Hanging out with Robin, Matthias and Emil July 2017

We drove from Binghamton to Chicago on July 8 and met up with Robin, Matthias, Emil and Mom and Dad on Sunday, July 9 (so Benjamin can do the CIT program at Camp Sertoma that week) in Maggie Daley Park.

Laua and Matthias did the climbing wall and Emil happily scootered around for a while.

After a picnic lunch we took an architectural boat tour.

and then checked in at the Embassy Suites for the night.  We met up with the rest of the group for dinner at Eataly Restaurant.  Emil was excited to choose a fish shaped pizza for dinner.

Monday Robin wanted to go shopping so we went to the Alder Planetarium

 and walked around for a few minutes in the McCormick Bird Sanctuary along Lake Michigan.

Then we briefly visited Ian at the University of Chicago.  After a tour of his lab we headed off to Saugatuck, Michigan.

On the way, we stopped at Aldi for food.  Our room at the Beachway Resort had a kitchen so that Dave could spend the vacation cooking 3 meals a day for our party of 10.  Fortunately we picked up Salmon because Emil loves fish.

Tuesday we went to Oval Beach.

Wednesday we explored Saugatuck in the afternoon because it was too windy for boating then hiked at River Bluff Park.

We enjoyed dinner at Wally's in the evening. Thursday morning we hiked at Dune State Park in the morning.

After lunch, we took the chain ferry across the Kalamazoo River and finally went kayaking and paddleboarding.

Kids turning the crank on the chain ferry.

Thursday evening, Dave cooked while Laura and Emil served dinner.  Friday we walked up to the top of the Mt. Baldhead near the Beachway hotel.

At lunchtime we left to go home.

Laura and Emil outside out hotel room getting ready to serve dinner.

Emil enjoyed playing games at the Beachway.

family reunion in the delaware water gap

This weekend we met Dave's brothers and their families at the Days Inn in East Stroudsburg for a fun family weekend. It didn't start off so well for us because I-380 was closed do to several accidents. All the traffic was routed onto 611, which was so crowded it was barely moving. Fortunately, we had a GPS which, after going around in circles several times, we used to get around the traffic and take a less direct, but possibly faster, route to East Stroudsburg. In the end the 2 hour drive actually took us about 4 hours. The Days Inn there was adequate. My main complaint is that the bathroom was claustrophically small, and the breakfast was barely adequate (cream cheese and a pitcher of cold water would have been a significant improvement). The indoor pool was really great, though.

Saturday, Howard wanted to show us his favorite secret spot in the Delaware Water Gap, but before heading there, we had to fight traffic to shop at a crowded flea market to get the kids nets (to play with in the water) and water guns. After a quick lunch, we finally drove to the Delaware Water Gap and barely managed to find parking in the small lot near Howard's secret swimming spot (so much for getting away from the crowds!). We walked along a stream to get to a waterfall with a small pool in front that we could play in. Though not so secret, the kids had fun swimming and trying to catch frogs.

By the time we were done playing, dinnertime was almost approaching and Howard wanted to take us to the Walpak Inn where deer come to feed right in front of the windows of the restaurant. While waiting for Russ and Jodi to join us, we all went our separate ways exploring for a 1/2 an hour. Our exploration took us down a dirt road to some bear sightings! We saw a mommy bear and two baby bears climbing a tree! Dinner was OK--the kids ate some chicken and some pasta. Though we enjoyed seeing the deer show up toward the end of our meal, we weren't overly impressed with our meals.

Sunday we swam in the pool and played in a park near the hotel before heading home. Klozkin family reunion #1 (the first annual?) was over at last!

Week in Ithaca

Outdoor Survival Camp looked like a great experience for the kids. Our plan was to rent a house for a week in Ithaca and send the boys to camp at the Cayuga Nature Center. We rented a house just down the street from the high school and a bus stop to take the kids to the camp. They built shelters, played in the tree house, collected edible plants (though my kids didn't actually taste any of them!). They went swimming most days in a lake at Taughannock State Park. On the last day they had a campfire and made banana boats which consists of bananas, marshmellows and chocolate wrapped in aluminum foil and toasted over the fire.

Saturday we traveled to Ithaca--Dave by bike and the rest of us by car. Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a couple of days. In the afternoon we got to see a puppet show at the library. On Sunday we went swimming at Treman Falls State Park.

During the week while the kids were enjoying camp, we did our own activities. On Monday we saw the Cornell Plantations with my parents. Tuesday Dave had to go to a meeting in Binghamton, so we swam in the hotel pool and went to the Ithaca ScienCenter with Grandma and Grandpa before saying goodbye to them. Wednesday we saw the campus art museum and walked to Ithaca Falls. On Thursday, we took a sailing lesson on a big sailboat, and Fridaywe went on a bike ride on a paved recreation path with Laura. Dave and I took turns taking morning bike rides, and on one of my rides, I discovered a great playground at Fall Creek Elementary School. Saturday we packed up, walked to Ithaca Falls and met Rowena and her friend at the Ithaca ScienCenter.

