Short Vacation to New Jersey

Rich had a few days off the end of July, so we decided to spend some time visiting with his brother Bob and wife Janis. We arrived in Collingswood Saturday morning in time to visit the local farm market to get some things for dinner. Then Rich and Bob went in search of some meat and did some sight-seeing along the way. Janis and Susan spent some time catching up and chatting about a variety of things.  We enjoyed hearing about their house in Mexico and some of the places they have visited in their travels. We had liver wurst, olives, pita, crackers, and cheese for lunch. For dinner Janis made a scrumptious dish of clams from Clam Daddy at the market, chicken from the meat hunting trip, fresh bread, tomato salad, and pistachios.   

On Sunday morning we all went to the new Barnes Museum in Philadelphia, a wonderful collection of impressionist art - including the largest single collection of paintings by Renoir in the world.  We also saw works by Cézanne, Monet, Seurat, Van Gogh, Rousseau, and Matisse.  The displays also contained decorative items, furniture, and sculptures. It was possible to get pretty close to the paintings and objects and to take as long as one wanted in each room.  It would take several trips to the museum to really see everything on display there.

After the museum we went to lunch at Whole Foods, across the street. We dropped Bob and Janis back at their house and headed to Atlantic City to a hotel in Absecon, near the beaches.

Both Monday and Tuesday were spent primarily relaxing on the beach, soaking up the sun, and reading. We found an almost deserted stretch of beach just north of Sea Isle City where we could watch the waves and sand crabs without being sprayed by sand kicked up by people going by.

Back in Absecon we had a great Chinese meal at the China Seas Restaurant, and had a good lunch at the Black Cat, both a short distance from our hotel. We used the hotel pool and exercise room and generally just had a wonderful time.

Saw something at the shore I had never seen before - a boat billboard! The scene on the screen changed every few seconds. The boat was really too far out to actually read what was on the billboard, but the camera caught it on zoom...

Wednesday morning we went to the Atlantic City Boardwalk for breakfast, then headed home. Kat and the kids came over in the afternoon and Daniel rode his tractor while Rich mowed the lawn. Abby is really crawling now and had fun playing with a little piano we got for her.

It was very nice to reconnect with Bob and Janis. So glad we took the time to get together with them!  It's good to be with family.

Abby is Learning to Crawl

Abby can sit up for long periods of time and roll over with ease.

She is trying to learn to crawl, which can be hard work, but if one is determined enough, it will happen...

After a few face plants, she just gives up but keeps on smiling.

Abby and Roxie

While Daniel and his mommy went to Monkey Joes for a reward for good behavior, Rich and I kept Abby. She loves her dog and the feeling is obviously mutual.  Roxie tolerates the baby amazingly well. When Roxie decides she has had enough, she raises up her head, bares her teeth, and plants a kiss on Abby's lips.  Her other avenue of self defense is to move.

Painted at Last!

While we were visiting Sharon and Mark in Georgia we had a painter come in and finish some of the areas of the house that had never been painted. He did the pergolas on the deck, the kitchen ceiling, the laundry room, and finally our bedroom. Tired of construction white, we now have relaxing blue walls and new bedding to dress up our pretty bedroom furniture.

Getting Ready for Tee Ball

Kat is teaching Daniel to play ball and he's getting pretty good at it for a 3-year old.  Daniel enlisted help for practice after he put the base pads in place (well, sort of).

Pop-pop holds the ball for Daniel to hit. Note the white ball on the left of the photo - Daniel hit it there. He also has a pretty good throwing arm!