Summer vacation in the Berkshire Mountains
It's time for vacation!! We live for our summer getaway vacations together. This year our destination was Massachusetts. We have never been there before and we're always looking for a new place to explore.
In route to MA we stopped a little ways after Buffalo, NY. The boys love to stay at a hotel.
The new thing the boys love to do is to pretend to shoot each other and then pretend die into the pool. I know it sounds cruel and terrible but it is quite entertaining especially when Bob joins in. My favorite is listening to Landon's sound effects as he machine gun shoots his brothers. The pool water temperature was just a few degrees above freezing so I didn't get in. I spent time making hot chocolates in the lobby for the boys to drink to warm up from the freezing cold water.
A selfie by the pool
The hotel had cups with mustaches and I snagged them up for hot chocolate...too cute.
About halfway, Bob found this park at the lake to stop and get out to walk around. We even had time for "birthday doughnuts".
We walked around this trail and even out on a dock. We could see the fish out there swimming.
These boys are so much fun
This 6 year boy is such a monkey
Cuteness!
Since it was Landon's birthday he got to decide what he wanted to do for fun while we were in route. Initially he insisted on a visit to Chuckie Cheese, but we scored on finding this place caled Fun Plex and he was sold. When we pulled up to the place it looked a little like an old carnival gone wrong, but Landon thought it was perfect.
All three boys got to be inside these silly hamster balls on the water. Carter and Landon tried so hard to run while they were inside and Nolan just sat and cried.
Next, Landon and Carter drove the Mini Go Karts. They were maniacs. Lots of super fast racing and swerving into each other. I hope we can work this out before they are really driving when they turn 16.
We stayed at Holiday Inn Oak N' Spruce in Lee, Massachusetts. The resort was great. It had so much to offer when it came to having fun. One big outdoor pool, two indoor pools, hot tub, shuffleboard, playground, arcade, and putt putt course on site! It was all free of charge, which made Bob and I extra happy.
The outdoor pool water was quite chilly, so Bob enjoyed playing in the water with the boys. We spent a lot more time at the indoor pool where there was a hot tub.
Playing putt putt golf everyday was such a treat for the boys. Putt Putt these days is really the boys whacking the balls and running to be the first one to the next hole. It tests my patience each time. I feel like a crazy lady yelling at them to take turns and wait until everyone has played until we move on. Literally a round of 18 holes took us about 58 seconds.
On Sunday, we got up and decided to hike through a trail called Ice Glen. It was a trail that had been carved through a rock formation. It even had stairs to climb up. When you were down at the base of the rocks the temperature was much cooler than the top. The bugs were not biting us but just buzzing around your face and mouth. Yuck! While walking through this trail we ran into a couple older women. One of them was covered in this white cream all over her face...she told us it was her homemade natural bug repellent. It was on there thicker than you could imagine. Classic memory for sure.
Nolan was a trooper when it came to hiking. He went quite a while without complaining or asking to be carried.
Along the hike we found this cute little lizard. After getting back we researched it and it is called the red spotted newt. I wished I would have touched it but we were nervous it was toxic.
At the end of the trail we stumbled upon this cool old suspension bridge. The boys had fun walking across and Carter even dropped his parachute toy over the edge while Landon tried catching it below.
Family Selfie by the bridge!
Later that day, Stephanie and Brady came over to join us on our stay. With us living in different locations we struggle to get together as much as we would like to. Brady and Carter are only 4 days apart in age. It was so great to see them playing together and enjoying similar things.
Stephanie had mentioned how hard it was getting Brady in the water to swim. We all went down to the pool and without hesitation he put on Nolan's swimmy and jumped right in. He had a blast. It was even tough getting him out of the water when we were ready to leave. What fun we had.
Late night, I would stay back in the room and get Nolan ready for bed and Bob would take the older boys down to the arcade. They thought they were hot snot having this time with Bob and playing games. Their absolute favorite was Jurassic Park. They would shoot all the dinosaurs. They loved playing this game so much that it became the game they would pretend play with each other throughout the day. It was funny listening to them as we hiked they would pretend they were shooting dinosaurs in the trees.
At the end of the night, the boys would eat a late night snack of cereal together.
Monday morning we ventured out to a fun place called Jimney Peak's. During the winter it's a ski resort and during the summer they also have fun things to do there. There was an alpine slide, mountain roller coaster, trampolines, ropes course, bouncy houses, and much more.
