What happened this summer Part II (North Wildwood)

July:

We had the best time ever in North Wildwood! We spent the weekend at the Athens II and the kids absolutely loved it. Give the kids a hotel room with a pool and FORGET the beach! I love the picture above though. I got up early to watch the sunrise from our hotel while the kids were still sleeping. But they got up pretty early themselves and wanted to go on the beach right away, just after the beaches had been combed.

Sunrise at North Wildwood, NJ. June 2014.

We had perfect weather.

Eliana and I just watching our feet sink into the sand.

My little body boarders. Fearless! They didn't want to leave the water.

The Wildwood Boardwalk kind of felt like a ripoff. Ugh, I hate to say anything negative in such a positive post, but it really did feel like a shakedown. The kids had fun but I don't think we'll be returning for quite some time. We'll definitely gravitate to the more family friendly spots like Avalon and Ocean City. Be prepared to go through $100 in less than an hour. The kids will win prizes worth less than a dollar. Just not a good vibe overall and I tend to go with my instincts. Forget about bringing the kids here at night. 

North Wildwood was definitely better in terms of cleanliness, beach access, and just overall fun.

Eliana does not like giant fake dinosaurs. Evan, however, does. Eliana made me cover her eyes until just before the moment this photo was taken. This is at a miniature golf place in North Wildwood. We had a great game there, but Eliana wanted to skip the hole with the giant T-Rex. I had to carry her through and cover her eyes until we got to the next hole. 

Eliana tested her bravery in the pool at the Athens II hotel in North Wildwood. The water was up to her chin. At first she was scared, but then she overcame those fears and refused to leave the pool! 

The kids LOVE being in the ocean. Swimming lessons are definitely in order for the winter. They love riding them waves though! We had a great time in North Wildwood and can't wait to return!

What happened this summer? Well, a lot really! Part I

No posts since June 1st? Yes, I know, it's been a while. Without getting into the reasons why, here's what's been happening since the summer began:

June: 

Evan graduated Kindergarten and is now a full blown 1st grader.

Evan getting his diploma from his Kindergarten teacher. Miss Windle.

Eliana performed in "Swan Lake." Eliana practiced every Saturday at her ballet class for her second ballet performance. Cutest. thing. ever. (Photo by Mommy)

We lost Elvis. The last photo of Elvis. His health declined rapidly and his poor body gave out. Words can't even describe how much we will miss him. I still think of him every day.

(Photo by Mommy)

Summer visits to Daddy's house were amazing. We had a pool. It wasn't the biggest or greatest pool, but it was a pool. We rode bikes, went to the local parks, played Evan's Wii U, and watched "Frozen" 27 times. I think I've seen at least 100 Spongebob episodes this past summer thanks to Amazon Prime. 

Eliana on the swings at Llanerch Hills. "Push me Daddy!"

We planted a garden. With corn, green beans, peppers, gourds, little pumpkins, huge sunflowers, morning glories, moon flowers, and love lies bleeding! (Most from seed with help from Evan and Eliana.) I picked up quite a few of the seeds on Evan's class trip to Longwood Gardens. 

Eliana helped spread the seeds for our wildflower garden. 

Our neighbor even let us plant corn in the unused space behind their garage.

Some of our sunflowers grew to over 12 feet tall! All planted from seed by Evan and Eliana.

One of our Mammoth Sunflowers. This one was HUGE! Right out in front of the house.

Our "Love Lies Bleeding" from seeds from Longwood Gardens did really well.

Eliana grew up A LOT. Just today I was having her try on clothes at The Gap. She's 4, size 5T should be big enough. No, I have to get her size 6-7! She's giving Evan a run for his money!