...And I'm Back

It's kinda like the Backstreet Boys' Everybody, when they proclaimed Backstreet's back, alright!  And I was like, wait... where did they go?  Well that's what I did.  An unannounced (clearly) hiatus for the summer and you know what, it felt kind of good.  We had some lazy summer days and then some totally crazy, non-stop summer days.

There was lots of rollin' and sittin' and gigglin', courtesy of Jameslyn or else there would be no need to mention these things, since the rest of us have been doing them for years.  We went to the beach and to a the boys started swimming in my Mother's pool for the first time; they're naturals.

Jim and I did some fancy-pants stuff like go to weddings and the Billy Joel concert, we had two (that's right count 'em up!) nights to ourselves this summer, both were glorious.  And as I'm recapping it I'm starting to think, perhaps I didn't need that break after all... but then I realize that I'm typing this whole post like this:

Well whatever, I'm making my official return and it's gonna be fabulous.  We've got some fun things coming up: a trip to my old stomping grounds, Jameslyn's first Halloween (spoiler alert, her cosutme's gonna be sweet!) and so much more.  Until then, enjoy the highlights!

Look Who Found The Nice Camera

This weekend, we loaded the boys into the car and packed up a lot of stuff, then grabbed some drive-through Chick-Fil-A and headed on down to the Jersey Shore, which if you live in the North East, you know is the only thing to do to mark the beginning, middle and end of summer.  As we were leaving, I told Jim, "I'm gonna take a lot of pictures."  When we finally made it home, the grand picture total had climbed to 437 and we were all exhausted.

Now, sit back, relax and enjoy this photographic journey of what the beach looks like for us:

There's carefree babies in umbrella strollers rumbling up and down the boardwalk.

There are happy, happy, happy kids that are treated to orange soda, which, last time I checked, probably isn't made from real oranges.

Brothers share their chips, man.  

Brothers are pushy until chips are acknowledged and eaten.

Rides.  That's all I really have to say.  Lots and lots and lots of rides.  There's meltdowns over rides, there's kids who want to ride all of them and kids who want to ride only one.  

There's shuffleboard.  Look at Aunt Megan, what a player!

And breaks from shuffle board for some snapshots.

Strollers are a great time for joking around and having a good time.  Three year olds are particularly fond of walking.

We were brave and signed up for paid for 20 holes of miniature golf.  Considering that there were six people, three of whom are under eight, we fared pretty well.  No crying, quite a few holes in one and plenty of cheering and by that I mean helping yourself to picking up your golf ball and dropping it into the hole.

Return of The Rides: Balloons and Bears.

I don't know, for someone who was cryin' up a storm to go on the rides, they sure do look bored...

Patiently waiting for Daddy and Zeta to come down the log flume. Remember to lift your feet while you're going up, or you will definitely have wet shoes.

And last, but certainly not least on his list, a big bag full of cotton candy; the blue kind, not the pink.