This is gonna be one of those big giant posts with lots of pictures.
On a side note, my mom joined Facebook.
The pressure is on. She was one of the last hold outs that I knew.
Hmmmmmmm.
I really enjoy kicking it old school on this here blog.
Writing and editing and all that crap.
Yes. I actually LIKE to write.
Creative outlet and all that ..... even though it's just about our life.
It's really just a electronic version of a journal with color pictures.
Um. Kinda what Facebook is. Or even Twitter for that matter.
Or any of those other new-fangled social media thingies out there.
Hmmmmmmmm, again.
Dilemma.
You're not here to read about my problems with Facebook now, are you?
On to the show!
Someone turned 41 and it wasn't Katie!
We had butterscotch pudding chocolate chunk pie with an Oreo crust to celebrate.
Huzbend finished his portion and then "helped" the kids finish theirs.
The great thing about pudding is that the kids don't really dig it.
There are two benefits to this:
1) We get more pudding.
2) They don't get sugar hyper from pudding, 'cause they don't eat enough of it.
Smiles all around.
Then it was present opening time.
A bike horn/light, some MOOOORRRRRE t-shirts....
"Oooooooooooooooo"
We had to celebrate Huzbend's birthday a day early because the kids and I were headed to the East Coast for a visit.
Huzbend had to stay behind in "Puppy Prison" and keep an eye on Ralph.
We call it "Puppy Prison" because Ralph isn't allowed to go out anywhere because he hasn't finished his vaccines yet. He could pick up nasty puppy diseases.
And, so, home bound he is.
Don't feel TOO bad for Huzbend.
He got some Q-T with Ralph and got to play lots of video games.
He finished Assassins Creed: Black Flag.
Damn him.
It will take me another 5 years to finish that game.
Sigh.
Anyways.......we went to Connecticut!
And then got in a limo with the cousins (and Aunts and Granma).
No really. We did.
We took a day trip to NYC in a stretch limo.
The kids were excited.
They had been playing the Lego Marvel Superheroes game since X-mas.
The game is based in New York City where the characters can do missions and explore.
They've seen all the landmarks, but only in video game form.
Time to see the real things.
Back to the limo.
People took pictures of us driving by because the windows were tinted and they thought we might be someone famous.
Our first stop was the Empire State Building.
We had to go really high up in one elevator.....
.......and then get in another elevator to go up 6 more floors.
Wow.
It was pretty crowded up there, even at 8-9 am. The kids had fun looking down at all the tall buildings and imagining Spiderman swinging from building to building.
There were some crankies going on because of the time difference and having to wake up early.
But, grumpies were put aside to take this picture of the "spike".
One last picture after purchasing loads of souvenirs.
Hey! Guess what? I was there too!
Next stop....
Times Square - Crossroads of the World!
"Hey! This is where we fought Doc Ock!"
Bet you didn't know that Bumblebee likes to hang out in Times Square.
We took a break for lunch at Carmine's.
The gigantic portions of food were enjoyed by all.
Mikey LOVED his giant hand-sized ravioli and Katie loved the fact that she got her own cup of melted butter to pour over her penne pasta.
Our last stop was a Circle Line Cruise to see the Statue of Liberty.
"Did you get a picture of it?"
The Brooklyn Bridge was there too, among many other famous NYC landmarks visible from water.
The combination of air conditioning, extra comfi seats, the drone of the engines and a rocking boat were too much for my exhausted kids.
They asleep.
They were NOT happy when we had to disembark the boat just to get into the limo for a LOOOOOOOONG ride home.
The overall impression of NYC, and I quote from Katie:
"It was really awesome, 'cause we got to ride in a limo."
The next day, we got up, headed to my parents house and walked over to the beach for some exploring.
There were LOTS of snails.
And this GIANT snail which, "was the biggest of all the snails."
Mikey was impressed by the horseshoe crab we found.
I think he would've taken it home if we could get it out of the sand.
"Mom? Can you put my hat back on my hands are all sandied!"
Avengers Chocolate Graham Cookie Snack Break.
"That guy's the cutest thing ever. I loved him. He is so cute, isn't he Mommy?"
That's what Katie said about the picture below.
She kinda likes dogs.
And guess what? So does Mikey!
The both really missed Ralph.
After play time with doggies, it was time for a picnic at my sisters place.
Check this thing out.
The kids played on this for hours.
Both sisters were there. Mom and Dad were there.
My Aunt and Uncle and THEIR kids were there with THEIR kids.
It was cool to see everyone.
Oh. And we got to eat LOTS of yummy picnic food.
My sis sure puts up a good spread.
Kids table!
"Aren't you a little short for the grown up table?"
"Get outta here, will ya?"
(I'll let you guess who's saying that)
"Will you quit lookin' at me? Sheesh."
(Again, I'll let you guess who's saying that)
Crazy, crazy kids.
Trying to not fall out of the boat.
There was a shark and a kraken out there, ya know.
We stayed waaaay too late at the cousins playing video games and such.
And the next day the kids woke up really late.
And then we were off to visit the other half of our family at a 70th Anniversary Picnic for Rich's grandparents, known to my kids as Gigi and Granpop.
There were so many people, we had to wear name tags.
Oh and this guy was there.
Yay, Matty!!!!
Granpa was there too and it was his birthday.
The kids had a great time hanging with Matty and visiting with all their relatives.
We took a bunch of cute pictures of the cousins and Granma and Granpa before Matty had to head back up North to get ready for the week.
We were able to hang out at the picnic a bit longer.
There were pony rides!
And Italian Ice!
As much as you could eat!
A hard afternoon of partying and then another late night playing with cousins made for VERY sleepy kids.
They rolled about of bed at 11:30 the next day and we had to check out at noon!
It didn't help that they were sad they had to leave.
It was a whirlwind trip, but everyone had a great time.
As usual, I came back needing a vacation from our vacation.
Thanks to all who donated their time, their food, their gas, their Jeep and their patience to making our trip fabulous.
We miss you guys!
