Off the Sand

I've been welcome at Nana's beach house for 14 summers! Time flies. Some things never change, including these artificial flowers, the coffee mug and the shag carpet ;) I do however long for the days Nana was standing in front of the kitchen window waiting our return from the beach ready to enjoy lunch and hear all about it. Her face still lights up when she sees my children but it's now from her chair or bed. We are grateful for another summer with her and hoping my children have lasting memories of their Nana.

  

All 6 of us camped out in this room. Thank goodness it's so huge.

 PopPop spoiled the boys with all their favorite meals, including 100 steamed clams on this night!

She never ceases to amaze me. The boys and EJ all rode bikes to the beach. EJ pulled the chariot full of beach gear instead of Avery, so I walked with her. She did the 3 blocks sometimes twice a day with no complaints, unless I got ahead of her ;) She needed to "beat" me. She LOVED the beach and was often asking to go before breakfast.

We had a little too much bonding time before 7 am ALL week. The latest she slept all week was 6:20, a few times she was up before 6. It always involved the potty and totally not her fault. She gets a little out of whack on vacation. Miraculously, I handled it well. 3 kids ago I would have been irritated, frustrated and exhausted. If EJ tried to help her, she yelled :( and I didn't want the whole house awake. Thankfully the boys slept through it all and I just went to bed a little earlier.

 One night, the boys went to a Phillies game.

 The game was a dull one, but they managed to have a good time.

 

Avery and I had a quiet dinner with Nana and Olga, the caretaker. Then the two of us hit the town. We went for a long walk which included a stop for ice cream.

 And this gorgeous spot.

No trip to Nana's is complete without a night at the arcade. The SAME one EJ went with his grandpa. Now PopPop is the lucky one to waste spend his money ;)

 

We brought home two new family members. Batman and Superman, the hermit crabs. Every summer they ask, this time EJ said yes and I just rolled my eyes. Mason and Ryan used their own money and we have new entertainment in our house. They also bought a cage, but the laundry basket provides "exercise". Today, however one escaped while it's owner ran off and made it's way to the boys closet!!! There were a few tears and panic, but we eventually found him buried under some dress-up clothes.

Every year I think, I've got to figure out how to swing a two-week stay (EJ leaving after 1st week). The kids are almost independent enough. Next summer, I just might be able to manage 1 week without EJ. That's assuming PopPop can survive the noise and chaos ;)

Hitting the Beach

We spent a week with EJ's grandmother and dad at the jersey shore. We are SO blessed to have this vacation spot and extended time with Nana and PopPop.

We were on the beach A TON. The weather was awesome, but it's our kids' ages that finally allow for lots of continual time on the beach. Most days we ate lunch there and a few days we were there for 6 hrs!

 She is a hand full.

PopPop was able to join us on the beach a lot more because Nana now has a full-time care taker. The kids were happy to see more of him!

 These two...

I have to document this picture, below. Avery is NOT holding my hand!! That is very rare in any setting much less the beach. She was very comfortable on the beach this summer and the ocean, as seen in the next photo.

  

Owen spent his time mastering the boogie board and Mason was thrilled with his new found courage to duck under the crashing waves.

Some ride the waves, others ride the sand bucket ;)

 We made a sand turtle on the last day. I read a lot too, but no pics of that ;)

Extended Family Time

We were at the beach all last week with EJ's grandma and dad. Before arriving at the beach, we made a long pit stop to celebrate the marriage of a (second) cousin of mine. The couple on the right were recently married in Portugal and came to US for a celebration with her family and friends. It was my first time meeting the groom. The bride's brother on far left, recently proposed to his girlfriend to the right of him. There will be 3 weddings over the next year on my mom's side. I used to babysit those two, man, do I feel old :(

 

We loved seeing so much family and the kids enjoyed the intermission from our 7 hr car ride.

 

 It was extremely humid, but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying the casual bbq outside.

Moving Up

To say that Avery is excited to have her room back is an understatement. She thinks it's so cool that her room was under construction and she proudly shows her new wall to everyone that comes to our house. I am so glad she is "excited" about losing 3 ft of space ;)

She is also pretty pumped to be in a big bed like her brothers. She calls it her "big boy bed." Ha!

Her room isn't totally put back together yet, I'll show more pics eventually. The bedding, I had before she even came home. We thought we'd be bringing home a child older than 2, so I jumped the gun and bought twin bedding. Thankfully I still love it 2 yrs later and she seems to like it too ;)

Despite her constant flips and giggles, she has actually transitioned beautifully. Much easier than all the boys. Of course it probably helps that she turns 4 (!!!) in a few weeks.

Celebrating

The day after our contractor finished the master bathroom, we celebrated with donuts. No more workers in the house, could have stayed in our pjs all day ;)
   

BG with Family

Last Tuesday, we went to BG with my mom and sister's family.

 

 Our stroller got left at home, so we rented one. No one wanted to ride in Tripp's, of course.

 A little too selfie

Owen rode every single roller coaster. A new record. 

It helped having 2 additional adults to coax into riding with him.

 Mason had to have this hat?!? His money burns a hole in his pocket. Owen is the total opposite.

We stayed too long for the little ones and it was really hot, but overall, we had a FUN day.

The kids are ready to go back ;)

How Does His Garden Grow?

5 weeks ago

 3 weeks ago- we spied baby beans

 

Last week he ate them right off the vine with absolute delight

  

This weekend I humored him and cooked these. 

We will never have enough "ready" for our whole family.

 Beans might be all our garden produces this season. Watermelon and cantaloupe wasn't the best idea. They are choking out the other plants. Plus our beans are shading the pepper plants. Live. Learn. Try Again.

Snap Shots from the 4th

Golf ball hunting is always a favorite at my parent's mountain house, the house backs up to a golf course.

 Wherever Ryan goes, Tripp goes and vice versa.

 These goof balls straddling the swing sideways. Made for lots of laughs!

 Avery's first time in a sleeping bag. Ha!

 Celebrating my dad's birthday :)

We drove home on the 4th of July to be back in town for a second shot at fireworks. It poured rain a few miles from home and we were afraid the fireworks wouldn't happen. Thankfully the storm passed and we got to witness a God-made display of art in the sky for a pre-show!

Not many restaurants are open for dinner on the 4th of July, we learned that the hard way. We were afraid to have a picnic dinner in case the fireworks were cancelled and opted for Jason's Deli. The free ice cream did not disappoint. Mason made his own. Can you tell? If they stop serving free- self-serve-ice cream we will know why ;)

We choose to stick close to our car for the fireworks because of the weather and two very tired kids. We played Uno until it got dark. Thankfully the distance from the actual fireworks display really helped Avery. It was not nearly as loud and she enjoyed the show!

That wraps up our 4th of July fun!

Nature Walk

I wouldn't call it hiking ;) And their was lots of whining and wanting to be held, but we did attempt to walk a short trail near the grand caverns.

This retro slide was a huge hit. It was pretty steep and long and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared someone would fall over the short slide walls.