Trip to Syracuse during Passover

After hearing wonderful things about the Syracuse Zoo, we decided take a day trip there during Spring Break. It certainly wasn't nearly as big at the Cincinnati Zoo, but it definitely has more to see than our local Binghamton Zoo. Our favorite exhibits were the penguins.

The kids loved seeing them swim around.



While we were in Syracuse, we decided to also stop at the MOST (Museum of Science and Technology). Not having a detailed map of Syracuse, I asked at the zoo info desk for directions. They handed me a piece of paper which seemed to give directions, but once on the road, every turn direction was not correct (though the street names were). We eventually found our way to the museum and had about an hour to explore before it closed. The big climbing structure called Science Playhouse occupied the kids for most of the time. Benjamin loved shooting foam balls at a target.

The flight simulator activities were also huge hits.

We definitely could have spent more time at the science museum, but the kids got to spend some time at the activities they found the most exciting. We didn't stay for dinner because of the Passover holiday, but overall it was a worthwhile trip.

Snowshoeing and Corning

Last Friday I took Laura snowshoeing at the Waterman Center. I wanted to see if she could do it before the snow melted in the current heat wave (it has been so cold lately that anything over 30 degrees feels like a heat wave). I got snowshoes securely on her feet about adjusting about 38 straps. She was able to manage it without tripping over the snowshoes. Of course the moment I got them on, she needed a bathroom break. Perhaps we can try a family snowshoe hike, though they did not have many snowshoes that were adjustable enough for little feet.

On Sunday we went to the Corning Glass Museum. They had a special kids program about Egypt. We did some crafts and saw Egyptian dancing. Of the regular exhibits, the glass making was more interesting to the kids than the glass art. They were disappointed that they didn't get to make their own glass, but we ran out of time and it seemed kind of expensive ($17 to make a bead, especially if we have to do 3 of them).

Frozen Over Winter Break

I can't believe winter break is almost over already! First Aunt Wendy came to visit--Laura cried when she left. An historic house without anything to touch or space to run around isn't kid friendly, but fun to visit every so often. So, the Annual Holiday Program for Families seemed like a great opportunity to see the Phelps Mansion Museum (and I called up the day before the event to make reservations). The kids enjoyed the Steadfast Tin S0ldier puppet show (but Laura was very concerned about why the soldier had only one leg), then they slit the visitors into groups of about 7 people for tours. The tour wasn't very long, and moved fairly quickly, so it didn't exceed the kids' attention span. I think their favorite part was the cookies and punch afterwards.

We also stopped by the Hanukkah House exhibit at Temple Concord since it was nearby. This worthwhile exhibit is a small display in a historic house owned by the temple. It even included a few games that the kids enjoyed playing.

Then, we rushed back to NJ on Tuesday, for Grandma Judy's annual Hanukkah party complete with lots of kids, latkes and presents.

On Wednesday we met Erica and family at the NJ State Museum in Trenton (the kids' friends at school will certainly be jealous of this outing!). Though I went to this museum as a school field trip several of times when I was in elementary school, I don't remember anything particularly exciting about it. The kids would have enjoyed the planetarium, but that was closed. Though this museum has few hands-on activities, the exhibit about global climate change with lots of life-size animal displays and animal tracks on the floor was our favorite. Then we stopped at McDonalds to give the kids a chance to stretch their legs.

By Thursday morning, the ground was covered with enough snow to make an awesome snowball, which we eventually turned into a snowman.


Around dinnertime on Thursday (what an exciting New Years Eve!) we arrived home to a couple of inches of snow (much more than Grandma and Grandpa had). So, we started off 2010 by playing in the snow. Laura took her mommy and baby kitty cat for a ride in the sled, and then Benjamin decided to build a snow cave around them. Unfortunately we forgot to bring the cats inside and the next day the poor kitties were frozen to ground! We managed to extract them from the ice and thaw them, and now, except for a few dirt spots, they are as good as new!

Benjamin discovered that he enjoys doing Laura's hair.

Packing for Thanksgiving

Thursday morning, just before leaving for New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving with Grandma (both) and Grandpa the kids packed the important stuff they needed for the trip. Being too occupied with packing only trivial things (such as clothing and food), I didn't see what treasures the kids stuffed into their bags until we got to our destination. As soon as we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Benjamin and Laura dumped out their backpacks, eager to display their most treasured possessions of the day. Benjamin managed to stuff The Big Book of Rescue Vehicles, a large battery operated "Monster Truck", 5 Webkins, his kitty cat, a Bakugan case, a giant Bakugan, a Bakugan Handbook, several Power Rangers and assorted other toys into his backpack. When it was time to go home, I could not reassemble his backpack so that all his treasures fit into it again.

Benjamin's treasures:















And of course he can't leave home without his Bakugan collection and Captain Underpants books.

While at Grandma and Grandpa's house the kids discovered three 3-color highlighters (intended for them, of course--Grandpa always makes sure he has 3 of everything). The kids found this discovery very excited and needed to check them out right away. Laura enjoyed scribbling in each of the different colors. Benjamin tried out different words to see how they looked in each of the different colors. On the other hand, Joshua decided that it was necessary to write a play with 3 different characters so that he can highlight each of the character's parts a different color.