Cause down the shore everything's alright......

OK - 10 points if you know what song the title of this blog is from!!!! :)

We just got back from the shore and as you can see by a few pictures on the side of the blog we had a great time!

We left Thursday afternoon around 1:30ish and got down there around 7 p.m. (for those of you not from NJ - you always go down the shore, not to the shore...)- not too bad for stopping twice and driving on the Thursday before a long weekend. We stayed at the Surfside Motel - it was three blocks from the beach and boarwalk and very cute and clean - nice hotel if anyone's looking for a place down the shore. As soon as we got out of the car, you could smell that shore air - ahhhh - it's the best smell in the world - brings back memories of my whole life - from childhood through now...I love the Shore!!!

Anyway - we took a walk up to the beach and boardwalk Thursday night - had a great time - played a few games...I think that first night is when Drew won his stuffed fish - his first boardwalk prize - the first of many I'm sure...

Drew also enjoyed his first boardwalk rides - the merry go round with Daddy and a car ride with Mommy!!

Friday morning we went to visit with Dave, Carolyn and Nicholas at Carolyn's beach house in Seaside Heights (Midway Beach) - we had a lot of fun, even though it was Freeeeeezing on the beach. The older boys were crazy and went in the ocean. Drew and Nicholas played in Nick's wading pool and Drew had a very good time and also enjoyed his birthday presents. We had a BBQ for lunch and then headed back to Pt. Pleasant, but not before deciding that next year for vacation we'd like to rent a beach house!! :)

We hit the boardwalk more Friday night, and the big boys went in the ocean more - I don't know how they didn't catch hypothermia...crazy boys! More boardwalk crap was won...Patrick and I tried to win me a Coach purse, but couldn't :( Oh well...

Friday night Opa came down and met us for dinner - we went to a great restaurant and most of us had some very good seafood!! Yum!!! Good restaurant choice by Opa! :) Then it was time to go back to the boardwalk for fireworks on the beach...they were nice and really long - I said about 8 times - "I think this is the finale..."

Saturday was a yucky, rainy day so not that much fun at the beach...the older boys managed to get some time in the ocean though and Drew was sort of out of sorts all day (that's the nice way to say bratty!), so we didn't do too much. We had dinner on the boardwalk - Chris and Ben got some great (say sarcastically!) boardwalk prizes - the highlights being Chris' lava lamp and Ben's volcano that plays music...we also brought home assorted basketballs, footballs, stuffed animals and other junk, I mean prizes! :) Uncle Steve would be proud!!! He is the king of boardwalk crap!

We left early Sunday morning and made great time to Grama's house where we hung out and had lunch - good subs!! And Grama had a cake for Chris, since we never get to celebrate his birthday with him - so he enjoyed that very much!

Shockingly, we hit no traffic from NJ to Connecticut - and we are now home, unpacked, Drew's asleep, laundry is almost done and I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed...

In any case - a wonderful weekend down the shore!!!! I loved taking all the boys there...Chris and Ben have been before, and I love that they love it there, and I love that Drew had a good time...it's nice to see you kids enjoy something that you have loved your whole life...could I say the word love any mroe in that sentance??

Oh - and before I forget - speaking of enjoyed - we all enjoyed great boardwalk food!! Pizza, calzones, fried oreos, cotton candy, funnel cake, french fries...the list goes on and on and the diet starts again tomorrow!