Tuesday June 1st, 2010: New York

Carlo's Bake Shop:

We started the day by stopping in Hoboken, NJ at Carlo's Bake Shop. We have a few "Cake Boss" fans in the family so it was a "must see" on the vacation to do list. I'm not really a fan of the show, but I am a fan of a good pastry. I had a Cannoli that was pretty good. Ryan went for the black and white cookie. Dodge picked a carrot cake cupcake with the thickest cream cheese frosting I've ever seen. Addison enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie. I gotta say though, it wasn't life changing.

New York Aquarium:

We headed into Coney Island and visited the New York Aquarium. The coolest parts were the sharks, the turtles, and a huge sea lion. Of course, it wouldn't have been a proper trip to New York without a spontaneous rain storm. We were bummed because not only did the Aquarium close early, but all of Coney Island pretty much closed down for the day. We didn't get to ride a single ride. It was pretty disappointing.

Nathan's Famous:

We had to visit the Original Nathan's Famous. This is where they do the annual hot dog eating contest on the 4th of July. We already had Nathan's on the Boardwalk for lunch so we weren't really hungry. Since its pretty much a tradition that Ryan has to eat something weird, huge, and/or disgusting on vacation, he decided to try out some fresh oysters. They were shucked right in front of our eyes. I had to try some since it was just a weird thing to get at a hot dog joint. I gotta say, it was delicious. I have been craving more since we got back home.

Toys R Us:

After our Coney Island trip was pretty much destroyed by the rain, we went to Times Square to visit the largest Toys R Us. It was the only part of the trip that Dodge really even cared about. He had been saving his money to shop at the biggest toy store. I am really glad we took him in. He loved it. We got him some Lego's and Addison got a Jessie doll from Toy Story. They liked the Ferris wheel too. They really gave us our money's worth, we went around 9 times. I was beginning to think they were never going to let us off. It was a long day and luckily the kids slept the whole ride home.

Monday May 31st, 2010: Beach Haven Township Memorial Day Parade

Beach Haven had a little parade for Memorial Day. They had the parade mandatory marching band. There were also police, lifeguards, the mayor, some old cars, and a lot of people on bikes. The whole thing was over in 15 minutes but the kids had fun waving their flags and watching the parade. Dodge and Ryan played an entire 18 holes of mini golf with the boys after the parade. Addison and I got in some shopping at Schooner's Warf. I could have spent the entire trip right on the island and not felt a bit bad about it.

Sunday May 30th, 2010: Barnegat Lighthouse, Long Beach Island

Located on the North end of the Island is this amazing lighthouse. Barnegat Lighthouse is 217 steps to the top and we went up every single one of them. The view from the top was awesome. The kids thought it was okay but I really loved it. Looking at the island from that view point was great. You don't realize how long the island is. It was beautiful and one of the highlights of the trip for me.

May 30th, 2010

Addison's first time on the beach...
She loves it.
She wants to walk right out into the tide with the big kids.
We buried her in sand and she didn't mind.

What we learned today...

Addison. is. allergic. to. shrimp.

Dear God,
Thank you for Benadryl.
love,
me

Ten Days and Counting...

Next Friday we are heading out to Long Beach Island, New Jersey. This is a picture on the beach there. I am more than excited to go back to one of our favorite vacation spots. They have a beautiful white sand beach that I could sit on all day long. In fact, I think I might just do that in ten days...

May 18th, 2010

I got some great planters from my mom while I was up there. I figure, since I haven't killed any of my other plants yet (knock on wood!) I would plant some more. I have enjoyed having fresh herbs and I can't wait to make some salsa when we finally get some peppers and tomatoes from our plants. My thumb is looking a little less black and a little more green.

May 15th, 2010

Papa Mooney and Grama Ruth came down to take Katie to Brian Regan at Tuacahn. They brought their bikes so we headed over to the snow canyon trail to ride. It was a lot of hills but the kids had fun flying down them on the way back. They had to play in the dirt while we were out there. Addison had a pretty good dirt mustache. I guess that means they enjoyed themselves. It is always great to have them come and visit. We always end up enjoying the outdoors while they are here.

May 11th-14th, 2010

I went up to visit and help clean up Grammy's house. She gave us all a scare by going into cardiac arrest last Monday night. Luckily my Mom was there with her. She ended up in ICU for a couple days and is now finally in rehab. The housing authority is making her house more energy efficient by putting in new windows, replacing the furnace, and insulating the whole basement. We had to get ready for them to come and finish the basement insulation and windows. Sounds easy, except there is a cold storage room filled with bottles and bottles of food storage dating clear back until 1952! My mom and I got in and got busy. We painted the kitchen too. The house is looking great so Grammy can feel right at home when she gets back. I am so glad I got to see my Grammy. I love her so stinking much. That gal is a real fighter. It amazes me how much they did with what they had. I realized how much that we are such an instant gratification generation. My Grammy was an amazing woman who did so much with so little. I don't need a bigger house, I don't need the newest and the best of everything. I am so blessed and I take it for granted nearly every day. I am going to try and be more grateful for all that I am blessed with. I want to teach my children all the values that my Grammy's generation mastered not out of choice, but out of necessity.

It has been way too long since I've seen my mom and her girls. These are pics of me with my mom and my sisters, Niecia and Kaitlyn.

These are the shelves that were packed with jars and jars. Not one of these jars were younger than me. It took three full loads to the dump to get to the bottom of it. Grama's kitchen got a new coat of paint. Amazingly, the yellow we picked out matched exactly the existing yellow that Grammy wanted.

May 10th, 2010

I put some old lady curlers in Addison's hair. I thought it would be cute to do something a little different for her awkward hair phase. It didn't really take that long. The only problem is, her hair was stick straight again within about four hours.

May 7th, 2010

Dodge and Ryan went to father's and sons. Last year they just came home after dinner and all the festivities. This year they actually stayed overnight in the tent. It was Dodge's first actual camping trip. He had a lot of fun but he said that the crickets kept him up at night because they were so loud. I sent the camera with hoping for a bunch of pictures. I got three of Dodge in mud and two of him next to the pond. Seriously. Dodge had some fun getting covered in mud, lighting marshmallows on fire, and playing with all the other boys there. He is really excited to go to Fish Lake and camp again this summer.

May 4th, 2010

Ryan likes to spruce up the yard every now and again. Lately he has been on a mission to rid our yard of some plants that are... well, ugly. We went to the nursery Saturday and picked out a few new plants to add a little color to the yard. Ryan did a great job and they look amazing. Today, one of the beautiful lillies bloomed. I love it. I want these flowers all over the yard. I have been trying my hand at growing some herbs. I got a topsy turvy as an early mother's day present from the kids and planted it right away. I know the commercials are pretty cheesy, but my tomato plant is already growing and the herbs and peppers are doing really well too. Maybe next year we will find a spot to put in a small garden. I would love to grow my own vegetables. We'll see if my black thumb doesn't catch up with me.

May 1st, 2010

I love, love, love this time of year here in Dixie. The weather is beautiful, everything is turning green, and all the flowers are blooming. We went for a bike ride on the trail down by the river. Dodge amazes me with how tough he is. It was about a five mile ride with the end being all back up the hill. He did really well. I wish I could say the same for myself. It was a nice afternoon.

April 28th, 2010

I know this is all sorts of dangerous, but she really wouldn't lay down without her balloon in her hand. It was too cute. Night night balloon...