A Challenging Challenge

On Thursday, October 15th, we drove up to PA to see my family and to go on an adventure. We spent Thursday on the road, and Friday we spent eating good food, drinking hot apple cider with caramel at Barnes and Noble, going to the fabric store, and eating some more (I also managed to whip up some completely cute booties that I'll show you later). The weather report warned that freezing rain, flooding and possibly snow was coming because of two back-to-back Nor'easters...but Saturday we woke up, threw some things together in case we wouldn't be back by bedtime, and headed to New Jersey.

Where were we headed? The first of many stops during the 10th New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge. We went during the worst weather in the history of the Challenge, because there will be no challenge next year, and maybe ever again. We forged ahead, determined to see at least one or two lighthouses. We drove about 3.5 - 4 hours for the starting point...Sandy Hook Lighthouse in Northern New Jersey. From Sandy Hook the rest of the destinations total 430 miles. There were 11 lighthouses, 2 museums, and a bonus sight at each of which we picked up a sticker for our "passport"...and upon seeing them all we were able to get a special completion sticker.

After the first stop at Sandy Hook Lighthouse we were hooked on the thrill of the find...because finding some of these lighthouses is not as easy as it would seem, at times it was downright challenging! We then drove to Twin Lights where we parked and had to walk across two football fields to get to the lighthouses. Mom really put her new bionic hip to the test on this one! We ate at in Eatontown and then moved on to Sea Girt (Hubby's favorite lighthouse). We ran in and out of the Barnegat Museum to get our passport sticker, and next it was a mad dash to Barnegat Lighthouse. They were closing at 6PM, and we didn't know if we'd make it. We half ran up the sidewalk to the Lighthouse Society's table. They asked us who was third in our party, and who we thought was the 1000th visitor...I thought something may be up so I said it was my Mom (the ultimate lighthouse fanatic) and she won a $35 lighthouse book signed to her by the author who was there. She was over the moon! But we had another lighthouse to get to, so it was back in the car and heading to Tuckerton Lighthouse.

We found the address, but couldn't be sure if it was the lighthouse, so Mom asked someone and it turned out it was a replicated lighthouse (but the right one). We headed inside for our night climb sticker and Hubby and Little Man climbed up while Mom and I looked around the museum. Then we jumped back in the car and headed for Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City, our goal to end the day on. Absecon was beautiful with the stormy night sky behind it, and afterwards we found lodging, ate dinner, and turned in...exhausted. We had no idea what Day 2 had in store for us.

Day 2

We woke up to even colder wind and it was still raining. We had continental breakfast at the hotel and then headed to Ludlam's Beach Lighthouse. It is currently privately owned and a society is raising money to move it to a new location and fix it up. The location was hard to find, and the flood waters were rising. When we got there we had to walk over a plank and cinder blocks to get into the house...I kid you not...this trip started taking on extreme vacation characteristics. Then we got inside and it was weird because people actually live there, unlike the other lighthouses we visited.

We had to go through other flooding areas to get out of there, and headed to the Cape May County Historical Museum to see a fresnel lens that they have in a barn there. We trekked through the mud, and then headed to Hereford Lighthouse where we got turned around a bit because roads were closed because of flooding. We got there and enjoyed seeing it, since Hereford and our next stop the Cape May Lighthouse are the lighthouses we have visited for years. We quickly walked the gardens while bracing ourselves against the wind, drove to Cape May Lighthouse, and then headed on to East Point, my Mom's favorite lighthouse. Located at the southernmost tip of NJ, the wind whipped around us, bitterly trying to break us....we kept on. We moved on to Finns Point and Tinicum Lighthouses, and at that point we had finished the challenge! Mom bought us t-shirts, and we raced (within the speed limit) back to Reading to meet my brother and nephew for dinner...and guess what decided to make an appearance? THE SUN! Ahh well, the weather made it interesting, and it definitely added to the challenge!

The next day it was with heavy hearts and tears that we left for home. Before we left, I visited with my Pop, who has now been gone a year and a half. Still can't believe he's gone. I see his name on the marker, but part of me can't believe it. We talked about how crazy he would have thought we were, driving all over the state of New Jersey and freezing our butts off...I hope wherever he is, we gave him a good laugh. I know one thing, I'm glad we did it...you never know when you'll get the chance to do something crazy like that again. We saw some cool sights, froze together, and bonded...you can't ask for much more than that!

September Beach Trip

I think it must be the mark of a very busy life when you wind up blogging about something that happened a month ago...whatever the case, I'm about to do just that, because the trip to the beach spot was fantastic!

The last two trips we had taken in July and August we had company accompany us, but this trip was just us. We had a great time and enjoyed incredible weather.


We made it to the beach...

