For the last 4 summers, we have always spent a week with The Leadbetter's- whether they lived in VA or CT, we went to them. Sadly, we just couldn't make it work this summer- so we were itching for a visit. In August Sara threw out the idea of both families meeting up in New Jersey sometime in the fall. Oddly enough, just a few weeks later Brian said that we had a timeshare week we had to use by the end of the year and the two closest places would be PA or NJ. So I called Sara and asked her to meet us in NJ for a long weekend- win win for everybody!
Truth be told, I wasn't crazy about the idea of going on vacation. I was burnt out from traveling. This would be the 5th trip I would pack for in 6 weeks- CA, TN, camping in VA, MD and now NJ. But I knew we needed this. With Brian and I returning to school, it'd been a busy fall and he especially was looking forward to this escape. He even had to request special leave approval to miss 3 days of school! But it was worth it. Spending time with the Leadbetter's matters to us, so we make it a priority and make it happen.
 |
So much so that I was counting back to all the traveling we had done with them since we moved to the east coast 4 years ago. In just 4 years, our kids have been with them in VA, CT, ME, RI, PA, FL and soon to be NJ. In 4 years time, many kids never even leave their home state. Like I said, they matter to us.
We were headed to Galloway, NJ and as far as we could tell- there wasn't much to do around Galloway. Perfect. Let's relax, let's play, let's craft I told Sara. I'll pack the paints-
Friday morning I sent Brian and the kids off to school while I packed and got us ready to go. I picked up Macy at 10:10, Tate at 10:30 and we headed into the city to get Brian out of school early too. It was fun taking them into our school, showing them our classrooms/offices, and they even got to meet Brian's instructor.
We were on the road by noon and got to the resort at about 3:30. Sara and Chris were a bit behind us, but the kids found lots of stuff to do while we waited...
We got all unpacked and headed to the lobby for a complimentary happy hour from 5-6, and our kids played outside on the playground anxiously awaiting their "cousins" who arrived at 5:45!
This was the first trip where our kids could have some independence together at the resort- they played outside on their own, sometimes with a room key and sometimes without.
Still not sure why they were all gathered up in our bathtub with the laptop?
We ordered some take out and then headed to the pool-
The pool closes at 10pm, and we had to be asked to leave when they came to close it at 10:10pm!
I do love to see these two cuddled up no matter what state we are traveling to together-
Saturday morning the kids woke up and at 8:01 were itching for screen time. We allowed it, but said no individual screens- they would have to agree on something to watch all together on the tv. We opened our bedroom door to see them all huddled up on the pull out couch together happily watching cartoons-
We headed to the lobby for complimentary donuts and coffee, then took over the pool room!
And some outside time too-
Sara and I noticed an elderly woman all by herself watching our families play pool, so we invited her in. Sweet Sissie from Pennsylvania. We must have talked for almost 2 hours. Sarah and I went to get a mimosa and we got her one too!
Is there a Michigan game on today or something?
The guys decided we should make a picnic lunch and ride our bikes to the beach. Okay!
 |
While not actually the beach, it turned out to be the coolest area, with quite the view of Atlantic City-
Shane found a horseshoe crab shell and was convinced he'd be taking it home as a souvenier
The 5 kids seemed to constantly be playing football. Everywhere we went, they brought the football along.
So windy, but so fun.
That afternoon the guys went out to the grocery store- their 2nd trip today! And they happened to somehow find a biergarten in Atlantic City along the way...
And I took the best nap. Thank goodness Sara gets how passionate I am about napping. And sadly they don't happen much anymore... So while the kids chilled and she read, I napped. Thank you Lord!
Then we headed to the activity room for make your own caramel apple pops-
 |
 |
Saturday night we just played. Lots of games and cards-
And we crafted. Sara wanted to learn how to knit and brought along a round knitting loom and within about an hour, she was on fire! Macy really enjoyed it, as did her boys too. Not sure why the face here though-
Macy modeling Sara's first hat-
And an infinity scarf she made (mostly) herself-
whatcha gonna cook us for dinner babe?
I loved the fact that we didn't get in a car at all on Saturday. It was a day of fun and relaxing. Yes yes yes. And we still have 3 more ahead of us! And we will get an extra hour of sleep and together time- because we set back the clocks tonight. I can just hear Cher now "If I could turn back time...."
Sunday the guys took off to go golfing for the day- and we had no idea what we would do with the kids for the day... but it started by telling them to get lost and go outside together at 9am. Which they were happy about! Playground, giant chess, bikes, football, woods- whatever- just go.
Sara and I watch Sunday morning together, while knitting, and then took our time getting outside to meet up with the kids finally at 10:30. She took them to the bocce ball and shuffleboard courts-
The guys had mentioned seeing a park nearby with a football field, so we grabbed some snacks andoff we went on our adventure. Sara spearheaded a great game of flag football that the kids all LOVED. I was sideline cheerleader and photographer...
