Every year we take a trip to Pennsylvania with Koda to see his mother and the breeder where we got him. They currently have 17 five-week-old puppies! Kelsey & Nick had a blast holding all of them...I think between the two of them they literally held all 17. Then they played in the garden and visited with the other animals which included chickens, rabbits and a bunny that was just a few minutes old. Koda enjoyed running in the big back yard and was not a bit phased by the mud created by the thunderstorms last night. He even shook off and sprayed mud all over the side of the pool. When it was time to leave we had to check Kelsey's pockets and make sure they were empty!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Ocean City with the Morans 8-27-09
The kids had such a great time at the beach on Tuesday we returned on Thursday for another fun filled day. This time we were joined by the Moran family. Eric & Victoria are close to Kelsey & Nick's ages so they make a great foursome. Their older daughters Kayla & Rebecca are our babysitters and we all blend so well together. The kids had a blast Boogie Boarding again. Today the water was a bit calmer and much cleaner!!! After several hours on the beach we went to the boardwalk for an early dinner and window shopping and being silly! Check out the ice cream on the kids faces! And our best laugh of the day had to be when Kelsey got pooped on by a seagull!! What a relaxing week we had!!
One more week and the we head back to school. The kids are ready and I am looking forward to a little peace & quiet. I start back the same day they do but I only work mornings. That will give me a few hours to get things done before they get home. This year they will both be at the same school so that will be nice too.
One more week and the we head back to school. The kids are ready and I am looking forward to a little peace & quiet. I start back the same day they do but I only work mornings. That will give me a few hours to get things done before they get home. This year they will both be at the same school so that will be nice too.
Ocean City 8-25-09
After Kelsey's riding lesson we headed down the Shore for the day. Several of our friends joined us for a day at the beach and an evening on the Boardwalk rides. Kelsey & Nick had a blast riding their Boogie Boards on the waves. Hurricane Bill had come North in the Atlantic a few days earlier so the waves were a little rough and had lots of churned up ocean stuff in it. But that didn't stop the kids from having a great time. I was a bit reluctant to wade into all the seaweed, jellyfish and shells. This was our first trip to the beach this year. We are only an hour and half away but we just never seem to get there til the end of the summer.
Kelsey's Riding Lesson With Rush
Her are some pictures of Kelsey's riding lesson with Rush. This was her last lesson for this summer. She really enjoyed her riding once again this year.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Phillies Game Aug 8, 2009
Rob's boss treated the family to a Phillies game. The seats were awesome! Rob and I enjoyed watching the game but I think Kelsey and Nick's favorite part was buying cotton candy and popcorn from our seats. We can't seem to take Nick anywhere he doesn't find someone he knows. While he was playing in the fun zone kids park he ran into his friend Jack from down the street. Turns out Jack's family has season tickets and they sat one section over and down about 15 seats from where we were!!!
See Pictures You Like?
**Here's something Amy showed me. If you see a picture you like, double click on the picture and it will enlarge it and you can download it to your computer.
Illinois July 20-26, 2009
Last stop on our trip, Oak Forest, Illinois. Again we tried to squueeze in a ton of things in just a few days. There were so many pictures I had to break it into 2 slide shows.
The first few pics here are actually from the first day of our trip when we stopped over for the night on our way to Wisconsin. That night we managed to squeeze in an Oberweiss Dairy trip for milkshakes and a birthday cake for Nick even after 12 hours of driving. I think there was more cake worn than eaten.
Rob flew back home from Des Moines. This made it possible for Kelsey to make a ton of balloon animals without worrying about Rob's latex allergy. She made balloon creations for everyone. No trip would be complete without a visit to Brookfield Zoo. This year there is a special life size dinosaur exhibit. Nick loved it! Riley and Amy joined us for the day. The kids made the usual wax animals and got to see all of their favorite animals up close. After we finished at the zoo we took a side trip to see Bika and Smoke & Mason. Wednesday, Nana & Papa T took us out for lunch at our favorite Culver's restauraunt and Kelsey redeemed her prize tokens for a soccer ball. The great Grandparents got a little rowdy putting it on their heads! The next day we went to the Museum of Science & Industry with a quick stop-over across the street to see Lake Michigan. The kids would have loved to play in the sand all day but there was just enough time for a quick toe dipping in the lake. Kelsey & Nick were able to see an IMAX movie, visit their favorite U-505 Submarine, play with LEGO's at a new exhibit, watch the huge pinball machine, spend time watching the massive model train exhibit, and watch a big machine assemble toys just to name a few. Afterwards, Papa Bruce took us on a driving tour to see some of the big buildings downtown. He even detoured into Lincoln Park to drive us past Victory Gardens Theater (formerly The Biograph Theater) to see the location where John Dillinger was shot. When we were in Wisconsin we went to Little Bohemia restauraunt where there had been a big Dillinger shoot out. The kids got to see the preserved windows with bullet holes and some things he left behind there. Nick, Kelsey & Grammy spent time cooking in the kitchen making blueberry muffins from scratch and then delivered them to Nana & Papa T. Friday, Aunt Sharon & Uncle Gary invited us up for a swim in their pool. Sharon had a cake for the kids and the only time we saw the kids out of the pool was for lunch and cake. Uncle Mike stopped by for a visit too. Nick couldn't resist eyeing up his Harley so we had to get pics of the kids on it. Saturday Grammy made our family favorite beef stew & dumplings and the kids were going to have a sleep over with Riley but at the last minute she decided to go home. On Sunday Caryn, Joey, Mamerta & Alexander stopped by for a visit and that afternoon we had the whole Trauscht family over for dinner. It was a ton of fun to see all of our kids having such a great day. The kids enjoyed the slip & slide and water balloons and playing with Adrianne's dog Kinnick. Thanks Uncle Larry & Theresa for putting together the slip & Slide and the water balloons. The following day we got up early and hit the road for the drive back to New Jersey.