And a man who was fishing gave Little Man a fish from his net (he was catching small fish to use as bait). Little Man ran up to me with this half-alive fish in his hand and put it right in my face...I appropriately shrieked, and helped him get a bucket filled with water. Sandy, as Little Man named him, jumped out of the bucket many times before Little Man decided to let him go...he ran to the water's edge and hurled him through the air, to the horror of his mother (me) who quickly explained that we do not throw fish. Then he bawled because his fish was gone. He quickly scurried back to the man, who, thinking Little Man was sweet, gave him two more fish. One he named Candy, and the other I don't remember. They too jumped out several times, but before leaving Little Man gently released them into the ocean to be back with their friends.

The trip was pretty uneventful. We had a great view, and we bought a solar-powered light decorated with dolphins and a lighthouse from a local craftsman.

We love this handy feature of the beach spot...the outdoor shower really helps us clean up easily.

Little Man really enjoyed boogie boarding.

Here you can see the welcome sign/lightpost while we roasted marshmellows.


We really enjoyed a laid-back, relaxing weekend with plenty of beach time, ice cream, and time at the pool.

Next post I'm going to tell you about another kind of trip we recently took...a hardcore trip....the NJ Lighthouse Challenge! Stay tuned for tales of winds, flooding, eleven lighthouses, 430 miles and walking the plank!

The Kitchen

So, in addition to all the other craziness around here these days, we are also remodeling our kitchen. We bought the appliances at HH Gregg (fridge, dishwasher and microwave...the oven we bought last fall). The cabinets we bought flat-packed from IKEA...and the labor has been all Hubby. When I left for work last Friday morning, the kitchen looked basically like this photo:

Then Hubby went crazy with a sledgehammer...

And I came home to this sight!

Over the course of the weekend the bones were put back...

And we now have an almost finished kitchen. We have to wait for the countertops to come in from Lowe's...and I have to finish getting everything in their new spots...but the major pain is over! Next time I'll try to share some photos from the current state of things.. But even from the above photo, can't you see how much brighter, visually bigger and more modern the kitchen will be?

Wii!

There's tons to share, including photos from our latest trip to the beach (you've got to love the South in that it was still warm enough for the beach and pool the last weekend of September), in-progress project shots, and photos of our demolished kitchen (Hubby is putting in new cabinets as I type)...but first, let me share a video of Hubby using a new acquisition...Wii!

Having both job commitments right now is getting me closer to my breaking point, but I have to say...knocking the tar out of some simulated little people helps, if only for a few minutes. It sure is a workout! We've wanted one for a while, thinking that the games would be easier for a little person to play, but until the recent price-drop it seemed too much to spend. The added beauty of our recent purchase? It was purchased with the change we accumulated over the last year, and we purchased it through Amazon which got us a $25 gift credit from them (plus free shipping). It took less than 20 minutes to set up, and is very intuitive to use. We are very impressed with it, as is Little Man...he especially likes golf and bowling!

Finally the Botanica is DONE!!!

I'm barely keeping up with my job, my caseload, housekeeping and keeping my sanity, so you know blogging has fallen way down on the list. I have knit here and there over the last few weeks and have a couple of finished projects to show you. And I think I'm going to do that before I share anymore photos of the boys. Because it's been a while since I blogged, but even longer since I blogged about crafts!

The first project to share is a Noro Sunday Market Shawl I knit while vacationing in August. Very fast and easy, plus the colors make it go with everything.





And, this past Friday evening I FINALLY finished the Botanica Medallion Cardi. It took FOREVER!! Last year I really made a lot of baby items, and I think that has made it harder to make adult-sized projects now...and this project was no exception.

Sorry the photos aren't too great, I had Hubby quickly take these before we left for a trip to the beach. I really wanted this project behind me. The project itself almost looks crooked in the photos, but that's the price you pay for not having a professional photographer ;) We had a nice weekend, and tomorrow crazy-hectic begins again! Thankfully I have some knitting to work on if things get really crazy.

Pictures to hold you over...

Well, I've got my full-time job that's keeping me busy and I've got 8 clients on top of that...together they are both keeping me running. I'm just getting over the flu, and I've got a continuing legal education seminar this week taking me away from Hubby and Little Man, and so I wanted to share some more photos before I head off to Chapel Hill.

The boys waiting to "pet" stingrays.

Touching a horseshoe crab

Nasty, greedy carp at the amusement park.

I've still got some cute photos of the boys, so I hope you haven't gotten your fill yet! And I really hope to post some project photos when I get back. I've only finished one project recently, the others have taken forever what with them being more involved and me having less knitting time.

And, before I finish off this post, Patrick Swayze passed away today, let's send good thoughts to his family.

Good Grief!

I don't want to put off posting until the weekend, so I'm going to do a drive-by post with some of the best photos from our recent visit with my brother and nephew. They came on a Wednesday, and that Thursday we drove down to the beach spot. We spent the next few days there enjoying the pool, the beach, eating good food and just having a good time. Ethan took right to the water cannons.

Little Man took right to jumping in...

and jumping in....

WOWZA!

Ethan loved playing in the water with his Daddy

I bought the boys disposable cameras that went

underwater, and they had so much fun taking pictures.

