We LOVE Ice Cream!

Kids waiting for menus at A La Mode
"I want this!"
Colleen deciding what she wants
Colleen picked strawberry ice cream - that ironically matches her shirt!
Kellen digging in

Kids in the wagon heading to get ice cream
Kellen trying to get some with his spoon while Colleen is sharing with hers!
"Give me some!"
Kellen "I love ice cream"

Two evenings we decided to walk the kids down the street for a special treat of ice cream. They had such a great time and really enjoyed the special treat.

The first time we got soft serve from Mike's and the kids shared one cup between them. The second time we went to A La Mode and actually sat down inside and enjoyed our ice cream. Colleen was thrilled to get a cone this time!

Lazy Afternoon

One afternoon it wasn't really nice enough to go to the beach and it wasn't nice enough to play on the deck, so we decided to walk the kids up the street to Sac-O-Subs to get some lunch.

When we came back, we found Mr. Lou relaxing with Mia on the sofa!

Playing on the deck

Sometimes when it wasn't nice enough to go to the beach or if the kids didn't feel like heading down there, we just set up the baby pool on the back deck and they played there.

You can see from the pictures that the kids had a GREAT time!

Kellen loves the doggies!

Roscoe watching Kellen closely
Kellen pulling his food away
Roscoe looking for some food Kellen dropped
Kellen helping Roscoe find the food

Kellen really enjoyed playing with Mia and Roscoe at the beach. I am not so sure how much Roscoe liked Kellen chasing him around....but there were a few times when the doggies REALLY liked the Kellen being around. They loved watching Kellen eat - and watching him drop food!

Happy 4th of July!

Kids ready for the parade


Kellen was the "Candidate in '48!" We even had "Hail to the Chief" playing in his wagon

Colleen looking so cute all dressed up for 4th of July in the wagon

Kellen's decorations are now gone because of the rain

Colleen hiding out under her umbrella
Me and the kids waiting to hear the results from the parade

Happy 4th of July!


We had a great 4th of July down at the beach.


The kids entered the 4th of July parade and had such a wonderful time riding in the parade and waving to everyone who lined the streets. Colleen really liked getting all the candy that people would hand out along the route.

The kids looked so cute that lots of strangers were coming up and taking their pictures. One lady came up to take Kellen's picture because she thought he was adorable and thought it was such a great idea. Colleen got her picture taken by the paper, but I don't know if it will be there since she didn't place.

Here are a few pictures from the pre-parade craziness. It ended up raining - so Kellen's decorations sort of fell apart....but Colleen's stayed - compliments to Aunt Janet for the decorating.

Breakfast Time!

Kids eating breakfast...watching Blue's Clues

Colleen with her red, white and blue sprinkled donut for the 4th

Most mornings at the beach, Kellen would get up around 6am and instead of waking up everyone else, I would take Kellen jogging with me in the jogging stroller.

As a special treat, each morning we went jogging, we would also swing by Mallon's and pick up donuts, muffins or crumb cake.

After the first two days, Kellen would wake up saying "donut". Also towards the end of our stay all the girls who worked at Mallon's would love to see him come in the shop with his firehouse dog pj's on each morning!

Playground fun

Kellen trying to get on the swing

Kids going down the slide
Jeff heading down the slide too!
Kellen driving


Jeff scared in the back of the "jeep" with the kids driving

On the first whole day that we were at the beach, we decided to take the kids to the playground a few blocks away.....they really had a great time and as always - I had the camera with me!

Our First Day at Ocean City, NJ

Colleen and Kellen - OC, NJ

Action shot of Colleen running from the waves

"Where are my snacks?"

"Time to go to work"

Me trying to get an interesting shot from under the lifeguard chair

Kids and Jeff making a sand castle

Colleen smiling big at the ocean!

The waves were a little rough the first day we got there

"Why are you taking my picture again?"

Kellen chillin

We arrived in Ocean City, New Jersey for the first day of our family vacation on July 2nd.

We picked the kids up right after nap time at school and headed straight for Grandmommies house at the beach. We were all so excited!



The first day we were at the beach (July 3rd) was a fantastic day! The kids really enjoyed spending time on the beach.....Colleen a little more than Kellen. Each time we went out...after about 1 hour or 1.5 hours.....Kellen went off like a timer and he was ready to head back to the house.

Colleen on the other hand, would spend the entire day on the beach. She loved collecting her sea shells and "special rocks". She would dig holes too - but would always fill them back in "so no one else falls and gets hurt Mom"

The funniest was one time when I told her I was going to take a little nap and I told her to not go in the water and to play on the sand. Her response "Mom, I am going to go play down in the water so I don't make any noise and wake you from your nap!" Too funny!


Colleen did really great in the water too. One other beach goer commented on how "brave" Colleen was and how she is going to be a strong swimmer when she is older. I just thought it was funny when I told Colleen she was going in too far she would respond "Mom....I am going to be alright....I am OK"