Liddick Family Christmas in July- #9

Fun at Uncle Glenn and Aunt Linda's Cottage

Our last day together involved packing the crew up one last time and driving to Uncle Glenn and Aunt Linda's (VanHarken) cottage on a little bay off of Lake Ontario. The weather was beautiful and it was so good to see the VanHarkens and Grandma Liddick. We really wished we could have gotten cousins Sarah and Kristen and their families back for the day, though. Maybe next year! Marlena and Jacob experienced a couple of firsts on that trip. They both went fishing for the first time and they also both got to try tubing for the first time in Lake Ontario. Marlena made it look like so much fun that Uncle Dave and Aunt Melissa decided to give it a go even though we'd left our suits back at the cabin. My muscles are still sore; this body is not as young as it was the last time I went tubing!
We also managed to get some cousin pictures before going our separate ways. This is probably one of the best ones taken, but it's quite comical watching the sequence of all the pictures shot. It's not easy getting a good picture of little kids! We also tried getting pictures of Addison and Brogan in the fuzzy yellow chair. This chair used to live at Grandma and Grandpa's house and we all have pictures of ourselves in it when we were little. Brogan was definitely on the move and not really in the mood to sit down for a picture!

Matt, Brianne, and Brogan left from the lake to go home so Matt could preach the next morning. Mike and his kids left early the next morning for Arizona, and David, Addison, and I flew home Sunday night (with much less drama than the first time, however sleepy baby+flying does not equal easy). I'm sure Mom and Dad have been home today completely exhausted by all the hustle and bustle of the week! It was busy, but it was lots of fun!

Liddick Family Christmas in July- #8

After the zoo, we met up at Ontario Beach for a picnic lunch followed by ice cream at Abbott's and a carousel ride. We had intended to go swimming after lunch, but unfortunately the beach was closed that day.

We were delightfully surprised at how much Addison enjoyed her first carousel ride!

Liddick Family Christmas in July- #7

Seneca Park Zoo

While the guys went golfing, Grandma and the moms took the kids to the Seneca Park Zoo for the morning.

Here we are making our own totem pole.

Poor Brianne is behind that picture holding up the whole stroller so she didn't have to wrestle Brogan back in afterward.

Jacob had fun holding Brogan's tail (even though it doesn't look like he's having fun in the picture!).

I took Addison to Como Zoo a few weeks ago, and she didn't seem nearly as interested in the animals then. Apparently the view from mommy's belly is a little better than that from her stroller. She really had fun this time.

Liddick Family Christmas in July- #6

Letchworth State Park

We all loaded up and went to Letchworth State Park for a picnic and pictures on Thursday. It was a lovely day for it and a gorgeous setting for pictures. (Notice Addison's wardrobe change half-way through... we had a little incident changing the diaper in the back of the van. That's why Mommy carries a spare outfit!)






After pictures and our picnic lunch we gave the kids a little time to play on the playground. Addison had her first swinging experience, and you can see that as little as she is, she required Grandma's purse and a blanket to keep her locked in place. She really had fun on the swing... especially when Uncle Matt came over acting like a monkey.

Liddick Family Christmas in July- #5

We went to the Strong National Museum of Play a couple of years ago as a family when it was just all of us grown ups entertaining Jacob and Marlena. We knew those two would have a ball again, but had no idea how much fun there would be for the under 2 crowd. Addison had a blast!

Liddick Family Christmas in July- #4

Getting to Know You

The sad part of not being able to get together more than once a year is that some time is required to just get to know each other at the beginning of each visit. All four of the cousins were meeting each other for the very first time on this trip. Addison was also meeting her aunt and uncles for the first time, and Brogan hadn't seen most of us since he was only about 6 weeks old last summer. In spite of the unfamiliarity, they all seemed to really enjoy playing together and even Addison got rid of her "stranger anxiety" before too long and was able to spend some more quality time with her grandparents and aunt and uncles. Marlena was instantly in love with Addison and Addison returned her affection. Even though there's a bit of an age difference between Mike's kids and Addison and Brogan, the older two seemed to have fun entertaining the younger two.

Liddick Family Christmas in July- #3

Christmas!

Even though we got in so late, we still decided to go ahead and follow through with our scheduled Christmas festivities that night. Supposedly Jacob and Marlena really had their hearts set on it and had been waiting all day, but we know it was really Uncle Matt that couldn't wait. With the help of Mike's kids, Mom and Dad set up their Christmas tree earlier that day (which was promptly taken down the next morning for 14 month old Brogan's sake. Christmas decorations can be irresistible to a 1 year old!

Addison got "My Pal Violet" from Uncle Mike and her cousins, cool bathtub toys from Uncle Matt, Aunt Brianne, and cousin Brogan, and some cute clothes and shoes from Grandma and Grandpa. Her first Christmas was a hit!

Liddick Family Christmas in July- #2

Addison's First Flight

A week or so ago I started asking friends for tips and advice for flying with a 6 month old. While I received a lot of great ideas that were very helpful, not one person recommended being prepared for the "just-in-case" scenario. My parents had diapers, formula, and baby food waiting for us in NY, so I had only packed what we would need to get there (plus a little extra), expecting to be to their house by 3:30 or so in the afternoon. Without going in to great detail, (don't get me started!) we experienced a number of non-weather-related delays throughout the day getting us to my parents house a little after 10:00 that night. It was a very stressful travel day, but Addison never even showed signs of it. In spite of Mommy's bad attitude, she traveled like a champ and got lots of attention both in the airports and on the plane.

Liddick Family Christmas in July- #1

You may remember last year when my family started the tradition of celebrating Christmas in the summertime instead of the more "traditional" winter holiday season :-) This started for a couple of reasons. One, my family is quite spread out geographically. My parents live in upstate New York, we live in Minnesota, my older brother and his kids live in Arizona, and until very recently my younger brother and his family lived in Kentucky. (They have recently moved to New York as well, a couple of hours from the parents). That's a lot of different directions to bring together when the weather is "iffy". Also, growing up in a pastor's home, it may or may not be a surprise to learn that each of us kids have grown up ministry-minded as well, and for anyone involved in church work to be gone around Christmas is next to impossible. We were finding that even when we wanted to celebrate a traditional Christmas together, it was never on the actual holiday and we were all so exhausted from pulling together all of the Christmas Eve services that it wasn't as fun as it should have/could have been. We experimented last year and had such a great time together, that it has stuck. Over the next several posts, you can see pictures and read about our trip and time together with the family. Getting this whole crew together is something that we're only able to achieve once a year; and when we do it's a very special time.