Stop and Smell the Lilacs

This past weekend was our last "family togetherness" weekend at home for a while.  Craig is on the road this weekend, working next Saturday (and Jacob will be at lacrosse training camp), and then Jacob's first tournament is the week after that, at which point Craig might be on the road again, too. After that it's one tournament, one weekend in Buffalo, then two more tournaments...and maybe then we'll get some good family time at home!

The weather wasn't stellar this weekend--in fact Carter and I skipped Jacob's last two house lacrosse games because it was pouring (so I watched the royal wedding on DVR instead).  I spent much of the weekend trying to get the house cleaned (love my new vacuum!), but other than dinner out Saturday we didn't really have many plans.  But on Sunday, I knew I really wanted to get to the last day of the Lilac Festival.  It was cool and drizzly in the morning but by later in the afternoon the sun came out a little and it warmed up.  After some yard work and a lot of prodding, we dragged the boys off.

Parking is always a pain, but luckily the boys were good sports about the walk.  But immediately upon entering the grounds, Jacob made a beeline for the food vendor with Icees.  They're actually one of the few things we trust at stuff like that.  We continued to wander past vendors and eventually ran into friends of ours who we chatted with a while.  But eventually Carter got antsy and the playground that was our main destination was right around the corner.  It's a new playground made out of natural materials, and it's pretty cool.

Notice all the logs...and some had been flattened on top for easy navigation

I had a picture of Carter so I needed one of Jacob too!

Ignore Mr. Serious in the foreground and check out the stuff in the background--logs, rocks, and more.  There was a large wooden bridge and a teepee, as well.  Carter loved it and even Jacob liked walking around it.  I can definitely see us making a return visit when it's not so busy!

After playing, we walked across the street to one of the main areas of lilacs in the park.  I tried really hard to get a picture to update one I got the last time we went, and this was as much of a challenge as that one!  I have to share the outtakes, though...

This is an "almost" except Jacob is actually purposely making a weird face, and his arms are strange.

This was a lucky shot just because Carter flipped out immediately after because of Jacob's arm.

Much better!

We tried a closer one, but this one almost went downhill the second I took the picture because Carter was adamant that Jacob not touch him!  He was practically hovering here, but when Carter noticed it, he lost it and demanded I delete the picture!

Of course the highlight of the festival--aside from food, I suppose--is the foliage.  The lilacs were either almost done or not quite open yet, but they were pretty.  I sure wish I could smell!

This tree looked like some variety of crabapple tree, and the pink was stunning.

Such a pretty pansy...

After this we headed over to the poutine food truck because Jacob wanted gluten-free poutine.  We all snacked a little on that as we walked over to the Kids' Zone, where Carter got to pick one thing to do and chose the inflatable obstacle course.  I think he's officially a pro now! 

We didn't get to see as much as I would have liked, but it was getting later and we took off before the kids got too tired or cranky or any of us got too hungry.  I was happy to get Jacob a treat since it's not easy to coordinate visiting that food truck, but the rest of us needed a more affordable and less mobile dinner!  I'm just happy we got to go, and hopefully next year when I bring it up I won't get the rolling eyes and grumpy response I got this year.

In other news, another week is in full swing.  Craig is off to Canada today, back late tonight, then off again tomorrow morning for the Knighthawks' first game of the championship.  He'll be gone until Sunday evening.  We'll have a couple picnics to keep us busy here--one with my college friends, and another with my family--thankfully all here in Rochester.  I'm currently debating how I want to spend a free few hours on Friday afternoon if we get out of work early like usual, though most likely I'll be buying stuff for my garden and getting it planted so it's ready whenever the rain comes this weekend and before things get too crazy.  We have so many busy weeks ahead, though at least we got our hotels all booked for Jacob's tournaments and can officially start planning our side trips and scoping out food options.  Part of me is dreading the exhausting stretch, but the other part of me knows this is the most exciting part of our summer so I need to embrace the crazy and enjoy the ride.  It'll be fine, really.  I just need to get back in the travel groove ASAP!