Night On the Town-- David's Wedding

Look at those two happy cats! 

We attended the wedding reception of my cousin David and his wife Hijira last weekend. Dinner was at the Adega Grill in Newark. The Spanish/Portuguese cuisine was fantastic, and we loved the tapas-style serving.

 That's my crazy cousin ;) Congrats, Dave!

 Open bar meant one craaaazy night! Below, the couple's signature drink, Sweet Love: Pop Rocks along the rim, blue Curacao & whipped vodka, served over cotton candy. Saaaweeet!

A Great Run, 30Rock

Oh boy...

After seven excellent years, one of our favorite shows is about to wrap up.
30 Rock-- with the brilliant writing ("cultural satire and rapid-fire wit") and acting talents of Tina Fey, someone who is never afraid to let it all out to nail a really great joke, make a totally pertinent pop culture reference, and include all kinds of spectacular guest stars on her weekly 30 minute comedy show ;)

You ask how much we love it?
Let's remember: the premiere of 30 Rock in 2008 fell on October 30th... and despite the fact that I was in all-out active labor, I remained HOME so that we didn't miss it. Because, you know, priorities, right?

Here's most of the cast on Jimmy Fallon last night. Clearly, they are going to miss working with each other. Man, are we going to miss the Liz/Jack scenes... so many great one-liners and zingers.... Watch the two below for some favorite scenes.
 

Bravo, 30Rock! We'll be watching in syndication! 

Belmar's Boardwalk

Today was history in the making in Belmar!

Oliver and I bundled up and headed out to the 4th Ave. beach to witness the first of the supporting beams as it was driven into the sandy ground. 

Had to take these pics, as I thought it was very cool. Each one of Belmar's ocean-front blocks has been barricaded off for some time now... But the boro has made good use of out them. It appears as though local artists have turned them into masterpieces! Below are two that I was able to photograph through my car window.

 

 You can see how enormous the machines are when Oliver stands next to them.
Below, some of the beautiful lamp posts that will surely be put back into place.

It was odd to be in this area-- the space where we've enjoyed seafood festivals, weddings, and, quite simply, grass; it is now a dirt-covered construction zone.

 So here's the post. About as tall as a telephone pole, and just about as thick. Definitely a supporting beam. You can see, if you look veeeery closely, that they've written the date and some names (in chalk?) on the bottom part.

 Guess who wanted to sit on my shoulders during the press-conference? Dude, this kid is pushing 36 pounds, you know... Uggh... Good thing momma lifts weights ;)

So here we have Belmar's young mayor... seems like a nice, smart, devoted guy.

Below, you have Congressman Chris Smith (also a well-spoken guy).

 Frank Pallone...

 And the big man, Chris Christie. Always exciting to listen to him, as he is quite the Jersey guy.
(He mentioned that he's going to be on the cover of Time magazine... look for that... apparently, they refer to him as the Boss... a title he was leery of, as he noted he's juuust started making good strides with Springsteen ;) Read more about what he said regarding Belmar here.

 And then they took questions for like, twenty minutes.
And then it got colder.
And then my four year old was like "Momma! When is he gonna push the button? When will they put the wooden pole in the sand?"
We decided to move closer to the pole so that we could get a better look.
One gentleman that we stood next to (a Belmar local) gave Oliver TWO gold dollar coins. He said that they had both survived the storm in his home (they were quite worn looking). Sweet man noted that Ollie had a brother, and didn't want to leave him out.
These will be special mementos, for sure. For shore!

Waiting for them to push the button.

Still waiting.
Here he comes.

 And then it was like: bam! Button pushed!

 It was loud, but not crazy-loud. The neat thing was that the ground shook!

 Can you tell that the pole is getting deeper and deeper into the sand? Shorter and shorter?

Lots of press around. You can actually see me (green jacket, left side) in the beginning of this news clip here.

Buddy was happy about that.

 And then it stopped.

 On our walk back to the car, we decided to stomp on the sand.

 Some beautiful track-marks right there.
Soon to be covered by a new boardwalk.
A boardwalk where, at Tenth Avenue, you'll be able to see Trenton & Oliver's name!
A boardwalk where both boys will ride their bikes this summer... run around on the surface while chasing each other in the sunshine... play underneath, like the big-kids do... and, eventually, pick up hot chicks ;)

 We love you, Belmar.
We love you, Jersey Shore.
Can't wait to see what you become!
****
A favorite Belmar memory (approx. 5/07):

A Reason Why I Always Check On the Kids Before I Turn In

This is how we found him at 10AM the other night...

UPDATE!
This is what I found at naptime yesterday (about four days after I initially posted the above pics):



Dang, kid. Are the books boring, or do you just not need to come up for air? Perhaps it serves to darken the room?

Great Wolf Lodge

Well hay hay hay!!!

Even though we were all getting over the sickies, it was still time for a mini-vacation! 

Jim WON his Fantasy Football league this season and had the brilliant idea to take the family to Great Wolf Lodge for two nights in January. He has off of work... the kids missed some school... but it was a wonderful trip for all of us. The place is fantastic, with lots to do and see. We packed up our cooler (the ice cream T has in the picture below was about the only food we purchased) and headed out to the Poconos just after New Year's Day.

Below, Oliver puts on a puppet show in the Cub Club room.

 At Ten Paw Alley, the boys were both able to bowl to their hearts' content. Five pound balls, bumpers,  no special shoes, and no slick surfaces.

 At night, they have story time in the lobby. A gigantic fireplace illuminates the clock tower, where animated creatures sing and tell a story. The boys enjoyed cuddling up in their p.j.s and staying up a bit late to hear the story.

 Of course there was an arcade.

 Can you believe that he actually landed on the tiny sliver for 100 points? The tickets are coming out of both sides of the machine, below. He was so excited!

The highlight of the experience is the massive indoor water park. The temperature is a nice & humid 84 degrees. Both boys liked the pool part the best, I think, where they could play basketball and swim around while looking through their goggles.

 There were many water slides in the park, but they boys absolutely refused to go on them. They had nice tubes that you'd sit in... but I think the fact that they were so high up spooked them. The boys did both go on the speed slides (no tube required) and the lazy river. Below, Jim and Oliver wait in line for the speed slide.

 Shooting some hoops.

 Check out Ollie walking across the beaver/log pads.

 

 

 He did it!

 Trenton loved the giant wave pool, too. He jumped the waves and body-slammed into them, just like he does in the summer at the shore.

 The huge bucket at the top of this structure would fill with water and dump every so often.

Now, T's turn on the lily pads:

 

 

 

 And he's across, too!

 Brothers having a LOT of fun.
Our family shot.

A BIG thank you to Jim for my spa treatment, as well. Spent two hours getting massaged and pampered... something I'd never think of doing, usually... but totally an indulgence.

We had a wonderful time and hope to return again when the kids are a bit older-- to tackle those tube slides!