Moving On

So ends one crazy week. It all started on Monday with the bible study I go to...which promptly turns into a socializing time once we are done discussing the night's topic. I get there around 7pm and have yet to leave before 10pm. I love it, I'm so glad we started one, but it makes for a long day. This upcoming Monday, D has made plans with a friend because he knows I always get home so late!

Tuesday we went out to dinner with the Ruby Tuesday gift card my grandparents gave me, as a graduation gift, because it was so incredibly hot and humid. We also ran a few errands and got home later than usual.

Wednesday we drove to Jersey to visit with my dad's mom and her sister. Grandma is up from Florida and her first stop was to visit with her sister in NJ. We finally got there after an hour (it's just about a half hour ride) because of a refinery fire that was blazing right by the highway. Everyone was stopping to look, which means traffic. It was quite the blaze which produced quite the amount of smoke so it's no wonder people were checking out the scene. Once we arrived, we sat down to what turned out to be a 6 or 7 course meal. Should have known, they're Italians. We started with crackers and provolone cheese, had a bite or two of a Philly pretzel, and ate some delicious lentil soup. Auntie Jo coxed D into having some broccoli rabe with some pasta she handmade. It has a really bitter taste, so he didn't eat much, but she was very happy that he tried some. Next came the dinner rolls and the pork "with my special sauce that I couldn't make again if you asked me to," Auntie Jo told us. And the salad, can't forget the salad. Finally dessert came in the form of pizzelles and Reese's brownies with walnuts, served with tea of course. Did I mention that they only got home half an hour before us? We rounded out the night with a game of Rummikub, which David won.

Thursday we helped friends from church load up the contents of their three-bedroom house onto a moving truck. They served a pizza dinner to the many, many people who were there to help. It was so nice to see so many people pitching in. I, somehow, got stuck watching the two two-year old kids which was quite a task. I thoroughly enjoyed it though because they were so entertaining...although I will never have twins...knock on wood. I slept so well that night!

Friday D had call until 8ish and I was gathering/packing up for our day at the beach on Saturday with some friends from church. The six of us went last year around this time and really enjoyed ourselves, so we planned a day to go again this year. There were seven of us this time, however, and the little guy was most amusing. We found out on our beach trip last year that Sara was expecting and now her baby is already four months old.

We made better time going to the beach, only about two hours, this year (should be an hour and 15). We all had tents this time and I forgot to take a picture of all three tents lined up in a row. I'm sure it was a funny sight. I'll never go to the beach without one again, it made for a wonderful beach stay. That and the absolutely gorgeous weather we had: not too hot, not too humid, and bright and sunny. After we all set up our tents, D and I watched the baby while the others went to eat on the boardwalk (we packed our lunch). The little guy was nice and let us finish eating. Then he rolled over (I tried to ignore him so he'd go back to sleep) and, after a few minutes, started tapping my leg. I took that as my cue to pick him up and was rewarded with a huge grin. He loved looking at the beach scene.

Once all of our food had settled, D and I went in the water to enjoy the huge waves that kept rolling in. We were joined by everyone except Keith, who had babysitting duty. At one point, a group gathered on the beach, so the guys went to check it out. Someone had found a baby sand shark. It was dead, but we were swimming where it was pulled out of...not exactly a comforting thought.

Around 5, we packed up our load of stuff and set out to find a dinner place. We found this cute Italian restaurant and ordered pizza. That was the third time I had had pizza that week, but they were all good-tasting, so I didn't mind at all. Everyone was sleepy on the way back, so there wasn't much talking. A few people managed to crack a few corny jokes, but fortunately that didn't last long. I mentioned that next year D and I would have to come down for our yearly day-at-the-Jersey-shore with everyone because we'd be out of state by this point. Someone had a good idea: they'd come to us next year. I warned them that New England beaches aren't nearly as nice as New Jersey beaches. They seemed to be okay with that.

And finally, some pictures: