I know it's nearly Halloween, but...*Part 2*

And now for the second installment of the Swanson summer saga. I debated about splitting this up and making a part 3, but as you will soon see, I didn't...so this is the super post...and by "super" I mean post with tons o' picutres.

When the kids and I arrived home from our visit to my mom's in Washington we were blessed by the presence of another granparent. My dad actually got here a day or two before we did so he could spend some quality time with my brother's family before I demanded his attention. I'm sure I could rustle up a few picts...

The kids really do love travelling...hey, I suppose my airfare would be less if I just brought them this way...Hailey really enjoyed making cookies with Papa Ted. She didn't even seem to mind that all they did was open the package and put them on the cookie sheet.

The kids were obviously very excited for this photo.

To continue our summer of grandparent fun, a few days after my dad left we all flew to the other side of the country to visit Ben's parents. We had a fun week of visiting, relaxing, playing, jumping on the trampoline, and boating. I may have more than a few picts from this trip too...let's see if I can narrow it down.

One day we went to this tiny amusement park that Ben used to go to some when he was little. It was just a rinky-dink little place, but the kids had a great time. What makes it cooler is that Ben's mom also remembers going there when she was little!

The kids actually had to pedal this one with their hands to make it go around the track.

A ticket for you.

And you.

Hm, I wonder if these rides were built during wartime or something. The planes on this ride had built in guns that you point at eachother.

It's a good thing these two are too young to drive a real car.

I realize this picture is disgusting, but I just had to put it in because it was such a big part of our trip. For a little over four years now I have had some really strange problems with my hands. From rashes to warts to who knows what, it's just been a fun trial for me. Well, I had a particularly bad flare-up while on vacation and I could not even use my hands. This picture was taken after the worst of it. My fingers were so swollen and cracked and bleeding that I could not even bend them. On the bright side, I didn't have to change one diaper all week. The other good news is that for some reason, since then all the warts have disappeared and I am supposed to meet with an allergist soon to see if he can figure out what is going on.
It's nice to get to visit with Ben's grandma's when were are there (though I only managed to get a picture with one).

Hailey had fun meeting and playing with her cousin Greta.

Making cookies with grandma. Cute apron sweetie.

Sadly, I do not have any pictures of Ben hot-doggin' it on the lake. He was pretty impressive on those water-skis. I was sad that my hands were so miserable that I couldn't really show him my skills.

Wait a second...who's driving the boat?

Ok kids, time to cooperate for a nice family photo-op outside Niagra Falls. Oh, you don't want to?...ok

We did the Maid of the Mist boat tour right down by the falls again. It's pretty cool, as are these ponchos.

Here we are.
Here's Hailey and grandma and Hunter and me (yes, Hunter is on a leash...but we prefer to call it his bracelet...you have no idea how fast this kid can run away).

I drag Ben's family up to Niagra Falls every time we are out there. It's just so awesome and I thought it would be fun for the kids to see.

Whew, I think I made it through the super post...did you?