4th of July

Traveling on the 4th of July turned out to be a great idea. Traffic was smooth sailing. We made great time and even arrived for dinner. Fortunately, EJ's grandma (Nana) always has plenty of food on hand. We had a yummy steak dinner before heading to the beach for fireworks.

We had our own little pre-fireworks display of poppers on the front porchRyan and EJ's dad (PopPop) watched the boysI have never seen fireworks from the beach. I have been in a boat on the water, but never in the sand. It was so fun. The fireworks were launched from the barge seen below. During the grand finale there were so many going off at once it looked the barge was on fire. PopPop was kind enough to stay back with Ryan so it was just the 4 of us. The display was incredible. One of the best I've ever seen. I was surprised because Avalon is such a small town. But its a town with a lot of money. Nana's tax dollars really paid off.

Owen wanted to be sure he had a good view. He must have moved around 4 or 5 times.Mason was more interested in the sand.

The best spot for the fireworks was about 10 blocks away. So we rode our bikes to avoid traffic and parking. It was a fun ride on the way to the beach but I was a nervous wreck on the way home. It was dark, almost 10 p.m. and Owen was riding his bike between EJ (pulling Mason in the trailer) and me. If I could have seen my knuckles they must have been white. Owen doesn't ride in a straight line. I never really noticed how much he swerves back and forth. I was convinced he was going to side swipe a parked car or a walking pedestrian. I couldn't tell if he was gaping at all the people or falling asleep. I kept talking to him the whole way just in case it was the later. Fortunately we made it back safely. It was one of those moments when you hear your own mother's voice in your head, telling you this isn't a good idea, but at the same time remembering that you are the mother now.

Friends

The first leg of our trip was an overnight at the Cassadas house. They hosted a little 4th of July celebration on Saturday. We ALL had so much fun. The Youngs and Ayers were there for the party as well. I wish it hadn't gone by so quickly. There was so many children in attendance that I didn't get to catch up with Peyton and Leah as much as I would have liked too. Just makes me all the more excited for our annual beach trip in a month!

The kids played outside most of the time. Thank goodness the hot weather broke for a few days. The boys are still talking about the games they played. Owen is already scheming for next year.

The adults chatted it up on the porch.

My family is so thankful for the Cassada family. Courtney and I were friends in college. Our husbands were friends in college. And for the past 6 years we have watched our children become friends. Best of friends really, almost like cousins. As a result of our annual beach trip and occasional long weekends together the kids know each other very well.



"fixing" Mr. Fogarty (such a good sport)It was so good to spend time with this beautiful lady. We talked about almost everything under the sun. Well, at least I did. She was kind enough to listen ;)

The way she lives, loves and thinks challenges me. She has an amazing way of keeping her priorities straight. There is no question of her love for God and her desire to follow after Him.
Miss you already!

Joshua and Owen- these two are tied to the hip whenever they get together.

Low Rider

We haven't traveled "light" in 6 years, but this is a new record. Our poor van was really weighted down and the gas mileage, terrible!
You can't tell by the picture, but the boys were actually excited for our trip. It was early in the morning and they thought I was weird for taking pictures of the van.
Ultimately we are going to Avalon, NJ to stay at his grandma's house for the week, but first we will join some dear friends for a 4th of July celebration.

A little Nuts

Last night we went to a Squirrels Game to celebrate my dad's birthday. This picture is kind of goofy, but it's the best one we got. My sister was holding Ryan and Mom was there too, she took the pic.
This is Owen's 3rd Squirrels game this season. He LOVES it. We were sitting very close to first base. Mason wasn't afraid of Nutsy the mascot this time. Last game he was very nervous. Owen is in the red shirt below.
The boys got a few autographs. Owen had the players sign his glove and b/c Mason's glove is solid black, he had them sign his hat. You can see it in the foreground of the picture below although its blurry. I cringed when he offered his hat, but its pretty ugly to start and he looks like a little trucker in it, so now its perfect ;)
EJ, Ryan and I left about 9:15. We had promised they could stay for the fireworks if they both napped. Of course, then game went into extra innings. It was a very late night. I won't even tell you how late they were out. Needless to say, I have had two grumpy boys on my hands. Supposedly the fireworks were AWESOME! Early to bed tonight.

Week 2 of Summer

We've almost completed week 2 of summer vacation. I've been meaning to post about how it's going and I haven't found the time. I've been trying to spend less time on the computer and more time with my boys.

So far it's going great! Far better than I imagined. I am exhausted by the end of each day, but so thankful for a full night of rest and God's grace to help me do it all over again the next day.
I am so thankful that Ryan is in such an easier place (eating less often and sleeping well), thankful that I have physically healed and that I am gaining more endurance and energy each week b/c I need it. God's timing is perfect!

I have been giving it all I've got and I pray that I can keep the pace. I want to make the most of our time together.
One of my favorite parts of the day has been "school time." Each morning during Ryan's nap Owen, Mason and I sit down and discover new things together. I discover things about each of them and they learn/review school "stuff." We only work for 15 or 20 minutes, so it really doesn't take much planning. I have a general idea of what I want to do and can quickly gather it together right before we start. Owen's teacher provided some workbooks that have been helpful.
With Owen we've been rotating between math, reading, writing and science. Yesterday, I priced several plastic toy food items and he had to figure out the correct change to "buy" them. He loves math especially if money is involved. He loved this. I hope to throw in a few art projects too.
Mason is learning his colors which is proving more difficult than I imagined. Owen was really slow at this too. We are doing 1 color a week. By day 4 he finally started consistently identifying red correctly. I was beginning to wonder if he was color blind. His school time is mostly fun and games. This week is the color blue. (serious stuff :)
I've enjoyed sitting down with them and giving them my undivided attention. It doesn't happen as much as I'd like.

We've got a lot more going on, but I'll save it for another post. I don't want to bore you too much.