A Visit to the Nolan's "Short" House

We enjoyed a fabulous weekend in Ocean City, New Jersey at Aunt Amy and Uncle Paul's shore house! Lucy had a great time playing with Zoe and Ella. We also got to see Aunt Heather, Uncle Brian, Alex and Isabel who were down for their vacation week.

For me, the weekend was especially nice. We arrived on my 40th birthday, Amy and Paul really made my birthday very special and were wonderful hosts for a fun weekend at the shore. It was pretty quite since Labor Day has passed and people are getting back into the school year routines. So, it was just perfect. The weather was warm and beach within walking distance. We collected shells, relaxed on the beach, had some great food and went to the boardwalk to check out the rides. The girls even spotted a horseshoe crab on the beach! We couldn't have had a better time.

Lucy kept referring to the house as Aunt Amy and Uncle Paul's "short" house. Though I have tried to explain that it is a shore house, this seems to be an elusive concept, we'll keep working on it. Zoe and Ella were so sweet to Lucy during the weekend and it was so nice that they had so much time to play together. We are hoping to be invited back again next year! Thanks to the Nolan's for a great weekend get-away!
 

 

 

  

  

 

 

Vacation Time!

This year we headed to Atlantic Beach, North Carolina for a family vacation at the beach. Kenzie was able to join us, so it made the trip extra special. Atlantic Beach was a lot of fun. We spend time at the pool and on the beach at the Sheraton, we checked out a bunch of really tasty local restaurants - my personal favorite was Mosquito Amos - and we visited local attractions. Highlights of the trip included a ferry ride to Shackleford Banks, which is home to wild horses. We had a great time walking along the pristine beach collecting shells.  Then we ventured inland to find some wild horses. The beach there was so nice, we also enjoyed hanging out and swimming. We went to the Aquarium, a local minor league baseball game - with awesome fresh kettle corn! - and played mini golf. Lucy loved jumping repeatedly into the pool, so we all had to take turns catching her. The vacation was certainly worth the long ride! Here are some pictures of our vacation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Aboard for a Father's Day Picnic

Happy Father's Day to a wonderful Dad! To celebrate we decided to keep the tradition going and took our third annual ride on the Wilmington & Western Rail Road. The weather today was perfect - on the cooler side, without too much humidity. We got great seats on car 603 and enjoyed the scenery on the way to the Mt. Cuba picnic grove. During our short stop, we ate a picnic lunch complete with sandwiches, chips and donut holes!

The ride back to the station was equally as nice. Lucy was a little nervous, but enjoyed herself anyway. The whistle did really scare her when we were back at the station checking out the locomotive. (It is really quite loud!)

Tonight we will have one of Daddy's favorites for dinner - chicken parm. I hope he enjoyed his day and his celebration with his two girls who couldn't have a more loving father!

Happy Birthday Zoe!

We celebrated Zoe's sixth birthday at Aunt Amy & Uncle Paul's house. WOW - Zoe is turning 6!

Uncle Paul made his now famous pizzas on the grill - yum! Lucy loved her pizza. She also loved swimming, running around and playing with Zoe, Ella, Alex and Isabel. Zoe seemed especially excited about her new pogo stick from Nana. All the rest of us just enjoyed having a chance to visit. The weather was perfect for enjoying the patio, though the clouds threatened a little, no rain actually came to spoil our fun. We all hope Zoe has a wonderful seventh year!