Oh, it's what you do to me

Well, it's been a while since I've posted - my apologies for that and for what will probably end up as a LONG entry! Our 6+ hour road trip to Massachusetts turned into an 11 hour trip - traffic was just horrible! Thank goodness the kids weren't....

We had a very relaxing time with our friends, Mike & Shelley. They were wonderful hosts, especially considering the fact that we brought along all the accoutrement that come with traveling with 3 kids: snacks, toys, lots of diapers and wipes. After our visit, they might just put off starting their own family for a while! Ryan was an eating machine while we were there. He polished off an assortment of juice boxes, waffles, scrambled eggs, and his favorite, crackers. I don't know where he puts it all. Hopefully that means he's getting ready to grow (one can only hope!) His shirt says it all in the photo below - RASCAL... The kids made some new friends while we were there. Liam and Nathan are only 2 days apart, and Brenden is 2 1/2.

This past Friday, we went to Ocean City, NJ for the day - normally wouldn't do this, but my parents were there for a week and knew we'd have a place to clean up after the beach. On the drive down, we were listening to the radio and one of our favorite songs came on - Hey there, Delilah by Plain White T's. Mark turned it up and then we heard this little voice from the backseat singing the chorus, "Oh, it's what you do to me. Oh, it's what you do to me..." Here, Ryan was singing his little heart out (through his binky, I might add) SO DARN CUTE!

My poor parents had the worst weather of the summer - it rained Sunday through Thursday, but Friday ended up being a decent day - partly sunny and not too hot. The kids all LOVE the beach - the sand and the water. Even Nathan got into it this time - he loved sitting on Pop-Pop's lap in the surf and splashing in the water. Megan & Jim were down with Abby, Chris, and Alex and the kids had a blast playing together. I love when we all get together like this - I'm so thankful that my kids have cousins their age. We played on the beach for a few hours, showered up, had pizza, and then hit the boardwalk. I love that Evan is old enough to ride the rides. He and I went on the tilt-a-whirl and on his first roller coaster - and if you know me, the kiddie coaster is about my speed. He LOVED the roller coaster and wanted to ride again. One the tilt-a-whirl, I got a little nervous because he said, "This is making my stomach feel weird." Ryan got to ride some little rides for the first time this year. He was all business about driving the dune buggy and ringing the bell on the boat. Everyone was zonked out in the car on the ride home, including Mark. It was a great day - thanks, mom & dad, for letting us invade!