Vacation

Well we've started our summer vacation. We're visiting my parents in southern New Jersey and plan to take a side trip to Washington, D.C. so the boys can see some of the sites there.

Crossing the bridge from Pennsylvania into New Jersey

This trip will largely be about food. There's a lot of things we just can't get in Kansas--cheesesteaks, authentic diner food, Italian ice and fresh seafood, just to name a few.

Once we left the Philadelphia airport and started toward my mom's, we decided to stop for a late lunch at a diner on the way. The menu was huge--it was almost impossible for Dan and I to choose. I ended up selecting a crab cake sandwich and Dan went for a reuben. We also splurged and shared rice pudding for dessert.

Today's lunch stop

Once we got to my mom's, we rested after our long morning and afternoon--our flight left at 6:30 this morning. Mom made us spaghetti with Dad's famous sauce for dinner. The kids really loved it.

Brett preparing to chow down

After dinner, we went to our local shopping mall, another favorite pasttime of mine and Dan's while we're on vacation. On the way home we stopped at Rita's for some Italian water ice. I had coconut cream, Dan had cherry, Brett got key lime pie and Casey had watermelon.

With all this eating we'd better do some serious walking or we'll be in big trouble!

Pool party

Sunday afternoon, we celebrated the end of the baseball season with a team pool party. There were lots of boys in the pool and they all enjoyed jumping off the diving board and trying the make the biggest splash.

Dan and the other coaches were the biggest kids of all.

Carson, Scott, Casey and Josh in a boat

Coach Mike making a splash


Dan's turn


Casey and Josh


Brett getting his medal


One final team photo

Playdate

On Saturday, Casey met two of his classmates for a playdate at Riverside Park. He, Nathan and Kole had lots of fun climbing the play structure and sharing a snack. It was hot, but they had lots of fun.

Kole


Casey


Nathan


The three Muskateers

Baseball

The baseball season has come to an end. Brett's team did really well, outscoring all their opponents by about 2-1.

Casey even enjoyed the games--one of his classmates, Ashlynn, had a brother who played on Brett's team. Casey and Ashlynn had lots of fun together during the games. They're actually a pretty cute couple, only don't tell Casey that.

Brett at bat


Brett scoring


Ashlynn and Casey

Fourth of July

We spent the Fourth of July at the Avery's house with their family and our neighbors, the Donaldsons and the Carvers.

There were lots of kids and fireworks and a great grilled chicken dinner courtesy of Mike and his grill.

Mike and his chicken


Dan and the Avery's dog, Bella


The boys chow down


Fun with a smoke bomb


Julie, Ford and Missy


Brett and his sparkler


Casey lighting his punk

Later the fun moved inside where the guys celebrated the Fourth with shots of lime juice and Southern Comfort. Yum! (Not!)

Bartender Mike


Down the hatch

Birthday

Today I turned 38, which sounded older when I wasn't talking about me. Oh, well, I'm not getting older, I'm getting better, right?

My co-worker Melissa planned a birthday lunch for me and a few friends. We met at Kwan Court on the east side of town.

I got a pretty earring and necklace set from

Jeff, Kathryn and Lauryn


My friends Janette and Chris got me
a box of green apple-flavored candy.
Yum!


Melissa got me a gift certificate from
Jimmy John's sandwich shop, one
of my favorite places to eat

Later in the day, our office had a small party. Each person has a "birthday buddy" who is responsible for buying a birthday card for everyone to sign and they also bring birthday treats. This year, my buddy is Dan, our Marketing manager. He got me a great hazelnut chocolate cake from Bagatelle Bakery.

My birthday cake

What a great day!

Bird's nest

Last weekend while Dan was out trimming the trees in our front yard, he looked up and discovered a bird's nest built in a very unusual place--on top of one of our downspouts.

I've got to say it's a pretty ingenious place. With the overhang of the roof it stays pretty dry even in all the rain we've been having.

Birds are so smart!

Here's the nest from a distance


Mama in her nest