More Evidence-- We Have Life!

Check out THAT big green plant! I actually moved that sucker from the side of the house (where we were having the musty-smell issue; recommendation was to git rid of de shurbbery) and it is still alive and kicking!
(In this picture, anyway...)
Ah! And the sunflowers that Jim and T have grown! They're getting there! T's goal is to have them up to his window before the season is over. We'll see about that!

I'm frequently impressed with the diversity and color scheme of our flowers. The previous owners really went all out. All spring/summer long, we've been watching a rainbow unfold and surround our new home.


Don't look too closely. These are the rosebushes in the backyard that I've neglected to properly care for. I stink. Again, blame it on THE CLASS. And the heat. Who wants to be out there weeding mid-day? And have you SEEN the SIZE of the mosquitoes this year? Poor Trenton-- nothing works, and the kid comes in with pink welts the size of golf balls on his legs.
For this reason (and the extreme heat), my baby has said that he "doesn't like summer". Noooooooo!!!!

Super Summer

Did you know that Superheroes can fly in our house?

And when not saving the world, they can be found cuddling together in one bed, surrounded by books, and illuminated by the night-light. (The fingers entwined is just too cute, right?)

And then there are the ants. Proof that we DO do science projects! The kids LOVED watching them make the tunnels and eat various bits of raw veggies.

Boys at the Beach

Many thanks to my cousin, Robyn, for sending these along via email!
Robyn and her sons, Nicholas and Anthony, came down to the beach this past weekend & we met up with them. Above, T shows Nicholas what he's found.

Anthony and Oliver dug up lots of sand. The weather was perfect-- not too sunny, warm... We hope to see them again soon!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Mom's birthday was a beautiful day. We spent it at the beach with the boys and my brother.


Trenton has suddenly realized that he can REALLY ride the waves! He loves it!


Unfortunately, somehow this board didn't make it back home with us. Not sure if we left it on the boardwalk, or near the car... I'm bummed, because it was MY board as a kid. :(((
It was kinda fun to splash around in the water with my brother. He has an awesome new beach chair, courtesy of the company he works part-time for. He promotes their chairs very well just by riding in them. We had at least two people ask him about his own chair, as they were interested for others.

I remember having so many different cars as a kid. A gray station wagon. A yellow two-door that my brother and I dubbed "the Banana Boat". A brown four-door Oldsmobile with cream interior. A dark-colored rental that got rear-ended one day on Rt. 130, causing me to have to visit the chiropractor for months afterwards.

But I don't have any pictures of them.

I was thinking of that while sitting outside today. Then I grabbed my camera and told the boys to get behind our truck.
I got this truck in 2001, just after college graduation. Can you believe it is ten years old? Rebuilt transmission last year, new rotors this week, and just today, a nice crack in the windshield. But I still love it, as do the kids. Soft and roomy. It will be sad to see it go someday.
***
We got to hang out with Nicole and Rodney and the kids! This enormous raft-thing was actually kept in their boat and taken out for the enjoyment of all, while floating in the bay outside Forked River. As you can see from the picture below, lots of boats like to 'park it' in this area. The water is calm and shallow. We get out, wade across the Barnegat Bay, walk to the shoreline, and we're just steps away from Island Beach State Park. No lifeguards in that section of the beach, but not many people, either. Nice vibe there.

And to top of that day...

We headed to the annual New Jersey State Ice Cream Festival! Note to self: don't try it again next year! Lots of 'questionable' people, crowds, limited parking, etc... worst part? If you don't get there early enough, they run out of ice cream! We were looking forward to trying out ten different flavors from ten different stands (even pre-bought the tix), but ended up just getting three or four. Ollie slept. Trenton smiled.Summer rules.

Point- The Rest of What We Do There

So! This is what ELSE goes on when we hang out in Point Pleasant for the night.

Crab watchin'.


No. I repeat, No. We are NOT getting one of those things. I hear they like to make scratching sounds in the night. Best left here in their cage. To visit.
(Also, why is it that all of the shells are now pre-painted hideous colors? What if you just wanted an old-school crab? With a real straight-from-the-shore shell? You're outta luck.)