Meanwhile, these are only pics the guys took of their adventure. The golf course, minus them-
And a random light fixture they both apparently loved-
Okay, what's next for the moms and kids? How about a trip on our own to Atlantic City? Why not!
While the casinos were so not our speed, we enjoyed some sightseeing along the boardwalk-
We learned that Atlantic City is not only the setting for the movie Beaches, but also home to the Miss America pageant. Here is Macy's getting crowned-
Love this pic as Macy picks up Drew to be crowned Miss America and Shane looks at them utterly confused-
How about some fresh ocean air? Yes please!
Love this picture SO SO much-
Macy is wearing another one of Sara's hats she made, and she's still wearing her flags from their flag football game earlier in the day!
And then Sara and I turned into fun vacation moms and said YES to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. The kids loved it, and we loved that they loved it. So much so that we again said yes- this time to everyone getting a new stuffed animal souvenir-
Time to head home and meet back up with the dads finally. They did manage to make it to the grocery store for some random evening requests- dinosaur chicken nuggets and tequila. Say what? Who are we??
On the way home we stopped into CVS and Dollar General hoping to find some more knitting needles- no luck. Each time we stopped, we left the kids in the car- which was wonderful! We have arrived at that point where we can be adults and go to a store together- yippie. And the kids had a blast too actually. We came out to the roaring laughter- apparently Drew was repeatedly saying "Hey Big Mama" to a woman in the parking lot. I think they will all always remember that...
That evening we roasted marshmallows and hot dogs at the fire pits-
 |
Sunday night I was in bed by 10pm. I could barely keep my eyes open as Sara chatted with me while filling up birthday balloon for the celebration tomorrow...
And then Monday we woke up to celebrate THIS GUY-
Nick was turning 12 with us here in NJ and there were 2 things he wanted for his birthday- a cheeseburger and a flag football game. Sadly, it was pouring down rain so the football didn't happen, but off we went to discover Cape May and find a cheeseburger...
We drove for about 45 rainy minutes to arrive in beautiful Cape May during a terrible downpour. This was our view-
 |
Oddly enough- it was the Dad's who insisted we get a group picture in this gazebo along the beach-
and even crazier than their idea was that in the gazebo there was another person there taking photos! He was a bird watcher, somewhat newly famous in the bird watching community, and he snapped the photo for us. And we learned a bunch about birds and Cape May too.
The dads decided on eating at the Blue Pig Tavern, which is attached to the historic Congress Hall Hotel-
Congress Hall was first constructed in 1816 as a wooden boarding house for guests to the new seaside resort of Cape May; and the proprietor, Thomas H. Hughes, called it "The Big House." Locals, thinking it too big to be successful, called it "Tommy's Folly."[2] In 1828, when Hughes was elected to the House of Representatives, he changed the name of the hotel to Congress Hall. It burned to the ground in Cape May's Great Fire of 1878, but within a year, its owners had rebuilt the hotel in brick.
While serving as President of the United States, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Ulysses S. Grant and Benjamin Harrison vacationed at Congress Hall, and Harrison made Congress Hall his official Summer White House. It thus became the center of state business for several months each year. John Philip Sousa regularly visited Congress Hall with the U.S. Marine Band and composed the "Congress Hall March", which he conducted on its lawn in the summer of 1882.
I loved seeing the pink Victorian every time I looked over at Macy during lunch-
And I loved also seeing the taverns beautiful aqua napkin (which I now own one of- thx Sara) around Macy's neck too-
And Nick LOVED this apple pie dessert they brought him-
 |
The inn was more and more gorgeous around every corner.
And we snuck into the ballroom to take a peek and chatted with the designers who were prepping the Christmas decorations.
When we got home all the other adults went to the gym to get a work out in while the kids and I had some downtime. But after a while I was restless, so I got the kids into two teams to make some food crafts...
Team Nick was in charge of creating a spooky gingerbread house. I do not think we have future engineers on this team. Just sayin. But boy did they have fun together!
By the end of their masterpiece, they had a bad case of the giggles. And their house fell down. Entirely.
And they LOST it! I decided to kick them out- fresh air was what they needed. They were hysterical- and it was awesome to see the two of them together like that.
Meanwhile, Team B was working amazingly well-
They were in charge of making these sweet and oh so tasty little acorn cookies-
And while Team Nick was still outside calming down, Team B moved on to more crafting- painting ornaments-
That evening the hotel had a complimentary happy hour, followed by a magic show. The kids played in the arcade together during happy hour. Truth be told, we didn't expect much from the magic show. I mean it was in the lobby of a Marriott. But boy were we blown away- it was so great! And the kids even got in on the action-
After that we parted ways- Sara and I took the kids to the pool- the birthday boys request!
