The City and Sea Vacation

Ah, vacation!  We are back now but I swear that there is a little sand still stuck in the crevices of the shoes that once walked on the beach.  We did a little city-sea thing splitting time between Washington D.C. and a beautiful little town at the very bottom tip of New Jersey called Cape May.  We had a great time (with one big exception called 'being separated in the D.C. metro', ask me about it sometime and I will give you an earful).  Here is the photographic proof of the whole shebang:

busy, busy in that great summer way.

This was one of those weekend that was jam-packed with summer-like fun.  We started with our annual strawberry picking through the organic farm we get food from in the harvest months. 

We have been doing this for 4 years and the boys love it so much they got ready for bed the night before discussing it and woke up ready to roll.  And, that was a good thing because we got lost on our way (they moved the picking field when the farm expanded and acquired another farm plot miles away from the old plot).  So, it took us a while to get there.

 {he is shouting NO! MORE! PICTURES! because he doesn't always appreciate my need for documentation}

But, they were prepared to work hard and get muddy after an extended car ride.  Plus, the location meant that we got to take a TRACTOR RIDE to the field. This was, by far, the highlight.  Strawberries are great and all but TRACTORS! that takes the cake. 

Here is Jude and Papa demonstrating just exactly how they would drive the tractor if the farmer needed their help in an emergency.  Callum is skeptical of their approach.

 We also got down to visit Grandma and Grandad Crowley for a very important reason...their 40th wedding anniversary! The boys had a great time running around in their house and kicking the ball around their yard.  And, we all had great food and a great time to catch up. There was even a bit of glass-clinking to celebrate! Congratulations Grandma and Grandad!!

Yay for summer!

Celebrating Papa!

We didn't make a huge deal of Papa's birthday but invited over a few neighbors for food and drinks.  Everybody brought a little something from pasta salad to sangria.  It's amazing how 'a few neighbors' can feel like lots of people when you get kids involved.  The kids tore around inside and out while conversations were had and another year was celebrated.  

It turned out to be a great little, laid-back party...the kind that prompts after-the-fact questions like "how did this underwear end up here?" But, not in that 20-something way more in that underoos kind of way.  Oh yes, times have changed.  Wild party means something different these days.

But, despite the underoos incident it was the kind of neighborly party that makes us reflect on just how lucky we are to quietly celebrate our everyday events in the company of great people in our great town. It's hard to deny that we found a great little pocket of New Jersey to settle into.