Staycation '09

My, my, my... don't they all look so big when you stack them up like that?
From left to right, that's Justin (going into 5th grade!), Jared (2nd!), Marcus (1st!), Trenton, (pre-school!), Ethan (also pre-school!) and Oliver (nothing! the joys of being the baby! but soon to start swim class with momma!)

The goal was to take the best shots and put them here and then throw the rest in a slideshow... but with 299 pictures, it was hard to be brief! So here's the sampling you get:

Camping at Allaire State Park

Super Dad. Seriously, the boys were so well entertained and monitored, primarily by the dads, while the moms cleaned, cooked, etc. There were less tantrums than usual ;) And everyone really had fun!

A day at Avon-by-the-Sea

A night in Point Pleasant

Group shot taken by Grandma Lacina, who also served as babysitter for the night (don't worry, they were all asleep) so that the adults could go out and KARAOKE!

"Faith" by George Michael
"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

"Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi. Can you really sing the chorus without raising your arm?
I don't think so!

The Dads saw a movie together one afternoon while The Moms went out for dessert (Melting Pot in Red Bank-- you are sooo EVIL!) and more karaoke ;)

Don't they both just have that same look on their faces?

Red Bank Farmers Market; Navesink River Park

Of course, we planned the whole trip around a Sunday night Blueclaws game, and it got rained out. But everyone LOVED the Plan B, which was dinner at Ikko Hibachi in Brick. Below, Jared gets smacked in the face with some zucchini.

For the one below, you have GOT to click on it and zoom in on T's mouth. He totally caught it!!!

All in all, it was a fantastic week. I had a schedule for us to follow (of course) but was VERY flexible-- between camping, hitting the beach (waves were fantastic for boarding), doing the rides, bowling (forgot the camera!), hibachi, Farmer's Market, arts and crafts, sprinklers and water guns in the backyard, and crazy amounts of karaoke, we were all exhausted each night. Kids slept well; adults played board games ;) Each day the boys wrote or drew in journals about what things they did during their "New Jersey Vacation".

Another summer staycation in the books!