neighbor fun

Tonight our neighbors came by for a visit.  It was a nice night for a ride in the Jeep.  Maribeth and I took turns pushing them around the driveway.  Maeve took the wheel while Bennett enjoy riding in the back.  

Bennett was waving bye byes as he was riding by Nick and Maribeth.

Check out Maeve's "no hands on the wheel" driving abilities.

Now she is driving without even looking at the road ahead.  Bennett is starting to look a little worried.

I think these two cuties were ready to do this all night.    Too bad we had to pull them out of there for dinner and a snack.

swim class with mommy

Today I got to take Bennett to swim class for the first time.  We had fun singing, playing and splashing in the water.

wegmans t-shirt

Grandma got Bennett a t-shirt from our favorite grocery store, Wegmans, for Easter.  It finally fits.

rain

Tonight there is a downpour.  Bennett was enjoying it from the front porch.  The rain was very loud.

He was saying "Wow" over and over again.  It's his favorite word right now.  

hair cut

Bennett was getting shaggy again so we went to see Alison tonight.  Bennett did really well again.  He sat very still and was done in no time.  We just had to bribe him with a lolly pop.  He only gets them at the hair salon so it's ok.

He looks like such a big boy with his new cut.  Thank you Alison!

pirate booty

With no food at the house a shopping trip was in order.  Bennett and I went out to BJ's to pick up the essentials.  And, check out what we found.  Bennett needs his snacks.

The bag is literally the size of Bennett.  It's going to take a while to eat this bag of Pirate Booty but not from the lack of trying.  

memorial day

Today we had to say goodbye to the Seymours.  We did make the best of it with the time we had this morning to spend with them.  Bennett snacked and caught up with Alice.  These two make such an adorable pair.

Nick and the kids cuddled on the couch.

Alice and I got together for a selfie.

James, Nick and Bennett played a game called "Monster" of their own invention.

Audrey and I got a pic with our babies.  It was a busy morning.

Leaving was hard but we had a ferry to catch.  None of us have ever been on a ferry before so we were looking forward to the trip across the Delaware Bay to New Jersey.

We were hoping to cut down on some of the driving time we had to do today.  Nick and I felt bad for Bennett because it was going to be a long day in the car for him and thought this would be a nice way of breaking it up.  Bennett wanted to do nothing more than climb stairs.  He threw several tantrums when we would grab him and pull him away.  We got a few stares.

It was beautiful out on the water and I got some nice pictures of the ocean.

I felt like we were on the ocean highway.

Bennett was busy running around and exploring and making friends.

We took Bennett inside for some relief fro the sun.  He took to playing a car racing video game.  It was out of order but he didn't know that.

At the gift shop Bennett found a toy school bus.  He played with it for a while.  And, it seemed like in no time we were across the bay in New Jersey.  The ferry was definitely a cool thing to do.  I am not sure if it actually saved us anytime but it was nice to spend sometime outdoors rather then in the car.

From here on out we spent the rest of the day in the car.  It took us 11 hours to get home today.  We drove by New York City and got to see the new Trade Center from afar.

We did stop to eat lunch and dinner at a park to let B walk around and play. Overall he did really well and I am proud of my little man for being such a good boy on such a grueling car ride home.

first beach day

We are so sad to leave the Pledgers this morning.  We were really enjoying our time visiting with them.  I hope that they will come and visit us soon so we can return the favor.

At the same time, we are so excited to hit the road this morning to go to Delaware and meet up with the Seymours.  It's Bennett's first time to the beach so I am anxious to see how he does.  It took us about two hours to get there.  Auntie Audrey was already waiting for us in the parking lot and it got hot outside. Without wasting anytime we got B changed into his suit and headed out to the beach.   As soon as we walked out to an area where we could see water, Bennett pointed at the ocean and repeatedly said: "Wow."

Chris' dad and mom, Sue and John, live nearby so they have all the needed gear.  John drove his truck out onto the beach so it was all really close by.  They had us nicely set up under a canopy.  They also brought a grill so we could make cheeseburgers and hot dogs for lunch.  That was my first time to the beach where we could actually drive out onto the sand.  They did have to be "fishing" in order to do so.  We didn't catch anything but some people caught horseshoe crabs and a sting ray.

Ryan, the Brave, picked up a horseshoe crab when no one else would touch him.

Bennett was very cautious at first when I put him down into the sand.  He didn't move or try and walk for a few minutes.  Eventually he took off to play with the rest of the kids before we all gathered back up under the canopy for lunch.

Bennett was enjoying Pirate Booty out of the bag.  He just picked up how to do that last week.  He finished the entire bag.  I guess that means we are going to be investing in some for the house.

I bet the Pirate Booty tasted better because we were eating outside.  Somehow, food always tastes better when eaten outdoors.

Alice and Ryan took their snacks right out to the beach.

It was back to the playing right after we ate for all the kiddos.  Bennett was having so much fun until he got super cranky cuz he needed a nap.

Sadly, we packed up shortly after lunch to go back to John and Sue's house.  I was really enjoying the sun after such a long winter.  I hope we can come back to the beach soon.

Bennett would not nap unless he was in the car so Daddy and Chris and Bennett took off to check into the hotel while the rest of us hung back at the house.  To my surprise, Daddy came back with new Crocs for Bennett.  Bennett looks adorable in them and they are so convenient.

The evening was spent eating a really tasty dinner that Sue made and drinking some wine for the adults.

The kids enjoyed running around in the yard, NAKED! Too cute!

Thanks for the amazing day to the Seymours! We are so happy we could see them and spend this gorgeous day with them.

tony and erin's wedding

Mommy and Daddy got a night out tonight.  Nancy and John were watching Bennett while we got to enjoy the evening at Tony and Erin's wedding.  Daddy went earlier in the day since he had to get ready and pictures to take.   A sneak peak at the bride and groom before the wedding ceremony.

The Godfather, Scott, in action.  He was also part of the wedding party.

Not sure what this is a picture of here but I am pretty sure it's somewhere downtown Philadelphia and it's something important.

I met up with everyone at the church.  The ceremony was gorgeous.  I love that it was at such a historic place.  It made it super special.

No pictures were allowed during the ceremony so I did not take any because I play by the rules like that.  The cocktail hour and reception were right after the ceremony.  We made the mistake of eating too much at the cocktail hour.  There were so many great choices.  We had mini philly cheesesteaks, sesame chicken, bacon wrapped scallops, baguettes topped with brie and the list goes on.  It was all delicious.  

We had a very special present for Tony.  Almost seven years ago when him and Erin came to the wine tour the day before our wedding, he ate way too many Slim Jim's and hasn't eaten one since that day.

I wonder if he ate it.

The reception started out with the first dance.  It was very sweet.  I met Erin for the first time at my wedding.  Her and Tony just started dating.  It's really special that we now get to celebrate their wedding day.

The mother and son dance made me cry.  I pictured myself dancing with Bennett at some point in our futures and completely lost it.  I don't think the booze helped.  Tony's mom is such a special lady.  She raised Nick and Tony and Scott and Dave and Maxwell.  They would all come over to her house to hang after school.

The beautiful bride, Erin. 

We spent the rest of the night dancing.  I knew I would pay for that tomorrow but I didn't care.  The food, the music and the company were so great I stopped stressing and let the night go.  It flew by. Congratulations to Tony and Erin on their big day! Wishing you many years of joy and happiness and love. Now go make me some cousins for Bennett!