New Jersey

The kids and I left for New Jersey on a Sunday afternoon. Andy stayed behind to be with a family from church and lead a funeral. He joined us a few days later. We stopped along the way on Sunday night and finished the drive Monday. We were so happy to see Mimi Jane!

Bella took a photo of the kids' room before they fully unpacked and turned it into a disaster. I love that she did that because the rooms are all so cute.

We walked out to the water that evening.

You can bring a juggler to the beach, but you can't make him get in the water. He got a lot of good practice in this week!

I could just stare and stare at this picture. So peaceful and relaxing.

We spent more time at the beach the following day. Somehow, this is the only photo I took. I must have been doing more videos that day.

The boys got in some baseball practice. Bella and I played Smash Volley (which had a similar feel to badminton). We had a hard time keeping it going. 

So many beautiful sunsets over the bay.

I left the next morning to pick up Andy from the airport. When we got back, it was pretty much straight to the beach.

There was an ocean breeze. It was nice and refreshing at first, but after a while it actually got a little chilly!

The golden hour at the end of the day.

We went out to the beach again the next morning. It looked like clouds were going to roll in into the afternoon, so we thought it would be best to get out early. It ended up being another great beach day!

I was most content to sit and read a book.

Andy and Curtis decided to build a sandcastle.

They ended up with a lot of extra helpers on the beach. As a group, they decided to just make a volcano. Looks like a pretty good volcano to me!

All week, Curtis had been wanting to bury someone. Bella instead  offered to bury him. 

A kid ran by and freaked out when he saw a head poking out of the sand!

Bella and I stuck around a little longer after the boys left. She turned the volcano into a turtle!

We went out for seafood that evening. Curtis was in heaven. He ate clams and calamari and loved them both!

Bella ordered sushi.

Andy's oysters.

I had a salad topped with salmon and Graydon ordered. . . a soft pretzel!

My friend Jen came out the next day. While I spent time with her, Mimi, Andy, and the kids had a picnic lunch and then went mini golfing.

That was followed up with ice cream!

They visited with the Conyers family and the kids went swimming and paddle boarding in their lagoon. And if you can't use the paddle board, pool noodles make a great substitution! 

I can't help it - I always need a picture of the sunset!

Jen and me at the end of the night. We joked that we should try and take our photos at the beginning of the day when we're looking our best. This was taken after a day of walking through shops and hours at the beach. I don't know how it's possible, but we spent about twelve hours together and never ran out of things to talk about! I love our visits every year. 

Andy had a special online church synod meeting, so that seemed like a good time for the kids and I to visit with some more friends, the Krotts. We usually visit with them at their house in town, but this year we met up in Ocean City!

Everybody has a buddy.

We had a couple of photo bombers!

We got back to LBI around 5pm. Even after a day at the beach, Bella wanted to go back out - this time to fly her kite and go metal detecting.

While they were down there that evening, a guy pulled in a really good catch. It turned out to be a baby shark! I'm pretty sure he threw it back in after the photos were taken.

Time for dinner! This was our last night with Mimi Jane and we made it another seafood night. Everyone was hungry and everyone enjoyed their meal very much - but maybe this guy most of all. 

We lounged around the following morning, but soon enough it was time to gather all our belongings and pack up. Before getting on the road, we always like to get an updated photo with our Mimi Jane. Our week together every summer is something we all treasure.

Before truly hitting the road, we stopped in town to visit with the Figiels and Popperts. We missed a few of them this year, but still had fun reconnecting. 

It has been seven years now since we moved away from New Jersey. Saying goodbye to all of these people was incredibly hard at the time. How amazing that we still get to see them each summer and continue growing in our relationships! Truly, truly grateful.