Living "Dutch Wonderfully"

We took off for the weekend to meet Mike, Sari, Leila, and BabyJonah at Dutch Wonderland in Pennsylvania.  Have you ever been?  Oh my god.  It was awesome.  Seriously, the weekend could only have gone better if Michael Vick didn't choke, throw four interceptions, and completely screw our fantasy football team.  Really, Vick?  Four interceptions?  Against the Browns?

But otherwise?  Perfection.  We stayed in a "suite" so the kids had their own space and Bri and I could watch tv while they slept.  It's really the only way to travel with kids.  We got a bottle of wine for Saturday night so it was practically date night!  The hotel had an indoor pool, so even the crazy thunderstorms Saturday afternoon didn't cramp our style.  And we even randomly ran into one of Brian's oldest friends from high school.  Crazy! Plus Dutch Wonderland is amazing, if a little cult-ish.  Princess Brooke, with her perfect blond hair and frothy pink ballgown, instructed us to "live Dutch Wonderfully" and I feel compelled to obey.

The whole experience really blew little Gabe's mind.

Can't you just see them strolling down a boardwalk as sassy teenagers?

Hey Guys!

"Thanks for the car, mom!  We're outta here!"

There's one in every crowd.

Bulldozing.  This is the slowest ride ever.  I almost fell asleep watching.

Sometimes you take a perfect picture and may as well put your camera down and go home.

Proof I was there!

Baby Jonah-Bright-Eyes

I loved this kid-powered "ride."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Awww...All in all, it was a really special weekend.  Here's to doing it again next year.

Priorities

Tomorrow is my and Brian's eighth wedding anniversary.  But we're going out to dinner tonight.  Because there's a football game tomorrow night.   Ooooh yeah.  It's gonna be like that.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

That's right.  Yesterday was the draft for the inaugural season of the "Westchester Country Club" fantasy football league.  And because we can never do anything without a ridiculous amount of pomp and circumstance, we roasted a pig.  And bobbed for apples.

The pig roast was practical, I guess.  A good way to feed a large crowd of people and for Brian to feel super-manly.  The bobbing for apples, though?  Pure ridiculousness.  We needed a way to choose the draft order and a ritually humiliating dunking seemed as good a way as any.

Ladies and gentleman, I present....The League.

Mike K.  He cheated and grabbed his apple by hand.  You can't trust the youth of America today.

Uncle Rob.  He cheated too.  But we've always known he can't be trusted.

Uncle Mike.  The first to successfully bob.  And he was rewarded with Draft Pick #1!

Uncle Todd assessing the situation.

And done!

Brandon assumes apple bobbing will be included in the next strongman competition.

Jon fully committed.

I love this shot.

It took Mike a few tries, but he acquitted himself well.

Brian was last and his draft spot was a foregone conclusion.  But still, there's no getting out of this.

Bess and Bess:  two fellow Football wives.  I missed pictures of Allie and Sari.

The final draft board.  Look at them.  They're so proud.  It promises to be a HIGHLY entertaining season.

August

Oops.  Guess I dropped the ball on the blog.  Commence self-flagellation.  Okay, all better now.  September will be better, I promise.

We've actually been really busy.  To start off we hosted my father's 70th birthday party at the new house.  And of course I didn't take a SINGLE picture.  If anyone snapped any shots of that day please send them my way.  It was a crazy wonderful experience hosting such a full house, and I'm awfully glad it will be a while before we do it again.

Here are a few random shots from the month, just to prove we still exist.

Aunt Lucy came to visit for the first time and brought Beary.  He (she?) is a huge hit.

The kids sampled Meme's chocolate frosting while we prepped for Grandpa's birthday party.

The Connor's came to visit from LA.  

There were some days like this.

But also days like this.  Elle had a great time playing in the pool (and eating Big Bird cupcakes) at Aunt Joyce and Uncle Marvin's place.  Plus, any day with Leila is a good day in her book.

And yesterday we met our friends Lucas and Dylan at the Bronx Zoo.  Elle was super excited about the giraffes and "lions," which were actually tigers.  When we got home she asked me to draw a picture.  Um yeah.

I'm a regular Picasso.

Phew!  I think that brings us up to date.  On a life note, we're still adjusting to the suburbs.  I miss Brooklyn like crazy, and may or may not have BURST INTO TEARS the first time we visited our old neighborhood last week, but I'm also looking forward to Fall in the country: apple picking, changing leaves, and the insanity that should be Halloween in these parts.  There are lots of things to look forward to (including what promises to be an amazing wedding in October) and the holidays will be here before we know it.  Plus I'm training for my first half marathon (what?!) and signed the kids up for both music and a gym class starting in September.  So we're keeping busy, and isn't that the cure for most ills? 

Christmas By The Pool

Today we lounged by the pool with the Kempe's in Jersey.  Their kids are a few years older than E and G, and it's fun to catch glimpses of our future.  They thought it was hysterical to hijack Pandora on the iPad and change up the party music.  But really, what's wrong with a little Christmas music poolside in August?

Absolutely nothing.

(This post is a massive photo dump.  Forgive me.)