A day at the beach

On Sunday, we took the boys down to Wildwood to play in the ocean. They had a great time. My brother and Dan taught them how to boogey board and body surf.

Casey getting a lesson

Brett in the waves

There was also lots of fun playing in the sand. At one point, Brett and Casey each were buried by Dan.

Brett being buried

Another family near us made this turtle in the sand

Ocean City

Today we took the boys to Ocean City to walk on the boardwalk and ride amusement rides at the beach.

On our way there, we stopped at a local pizzeria near where my parents live, for lunch. It was great. We each got to order something we'd been craving.

Dan's sausage and pepper sandwich

My cheesesteak hoagie

Casey's pepperoni and bacon pizza

Brett's meatball pizza

Dan and I even think the placemats at local pizzerias and diners here are neat:

They're full of advertising

Once we got to Ocean City, the boys had a blast. They got to ride lots of cool rides. Brett even let me drag him onto a runaway train roller coaster that scared him a little. Needless to say, he loved it once he tried it.

Brett celebrates surviving the roller coaster

Riding the spinning bears with Michael

Dan and the boys on the bumper boats

Dan and Casey on the bumper cars

We walked on the boardwalk for a while after we were finished with the rides. I stopped at one of my favorite candy shops, Fralinger's, to buy saltwater taffy. Man, I can't get enough of that stuff!

Fralinger's candy store

Casey even managed to find an old friend, Mr. Peanut. When we used to take him to the boardwalk when he was little, he was scared to death of him. Now he almost seeks him out.

Brett and Casey with Mr. Peanut

Brett and Casey on the beach

Family photo

Fun the in sun

On Friday, I had porkroll for lunch, one of my favorite things to eat when I come back home to visit.

Porkroll is probably best described as a cross between Spam (which I hate) and scrapple. It's only found in portions of the east coast.

Porkroll in its packaging

Porkroll frying

Dan had an Italian sub (as we call them here) from a local deli for lunch. He even managed to find Lays potato chips with crab seasoning, something else you can't find in Kansas.

Dan and his sandwich

Crabby potato chips

After lunch, we took the boys over to our cousins' house to go swimming. My brother joined us there and tried to teach the boys how to dive since he coaches high school divers. It didn't go very well.

Casey taking the plunge

Brett's turn

Later that night, Dan, my brother and I went to Atlantic City to eat at our favorite seafood buffet at Harrah's casino. In the two years since we've been here, the hotel closed the buffet we used to go to and created a new, more expensive one. It was still pretty good, especially the all-you-can-eat crab legs and shrimp.

A day at the waterpark

Today we took the boys to the beach town of Wildwood and we went to two waterparks right on the boardwalk.

Before we tackled the waterslides, we had our first taste of east coast pizza. The pies are huge and the crust is soft and puffy.

Casey eating a slice

Believe it or not, this slice is probably 6 inches wide

The waterparks both looked very similar and had pretty good rides, including a slide that dropped you ten feet into the pool. We all did that one. There was also rope swing, and both parks had a very cool slide that many people could go down at once. The boys really loved that one.

Slippery steps lead to the slide

You can see the beach in the background of the park

Dan and the boys

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