To get to the top of the mountain you had to ride the sky lift up. Only two people at a time could ride on the ski lift, so I rode with Landon, then Bob rode with Nolan, and Carter rode by himself. I was terrified watching him ride by himself. I kept saying, "Hold on tight, sit still." He was having the time of his life riding up the 6 minute ride to the top of the mountain.
Stephanie and Brady rode up too!
Carter got to ride on his own cart all the way down the hill. He loved it. This nervous Nelly was worried but he surprised me with how well he did.
Nolan had so much fun jumping on the trampolines like his big brothers.
My favorite activity to watch the boys do was the ropes course. Carter and Landon both impressed me with how hard they worked to complete each task. It's funny how you feel as you watch your kids struggle with something new and hard at first, but with a little encouragement and determination they figure it out. Oh, you can bet I was getting teary eyed about it. (let's be real it doesn't take much to get these tears a flowing when it comes to my boys)
Here are these two cuties on the ski lift up.
Nolan was so happy to be able to ride with Bob.
The mountain roller coaster was very exciting. The cart went up to the top of the mountain as you rode up buckled in. Bob and Landon rode together and he begged Bob not to hit the brakes at all...stinkin' little thrill seeker!
Brady really likes to play baseball so Bob and the boys would play catch each night. They are playing in their pajamas. Check out the mountains in the background.
Rockband was the highlight of the boys arcade experience. I love the serious looks on their faces.
The last day that Stephanie and Brady were with us we decided to hike the Appalachian Trail. I was really looking forward to this. We really just wanted to be able to tell people that we did it. Our plan was to head into the trail and get to Goose Pond, the kids would swim, eat lunch, and then head back.
We started out very well. It was quite a hot day but everyone was handling it as well as you could hope.
We stopped for a quick group selfie
Brady was loving the hike.
I think we have perfected the selfie photo...Thank goodness for Bob's long arms!
As we continued on our hike, Carter and Brady were leading the way...a.k.a. racing each other through the trail so Bob stayed with them. I was with Landon and Nolan and Stephanie.
The outdoors can be just beautiful!
This guy is such a ham for the camera
Such a daredevil!
Always carrying a walking stick on our hikes
This was on the way back...on the verge of pure exhaustion
Too close to naptime
Bob carried him the last part of the way on the trail.
Love how cool it looks on the trail
Nolan was winning over Stephanie all week.
The distance between our groups grew greater and Stephanie needed a breather so Nolan, Landon and I kept going. We met up with Carter just in time for both Landon and Carter to poop in the woods. Thank goodness for leaves because this girl forgot the wipes in the car. As we proceeded, we were in a constant struggle to keep up with Bob and Brady, but when we got to them Bob was on the phone with Stephanie who was lost in the woods. She had stopped to rest and then found herself lost and unable to find the markers on the trees. Bob was trying to help her use Google Maps to find the trail. We had Brady with us and continued in search of the pond. Along the way we passed a man who told us he was on his way from Georgia to Maine on the trail. He had been hiking for 91 days straight. His beard was so long and he needed a shower, but we were in awe of his huge journey. We got to a point where the meltdowns began and we were still a half mile out from the pond and without Stephanie so we decided to head back. I had carried all the swimsuits, towels, and floaties for about 2.5 miles and we didn't use them...ugh, my back was a sweaty mess. To make a long story short, we found Stephanie and made it back to the car safely. Check that off the bucket list...hike the Appalachian Trail!
Here's the group selfie to prove it!
Stephanie and Brady left soon after our hike. We shared lots of hugs and a few tears but were so lucky for the chance to get together and create some life long memories.
Later that day, Amy and the kids made it over to our resort. We were so excited to see them and they couldn't wait to explore the resort. The boys loved showing them all the fun places.
Time for putt putt!
Tyler was pretty good! It was so cute to watch him run around and play with the boys.
When I think of shuffleboard I think of a game that is usually played at a retirement home, but these kids loved it. They wanted to play it more often than they did putt putt.
Check out those skills
The daily event of visiting the arcade was still the thrill of the evening. Landon was so excited to show Tyler his Guitar Hero talent.
Late night bowls of cereal was a great time for the kids to talk about the fun they had that day. Can you see me in the back ground doing coursework and Amy relaxing with her "baby belly"...too cute!
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