So Liam's dream came true today- Zachary bought tickets for the two of them to go see OneRepublic a while back and today was finally the day! They set out in the truck... Liam had a calendar with lots of pieces in it so that kept him occupied for the ride.
They had lunch at a Chinese restaurant- I'm a bit jealous.
Here they are at the concert- James Arthur and Fitz & the Tantrums opened for OneRepublic- Liam now has another favorite singer and another favorite band although I'm pretty sure OneRepublic will always be his most favorite.
Zachary doesn't get on facebook very often but he did post some pictures and a video from their fun night out- he posted those with the following: "Took my little man to see OneRepublic last night! Most don't know, but he
was diagnosed with Autism a few weeks back and over the past 3+ years
as he has faced the challenges associated with that, OneRepublic has
always been a source of peace and calm for him and has also helped him
learn to talk. While at the concert he asked for my phone when they
started playing. With every song they sang, he immediately searched
through Spotify and was able to immediately find the song and CD from
which they were singing."
We
didn't have a very long way to go this morning since we had driven a
good amount the night before. Malia wanted to make sure "puppy" (we're
very creative with names around here) was ready to go.
We
passed the chickfila that's 45 minutes away from us on our way home so
it was a perfect time for us to stop. It may have been less than two
weeks since we've been last but that's an eternity for us! Kayleigh was
pretty excited:
The toy that came with the kids' meals was a little art/craft kit- here was Liam's creation- I was pretty impressed!
Eventually
we made our way back home- we found a boarding place that would take
Rosie right before we left- she had so much fun- we got pictures and
updates while we were gone- but we could tell she was happy to be home
and with her latest snuggle buddy!
We started off our last day of vacation by going to the Buffalo Zoo. It started off okay... We took pictures in these cutouts:
But the good moods didn't last for long. I love the zoo. So. Much. But it just doesn't usually work out for us- which is why I went by myself when Zachary and I went down to Jacksonville for the Navy/Notre Dame game.
Thankfully, they napped in the car as we headed to Cooperstown, NY. We stopped at this adorable diner before we headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
By this time in the day, we weren't expecting a lot out of the kids so we just went with an open mind and hoped to be able to read a few things. That made things go pretty well!
Then one of the funniest stories ever happened. We were on our way either home or to a hotel, depending on how we felt... when we stopped for gas. Zachary was on the phone with his dad and pumping gas. I ran inside to get a bottle of water and take a quick bathroom break. I came out of the convenience store and the van was nowhere to be found. I walked around the building... I looked up and down the street- we were in the middle of nowhere so it wasn't like he ran to a fast food place real quick and was coming right back. I stood outside for a while thinking of any other explanation besides- my husband just abandoned me at a gas station. So I went inside and asked to use their phone- I had left mine in the car... and explained what happened. They looked at me with the saddest eyes when I told them I'm sure he just didn't notice I wasn't in the car. Well- Zachary doesn't typically answer phone calls from unknown numbers so he didn't take my call. So I called back twice in a row to make him maybe consider this was a call he should take. Well he was finishing up his conversation with his dad so he wasn't paying attention to the multitude of rings coming in. He got off the phone and was telling me that his dad really was encouraging him to stop at a hotel and even offered to pay for it. When he didn't get a response from me he did a double take and realized I was not in the car. He made a quick u-turn and called the number that had called him several times. It took about fifteen minutes but I was eventually rescued from the gas station. I think the attendants in the convenience store were relieved he came back- I don't think they were convinced he would.
But back to pictures- here's one of Miss Kayleigh at the hotel we did end up stopping at:
It was a good call because the kids did go to sleep and we all got a good night's rest!
So we've always been really hesitant to stay in hotels because Liam doesn't sleep which means no one sleeps. But last night- he did sleep! It was awesome! And they loved having breakfast brought to them from downstairs:
Malia got a basketball from the Hall of Fame yesterday- she was really sweet and shared with Kayleigh.
I know she looks sad in this picture but we really were just trying to capture the sunglasses- the adorable frown was an added bonus- she wasn't really sad- she was fine.
We ate lunch at Rise N Shine Diner on our way from Albany to Niagara Falls. It was deeeeeee-icious as Malia says.
Then we got to our ultimate destination- the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls. I can now say I have been out of the country!
We got back in the car right in time- it started pouring seconds after we were all safe and secure in the van!
Zachary and I have never been on a real vacation. We've had a weekend at the beach or Charleston but they usually had a purpose other than to just have fun. His time off is coming to an end so we decided to take a vacation! We started with the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. Zachary has wanted to come here for a while so since it was (pretty much) on the way to Niagara Falls- our ultimate destination- we had to stop here! We didn't get to take too many pictures because with two adults and three kids, it's not super easy to do. But here's what we got:
Today was mostly a travel day but I snapped this picture of the hotel because when we pulled up, Liam noticed the "Holiday" and recognized that it was (similar to) our last name!