We took time to take goofy pictures...



...and more goofy pictures...

...and still some more goofy pictures...

And went for rides on the golf cart, and the boys went fishing with Hubby. Ice Cream was enjoyed by all, as were fireworks and the great weather. I even found a shark's tooth on the beach, and the boys saw a baby shark caught by some folks fishing on the beach.


And at the end of each day we were all tuckered out...especially these little tornadoes of energy.

Senator Kennedy

It's been a busy few weeks for me. Working one job, getting new cases, having out-of-town guests visiting, and a beach trip have kept me running around like a chicken with its head cut off. (I'll get to our visitors next post). But despite being so busy, I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to recognize the passing of Senator Kennedy this week. I have read a lot on Kennedy history (and I am currently working my way through a book on the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK Jr.), and so seeing the last of the Kennedy brothers pass is very sad to me...definitely the end of an era so to speak. For someone too young to have experienced Camelot, he was the last thread to connect my generation to that time. I really don't have much more to say, but I did find a video on YouTube from Robert Kennedy's funeral service that was given by Edward Kennedy that at once beautifully describes Robert Kennedy's push for action and also showcases the oratory skills of Edward Kennedy. If you listen around 1:00 to the end, my favorite segment is:

My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.
Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world.
As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him:
"Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."

Listening to him speak of Robert Kennedy that way makes me less cynical about politics. It makes me think that you can truly do good if you set out to do it. You can be an imperfect person capable of things that ease the suffering of others...you don't have to be great, you just have to show up and try. Powerful words... take a listen...

New Big Boy Bed

I could wait to post until I take a photo of my library prize, but instead I thought I'd just go ahead and do a post on Little Man's new big boy bed.

We'd noticed that Little Man was starting to get a little cramped in his toddler bed, so when we saw a sale at a furniture store we had browsed in before, it seemed like a good time to upgrade. We still need to get him a larger bookcase...but his new bed and fishie tank have made quite an impression on him.

The night before his new bed would be delivered, I tiptoed into his room and took photos of him sleeping in his toddler bed. It was sad for me when Hubby took it down the next morning...Little Man has slept in that crib/toddler bed since he first came home from the hospital. Little Man did ask about his "baby bed" when he came home, and was sad he couldn't sleep in it anymore, but REALLY loved his new big boy bed.

His new bed is a twin, and it came with a frame for a full size bed down below, the chest on one side, a desk that can be attached, and stairs to get up to the top bunk. Each of the steps has a drawer in it.

It worked out well that the magnet areas of his wall, where the felt fish are, is still accessible.

And he wanted some fishies of his own, so we pulled out an old aquarium and set it up in his room.

It should be interesting getting him up to use the potty this week with Hubby away (it gets a little tricky since he's up high). As a treat for all of us before a hectic week, we used the ice cream maker for the first time last night. We made strawberry ice cream. It was so decadent! I can't wait to make some more! Little Man had fun helping. And Hubby said it was MUCH easier than using the old-fashioned crank kind. It was done in 15 minutes!

Until next time, have a great week!

Rounding out our vacation week...

We finished up our week at the beach with more time at the beach and pool. We also drove around the golf cart...and saw this oceanfront house with an elevator...sooooo posh ;)And then, on our last night with Doozer, we went to Legends in Concert, a live tribute show. The impersonators do the actual singing and have all the moves of the originals. We saw Tim McGraw, Donna Summer, The Blues Brothers, Garth Brooks, Roy Orbison and.... ELVIS!!!

Little Man liked "the round one" best :)

My sister went running up to the stage with some of the little kids, and ELVIS kissed her and gave her a sash. And I tell you, the way the impersonator danced, WOW...I know now that had I been to see the actual Elvis and he danced around like that...I either would have swooned or thrown an undergarment at him...seriously, those hips, WOW! My sister was like a mini-celebrity after that and fell back into her seat saying she was never washing that part of her face again...so, needless to say, she had a good time!

The next day Little Man went fishing for a little bit, and then we started packing up.

Doozer and Little Man outside of the beach spot.

After souvenir shopping and lunch we dropped Doozer off at the train and headed to Hotel Blue to meet up with Hubby's brother who was vacationing with his wife and little boy (that's him in the above photo with the umbrella on his head). We checked in for one night, played at the pool and ate out at The Giant Crab that night. The next morning we checked out and headed home after a great breakfast and visit.



Before you know it we'll be headed back to the beach with my brother and nephew who are coming for a visit, and we can hardly wait, we're all so excited! But, we'll be plenty busy here until then, I've got plenty of legal work lined up, including my first two criminal cases of my own, Hubby has traveling to do for work, and I start a new contract project the same day he leaves.

But, I'm still plugging away at the Botanica Medallion Cardigan, and the Central Park Clutch, and we've been doing a lot of reading around here, since the Summer Reading Program just ended. Next post I'll share my prize from the library with you, and show you project progress!