New Jersey Trip - Part 6 of 6

On the final day at the beach, Gavin took an interesting in looking for sea shells and through this washed up pile of oyster shells.  They were actually quite sharp to walk on, so I am not quite sure Tara's feet are wisely placed. 

Tara also took a turn in the waves with the boys.  Gage never strayed too far off of someones arm, but Gavin seemed to always be pushing the boundaries a bit.  Now that he can swim a bit better, it is clear that he was having a blast jumping in and out of the waves. 

We tried to get a more collected shot of the family above.  These guys really love the ocean and I am sure it will not be the last of our trips to the beach for a vacation.

I love this picture of Gage, especially on the last day.  It kind of sums up some of the feeling of the trip for me.  He is just looking out over the ocean at the waves crashing.  It is kind of mesmerizing and you can't help but have some respect for the vastness of the water and the power of the waves.

We couldn't forget the reason for the whole trip!  It was my Dad's 60th birthday.  What a great way to celebrate with the whole family staying in a beach-side mansion.  Thanks to Emily for having us all there and arranging for the whole trip.  We all had a blast.  Happy 60th, Dad, we love you!

New Jersey Trip - Part 5 of 6

Thankfully, after a day in which the weather was just mediocre and the ocean conditions were challenging, we had a nicer day and perfect kid-friendly ocean conditions.  The kids got started digging for sand crabs quite early in this day and it quickly became a favorite past time.

Gage got some help from Grandpa Bruce with the Boogie Board.  I have to say that this might be a bit close to shore to really get some good riding in.

Gavin, being a bit more of a competent swimmer than his younger brother, was able to venture out a bit farther on his own and catch some waves.  He had a blast and did quite well.  Here he is on one of the better waves he caught.

The faces that you get from pictures like these are pretty classic.  I think this wave is crashing right over his back and onto him.  The girl next to him is also getting crushed, as well.

New Jersey Trip - Part 4 of 6

I believe this is actually the afternoon and evening of the same day from the Part 3 blog post.  We took an after dinner stroll along the beach boardwalk.  This is the picture of the four cousins together on the boardwalk.  What a great picture of them!

Here is Gage getting a ride along the boardwalk.  Somehow he tricks us into believing he is tired so he can get a ride but always seems to have more energy after the brief respite.  He is starting to get so big that his days are probably numbered that I can still carry him this way.

New Jersey Trip - Part 3 of 6

On day three, a reoccurring theme is starting to emerge: another day at the beach.  This day was a bit cooler but that didn't really stop any of the little men from jumping right back into the water.  Here is Gavin starting off a sand castle at the edge of the water. 

As you can see from the above picture, the water was quite a bit different this day from the other days with choppy white wash everywhere and stronger rip tides.  The life guards were all over us anytime we were near the water.  This was a major difference between the East Coast and the West Coast.  The waves were only about 3 feet but they seemed to be treating them like they were 6-8 feet on the West Coast.  On this day, if you went out past about waist deep without fins and a board they were calling you back closer.  It really made no sense to me, but apparently nobody on the East Coast must be very adept at swimming in the ocean.  Thankfully, I was still able to wade into knee deep water with Gage without getting yelled at.

Here are the men in the family.  Uncle Adam on the left, Dad in the middle, and me on the right side.  Dad is clearly winning the bronze David Hasselhoff competition, and unfortunately Uncle Adam will need to head to the gym a bit more as it has to be embarrassing to look so small compared to your older half-brother.

Here is Uncle Karl helping Cousin Madison in the water.  It was a bit more challenging on this day for the smaller kids as the waves were quite choppy.

The above pictures is actually the third in a series of three I took that caught the water rolling up on Mom and Gage as the tide came in.  They had been safely sitting in custom sand chairs they dug into the beach when all of the sudden a bigger wave came up and swamped them.  Pretty funny and quite a cold surprise I am sure.

New Jersey Trip - Part 2 of 6

There were so many beautiful hydrangeas in New Jersey.  These were some in front of our house.  Brent and I like these because they remind us of our wedding flowers. 

 
Uncle Adam wasted no time getting down to football business with the boys.  Shortly after this picture was taken, Adam nearly dumped Gavin in the grass, so they decided it best to keep everyone's feet on the ground.  

Gage found a GIANT bike in the garage (and apparently no helmet), so Grandpa Bruce tried to spot him on a quick jog in front of the house.  Gage couldn't even mount the bike on his own, so this little adventure was slightly scary for Mommy and Daddy.

Gavin was instantly very found of Uncle Adam's girlfriend, and both Adam and Devan were so good with all the kids.

For most of our family dinners, the adults ate at the dining room table featured in this picture, and the kids ate together at a table in the kitchen.  Emily got lots of practice cooking for 12 of us!  (And Uncle Adam eats enough for three average people!!!)  Notice that Uncle Adam is shirtless, a regular occurrence during our visit.

New Jersey Trip - Part 1 of 6

This year we pulled together all the immediate family and went to New Jersey to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday.  It was quite the undertaking to align everyone's schedules but it was a great experience.  Dad and Emily rented a six bedroom house that was one block off of the beach in Spring Lake, NJ.  We arrived on the first day into Philadelphia and then drove straight to the house.

Being this close to the beach, it didn't matter that it was already late in the day as the kids were already off and running.  We slammed on some trunks and headed over.  By the time I had the camera out Gavin was already half way to the ocean and Gage was following closely after.

Here is Gavin getting his first taste of sea water this year and the first time experiencing the Atlantic.  He has also continued to improve at swimming which makes it slightly less stressful to let him be outside arms reach in the water.

Rock Climbing with Gage

Gage continues to thrive in his SuperMonkey's 1 class.  One of the greatest things about ABC kids climbing is the class size.  Gage often gets a private lesson or is with one or two others.  This is coach Elan working with him on an overhung route.  He continues to be really strong and shows great patience and balance with his climbing.  It's really fun to sit and watch your kids not excel and thrive doing something.

Here is another route or "problem" Gage is working on.  As he has progressed he is certainly completing routes that go higher and higher and are definitely more challenging.  You can certainly see his technique with his left foot draped out as a counterbalance.

Final Broomfield Symphony Concert

This was the final Broomfield Symphony Concert of the season.  Our performance was in the Broomfield Civic Center next to the library.  The theme of the concert was "Western" movies and included Copland pieces from "Rodeo", Rossini's "Overture" William Tell, and John Williams' "The Cowboys" Overture.  My whole family was in attendance, which made it pretty fun.  I am still awaiting the CD of the concert to listen to how we did, but what a great experience to get back to playing with a symphony after all these years.