Bittersweet at the Boardwalk

The last beach day is always bittersweet.  We have fun, lots of sun (and we appreciate it), have our last pizza and fries at Angelo's, take our last bit of sand (and ironically take showers to wash it all off), return the rented bike, have our last dinner with family, go down to the boardwalk for rides with cousins, and then..we say goodbye.

Ches said it was hard returning the bike this year.  He rode Carter back to the beach house for me to bathe, then he took the bike back.  He said the empty seat was hard.  He'll be four and a half next year..and may not want to take up beach time for bike riding. : (

He took his only nap on the last day.  He actually said he wanted to go back to take a nap. (!!)  Sissy rested with him. : )

Just beginning our evening at the boardwalk! : )

Ethan on his favorite-bumper cars!  I think he likes running into people.  I have to remember this in eight years!

Boys.  Making faces at me.

Ches took one (or three!) for the team and rode the train again..and again..and again. : )

Love them.

They smiled!!!!

So..I was going to post all of these..it was kinda hilarious.  We tried about 8 times, and no one would stop walking long enough for us to get ONE family shot!  On our last night there!  We had Ethan making faces, Carter reaching down Ches' shirt, and these people kept totally photobombing us.  Like their heads in the picture as they walked right through.  So.. this is all we have. ; )  I guess it's kinda like life.

And..it could be worse.  I mean, just think if Igor hadn't been facing the right way.

Hope you are having a great summer, and your kids are finding cool stuff to write about on the first day back to school, ha!  ..Uh-oh.  We want them to say good things.  You still have a couple weeks!  ..Hugs! 

From Jersey to NY

I *heart* New York!

We left the sunny Jersey Shore this morning, to head north on Garden State Parkway to New York.  I was up at 6:30, but no one else was as excited as me?  I got everyone’s clothes ready for the next two days, and narrowed us down to two small carry-on size suitcases for our New York hotel.  I’ve schlepped in big suitcases, jumpy things, laundry baskets, etc. into big city fancy hotels, and I even have to admit I get a little embarrassed!  We are big kids, and we can make due with a little less.

Yesterday was totally unplanned, but still a great day.  We got ready for the day *in our swimsuits and coverups* and headed out.  We’d planned to spend another day at the beach, then showers at the beach house, then dinner was at Rita’s to celebrate David’s birthday.  Well.  That’s not how our day turned out!

First, we got to the beach house, and it was sprinkling.  We asked Rita if we could help, and we split up.  Ches walked to the grocery store for a few groceries, and she asked me to go get ice cream and cokes at CVS.  Mary Claire and I went-then it started raining!  We tried to swing by and pick up Ches, but he was already at the corner by the house-he’s so fast!

Then more people showed up, we made hot dogs, then finally walked to the beach.  When we got there, we played in the sand-then they closed the beach!  We’d heard thunder, but apparently it had started lightning.  They got everyone out of the water, but few people were leaving. We hung around, took some pictures, collected sand and shells (to decorate with!), and Ethan found someone else’s dumptruck to play with!  Clay got sand in his trunks, and was not happy.  He cried and wanted to go back.  He couldn’t go in the ocean to rinse out the sand, so it was sad business.

Our really impromptu (read: not matching, in swimsuits!) Beach Picture:

Then the lifguards came along and told us we had to leave the BEACH.  We packed up, found some extra shoes (Joseff’s!), and left.  We all stood around on the boardwalk and decided to go for some pizza to see if the storm passed.  It was a good Italian place, and Clay ordered mussels!

They were in marinara sauce, and he really liked them-he ate the whole bowl!  We ordered mozzarella sticks and some pizza too.  Then we went out since John got a text from a lifeguard he knows that the beach was open!  When we got out there, they were closing it again!  (Yes, I know-crazy!)  So. We did some more standing around, and decided to go down to the Castaway Cove (boardwalk with games, rides) to spend the rest of the tickets Ches had bought.  The girls and Clay rode the Double Shot (I’ll try to get my video to load!)-it shot them straight up in the air, then down, and repeated the whole rode again.

Ugh-scary.  I rode nothing there.  They were all spinning, going high, just not for me.

Then as the kids were spending the last of the tickets, it was raining lightly, and all the workers left their stations, and sat at the entrance to the arcade.  We went on through and headed towards home.  When we got halfway, it started pouring!!  We RAN (I had borrowed a stroller), and I got a towel caught in the stroller wheels, and had to stop to pull it out-it was awful!  So, since John and Camille’s house was closer, we ran there.  All drenched, we ran in, and soaked their carpet, I’m sure.  We borrowed towels, and dried off, but…not before Ethan stripped down, walked in their bathroom (you know how he likes to takes baths everywhere we go?), and wanted a bath!  Well, John’s dad, Jack, was in there!  He was in a towel, and didn’t seem to mind, but I was so embarrassed!  Ethan played in the dry bathtub with their rubber duckies for the longest time, then Jack came out and asked me if I was going to run him some water!  I did, and Ches went home for the van.  We stayed a while (Ches was showering at Rita’s), then he came to get us. We went to the hotel and all had showers, then went back for dinner.

I can’t say in words how nice his family is, and how welcome they made us feel.  They are all so sweet-and we had fun.  I’m so glad we got to go this year.  We’d waffled, not knowing if we should go or not, but we never regret it. : )

Now, we are seeing the NY skyline..we are here!

On the Boardwalk

Just beach, sand, dinner, and the Boardwalk!  What a great day. : )

This is Ethan singing along to Veggie Tales, which always gives me a great laugh!

And here are some pictures from today (I only had my phone, so they aren't great!):

Ethan made a friend named Randall, who had Thomas toys!

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And then he made friends with Julia, and we dug her a puddle too (he's actually telling her she can't come in his puddle, so we dug her one):

Yesterday was sand castles, today was big quicksand-mushy puddles:

Mary Claire was in the sand more, not so much in the waves today:

And here he is making friends with more kids-they had a bulldozer and Nutter Butters!

This is Mary Claire and her cousin, Caroline, who looks so much like her!

Then we went up to the Boardwalk to play games and ride rides.  They rode a ferris wheel, a roller coaster, a big slide, the Hurricane, Cyclone, and bumper cars.  It was a lot!  Mary Claire went low, so we got some Dippin' Dots.  They are sooo cold!  She hadn't had them, so she really enjoyed it.  She took them up on the ferris wheel and shared them.  They got to ride with their (second) cousins, so they really had fun!  I wish we could see them more than once a year.  Here is Clay, Mary Claire, and Caroline on the ferris wheel:

And this one just made me laugh!  (My phone camera hadn't been working for almost an hour, but this one made me shut my phone down and restart-I had to get a picture, or no one would believe me!):