Brian went back to make us dinner, and Chris was in charge of bringing us each a drink to the pool-
Brian and Chris stopped off at a fish market on the way home from Cape May, and check out this amazing dinner he prepared for us-
 |
I must say that the timeshare kitchen is always well equipped and makes cooking away from home rather simple. The only thing we didn't have? A way to light Nick's birthday candles! We had a gas fireplace, but no way to get to the flame. So they tried the electric oven-
nope. Next up? The bbq grill outside for the win!
 |
That night Tate and Nick asked Brian to teach them how to play poker-
Um okay? I guess you are 12 now...
Sweet dreams boys. May you have many more memorable birthdays together in the future.
Tuesday morning we had a lot to do before the Leadbetters left us! First up- family yoga-
Which was awesome! Really it was. And Sara let me borrow leggings so I didn't have to wear my pajamas.
None of the kids were thrilled about yoga. So we told them who ever went to yoga could then go to the arcade afterwards. Their sweet reward-
It started to rain on our way back, but I wanted this picture.
Poor kids.
Of course we have time to finish up our crafts!
Finger print Christmas ornaments and fingerprint Thanksgiving cards DONE!
So much football. Seriously they are still playing, in the rain, in the parking lot, as the car is being loaded to drive home.
Love these people.
And these crazy people too.
We had one last adventure in us- to find lunch in the historic town of Smithfield. Of course we were there on a rainy day in the off season, but it was adorable!
Although Smithville has existed as a community since the American Revolutionary War, most of the community remained very rural until the 1960s when the Smithville Towne Center, a tourist attraction containing over 80 shops, opened. It is in the Smithville in Atlantic County that James Baremore built what is now the Smithville Inn in 1787, a single room along a well-traveled stagecoach route. However, historians debate whether it was originally planned as an inn. By 1874 the inn had grown to six times its original size. Its success was well established, but it was eventually abandoned at the turn of the 1900s. In 1952, Ethel and Fred Noyes purchased the inn and restored the building, opening it as a restaurant with 42 seats. The inn was declared a historic landmark in 1964 by the United States Department of the Interior.
Around the 1960s, Ethel and Fred Noyes decided to expand the site into a historical attraction, similar to Colonial Williamsburg. Several historic buildings from around South Jersey were brought to the site, restored, and converted into shops and attractions.
In 1990, the newly formed Smithville Development Company began construction on the second part of the Smithville Towne Center, named "The Village Greene", which includes more stores and other activities, such as paddleboats, miniature golf, a carousel, an old-fashioned steam train, and several other attractions.
We picked a place to eat, sat down to look over the menu and Sara realized it was the same on-line menu that we had ordered from on Friday night! What are the chances? After a very filling lunch and a few games of Heads Up, we had to say our good-byes. So sucky.
We all love having time with the Leadbetters and only wish that our distance was a wee bit closer than 7 hours apart. But- for the next 11 months, I will not complain about 7 hours. Soon enough we will be 17 hours and $7000 dollars away...
And so our vacation continued... now just as a family of 4 instead of a blended family of 9!
We shopped around the village of Smithfield for a while, bought some cookies, some pasta and saw some chickens roaming around that we all agreed reminded us of the Leadbetters. Monday night the kids swam while I quizzed Brian on our Indonesian vocabulary words... the kids hit up the arcade and I made everyone color with me. THAT was on my vacation bucket list!
Wednesday we woke up (at nearly 9am- kids too!) to warm temps and sunny skies- why oh why was our vacation ending today of all days?
After two days of rain, the skies were blue and the fall foliage was bright, so I wanted to snap some pictures around the resort of the colors-
We found a trail around the edge of the golf course and resort to ride on, through the magnificent trees-
I had to snap this picture of Macy's trendy little outfit- the necklace from her cousin Jake, the scarf she just made, the sunglasses hanging on the overall pocket, the boots- she's too much
And all weekend long she dressed down when she was around the boys... they leave and she dresses up!
The kids wanted to play a game of monopoly on the luxury edition game board that was in the lobby, so we did-
Loved finding the random things left behind when we were packing up... Nick and Macy accidentally switched slides-
And somehow Shane's horseshoe crab shell got left behind-
Always looking for an adventure to sweeten the trip, Brian decided that we should take the ferry part of the way home-
Why not? While it didn't make the trip any quicker, it sure was beautiful and the kids got a kick out of driving right on the boat.
And it was relaxing, as we all played cards together-
DONE. Boooooooooo. For not wanting to even go on this vacation, I sure am sad it is over. It was awesome. I loved every hour of it and will cherish the memories...
No comments:
Post a Comment