Beach With Friends

 This week, Cathy and Nora came up for a visit. Even though it wasn't perfect beach weather, it was still warm enough for us to get in the water. The kids are getting very good at riding waves in on their boogie boards. Nora, who has only been to the beach twice (MD girl!), though the word 'boogie' was very funny. ;)

We took the kids to Point and let them play a bunch of games in the arcade, as the weather was rainy. It is amazing what kind of cheap crap you can get for just a few bucks!

 

Better weather = rides. Oliver and Nora went on a whole bunch... T seems to be hanging back now.
Below, we took a walk out to the end of Martell's Tiki Bar pier. Nice view. Fun time catching up with Cathy & Nora!

 

And Then August Happened...

So! Haven't blogged in a long time! This is because I was teaching a summer class, on campus, and it required a LOT of grading over the past few weeks. 

But here's a snippet of what we were up to for the second-half of this summer...

Blueclaws game. Fireworks night. Kids: "That's the latest we've EVER stayed up!" Yes, probably was.

Ear mufflers made it bearable for Ollie. An amazing fireworks show-- hard to believe they do it every Friday night. 

Outside time with the family. Below, boys inside GIGANTIC bongo ball... this time with water. Uncle Len's growing a beard, as requested by the bride-to-be in a wedding he's participating in.

 

 Boys had to do  a LOT of keeping themselves busy while Mommy did some grading. One morning it was "Batman/Frankenstein/DanceParty/Karaoke". As you can see.

Mostly, they did a lot of reading, and bugging me to watch TV/play Wii/zone out with the DS. 

Celebration of Chrysanne's Sweet Sixteen. 

We had a great meal, and the boys got to boogie-down on the dance floor ;)

\\

A visit with Great-Grandma, who will be 90 this September.

Sunflower Progress!

Mammoth Sunflowers, grown from tiny seeds!

***

New pics, 8/30/13:

After 5 PM

At five o'clock, the lifeguards blow their whistles, wave their arms, and pack up for the day. They drag in the heavy lifeguard chair and the big wooden boat, and leave them in the sand.

A grand opportunity for boys to begin playing....

We were happy to run into one of Trenton's friends from school: Nick.

Evening

When there is silence in the house in the early evening, this is usually why:

I can get lost in what I'm doing (cleaning the kitchen, making another batch of pickles, prepping dinner, all the while listening to NPR on the radio) and suddenly notice that I'm not hearing little voices anymore.

Today, Jim took them to the movies and then out to play basketball. It was an awesome daddy-son afternoon. And later, they read. Solo. So nice.

 

So you gotta reward that behavior ;)
Both kids thoroughly enjoyed some s'mores. Yuuuuuuum.
(Mommy had a Yinger ;)

Outgoing President, Incoming President

 This week, Monmouth University saw a beloved president resign, and a new president come into his role. It was a gorgeous day, and we were all present to witness the moment.

We loved President Paul Gaffney-- he is a fantastic speaker, fundraiser, leader, and president, in every sense of the word. He's decided to retire from his job at MU (eleven years!) and move on.
After an almost year-long search, he will be replaced by Paul Brown (formerly of Lehigh University). 

You can see Oliver on Jim's shoulders in the picture below.

 The new president:

Pictures of the boys working Daddy's coffee grinder in his office.

 
***

Oliver has wanted to make a lemonade stand for WEEKS now. It was finally the right mix of not too hot weather/Mommy had time to squeeze lemons/we had not much else going on... So we found a busy intersection in our neighborhood and sat outside for about an hour.
After the first ten minutes, Oliver said, "Mom, why is no one stopping?"
:(

Then, cars began to slow down. One backed up.
Even though we were only charging 50 cents a cup, each customer left way more than that. Good tips.
The boys made a total of $12!
They spent their hard-earned money at the movie theatre today, seeing Monsters Inc. with Jim. :)

Ocean Grove Lifeguard Competition, 2013

 Well hay folks! Now this is new!
Last week, we were out buying a new car! And it was raining like crazy! So Bradley Beach cancelled their yearly lifeguard competition :( Good news was that Ocean Grove had one the following week!
There were events such as swim out to the flag! Swim out to the flag while carrying the orange thingie, then have your teammate pull you back! Boat out to the flag! Kayak out to the flag! So, yes, lots of exercise involving the flag. Which had to be a damn good distance offshore.

 Great night to watch lifeguards from OG, Bradley, Avon, Belmar, Spring Lake, Monmouth County Parks, Long Branch, etc. (there were 11 represented)
Oliver had a ladybug in his hair. See it?

Although it was a day early, we celebrated Jim's birthday at the Beach Plum in Bradley Beach. Excellent choices for hard ice cream, if you're ever in the area. Delish!