Rewind: Summer Part 4

I recently realized while looking through some pictures that I never posted about the great time I had at my oldest sister Keri's house during the summer.  And since I don't have a camera till my new one arrives from the States, (my primary camera was stolen and my secondary stopped working after one day) I thought I would rewind a little and share some pictures from that trip.  This post would have followed Part 3 in the sequence of posts about my early summer adventures.  After leaving my great friends Spencer and Anna's wedding I traveled up to meet...

this little guy for the first time, (my nephew, Finley Paul Rue)

and this wild girl (my oldest niece Skylar Nicole Rue).  These pictures pretty much encapsulate my time with each of them.  Finley slept, while Skylar didn't really ever stop talking or moving.  She is hilarious and a lot of fun.  This picture was taken just after she attacked a chocolate ice cream cone.  Her daddy would be so proud.

I hadn't seen my parents but a few hours in the past six months, so it was really nice that they were there when I arrived.  We got to celebrate my dad's belated birthday together the next day.  We were a few weeks late, but the cake was fresh.  Skylar probably thought it was her birthday again because she got to blow the candles out...a few times.

 Soon after my parents left Naomi, one of their cadets from West Point, arrived from nearby Fort Drum for a few days of R&R.  Skylar had a lot of fun playing with her...so much for R&R.  The first day we headed over to the YMCA pool for some aquatic fun.

 There was lots of splashing and screaming.

I also taught her how to turn a noodle into a squirt gun.  We had fun shooting the other kids in the pool with it.  What else are uncles good for than teaching devious activities?

A few days later we got out of the house to see the amazing Watertown Zoo.  It wasn't much more than a petting zoo with a lot of broken "under construction" exhibits.  However, we did have the Brown Bear walk right up to the glass to say hello.  He was one of the few animals that didn't look like a "hand me down" from a larger zoo.

 Probably the coolest thing we did besides hanging out together was a boat ride on the St. Lawrence River.  Keri lives only about 30 minutes from the US/Canada border not far from Lake Ontario.  The St. Lawrence separates Canada and the US near a place called 1000 Islands.  Yes, it is where the salad dressing was invented.

It was normal to see planes and yachts parked in front of the massive homes.

The islands are mostly personally own by millionaires who build monstrous houses on them.  This was the craziest of them all, Boldt Castle.  The castle has an incredible story behind it that you'll have to read about sometime.  I think I could write an entire blog post about this building alone.  At the end of our ride we got to tour the castle and the island it sits on.  (Heart Island, the owner blew up sections to make it into that shape for his wife he gifted the castle to...all part of the story.)

One of the bridges that rises above the river spanning between the US and Canada

Later in our trip Skylar got to take control of the boat.  She was even given a little paper saying that she was now certified to drive.  She was pretty proud of herself.

An incomplete family picture.  We are all really excited for them as their daddy, U.S. Army Captain Micah Rue, will be returning from a year in Afghanistan in only a few days.  Thanks again for your service to our country Micah. (I just noticed the ladies shirt in the background.  That's pretty fitting.)

This was a pretty scattered post.  Too much to cover and not enough time to write.  Well it was some great family time!  I miss those munchkins.  Thank you for your wonderful hospitality Keri.

What better way to end a post but with Skylar's super hero pose?