KidsArt

 The boys and I went to the Elmwood Art Festival Sunday morning after their ninja practice.  We almost didn't go because parking was a pain, but then lo and behold, a space opened up for us!

The boys were not too enthusiastic at first, but they perked up after some lunch.  We found the food truck aisle, and I was able to try a taco from Lloyds, which is locally famous (and indeed, delicious).  Matthew was happy because "his" hot dog truck (from the Taste of Williamsville) was there, and he and James both had hot dogs (also good, though overpriced in my opinion).

Then we found the KidsFest, which was really great.  James was happy to play in the sandbox, and Matthew made an "acorn baby."  Then, because he is such a sweet brother, he made one for James.  The tent had an "acorn playground" for the acorn babies to play on, and James made a ninja course for his.  :)

Then Mattie went to the face-painting station (and got an acorn painted on his wrist), and James went to the toy-making station.  The project was a "catch the ball in the cup" game, and the kids sawed the stick, sanded it, used a drill to make the cup, and hammered it together -- pretty cool that they had a chance to use all those tools (in a well-supervised way).  Mattie hadn't wanted to do it at first, and then changed his mind when he saw James's toy.

Another fun moment was running into their kindergarten teacher! I think it made their day, even though it was just a quick hello.  :)

Big Quack

I love the giant duck in the background.

The World's Largest Rubber Ducky was at Canalside this weekend -- so of course we had to go check it out!  (We did pass on the $10 souvenir ducks, though.)

(And good thing we went in the late morning after ninjas -- apparently the traffic was a disaster in the late afternoon evening, with a baseball game, concert, and giant duck all happening within a few blocks of each other.)

Matthew actually wanted me to take this picture!

Waystation

It's nice to be the stopover point -- we were lucky enough to get to see Emily and Dave on their way up to Vermont!  We had a nice Greek dinner (at which James discovered he likes gyro meat), and introduced them to the American Ninja Warrior show.  (James claims he's not so interested in this season, but that didn't stop the boys from bouncing off the walls, cheering for all their favorites, and asked repeatedly to see "just one more run!")

They noticed the family heirloom cow painting up on our wall, and so Matthew then painted his own version. :)

Sweet Water

 We went to Gainesville's new wetlands nature park, and spotted some birds and even a wild horse.  (Only one tiny alligator, which was fine with us!)  Of course, it was also meltingly hot, so we weren't motivated to explore all of the sunny trails!