Now THIS is how to BBQ

Last Saturday, Nick's boss invited all the employee's and their families to his house for a BBQ. This wasn't any old backyard BBQ. They had valet parking, it was completely catered along with an attended bar and they also hired a band. There were plenty of activites to choose from - swimming, volleyball, boat rides on his boss' private boat, or mingle with co-workers under the huge shade tent. Their house is right along the banks of the Navesink River and the view was amazing. They put together goodie bags for each of the kids their with a beach ball, bubbles, tattoos, etc. We had a great time! Here are some pictures....somehow I managed to be gone every time a photo was taken.

weddings, surgeries, and other musings

I now have an 18-month-old and a 2 1/2-year old! Some days I'm lucky to have gotten anything done, not to mention take a shower! Bear with me with the lapses in blog entries. Maybe some day I'll have time to bore you with daily blogs about what I did each day. So let's see....here's what has been going on the last few weeks.

Last Saturday, Nick and I headed up to Tarrytown NY for my friend Meredith's wedding. It was an 'adults only' event so Andrew & Lauren stayed behind with grandma and we enjoyed a 24 hour vacation. The wedding was in the evening at "Blue Hill at Stone Barns". It is a restaurant and organic agricultural center set in a beautiful, woodsy & rural area of Westchester County, just 20 minutes north of the city. An outdoor cocktail reception followed the ceremony and it was magical watching all the fireflies twinkle across the courtyard and over the nearby vineyards.

On Tuesday, Nick had an elective surgery on his right shoulder. He injured his shoulder 5 years ago and has had discomfort and reduced range of motion in it ever since. His arm is now in an immobilizer for the next 4 weeks. He has 5 incisions over his right shoulder and he's still in moderate pain. It's amazing all the simple things we take for granted having two arms and two hands. Right now he can't drive, tie his shoes, cut his food, etc. He'll be doing some physical therapy over the next few months and his doctor mentioned that it will likely be 4 months before he is fully recovered. We're both hoping for a quick(er)recovery!

Andrew & Lauren are just as busy as ever. Sometimes I wonder why I bother cleaning the house, they seem to follow me and undo whatever I've just done. The other day I came into the living room and found Andrew was "helping" by spraying the couch with window cleaner. I had mixed up 1 part vinegar to 1 part water and put it in an old windex bottle so the room smelled like pickles for the next few hours.

Andrew has turned mealtime into creative imagination time. Last night he wanted to eat a tunnel with his trees and snakes. A tunnel is a rolled up piece of ham, a tree is broccoli, and snakes are spaghetti. Never a boring moment 'round here!

Playing with trains is tiring!