I, however, was IN LUCK, because Melissa came with us that night! And I didn't have to put T on this roller coaster alone!
Were you aware that you can get some excellent sushi at Martell's? Yep. Probably the healthiest thing you can get at the boardwalk. Both boys loved the California rolls... although it did take some bribing to get them to eat all the parts...
Yep! Shared ice cream!
Melissa, we love it when you can make time to come down and visit us. Thanks again!

Cord-less?

Would my cord that connects my camera to the computer please come back? Until then, I'm left with just words-- no pics! I need to tell you about the trip to the farm, the Wiggles concert, and the rest of our summer excursions!
Thanks.

UPDATE!!!
1) The lovely people on Freecycle actually responded to my random post about needing this cord. One woman says she works for a company that makes a universal cord and promised to send it out... that was last week. I'm going to give it until Tuesday, and if I still don't get it, on to...

2) Um, here it is. Who knew it was only a penny? You think I would have just GOOGLED it or searched on Amazon weeks ago.

But that is how things are going right now. All free time is devoted to classwork. For my LAST CLASS! But I promise to carve out time to post pictures as soon as I get a cord...

UPDATE!!!
I ordered a cord. $3.17. Supposed to be here in 3-5 days...

The Wiggles Concert

We thought we'd hit the jackpot when my mom's cousin said he could score us with some tickets to see The Wiggles at the IZOD Center in mid-July. Although we'd explained to Ollie that we'd be seeing the Wiggles, we weren't sure if he really understood what we were talking about. He's never been to a concert before.
We got there and tailgated. Like all good concert-goers, right?
You should have seen the looks on the faces of the drivers who passed us by. Mostly smiles and laughs when they realized we were blaring Top of the Tots from the back of our truck. And eating PBJs. In the parking garage.

We brought along our two guys-- Anthony and Captain Feathersword.
The boys loved the program, which was the only souvenir we purchased.

The hour and a half show was really great. They sang songs that each boy totally knew. Trenton was very, very into it-- clapping, jumping, singing. Oliver insisted that he be held on the lap of either Jim or myself. Didn't want to clap or move or sing. He just wanted to WATCH THE WIGGLES, OKAY?
And the Big Red Car!
And Greg! And Murray! And Scott, who stood in for the ailing Jeff!
And Anthony! Dang, Anthony, that's what you call a crazy split!
Ollie is STILL talking about the concert. He LOVED it. We all did. ;)

Wiggly Finale from Sheryl K. on Vimeo.

Sandcastle Contest, 2011

Hiya! Yes, we partially come every year for the free chips and drinks ;)

We made a quick stop at the New Jersey Sandcastle Contest in mid-July. The kids always enjoy guessing what each sandcastle will turn out to look like. The one above actually became a pool of blood, with a person lying in it, and a giant sand-shark eating her!
More pics are here. It never amazes me at how good some of these sandcastles can get...
Oliver told me he wanted to watch "the spinning ladies". Hula hoop contest ;)
Maybe next year we will enter? They do have a 7 and under category...

Independence Day, 2011

Well hello there! Happy 4th of July!
Yes, this creature from the deep is your host. Dontcha like his sea foam?
Goes well with the beach theme.
Watch out for this sea-creature-monster-zombie kid.

Dan, Graham, Mike, Oliver, and Jim.
The day was hot and hazy. Water temps have got to be over 70 degrees.
Great conditions for jumping through waves.

Same party, different location.
We moved from a place with a massive backyard to one that was significantly smaller. No worries, though! We still were able to set up the corn hole, have a water balloon fight, and throw eggs. It was quite nice to have a large enough home that we could set up all of the food and fixin's in the chilly AC, while spending most of our times enjoying company outside.
Connor, Oliver, Gabe, and Kendall. Making use of the pool. And bucket.
Many thanks to Mike for filling up the water balloons. Next year, we will need to get you more than 100. The kids really enjoyed smacking each other with them. Except Oliver. He just screamed when he realized what was going down. He does NOT like 'fights'.

More thanks to my Uncle Mike, who totally saved the day by bringing this moon bounce house with him! The kids got their jumping jollies out in this thing.

And the egg toss! On the front lawn!
Complete with the final egg smacking against my car!

We had a great visit with Dan & Michelle and Mike & Mary in the days leading up to the 4th. It was so nice of all of our guests to make the visit to the party. And the food that they brought was also fantastic! We'll be eating leftovers for at least a week.

Happy Independence Day!