Vacation Detox.

Today was our first full day home.
There was no easing back into the routine.
We had no food in the house, so we hit it head on, taking Wegmans by storm this morning.
Let the good times roll!
Nothing quite jolts you back to reality like taking four kids under the age of 8 grocery shopping.

We survived.

Everyone is in one piece and in bed now...so I have to say it was a good day.

Funny thing, though - this afternoon I was on the verge of losing my temper.  The kids were picking at each other, whining and not doing what they were supposed to do.  Grrrr.
Instead of going ballistic, I sat on the floor and covered my face with my hands.  I asked for wisdom to do the right thing and to hold my temper.
When I looked up, I was surrounded by four children doing the exact same thing. 
They *are* watching.

I was trying to get our recent adventures documented by making a photo book at WalMart.  After organizing the pictures THREE times and having ShockWave crash each time as I was finishing the book, I had enough.
So blogging it is.
Something to numb the 4-0 deficit the Sox have dug themselves into.

After the Boilermaker, we were treated to a great lunch at the Tolpa's house.
Good food, good company, playing with Rookie & Zeus and a dip in the pool for the kids was just what we needed.
I would have loved to have gotten in the pool, but with the race that morning, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get out!

After dinner, we headed up to Boonville.  Our hotel was really cool and the kids have already asked to stay there next year for the Boilermaker.
We got to explore the area a bit the next day.  Nina & Pops took the us to a swimming hole that Nina frequented as a child.  It was good for everyone to splash in the pond and play on the playground.

We found some 12 week old Chorkie puppies.
Adorable is an understatement.  
Caroline and Nate fell in love.
Thankfully, we were able to leave the park without a new addition to our family.
It was close, though.  

Then we got to rest back at the hotel.
Rest?
Really?
With this crew?
The reality was that Pops got to rest.

And Nina didn't.

After Rests, we ventured into town early for Uncle Matt's baseball game
But before that, we had a mission to accomplish.
A few months ago, one of the local Moms I know mentioned that she heard of wine ice cream and wanted to try it.  She mentioned it was Upstate, so I was intrigued.  I had never been to Mercer's Dairy before and was more than willing to take one for the Mom Team and see what the ice cream was like. 
It's safe to say that I will never again go to the Tug Hill Plateau without stopping at Mercer's.
The wine ice cream is delicious.  Nothing you will get drunk on.  Just something that makes you smile because it tastes so darn good.
The gingerbread is a show stopper.
I mentioned to the ladies scooping the ice cream behind the counter that I was there on a reconnaissance mission from Maryland.  The owner of the dairy came out soon and we had a great chat, learning a lot about the diary and the ice cream business.  Mercer's is one of the only all women owned dairies in the country and these ladies are working so hard to innovate and keep making a name for themselves.  "I can't compete in vanilla, but I can with this."
We learned that Mercer's was ruled to be a food product, NOT alcohol, and because of this, they just penned a contract with Wegmans and that wine ice cream should be available in Maryland soon!  Yippee!

After thoroughly enjoying ice cream, we headed to The Smith for the Blazer's game.
It was just as baseball should be -  family oriented and FUN!
The players were very nice and signed baseballs for the kids.
We also got to be in the team picture.
Can you find us?

We positioned ourselves well for scooping up foul balls and the Watson children distributed them amongst the children in the crowd.
There was a dirt pile to play in and a rainbow (without rain).  .

The Trailblazers notched a solid win against the Utica Brewers.

Day Complete.