Cape May 2010

This year our week in Cape May was at the end of July instead of the beginning of August. The weather was great, the water was a little cold some days, but overall it was an awesome week. Mac was able to make it down for a day, which was great. We packed in some time at the beach, some time to walk around Cape May and, of course, some time to play Blokus.

The first night we were there was a nearly full moon and it was a perfect night for a walk out on the beach. It was just my parents, Mac and I and Aunt Angie until late that night when John and Jill rolled in with their kids. Dan and Mo arrived on Sunday.


John's 40th (!) Birthday was the week before we arrived at the beach, so we did it up right and had a good old birthday party for him once everyone was in town. And yes, he was able to blow out all the candles in one shot. Not bad for the old guy.



The boys had a great time playing together (as you can tell from the next few photos). Emerson enjoyed chasing everyone around with a (brand-new) fly swatter. At one point all of the doors to the house were wide open and the other 4 boys were running from Emmy through the house and yard. It was pretty funny to watch.

And there was lots of silliness on the big couch in the living room.




And everyone knows that when Grammy says she's going to the toy store that you should go with her. All of these kids LOVE Legos. Here are the little guys picking out their favorite Legos in the window:


And, of course, we spent a lot of time at the beach. This year we were only a block away from the beach which made a huge difference as far as being able to just head down for a little bit, or walk back with whoever was done for the day. In the past we've had to drive or bike to the beach, so this was great. I think I made it to the beach every day I was there.


On some days the water was pretty cold. Here's Mom and Aunt Angie figuring that out.

The kids didn't care too much. They all like being in the water now.

Every year John takes his kids out really early to build a big sand castle. They like to build them close to the water, which is always risky. Here, their front wall held after a wave made it all the way to the castle. This is a big victory.

Nathaniel is making rows of crops for the people in the castle.

John looking out over the kingdom. A job well done, yet again.

And after waking up so early, Nathaniel needed a well-deserved beach nap.

Here's a cute one of Sebastian in the sand with Mom's hat on:

And we got quite the dolphin show one day. It's amazing how close they come to the beach, but this day they decided to play around and jump out of the water. Everyone on the beach was watching and even applauding as they did this. I think they somehow understand that it's a crowd pleaser.


And one of the lifeguards paddled out to swim with them. It's amazing how big the dolphins are compared to him.

One of the mornings I woke up early and noticed that it was a nice pink sunrise, so I hopped out of bed, grabbed my camera and headed to the beach to take some photos.


The sky was so beautiful. I took a ton of photos of these clouds, but I think I like this one the best.

While I was out taking photos, I noticed that a couple had brought down a little picnic breakfast to have on the beach. They were trying to take photos of each other at arm's length, so I asked if they wanted me to take a photo of the two of them. They said they would and then the girl blurted out "He just asked me to marry him!!". It was super cute and I was glad that I could take a photo of their special moment. He certainly picked the right morning for it, it was beautiful.


There are certain things that we do every year in Cape May and one of them is our Ladies Day. We always go to tea at the Physick Estate and wear our hats. This also includes a tour of the Cape May Show House, which is always a treat.

Another thing we do every year is leave all the kiddos with the grandparents and enjoy an evening of just the siblings. No parents, no kids.

This year we went to the Blue Pig and sure enough, there was a Blue Pig there. We, of course, had to get a photo when he stopped by our table. I was a little surprised to see this because the Blue Pig is actually quite a nice restaurant, not one that you would think would have a mascot roaming around. But it was fun.

And yes, we always squeeze in some time to get pedicures. What a treat!

So here we are, the big happy family. Thanks to Aunt Angie for being the photographer! It was a great week and we've already booked the same house for next year. Already looking forward to it!