Avalon 2010

This weekend we headed to NJ for the first of 3 beach weekends we planned for this summer. The Shulls were nice enough to extend an invitation again to their beach house in Avalon, which has become a yearly tradition for us, and one we eagerly anticipate. Their house is 1.5 blocks from the beach, but they also have a pool in their backyard, so we have the best of both worlds. The temps were HOT all weekend long, so we especially having the poo to cool off in when we didn't want to pack everything and walk to the beach. Ryan was equally happy in both places. When we were sitting in the sand on the beach, he kept saying "Mommy, let's go to the beach!!" I said "Ryan, we're AT the beach" and he replied, "Let's go in the water!!" To him beach = ocean, and we could not keep him away from it, he loved running down to the water's edge, splashing around, and then running away form the waves. We built sandcastles, dug a pool, and enjoyed ourselves. Later in the pool, Ryan got braver and braver, eventually telling us he wanted to go underwater, and then proceeding to dunk underwater several times in a row. We have to get this kid in swim lessons! We walked down to the little arcade and played games - skee ball of course (Grandpa will be proud!) - and won prizes, then cooled off with ice cream and Italian Ice. There was also plenty of relaxing on the deck and luckily the temps cooled off at night so we had the perfect weather for enjoying the summer evenings. This year, Ryan was not the only kid, he was very excited to be joined by Andrew (4 months). Andrew is the cutest baby, and Ryan loved hanging out with him - Whenever Andrew was napping or not in the room, Ryan asked "Where is Baby Andrew?" We are looking forward to Avalon weekends in summers ahead when the boys are running around together, jumping the waves and likely getting into some trouble! Thanks again to the Shulls, Kim and Mike for another great Avalon weekend!