High Flyin' Fun

We had an unexpected visitor last night hovering over the treetops outside of our kitchen window.  It was one of those special summer-only sightings: a hot air balloon!

It was flying really low, and we thought that it might be landing in a park near our house.  Since we were going to go for a walk anyway, we scrambled a little bit to try and get out the door to track it down. 

 The picture below is blurry because we were speedwalking to try and catch up with it before it landed.  If you look carefully though you can see the top of the balloon peeking over the trees as it descends.

We didn't quite make it there to see it land.  But it was still fun to watch them pull it down and pack it up.

It attracted quite the crowd. It was like a neighborhood event. All of the kids there were eager to jump in and lend a helping hand.

Pretty cool.

Photo Shoot

So the other day, Aiden was looking especially cute, so I (Jen) whipped out the camera and took way too many pictures.  I couldn't resist posting some because they were just too cute.

I have to sneeze!!

Mom, are we done yet, I am getting tired!

Ok, one more smile!

60 years

On Monday, Mom (Weidner) turned the big 6-0.  I know what you are all thinking- she certainly doesn't look 60!  We were able to celebrate this past weekend with a family dinner Saturday night and some cake on Sunday with extended family.  Happy Birthday Mom!  We love you so much!

 

Abode Mini

Lately I've pretty much told anyone who'll listen about my hankering for a shed.  We live in an old house without garage or full-size basement, and we've realized more and more recently that we need a place for me to stash all my bikes/tools/garden stuff.  

So yesterday all my shed fantasies finally came to fruition in the form of this breathtaking cathedral of storage.   I'll admit, I've already taken a couple of trips out there just to visit.  I'm thinking of calling her Ol' Betsy.

If you're interested, I've also been trying to be better about updating the garden blog.

Soundtrack

Now I'm no movie aficionado, not by a long shot. But from my amateurish perspective it would seem that a film's background music goes a long way towards setting it's tone and mood.  Am I right about this?  (hint: yes) 

Anyway, I decided to try a little experiment with an otherwise less then thrilling recent video clip of you-know-who.  I put a variety of different background music behind some pretty mundane footage of our son playing with a bag of chips.  Like I said, less then thrilling.   The result is, well... not all that thrilling either- but if you're still interested here it is:

I was looking back through some old pictures today.  This is one of my all-time favorites and I thought I'd repost it.  That expression is priceless...

One of my favorite things...

I can't think of a place I'd rather be on a late-summer evening than sitting in our back yard, under a tree, eating some dinner. 

The Mad Hatter

Aiden has become quite the 'grabber' lately.  If it is not nailed down, it is not safe from his wandering fingers.  The other day he grabbed my hat and started to play with it.  After a minute I stuck it on his head to see what he'd do.  He thought it was pretty funny, and so did we.

The Shore

So we're all reunited and back home in good 'ol Phoenixville.  Jen and Aiden had fun staying with Mom and Dad for a couple of extra days at the shore, but I gotta say- it's nice to have them home.

As our tans begin to fade and we wash the last bit of sand out from between our toes we are already looking back on what was a great time away.  There is no place in the world like the Jersey Shore. Being there is like being in some perfectly-sandy vacation utopia.  For Jen, Ocean City in particular is a treasure trove of memories from summers past.  It is always fun to revisit some of her favorite places, and to make some new memories.

Mom and Dad Weidner were kind enough to open their beach house to us and make this visit possible.  Thanks guys!  The house was great, and was able to easily contain all of us, plus an occasionally disgruntled baby, with no trouble at all.  

These first pictures are of what we did at the beach when we were not actually AT the beach:  just hang around the house.

  

During the course of our stay at the shore Aiden had the opportunity to have some new experiences.  Here they are:

First time in the ocean...

First drink from a real cup...

First teeth brushing...

First ice pop...

And of course, Aiden's first stogie.

Obviously no trip to the shore is complete without a visit to the boardwalk.  We had a great time strolling amidst the joggers, cyclists and the runaway surreys.  The more you're at the shore (and on the boardwalk especially) you realize that it's really all about the food.  We picked up some classics like salt water taffy, fudge, and also enjoyed one of the great boardwalk delicacies- Mack and Manco's Pizza.

So obviously while at the shore there is one activity that trumps all the rest:  Sittin' on the beach.  We did a lot of that, and as expected it brought some of the best and most relaxing times of our trip.  As always, we took a ton of pictures.  Here they are...