We had an awesome time and are glad we got to see so many people and do so many things. Thank you to everyone for sharing their time with us and for putting up with our crazy visits. It was definitely a full trip. Now we can relax & enjoy a few weeks before we go back to school. We don't start until September 8th! Hope you enjoy all these pics!
The first few pics here are actually from the first day of our trip when we stopped over for the night on our way to Wisconsin. That night we managed to squeeze in an Oberweiss Dairy trip for milkshakes and a birthday cake for Nick even after 12 hours of driving. I think there was more cake worn than eaten.
Rob flew back home from Des Moines. This made it possible for Kelsey to make a ton of balloon animals without worrying about Rob's latex allergy. She made balloon creations for everyone. No trip would be complete without a visit to Brookfield Zoo. This year there is a special life size dinosaur exhibit. Nick loved it! Riley and Amy joined us for the day. The kids made the usual wax animals and got to see all of their favorite animals up close. After we finished at the zoo we took a side trip to see Bika and Smoke & Mason. Wednesday, Nana & Papa T took us out for lunch at our favorite Culver's restauraunt and Kelsey redeemed her prize tokens for a soccer ball. The great Grandparents got a little rowdy putting it on their heads! The next day we went to the Museum of Science & Industry with a quick stop-over across the street to see Lake Michigan. The kids would have loved to play in the sand all day but there was just enough time for a quick toe dipping in the lake. Kelsey & Nick were able to see an IMAX movie, visit their favorite U-505 Submarine, play with LEGO's at a new exhibit, watch the huge pinball machine, spend time watching the massive model train exhibit, and watch a big machine assemble toys just to name a few. Afterwards, Papa Bruce took us on a driving tour to see some of the big buildings downtown. He even detoured into Lincoln Park to drive us past Victory Gardens Theater (formerly The Biograph Theater) to see the location where John Dillinger was shot. When we were in Wisconsin we went to Little Bohemia restauraunt where there had been a big Dillinger shoot out. The kids got to see the preserved windows with bullet holes and some things he left behind there. Nick, Kelsey & Grammy spent time cooking in the kitchen making blueberry muffins from scratch and then delivered them to Nana & Papa T. Friday, Aunt Sharon & Uncle Gary invited us up for a swim in their pool. Sharon had a cake for the kids and the only time we saw the kids out of the pool was for lunch and cake. Uncle Mike stopped by for a visit too. Nick couldn't resist eyeing up his Harley so we had to get pics of the kids on it. Saturday Grammy made our family favorite beef stew & dumplings and the kids were going to have a sleep over with Riley but at the last minute she decided to go home. On Sunday Caryn, Joey, Mamerta & Alexander stopped by for a visit and that afternoon we had the whole Trauscht family over for dinner. It was a ton of fun to see all of our kids having such a great day. The kids enjoyed the slip & slide and water balloons and playing with Adrianne's dog Kinnick. Thanks Uncle Larry & Theresa for putting together the slip & Slide and the water balloons. The following day we got up early and hit the road for the drive back to New Jersey.
We had an awesome time and are glad we got to see so many people and do so many things. Thank you to everyone for sharing their time with us and for putting up with our crazy visits. It was definitely a full trip. Now we can relax & enjoy a few weeks before we go back to school. We don't start until September 8th! Hope you enjoy all these pics!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Iowa July 15-20, 2009
Next stop was Des Moines, Iowa. As usual we had more plans than time to do everything.
