Vacay - Over.

On our last day of vacation we hit up the Atlantic City Aquarium - we go there every year because you can touch the sharks and sting rays, plus the noise level from other kids is pretty intense so we sort of blend in (sort of).





At the end we went into the Children's Garden to check out the fountain and take some pics.


As you can see, I'm the only one who was really up for the picture taking part of this experience.



We went down to the beach for the afternoon. One thing we learned on this trip...Dean absolutely loves the water. Obsessed. Can't get him out of it. It's so great to let him crawl around and play in the waves (since we're so used to carrying him around all of the time).


Another great way to keep the kids entertained...dig a hole and let the water fill it up. This kept them busy for hours, literally.


Alas, our trip to OCNJ has come to a close - a totally exhausting experience but filled with great memories.

I'm headed back to work tomorrow - I'll really miss the kids but am looking forward to drinking a cup of tea in one hand without having to apply suntan lotion / hold a baby / pour milk / juggle fire with the other hand.

Cheers!

Vacay Day 6

There's this awesome shop on the OC boardwalk (if only I remembered the name of it...) that's filled from top to bottom with pirate paraphanalia. Perfect booty for little boys that are about to go on a pirate adventure...


On the way to said adventure, there were people giving free pony rides in a parking lot. Random!


Onto the adventure. There's this company called Pirate Voyages that takes kids around the bay and does all sorts of piratey things with them. This is also known as heaven for the 4-6 year old crowd.

There were flags to be hoisted...


Treasure maps to be decoded...


And this weirdly masked guy named Pirate Pete floating in the water, leaving messages in bottles and shooting them with "seagull pee." Awesome.



After a day of pillaging on the high seas, we drove over to Wildwood to have a dip in Granny & Pop-Pop's pool and share a pizza on the boardwalk.


The evening ended with the sun setting over the ocean as we walked hand-in-hand with our family. The kids couldn't stop thanking us for everything we did for them, and we all happily laughed about the magical memories we shared that day.

Oh wait - strike that - in reality Cole had a tantrum on the boardwalk because his ice cream cone was melting too fast. Darn you reality.

Vacay Day 5

No exciting stories from Wednesday...especially since we bought a Powerball ticket and didn't win. Whomp whomp.

So instead of fun stories or $160 million, I have some cute pictures from the beach. I guess to some they're worth a million bucks (whom whomp again)...

Vacay Day 4

There's a magnet on the fridge for the Fractured Prune Donut Shop: "You Create 'Em, We Make 'Em." Um, yes please! Cole chose these hot pink Dora sunglasses for the walk down...whatevs.


It was perfect weather for the beach, and Phil had a perfect idea to go along with it...draw a circle in the sand and tell Cole to stay inside of it. And whaddaya know, it worked.




After the beach, Phil took the older 2 fishing. They didn't catch anything (except a sea robin, whatever that is) but I think it was still a hit - especially since the people next to them caught a shark (per Ry, "Because it's Shark Week").




Since the older guys were with Dad, I got to hang with the little ones by ourselves. We walked the boards then went down to the water to play ball and roll around in the waves. It's hard to remember life with 2 kids, but it was nice to take advantage of the quiet time with my munchkins.

Vacay Day 3

Day 3 began at the Cape May County Zoo. It was super-extreme-ultra-hottness, but we gave it a quick go since it's free and they have new baby snow leopards and an albino alligator. Score!



Hitting the beach was a must after the hot zoo...Ry went boogie boarding and "face planted" in a big wave - Phil somehow managed to capture the moment.


When we got to the boardwalk we attempted our annual boys-on-a-bench-on-the-beach photo. It was sunny...maybe not the best time to do it...but we managed to get a few good pics.


Here's Cole on the ferris wheel:


Phil & the boys on the log floom:


Riding the "Superman":


On the walk back the skies looked a little ominous. Needless to say we scooped up the kids and ran home before the lightning started.


We finished the first Harry Potter book and stopped pre-storm to get the second one. Ry wasted no time diving in...then he flipped to the end to read the last chapter. This is something I do almost every time I read a book...looks like he inherited Phil's dashing good looks and my impatience. Sorry Ry!

Vacay Day 2

Day 2 of vacay started out like the first. We hit the beach as early as possible and watched the kids wreak havoc on ourselves and everyone around us. Best part for me: I went out to the water with Ry and he said, "When I'm here nothing can bother me." My man found his happy place.

Next up was a trip out to our cousin's house to celebrate Sammy's birthday. They have an amazing pool and are just a 15 minute drive from OC, so it was a great way to spend the afternoon.


There was a long line for face painting, so I ended up filling the requests for 2 scary snakes. I won't be going professional anytime soon, but I'd say it was still a respectable showing.



The pinata was like nothing I've ever seen before. Mainly because Mom decided to hold it and let the kids gather round in a ravenous candy-rage. You go girl.


When we got back to the house we hit up the boardwalk to ride the rides. Here are the older boys with Dad on the ferris wheel:


Dean, as usual, played the part of angel-baby in the front of the stroller:


Cha is finally old enough to go on the rides and he eased his way into it:


Thumbs up after the twisting boat ride:


I wouldn't say the same for the Scream Machine:


On the walk back Cole asked to get his picture taken with this random cow. He either had to go to the bathroom or was imitating Michael Jackson, either way I thought I'd share for posterity's sake.


Let the adventures continue!!