Tuesday, August 5, 2025

End of July 2025

So we returned home from the 4th of July at the lake and a couple days later I received an unexpected phone call from my cousins, Meg and Ella.  Well, it was actually a hilarious facetime during which they were attempting to capture some stray kittens in their yard.  Long story short, they caught the kitten (2 boys) and all the shelters were full....
So yep, we picked them up.  We kind of knew the moment we had them that they would be staying with us permanently barring any major complications with our current cats. So Isaac and I took a ride and picked them up!
They are adorable and lived namelessly in our basement for a few days while we got them settled, checked into their health and got to know them.
They were very social and settled in just fine with us.  We took turns sleeping in the basement.  We suspect they were part of a litter in someone's home and they were dumped at a construction site near Meg's house.
After the world's saddest ear cleaning at the vet, they got a clear bill of health and were confirmed to be unchipped boys that were now ours!  Approximate age of 4 months old, so we picked a March birthdate!
And we named them!  Ares is the white guy and Apollo is the orange guy.  We started slowly introducing them to our other cats Molly and Minnie (who were less than thrilled), but by using treats, toys and birdwatching as a distraction we had some progress. 
Too cute!  They love being together and being around people.
Meanwhile Sam enjoyed golf camp AND his 15th birthday!  He had some friends over to celebrate and I didn't get a single picture.  We also did some shopping for clothes.  Happy 15th, bud!
We had a Lauren day and sleepover.  She loved the kittens, they were confused by her but generally had fun playing!
Then we left on our Jersey Shore adventure.  Just a short 15 hour car ride later - here we are!
It was good to be reunited with Meera, Jason, Kali and Kirin in Ocean City, NJ.  Let the napping commence!
Isaac found an amazing hat on the boardwalk!
We rented a boat for a few hours to explore the other side of the island.





We also got to try out some great food.  Sam loved the crab legs!
Jason and I took a bike ride to get crab fries one evening!
Funnel cake - multiple times - yes please!
We hit the water park one day too - had some great weather!




The boardwalk was beautiful and fun and filled with good treats!
Jersey pizza - eaten as the locals do!
Interesting shirts that Noah was thrilled about!
We went to a candy store where you could scoop lots of different choices.  Sam ended up with 2 lbs of banana runts.  Why? No one knows!
Crab Trap group shot!
Goods secured - cheesesteaks and hoagies for all!

It was a great family trip!
After a smooth 13 hour car ride home we were reunited with all our cat friends!  It seems like they worked out some truces while we were gone.  The adult cats are much more settled (even if they still don't LOVE the babies).  And the babies are happy to have their people back!
And, if you look closely, you can see all 4 cats in this picture - progress!  So hopefully we can just enjoy this last bit of summer all together before the school year begins!

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Mid summer fun

Mike and I celebrated 20, TWENTY, years of being married.  To enjoy this milestone, we headed to San Antonio, Texas.  It was a place neither of us had been.
It was awesome, we stayed in the heart of the riverwalk area and we were able to walk to the sights and the restaurants.  We went early one morning to see the Alamo before the crowds and the heat.
It was a lovely 4 day trip filled with food and relaxation!
We had the best brisket of our lives at Pinkerton's BBQ.  It was so good we went back a second time!
Back at the homefront the kids all enjoyed their own adventures.  Noah was home recovering from Germany and taking care of the cats.  Sam went and got golf clubs and went golfing with Bampa.  And Isaac went to Michigan with Bamma and did some projects with pops.  The night before our return, Sam and Noah were on the own.  We told them we would give them money for dinner.  Naturally they went to Jimmy John's and got the MOST amount of food they could stomach.

We got back home and settled in for a bit before the 4th of July festivities.  The cats enjoy people being home, and enjoy the new placement of the bird feeder right in front of the big window.
We found a new haircut place for the younger two.  Isaac got his first fade and was very happy with it!
Then Sam headed up early in the holiday week to spend his own time at the lake.  He got many important lessons like how to do electrical work and golf cart driving.

He enjoyed some boat rides with cousins too!

And when you are with your grandmother, there is nightly ice cream eating.  I think he enjoyed himself!
The rest of us endured a crazy traffic ridden trip of 4.5 hours to get up there, but we finally made.  The pic are all out of order but you get the idea.  Lake fun!
Isaac looking like an old man on his phone with a cocktail.
Parade posse - theme was wild west!

Josh and his crew came up for a quick 24 hours, so fun!


Breakfast of pizza in princess pjs? Yes please!
Future birding partner!
"I FOUND THE SQUANS!" (she means swans)

Bamma and her crew!
The ENTIRE group of Benharts/Hewes/Rodriguez/Carlsons/etc

Sam and Isaac went tubing!
And we ended the weekend with more dessert!  July Birthday party!


Always a blast and always over WAY too quick!