Thank you Tony, Tammy & Nathan for the great accomodations. Kelsey and Nick loved sleeping with Nathan in his room every night...except when they all went to Grammy Gloria's. Thanks for a night of peace for us Grammy! We were able to spend lots of quality time with family which included lunch with Great Grandma Grace, Aunt Dorthey and Uncle Vern & Aunt Gail who were in from Virginia. Cousin Angela came over for our first dinner in town and then stayed for a fun game of Apples to Apples game. Kelsey and Nick took on Uncle Josh, Uncle Joe & his girlfriend Alicia in games of Mario Kart on Wii. Rob golfed with his brothers and completed a few house projects for Grammy Gloria. Tammy, Gloria and I took the kids to the Iowa Science Center and we all joined up to see Ice Age 3. Then it was off to Culvers, again. Can you tell what my favorite midwest fast food is? I think it is a close tie with midwest pizza. We sang Happy Birthday to Aunt Tammy & Nick and even had trick candles. Poor Uncle Josh was ganged up on by the 3 kids but was able to hold his own. I hope he has recovered. Nathan, Kelsey & Nick also got to flex their muscles when we helped move a couch for Grammy Sharon (Tammy's Mom). We also had a chance to see Karen, Marc, Zach & Xander. It has been too long since our last visit. We had a blast seeing all of our Iowa family! Thanks to everyone for making it a great visit!
Here are some pics from the trip:
Thank you Tony, Tammy & Nathan for the great accomodations. Kelsey and Nick loved sleeping with Nathan in his room every night...except when they all went to Grammy Gloria's. Thanks for a night of peace for us Grammy! We were able to spend lots of quality time with family which included lunch with Great Grandma Grace, Aunt Dorthey and Uncle Vern & Aunt Gail who were in from Virginia. Cousin Angela came over for our first dinner in town and then stayed for a fun game of Apples to Apples game. Kelsey and Nick took on Uncle Josh, Uncle Joe & his girlfriend Alicia in games of Mario Kart on Wii. Rob golfed with his brothers and completed a few house projects for Grammy Gloria. Tammy, Gloria and I took the kids to the Iowa Science Center and we all joined up to see Ice Age 3. Then it was off to Culvers, again. Can you tell what my favorite midwest fast food is? I think it is a close tie with midwest pizza. We sang Happy Birthday to Aunt Tammy & Nick and even had trick candles. Poor Uncle Josh was ganged up on by the 3 kids but was able to hold his own. I hope he has recovered. Nathan, Kelsey & Nick also got to flex their muscles when we helped move a couch for Grammy Sharon (Tammy's Mom). We also had a chance to see Karen, Marc, Zach & Xander. It has been too long since our last visit. We had a blast seeing all of our Iowa family! Thanks to everyone for making it a great visit!
Here are some pics from the trip:
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Wisconsin July 10-15, 2009
Well, we've made it back to New Jersey from our whirlwind Midwest Tour. We drove almost 3300 miles in 3 weeks and passed through 8 states! It was a great trip but we are exhausted. Thanks to all of you for making the trip so much fun.
Here are the pictures from our first destination....Manitowish Waters Wisconsin. Thanks Uncle Den & Aunt MaryJo for once again sharing your home and having us up for a visit. Amy, Mike & Riley joined us and it was a blast watching the cousins play together. We spent lots of time in the boat tubing and touring the chain of lakes. On a few occasions Uncle Den was even brave enough to let the kids all try to drive his boat. We ate at all the favorite northwoods restauraunts...Paul Bunyan's, Aberdeen, Little Bohemia, The Pea Patch & Culver's (we don't have them in NJ yet!). We saw the Min-aqua-bats water ski show and even got Nick on a horse for a trail ride! One day we were also able to head over to St Germain for a visit with our friends Louise & Ray. Rob and the kids caught several fish and we saw bald eagles, loons & deer close up. Uncle Den even headed up to the house roof after Nick launched his rocket towards the house. Kelsey had a blast swimming with Cosby & Charlie and Mike's arm is probably still sore from so much frisbee throwing for Charlie. We had a very fun and relaxing time! Hope you enjoy the pics. There were so many I had to set up two slide shows. There will be more to come from all the other destinations soon!
Here are the pictures from our first destination....Manitowish Waters Wisconsin. Thanks Uncle Den & Aunt MaryJo for once again sharing your home and having us up for a visit. Amy, Mike & Riley joined us and it was a blast watching the cousins play together. We spent lots of time in the boat tubing and touring the chain of lakes. On a few occasions Uncle Den was even brave enough to let the kids all try to drive his boat. We ate at all the favorite northwoods restauraunts...Paul Bunyan's, Aberdeen, Little Bohemia, The Pea Patch & Culver's (we don't have them in NJ yet!). We saw the Min-aqua-bats water ski show and even got Nick on a horse for a trail ride! One day we were also able to head over to St Germain for a visit with our friends Louise & Ray. Rob and the kids caught several fish and we saw bald eagles, loons & deer close up. Uncle Den even headed up to the house roof after Nick launched his rocket towards the house. Kelsey had a blast swimming with Cosby & Charlie and Mike's arm is probably still sore from so much frisbee throwing for Charlie. We had a very fun and relaxing time! Hope you enjoy the pics. There were so many I had to set up two slide shows. There will be more to come from all the other destinations soon!
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