched Frozen, which they've seen too many times. We decided we'd have to watch Moana the next time. I got to go "shopping" in Aunt Karen's closet and found almost a whole new wardrobe. Woohoo! Thanks Aunt Karen!!
Girls watching Frozen during movie night at Aunt Karen's
I addition to visiting family, we wated to take a family trip somewhere we've never been. We decided to head up to Quebec City for a night towards the end of the week in NY. I really wanted to go for 2 nights, but it just would have been too much. We left the house around 4am Thursday morning and arrived in Quebec City by 8am (after a stop or two). It was too early to check in to the hotel, but they did let us park the car in the garage so we didn't have to worry about meters or parking. I usually spend lots of time researching places we are going, but I hadn't had time to look into Quebec City beyond asking people for suggestions and researching a hotel. I knew a few main tourist sights to see, but figured we could just walk around and explore.
We really struggled navigating the city on that first day. Yelp was our go-to for food and the first place we went didn't accept credit cards so we had to move on. We found another pastry shop and had our first chocolate filled danish of the two days. As we walked towards the more downtown area, we also managed to get cash from an ATM so we could be prepared for another cash-only food venue. Our biggest mistake came when I thought we should explore the touristy hotel Chateau Frontenac. Navigating narrow streets with a double stroller was a challenge and it was uphill the entire way. We also happened to be there during the start of a 10-day music festival, so some areas were blocked off. And, to top it off, there was a lot of construction. When we finally made it close to the top of the hill (the Chateau), Zoe had fallen asleep and Rose was getting pretty cranky. I can't even remember what we had for lunch - it obviously was not nearly as memorable as the hills and frustrating construction detours. As we walked from the Chateau up the hill to the Citadel, Rose also fell asleep. Poor Colin pushed both sleeping girls (think "dead weight") up the grassy hill because we couldn't find any paved paths, only to find the Citadel blocked off for construction (which we didn't realize at the time).
This was the tipping point for us both. It was after lunch at this point so we decided to make our way back to the hotel so we could check in, ditch the stroller, get some quality maps, and try exploring again. Going back to the hotel was so much easier because it was downhill and we went directly back (instead of trying to find sites to see along the way). As we arrived the girls woke up and we got checked in. While the morning had been tiring for us, it was good the girls slept because they were in much better spirits for the afternoon.
After walking uphill for what felt like hours, we reached the top.
Rose and Zoe enjoyed riding uphill. I guess it was comfortable enough for them.
We set out again, this time with the two backpack carriers and a small bag with diapers and a few changes of clothes for the girls. We decided to take the bus to the lower downtown area. Though the bus also had issues getting us to the destination, we weren't hot, sweaty, and tired during the process. Since we were having a relatively early dinner, we made our way to Cochon Dingue Champlain, a restaurant that came highly reviewed by Yelp and a Canadian friend. The food was just okay, but perhaps we didn't order the best items on the menu. We did get to sit outside and enjoy the evening.
After dinner, we took a boat ride across the St. Lawrence River to Levis on the commuter ferry. I accidentally gave the operator my roundtrip tickets and we had to get assistance from the staff before we got off to be sure we could get back on to come back. Thankfully we did get on the return boat and arrived safely back in Quebec. From the boat we could see this elevator car that traveled from the lower part of the city to the upper part. We made our way over to the elevator, called the Funiculare, and decided to take a ride up to where whe had been earlier.
The Chateau Frontenac and Quebec City from the St. Lawrence River
Trying to get a picture of the girls on the boat
We made our way back to the hotel from the upper city at a more leisurely pace and both girls eventually ended up in the backpacks. We came across a couple of the concert stages as we walked back and got to hear some of the music. If we had not been up since 4am, I might have considered staying out a little longer, but we were all pretty tired.
Thankfully, both girls fell asleep pretty easily. I had requested a room with 2 beds, but they only had a room with one bed and a pack n play. I was surprised at how excited Rose was to sleep in the pack and pay we brought and it was good that each girl slept well in their respective cribs.
The second day in Quebec City was overcast and raining early in the day. With a better idea of the city's layout, we set out on foot again without the stroller after breakfast in the hotel. We made our way first to the Citadel, which we found out was completely closed for renovations. From this area we were able to walk along the extension areas of the Citadel - first to the riverview and then along the giant wall. The girls enjoyed checking out all the "tunnels," the cannons, and all the sights that interest toddlers.
Trying to get a family photo with Rose not wanting to cooperate
A sweet photo of the girls exploring Quebec City
Checking out the cannons and the wall leading to the Citdel
We left Quebec City after lunch so the girls could nap on the drive back to the US and made our way to the Vermont border to cross. We had planned to meet up with some of my college friends before we got stuck at the border for almost 2 hours. The girls woke up near the start of those two hours and I was grateful we had brought pastries from Quebec back with us. Even before we dug into the pastries, the girls were doing surprisingly well for how long they were confined in their seats. We managed to get to Burlington, Vermont much later than planned. Colin grabbed burritos at the food truck next door to the brewery where we met my friends. The girls preferred eating the popcorn at the brewery. We just had to go with the flow. When you have toddlers who are going to be out past their bedtime and are eating way later than their dinner should have been after they just had some pastries at dinner time, you do whatever you can to maintain peace including allowing the watching of electronic devices. It obviously ended up being a very quick and rushed get-together, but it was still nice to see my friends. We got the girls in their pajamas and drove the two hours back to New York, arriving after midnight.
We basically just had one day (Saturday) to recover before driving back home, and of course I/we planned a birthday gathering for Colin on that final day. I surprised Colin by inviting his friends and was glad that a few were able to come. Colin's not a big fan of celebrating his birthday, but I know he enjoyed getting to see some friends. When we visit family, it's always difficult to fit in some time with others. We did plan the birthday early enough so we could try to get to bed at a reasonable time. Of course we can never get to bed before 10p, which makes 1am come too quickly.
Somehow we usually manage to have a good ride home. Our goal is to get south of DC before our first stop. On the ideal trip, we make it to Richmond, VA where there is a Whole Foods in a residential/commercial mixed complex. We have breakfast, change the girls out of pajamas, and go play on the playground for a little bit before getting back in the car to drive the 3 hours home. We've made it home by 1-2p before even with the stop. On the way home, the girls are so tired from all the fun that they usually will sleep most of the mid-late morning.
Girls are passed out in their carseats during the drive home to NC
While the end of the trip was busy and hectic, the first half was relatively relaxing. Overall, we had a nice time with our friends and family and enjoyed exploring a new city. The girls did get a stamp on their passport thanks to the border patrol agent at the New York crossing going to Quebec. The Vermont agent said they don't stamp the passport for land crossings, so they only got one.
The rest of July was relatively uneventful. We spent most of our weekends going to the pool to stay cool. We also celebrated two birthdays - my mom's mid-month and Colin's towards the end of the month.
Colin gets serenaded by his ladies for his birthday
Stay tuned for August updates, which included lots more trips to the pool and going to school birthday parties.
