Viva Las Vegas

For our anniversary this year, Bob surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas. The best part - no kids! It was just the two of us! (It sounds hard to believe - but it was just us!)

We saw some shows, visited the casinos, shopped, and of course - did a little gambling. I was a little disappointed by the Mandalay Bay Aquarium, but still had fun there.

And there was this crazy Beatles experience at Treasure Island.

The weather was beautiful - 100 - 103 degrees every day. Sunny and fabulous!

Bob and the flamingos (Allison's favorite!)

Here is the view from our room at the Bellagio.

The Bellagio light show... (very cool at night!)



Running into some of our favorites at the casinos...

Of course there was an Elvis around every corner.

We had a blast! Bob and I had a fantastic anniversary!

Thanks to Grandma Sonia for watching all 4 kids for us!

Good news - we came home with more money than we left with!

Simon learned to ride his two wheeler in one afternoon while we were gone.

Rainy Day Fun

Bob and I leave for the day to go to a wedding.

The kids and some friends played outside the entire day.

Wagon races through the yard.

Jumping, running, climbing, rolling.

And then the rain started...






You can't tell how truly drenched they all were from these pictures! (What can I say - Grandma left them to play with their own devices...)

It kind of makes you wonder what fun they will have when the SNOW comes!!!

Wicked

Here are a couple pictures of our latest trip into the city to see a show. We went to go see Wicked on Broadway. It was fabulous! We got tickets for a Sunday matinee (since that was all that was available since there were 8 of us). It turned out to be perfect! The drive into and out of the city was completely painless. The show was great - we all really enjoyed it!

It was Allison's first Broadway play (and also cousin Joey's).

We had lunch at Gallagher's Steak house before the show. It was also great - except for the "food poisoning" episode...

Jane, Sonia, Joe, Joyce, Stacy, Madison, Jen, & Allison

Everyone recovered and enjoyed the show! We had a blast! We can't wait for Mamma Mia in December!

Mako Mania

Bob joined his cousins, Kenny and Kris and their "crew", for the annual Mako Mania tournament in Point Pleasant this year. It is an afternoon of fun and fishing. (Well, its supposed to be.) They went about 100 miles out of Point Pleasant to the "Hudson Canyon".

Bob actually took a few pictures during the outing. Here are some of the motley crew and one of their catches - a blue shark.

Getting the shark on board...

Here is one of the blue sharks that they reeled in.



Kris really liked this shark!

Here is Kenny's big catch!!!


They ended up having a great time!

Although they lost an engine, lights, and radio while they were 40 miles out. The remaining engine didn't go any faster than 8 miles an hour, so it took them 5 hours to get back to shore. (Bob said it was so pitch black dark that it was surreal.) They had a Coast Guard helicopter looking for them when they didn't check in at the end of the tournament. They got back to shore at 3 AM.

Needless to say - they didn't place in the tournament. (They didn't catch a Mako either - LOL!)

Mucho May Continued (Memorial Day)

Memorial Day Weekend 2009 - the official start of the summer season. We enjoyed a beautiful extended weekend down the shore. The kids had a blast - they love Cape May!


Simon loves to boogie board!


Kasey loves the water!



Allison was the only smart one - she wore her wetsuit.


Simon and Dylan after catching some waves.

Allison, Simon, Madison, and our friend Joe digging a huge tunnel in the sand.

Kasey in her bugaboo.

(I never believed these strollers were as fabulous as their price tags made them out to be - until Bob got me one for the shore.) We honestly couldn't live without it down there!

Hey - what is that cute hat doing in that hole???

It's me!!!


Ta-Da!!!

Kasey was very busy digging!

Kasey and Anna in the sand.

Isn't it crazy that this was just 6 months ago???

Mucho May (Dinosaurs, Penguins, & Polar Bears - Oh My!)

On May 17th, our whole family participated in AIDS Walk 2009.

Bob's company was the event's premier sponsor. (Yes, we are all wearing matching turquoise tee shirts - along with thousands of other employees and their families.)

Grama and Allison getting ready for the walk to start.

KC was more interested in all of the dogs in Central Park.

The 29th annual AIDS Walk took place in Central Park. It was a beautiful 6 mile walk through the park - and it was really fun!

"Rock Climbing" in Central Park.

(The kids were excited because Hillary Duff was a celebrity presenter! There she is in the black and white outfit waving to fans!)

We made a little detour and jumped across a couple blocks to visit the American Museum of Natural History. It has been years since we went to the museum, and the kids loved seeing the dinosaurs again!

After the walk, Bob's company reserved the Garden in the Central Park Zoo and threw an AMAZING private picnic for all of their employees and families! The penguins were adorable and the polar bears put on a show for everyone swimming and frolicking about!

It was a BLAST!

Here is the penguin from the "animated" clock tower at the entrance of the Central Park Zoo.

There were so many activities and games for the kids, including face painting and cool animal "mascots".

Check out this monarch butterfly...

It was a really great day!

The kids learned the importance of donating their time and efforts for a great cause, and saw dinosaurs, penguins, and polar bears (Oh my!)

Blog Note: The pictures on this post came from Allison's camera. She took most of them herself. The kids were absolutely fabulous on this adventure. We had to get them all up and out the door by 6:00 AM. They had so much fun and were awesome!

Its July already???

Wow - time certainly flies when you are busy!

It has been quite a hectic couple of months, and I have so much to blog about. So my plan is to try and catch up this week.

Check back soon...