Down The Shore

We had an amazing getaway "down the shore" with some of our great friends--the Boyles--over Memorial Day weekend.  Even though we had taken Max and Sam to the ocean when they were really young (the summer of 2010), they were way too little to remember. So, for all intents and purposes, this was the first trip to the ocean for the little Blane boys.  Kind of a shock since it is only 90 minutes from our house!!!

  The Boyles have the cutest beach house in North Wildwood, NJ located right on the water on an inlet of the harbor.  The three Blane boys and the three Boyle boys are thick as thieves and had the most amazing time together (although I am sure the noise level was a lot more than three times louder…)!  Paul and I really enjoyed ourselves as well and couldn't have been more comfortable--Christine and Bill are extremely gracious hosts!

Here are some highlights from our stay:

A trip to the bait store was a frequent and fun outing for the boys since it was only a block from the house and we let them walk there all by themselves...   

We took a fun ride on their boat to "Boat Island" and wandered around on the sand, looking for treasures and enjoying the scenery...

We had a ton of fun just hanging out in their "backyard"--sliding into the canal off the deck slide, paddle boarding, kayaking, swimming...

When the boys actually saw the ocean for their "first time" they were amazed.  Jack took one look at it and exclaimed, "Wow!  Is this the pool?"   

We spent our last day hanging out at the board walk and took in all of the sights and smells and rides and games and food...

I'd say these wiped-out boys had a ton of fun!!!

Baseball, Baseball and MORE Baseball

All three boys played baseball this spring--each on their own team.  That meant that every Saturday we would have three different games to go to, two of which Paul coached.  No wonder we felt so busy the last month and a half...  

Jack played T-Ball, his first time playing this sport.  He Loved it!  His team was the Phillies which he thought to be especially cool.  Paul coached the team of three-year-olds, most of whom had never picked up a bat and a glove before and had no idea what to do.  Being in charge of such a team requires a level of patience and gentle instruction that not many could muster.  Paul was amazing!  He was so good with the kids and so calm in the very frustrating situation that first-time T-ball players create.  Coach Paul would position everyone just so, then the second he would turn around they would all scatter.  And that was just the tip of the iceberg of mayhem.  But, he did it with a smile and a great attitude and several parents expressed their awe at how great he is with the kids.  It was tough!  Jack had a ton of fun, however, and thought it so cool to have a team of his own since he is so often a spectator at one of his big brothers' games...

Sammy is a fantastic baseball player--he is good in the field, he can hit and catch--the kid is a superstar!!  He had a bunch of his buddies on his team (that Paul also helped coach), and looked forward to every Thursday night for practice and Saturday afternoon's game.  In addition, he is always looking for someone to have a catch with him any time on any given day... 

  

Max graduated from the Y league and moved up to an instructional team at East Side Little League.  He always had two (and sometimes three) games a week, which, while keeping us very busy, was tons of fun for everyone.  Max learned so much and his skills progressed significantly throughout the season.  He discovered that the position he really likes to play is catcher.  Sam and Jack loved going to his games since there were always a slew of other kids for them to run around and play with.  (There was one field in particular--their favorite-- where they would get so dirty). Paul and I enjoyed watching the games, of course, but also the sideline camaraderie and the cheering on of Max and his teammates... 

This and That in May

I love the month of May!  Spring finally came the earlier part of the month, bringing with it all the beautiful flowers and blossoms that soon flourished into the beautiful greenery that depicts this part of Pennsylvania.  Jack and Sam ride the gator almost everyday (weather pending) and the boys  are constantly begging to have a catch.  As a family we went to see the Wilmington Blue Rocks play baseball for Max's school fundraiser which is always a lot of fun. The boys have been loving wearing short pants and short sleeves and no jackets (some of the time, anyway) and we finally began frequenting parks again.  Jack has been garnering quite the attention with his outfits lately as he is always determined to complete his look, whether wearing shorts or long pants, with his black cowboy boots--the same ones that have been lovingly handed down, brother to brother, from Cousin Brooks.  

The bad part of this month, however, is all of the yard work which seems so daunting after a long and brutal winter.  Again, Paul does most of it, but typically the weeding and flower-planting are my jobs.  Another bad thing about May is that I turn a year older--38 this year.  The boys are always so excited about birthdays, and I think Jack is still confused by the fact that I didn't have a party.  Paul made the day extra special for me, however, bringing me three bouquets of flowers (one for each of the boys to present to me), surprising me with amazing presents including a new lens for my camera and some cute clothes, and cooking a delicious surf-and-turf dinner for me of steaks and steamed lobster.  He even cleaned up all of the mess!  Another highlight of my big day was when I woke Sam up for school that morning and he sang me the sweetest rendition of "Happy Birthday" that ended with a "cha-cha-cah, Ohh la-la, Hi-Yah!"  It was so cute that I made him  sing it to me over and over again throughout the course of the day… 

Gardening

I have had Paul very busy this spring creating raised beds for our garden.   Our former method of growing vegetables entailed digging a hole in the wet, clay-like ground and planting either seeds or seedlings and has yielded nothing but disappointment the last six summers.  (On a side note, hard to believe we have been out here for 6 summers!!!)  So, I put Paul to work.  First, he had to make two trips to Home Depot with his trailer and haul home all of the lumber, not an easy task according to Paul (probably because he had to make at least one of the trips with our crazy boys).  Then he had to cut and attach the wood to create the necessary depth before carrying it all down to the garden area. After that he recruited my help to get the wood in the correct position in the garden so he could attach the pieces to each other and make the boxes.  The raised beds look so nice!  But, all that work was merely the tip of the iceburg.  The hardest task, in my opinion--probably since it was the only task that I actually helped with--was getting the dirt into the boxes.  We had 12,000 lbs of dirt delivered and had to shovel it into the boxes by hand!  Paul definitely did most of the shoveling, but the boys (especially Sam) and I did offer a fair amount of assistance.  Hopefully our new garden will be bountiful (even though we are getting our plants in really late)!  Also, notice our lovely new shed in the pics below--yet another task that has kept Paul very, very busy.