For the past Three Years we haven taken a vacation around Christmas time as a gift to the kids. Its a way to make memories, see new places, bond with each other, and have fun. We thought this was good idea because the kids get so many presents at Christmas with all the family and parties we go to that we wanted to create a special family tradition that hopefully they would remember, instead of more things they do not really need and they will out grow or forget about. Our first Christmas we went to Palmyra and Rochester New york. We took in some Church history sites and went to the Rochester Children's Museum. We always book a hotel with a pool to add to the fun. Last year we went to Pittsburgh PA. While there we visited the Pittsburgh Children's Museum and the Pittsburgh conservatory, we also rode the incline train and went to the museum. Again loads of fun and only 2 hours away. There are drawbacks to travel in the winter, like last year on the way home from Pitts we were hit by a major snowstorm we were only 45 min from home but the roads were so bad we had to pull off the road and get a hotel. Its also really cold so anything outside is definitely rough. all that being said I love it just the same We get to enjoy Christmas in some may different ways and see lights and enjoy lots of fun cozy time indoors. We now look forward to this vacation every year. This Christmas the kids kept asking " so where are we going this year" I told them we were not going on a vacation this year so I could surprise them Christmas morning. On Christmas Morning we do give them a few gifts and then surprised them with the big vacation. This year it was Buffalo New York. We picked somewhere kinda close because the babies are not good travelers. They get really antsy.The following pics show our good time in Buffalo and Niagara falls which is only 20min away from buffalo.
The first two days in New york were dedicated to shopping, lots and lots of it. The kids had lots of money to spend so off we went. We went the huge fashion outlets in the falls. The to the galleria in Buffalo. The galleria is really huge. Three floors of the girls fav store "Forever 21"That is where they did most of their shopping. The outlets had tons of cool stores like Esprit, Juicy Couture and their Ralph Lauren store was The whole side of their indoor mall. I could not believe how big it was. Anyway again lots of walking and shopping. The babies and Liam hung in there. Liam spent most of money on a PSP so he was just interested in games and stuff, definitely not clothes.
The Marriott Hotel Where there is a book of Mormon in every drawer. The kids thought that was so neat.
Lots of pics of us just hanging out in the hotel late at night after busy days
On our last day there we went to Niagara Falls. I thought we would be the only crazy people there since it was so cold. However we were not the only ones. I could not believe how many people were out in the cold with us. I will say it was so cool to see the falls in the winter. Despite the cold we were able to view and enjoy a large part of the falls. We all got out to see the American falls and to go out on the bridge over them. We bundled the babies all up. They enjoyed it. When we went out on the island to see the Horse shoe falls and the bridal falls. We took turns getting out of the car and viewing so the babies could stay warm.
The first two days in New york were dedicated to shopping, lots and lots of it. The kids had lots of money to spend so off we went. We went the huge fashion outlets in the falls. The to the galleria in Buffalo. The galleria is really huge. Three floors of the girls fav store "Forever 21"That is where they did most of their shopping. The outlets had tons of cool stores like Esprit, Juicy Couture and their Ralph Lauren store was The whole side of their indoor mall. I could not believe how big it was. Anyway again lots of walking and shopping. The babies and Liam hung in there. Liam spent most of money on a PSP so he was just interested in games and stuff, definitely not clothes.
The Marriott Hotel Where there is a book of Mormon in every drawer. The kids thought that was so neat.
We stayed at the beautiful Marriott hotel and after all that shopping it was fun to come back to the hotel and swim. This is a picture of the hot tub, it was so big all of us could get in and splash and have fun. This was really a nice hotel and everyone there was so nice and helpful they were ready to give us anything we needed.
Lots of pics of us just hanging out in the hotel late at night after busy days
On our last day there we went to Niagara Falls. I thought we would be the only crazy people there since it was so cold. However we were not the only ones. I could not believe how many people were out in the cold with us. I will say it was so cool to see the falls in the winter. Despite the cold we were able to view and enjoy a large part of the falls. We all got out to see the American falls and to go out on the bridge over them. We bundled the babies all up. They enjoyed it. When we went out on the island to see the Horse shoe falls and the bridal falls. We took turns getting out of the car and viewing so the babies could stay warm.
This is a pic of the whirlpool It is hard to tell due to icy waters but its pretty cool to view.
Well our trip was fun and tiring but worth it. We underestimated how expensive it would be there to eat. Its just like new york city prices. No dollar menus at the fast food stops, no 5 dollar foot longs, we really appreciate the prices here more. I am looking forward to next years vacation. as soon as I recover from this one...Ha ha.
2 comments:
It is really nice to see your blog and how big the kids have gotten! The twins are just too cute! Congrats on such an amazing family!
Looks like a great time!
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