City Kids Go Country

I grew up in the country or pretty close to it. Actually at one time I lived on a horse farm.  Our kids weren't so lucky most of their lives we lived on a military base.   So every time we go home the kids are over the moon with the different animals they encounter when we go to NJ.  Back in VA we have cats and then there are the regular animals you find outdoors birds, squirrels, a few deer, and a groundhog or two.  But when we go to Jersey they get to interact with more of the farm yard type animal up close.  My good friend Kelly has a goat, chickens, and a bunny.  And when they are at my parents house since they live a five houses away from the lake ducks are a regular sight in the yard.  Unfortunately for my parents the kids love to feed the ducks and will swipe any loaf of bread they can get their hands on just to feed the ducks.  This trip Cam go brave.  Originally he wanted to pet the ducks but quickly realized that wasn't going to happen.  He did figure out that they would come right up and take the bread right out of his hand.  He had a blast.  His only disappointment was that they only came up twice.

  

Family

Another one of my favorite things to do when visiting NJ is to head to South Jersey to visit my Aunt Kate. When I was Kenzies age I would go down to Aunt Kate's house and spend a week there.  It is some of my favorite summer memories.  So now making sure my kids get a chance to go down and spend time at her house is tops on my list.  A few years back we started a new tradition with Aunt Kate's oldest daughter my cousin Maryann.  When we get together we always go down for lunch.  Maryann is a wonderful baker.  I have never had anything I didn't like.  So a few years ago we started what we refer to as "The Great Cousin Cake Swap".  I make something (usually her favorite Raspberry Lemonade cake) and she makes something and we take home our new goodies.  I look forward to it every year.  The kids go in the pool, we eat lunch, we laugh and tell stories, the kids go back in the pool and then we have dessert, and more laughing and stories.  By then everyone is tired and full and it is time to go home.  Cam sleeps all the way home and Kenzie reads.  And I leave with a smile on my face knowing the kids got a little glimpse into my childhood and  I get to enjoy my family.  This year was great because not only was my family all there but Aunt Kate, Maryann and her daughter Sarah was there.  Funny thing is Sarah lives about 75 minutes from us in VA and we both had to drive 4ish hours to see each other.  Spending time with all of them was a hoot.  I can't wait to do it again next year.

Life's a Beach!!!

During the summer we try to get up to NJ at least once a month.  This year with the craziness we weren't able to do it as much.  For our final trip we made sure that we hit up the Jersey Shore.  We always enjoy spending at least one day at the beach with my best friend Christa and her kids.  She had Jason who is almost 15 and then I had Kenzie who is 13.  We both took a little time off and then I had Cam who is 6 and exactly 10 months later Christa had Juliette now 5.


Even with the huge age gap all our kids get along really well.  Since they are both teenagers the big kids tend to go off on their own.  And even though they only see each other a couple of times a year the little kids pick up like they live next door to each other.  The beach is one of my favorite places especially the Jersey Shore.  I know what you are thinking and don't let those idiots on tv speak for us who are really from Jersey.  If you don't know just about all of them are from other states.  Their stupidity and lack of class should not reflect on those of us who were born and grew up in Jersey.  When we got the shore we like to go to Island Beach State Park.  It's quieter, cleaner and less populated then some of the other beaches.  The kids love to build sand castles, jump the waves and collect seashells.

 It was a perfect day.  It was warm but not too hot and the sun was out.   It was a perfect day to spend with the perfect friends.  I could just sit there soaking up the sun watching the kids play chatting the day away with my bestie for ever!

Little Fish Little Fish..........

Cameron is starting to become a fish.  After a few years of being a bit afraid of water he is now getting very comfortable and fond of being in the water.  We have put Cam in swim lessons before and he had done pretty well and started to swim under water.  But we thought that he really could use a few more lessons to get him swimming on top of the water and to improve his endurance in the pool.  After the first session of  8 lessons over 2 weeks he seemed to have a break through so we decided not to stop the momentum put him in another session for 8 more lessons.  Along with the small pool we have in the backyard Cam spends almost everyday n the water.  While I don't see him turning into the next Michael Phelps it is wonderful to see him so comfortable and happy.  Here are a few pictures and a video of him swimming.  One more week of lessons and then a little vacation with a lot of swimming!

And yes I know his goggles are on upside down.  He does that on purpose! Strange little boy.

Skating party.

 Tomorrow MacKenzie turns 13!!!  So today we had a birthday party for her at the ice rink. Kenzie took a year of figure skating lessons before a snow storm caused our rink to collapse.  Last fall they finally finished the rebuild and opened again.  So in January she started up lessons again.  She really loves it so we figured it was a great place to have her party.  They have a very nice package that includes skate rentals and skating.  The only thing I had to bring was the cake.  So off to the rink this morning we went.  We all had a good time.  Kenzie and her friends skated for almost 2 hours and Cam and I spent quiet a bit of time on the ice too.  For either never having skated or only doing it a few times the girls did great and had a blast.  We couldn't have asked for a better party to welcome our baby girl in to her teens.

 

First tooth.

Cam lost his first tooth the other day.  That tooth has been wiggly for a while.  He couldn't wait for it to finally come out so any chance he had he was wiggling it more and more.  Finally after dinner this week he excitedly showed me that it finally came out.  Makes us sad to think our baby is growing up.

Baseball

I know it has been a year since I have posted here. Life has just gotten in the way so I am trying to start new and post more regularly.

Last night we took the kids to a single A baseball game. Potomac Nationals vs. Carolina Mudcats.  We are lucky because Woodbridge is the home of the Potomac Nationals.  We love going to baseball games as a family.  We try to take the kids to Baltimore when the Red Sox come to town.  It seems that we only get to go every other year due to scheduling conflicts.  So this was a great compromise.  The kids had a blast. We were treated to 2 Washington National's players doing thier rehab with the P-Nats.  The only downside was at the time of the first pitch, at 6:38 pm,  it was 103 degrees!  Talk about hot.  We drank tons and tons of water, a big ice cold lemonade and the kids got dippin dots and popcorn.   Once the sun went behind the trees it was a much more enjoyable night.  After the game was over (P-Nats won 4-3) they turned off the lights and we were treated to a great fireworks show  They really did put on a great show.  We didn't get to see a big fireworks show on the 4th so it was great to see a good show.  Then after the fireworks when they finally got the field lights to start to come back up the kids got to go on the field and run the bases.  The smiles on both of them when they hit home plate was priceless.  We will definately do that again.  And the best part?  15 minutes and we were home. If we find a house in the neighborhood we love the drive home will only take 7 minutes!

Sorry they are green the lights weren't fully up.

http://www2.insidenova.com/sports/2012/jul/08/drew-storen-gets-victory-as-potomac-beats-carolina-ar-2041885/