Day 10: tank time!
Day 7: a visit with Tito Pig and Tita Bear
Day 4 – Princeton
happy feet
(Click on the picture above for photos from our trip so far.) Sammy and I checked out the Historic Smithville Park today. After getting a decent rest, we were ready for some adventure. A friend of Dad and Marilou’s is in charge of all the Burlington County parks. They certainly did a nice job with this one. We ran about 5K on a series of woodland trails past a stream and around a small lake. We found some leaves turning yellow – Sam picked up a maple leaf and said “I found a star!”
notes on time travel
NE adventure – Day 1 & 2
trading lives for a time
Aug pictures posted
Sammy and I are goofing off while Dave pulls the kayak up from the canal. He said we couldn’t help and would just get in the way… so it was time to play! Sammy pinched my lips closed – not sure what he’s doing, perhaps thinking “enough talking mommy!” because he likes some peace and quiet just like his daddy? (Click on the picture above to see shots from Aug.)
vacation roundup
We had a good two weeks off and got a chance to do some things we often don’t make time to do – kayaking, snorkeling and just plain relaxing. I also managed to get strep the last couple days so I slowed down enough to — drum roll — paint my toenails. I’m feeling nearly 100% better after 24 hrs of antibiotics, and am almost back to my old self, probably to Dave’s chagrin.
huli huli
welcome home, Jay!
We enjoyed welcoming Dana’s husband, Jay, home from a 3 month deployment last night. He got home a week ago and immediately went to shift work, so we hadn’t seen him yet. They came over for an impromptu dinner last night – I’d harvested herbs in the morning and had a bunch of thyme on my hands 😉 so we crafted a new grilled pizza and had lots of food to share. Thankfully it turned out well (recipe below). Our good friends Mike and Angel (whom we first met in Groton with NR-1) came over with mangoes from their yard – we made some mango margaritas and hung out with them on the deck. It was so great to catch up and spend time with good friends.
Pizza: home made dough, grilled, then topped with sweet Italian sausage, ricotta, thyme, shallots and salt and pepper. (YUM! We will make this one again 🙂 )
a break at Bellows
When Dave is on leave, he likes to lounge around the house because (as most guys and certainly all service members can attest) they don’t get to do that much. Since I’m a stay-outside-mom, I enjoy adventures while on leave. It’s a difficult balancing act. I try to get Dave out of the house in the morning, then compromise in the afternoon and hang out during naptime and in the evening.
coolest contractor on the planet
This guy moves so fast he’s hard to catch on film…I finally got him today. This is Papa Jack. He and his guys did our deck and built-in CD shelves in the hallway when we first moved in. We were talking to him and his carpenters today about remodeling the kitchen – building some custom cedar cabinets but somehow staying within a very small budget 🙂 I am convinced it can be done!
Surfin’ safari
Here’s a little movie of our buddy learning to surf. He’s also wearing big boy underpants now (pirates today!) I tried surfing on the boogie board, too. It was pretty cool. I actually had about an inch of clearance between sand and board with half of my body underwater 🙂 Still, I could kinda learn the feel of balancing on a board. Hey Doug – I know it’s pathetic, but it’s a step in the right direction! Looking forward to our next adventure on the boards, brah 🙂
PS – Sammy went on a run with me down our marsh trail. It’s become one of our favorite outings. I run as fast as I can the ~1.5mi to the turnaround point, then we do stretches (and I recover from some nausea!) and he jogs as far as he wants. Usually he goes about 1/2 mi, but yesterday he had his running shoes on (he is SOOOOO cute in those little running shoes!) and decided to jog then walk/jog pushing the stroller all the way home. Poor guy even got some chafing like a real runner. What a trooper. I can’t believe how much energy he has! He ate a big dinner and then a special dessert that daddy made – fudge brownies with peanut butter cup ice cream and whipped cream…and…well I’ll stop there. It was first day off on leave dessert 🙂 We have a busy couple days lined up then hope to catch a space-a flight to WA on Thursday for a few days. We miss the area, especially during the warm, dry summer months.
i’m doo and haff and i yiv on da twail
This is how Sam responded when a sweet older couple asked him how old he was on the trail today. We hiked the Lanikai Pillbox trail and this time I let Sam go as far as he wanted, then choose the turnaround point depending on how he was feeling. He made it almost all the way to the third bunker – past the point even most casual/tourist hikers venture. We talked all the way about what we saw, and a ladybug landed on his neck to give him a kiss. We decided we’d study ladybugs for “freeschool” later. I don’t know much about ladybugs, I just know I’m happy to see them patrolling my plants to ward off (or eat!) the bad bugs that grow so readily here.