Atlantic Highlands, NJ

On Grandpa's last full day with us, the kids had dentist appointments in the morning (no cavities, yay!) and afterward we headed up the coast to the Atlantic Highlands.  It was cold and windy but the view was spectacular.  It's hard to see in the picture but the NYC skyline is across the water.

Zoomed in (pic cred, Grandpa Jerry)

 

There's a little tiny beach down by the water, it's not somewhere you'd want to swim, but it's great for a walk and looking for sea glass.

 

 

Lana found a great piece of sea glass.  So pretty!

My goofballs

On our way home there was an accident on the Parkway so we had to take an alternate route.  A normally 40 minute drive turned into an unbelievably boring, stop and go, 2 hour drive home.  On the plus side, Porter got in a good nap that day!

Thanks for coming out to visit Grandpa Jerry!  We had a great time!

Jenkinson's Aquarium

This is aquarium is close to our house and much more convenient than driving into Camden, NJ (which by the way is one of the most dangerous cities in the US, but I digress).  It's small but it's a great place to kill a couple of hours and get out some energy.

 

I can't take credit for most of these pictures.  They're courtesy of Lana and Grandpa Jerry.

 

This dude is one ugly fish.

 

Sea Horses are awesome.

 

Apparently they're playing "stack the turtle" haha.

Ew.

 

 

Mini Nemo's!

 

We usually go when the aquarium opens which is also when the feed the seals.  They've done  a big renovation on the seal tank, I was impressed.

 

 

 

Porter wasn't ready to leave.

Tanner trying to poke his head through the underwater suit helmet.

We took a little stroll on the beach but it was windy and cold.  By the end Tanner was regretting his wearing shorts decision as the sand whipped his bare legs.

BYU in the Garden

What are the odds that the BYU Men's Basketball team would make to the NIT semi-finals the week Grandpa Jerry is here?  It was a fun once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  It was everyone's first time at Madison Square Garden.  And we had awesome 3rd row seats.  Unfortunately we were right next to Valpo's band.  They were obnoxious to say the least.

We had a great time though.  BYU started out a bit slow but by the end they had us on our feet.

I was surprised at how many BYU fans showed up.

It made for a late night but totally worth it!

Cape Henelopen State Park, DE

7 years ago we moved away from Madison, MS leaving behind some of our favorite people.  Once again we find ourselves in the same time zone again (yay!!)  and we met up together in Delaware.  The kids got on so well, I wish we were next door neighbors but I will take 4 hours away any day.

Lana and Keira are 2 1/2 weeks apart in age.  We used to celebrate their birthdays together.

It was so nice chatting (can't really call it catching up since we still talk on the phone fairly frequently) but it was great being in person, haha!

For the ride home we decided to take the May-Lewes Ferry.  It was a fabulous ride home. 

We saw a couple get engaged, and few dolphins off the side of the boat and a couple of lighthouses.

Best of all I got to spend some time with my favorites, they may drive me crazy occasionally but I sure love them like crazy.

Puerto Rico

Paul took me to Puerto Rico for my birthday.  3 wonderful days with no children.  It was fantastic!

The one thing Paul wanted to do was fish, so I sacrificed a morning of sleeping for some awesome views on the water.

3 hours of reeling in a giant fish and right at the end he flips off the line.

We went and walked around one of the forts in Old San Juan.  The rain clouds were rolling in and it was super humid.

For lunch I made Paul eat at this place that specialized in Chocolate.  It was no Max Brenner but it was good!  Above is the Strawberry Frozen Hot Chocolate.

Chocolate Grilled Cheese Sandwich.  I only wish it had more chocolate.  Haha!

Paul's Chocolate French Toast was tasty!

Above the restaurant they had this art gallery we walked through.  This is painted in chocolate.

We had the perfect hotel room.  The view was fantastic and it was on the other side of the hotel so we weren't blown away by the breezes.

And it was here that I re-discovered that I actually do love the beach when I don't have little people getting sand all up in my face.  It was such a great birthday.  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Judson for watching the kids for us!

And for the record, we came home to snow.