April - We just got to go bananas! (especially in Cape May)

One last, long-weekend hurrah before Greg starts at Princeton University (as an employee, not a student).  I missed out on getting Fresh Beat Band tickets (who knew they were hotter than Lady Gaga) so I resorted to flat-out begging on CraigsList in hopes of finding someone to take pity on me instead of paying the 300% ripoff on StubHub.  As luck would have it, I did! But I was only able to get 3 tickets.  So with Greg being the sole, creepy guy outside the Basie trying to scalp a seat to a children's concert the 3 of us headed in for the show.  He ended up at the bar - swearing that 'there wasn't a single person who was selling tickets!!' ummm hmmm...
They're just SO excited that they look like a deer in headlights...
(honestly they WERE a little confused.... the Basie is where Mima has her Monmouth Symphony concerts - let's just say the Symphony doesn't quite pack the same crowd as the Fresh Beats...)

How about NOW...? In our fantastic seats.... a little more settled...?
Nope. Still deer in headlights.

Move over Beatlemania!!
Marina, Kiki, Twist & Shout storm the stage to a thousand shrieking pre-schoolers!!

OK..... NOW I see some real smiles!
(Terrible angles, yes, I know - but I'm doing the self-portrait attempt with a camera I had to borrow / steal from a girlfriend since I lost the charger to mine. Oh, that reminds me of another fun time. Thank HEAVEN I thought to bring extra batteries. We sat down, I went to take a picture & the batteries died. I went for the replacements and they came flying out - hit the floor and thanks to the slope immediately started rolling towards the stage.... ugggghhhhh.... So I had to go chasing 4 batteries down the aisle - trying to cut them off, trying to collect the ones that were stuck on people's bags... great moment. Great.)

I FINALLY managed to pry Nick out of my lap and into his own seat.  I wanted to take a picture of them enjoying the show.... HOWEVER..... apparently Nick was enjoying something else entirely...

Kids flooded the aisles right from the start. I could TELL Adrienne wanted to go but was too wary.  She finally ventured out.... shook her tail feathers for 2 seconds and darted right back.... By the time she felt comfy enough to STAY in the aisle it was the finale....

.... beach balls (not that there are any in this picture) and a confetti canon explosion They TREASURED those pieces of tissue paper confetti until they disintegrated.... (or rather, until they 'accidentally' got tossed in the garbage...)

The next day our 'official' vacation started with a trip to the Atlantic City Aquarium. For the most part it was about as impressive as going to the pet store. Then again, the pet store has dogs and cats....

But then we went upstairs and found the ginormous, unattended sting ray petting tank. Adrienne was in heaven. I could NOT get her away....

This guy FLEW up out of the water - scared the daylights out of her!

The lure of an elevator ride finally got them moving. It wouldn't be vaca without an elevator!

Up to the deck to take the helm....
(love this shot - her hair blowing... Nick peeking thru....)

... and their best pirate snarls!

While a picture says a 1000 words I thought it would be better if I explained exactly WHICH words are used to set this scene.
I had the brilliant idea to get a cute picture of the kids with the casinos in the backdrop - shaking their clutched hand as if about to roll the dice.
The outcome.... a completely obscene gesture.

Back to the aquarium for sting ray lunch! That would be THEIR lunch, not our lunch of sting rays.
The kids were handed dixie cups filled with raw fish - they had to slide it between their fingers and let the sting rays suck it off. The faces of anticipation... of reaction.... TOO funny!

Checking out the sundial which was incredible accurate!

Well, not so much when Nick tried.....

Not even enough energy to eat her FRIES?! Now THAT'S tired. The late night with the Fresh Beats beat her down!

We all piled into the car and took a quick nonnie (me too!) and when we woke we were face to face with............... Lucy!

The kids were............. overjoyed.

Be NIIIIICE to the gargantuan, anthropomorphic, pachyderm building.

While we waited for our tour we played hide & seek in the yard: behind her legs, behind the water tank and in the ticket booth. I had just jumped out from the ticket booth and scared the bejeezus out of Nick.

Up to the howdah!
(where the kids screamed 'louda and louda' - ok, there are 1, MAYBE 2, people who will get that reference....)

The first (only?) Billowsesses family vaca shot!

Checking out what's in Lucy's golo on the way out.... giant peanuts!

Our vacations REQUIRE a pool and elevator.
So we check in to the hotel and hit up the pool - awesome. Good times.
We walk back to the hotel and Greg was about a mile (ok, ok ~30') ahead of us. Adrienne called out to him to wait. He told her to hustle.
Well.
She was in BRANDY new flip flops. Going up a hill. She put a little spring in her step and the flip flop caught the edge of HEAVILY grooved sidewalk - the kind to PREVENT slips and falls when ice covered.... She bit it. Greg looks back and sighs. I ignore her wailing and told her to GET UP. She's still wailing on all fours. Greg walks over to her, scoops her up and then I hear, "OK, it's ok....." pause, in a completely different tone of voice, "We're going to get you inside. Just don't look at it."
SO.......... we took a trip to........

For a kid who screams bloody murder when she stubs her toe, she was REMARKABLY calm, cool and collected through the whole process. Even after we got her into the hotel suite - cleaning her knee up she just whimpered a bit. No real hysterics at all. So what does that tell us....!? Her day-to-day drama is all just that. DRAMA.

Doin' Michael Myers proud!

Thanks to an absolutely WONDERFUL nurse, Marilyn, and doctor, Dr. Pepe ("like le Pew"), who were clearly not just medical professionals but also caring parents and amazing people - they treated her with respect and got her through the whole process without a single tear. To wit, as she was getting up from the table she exclaimed, "That was FUN!" Marilyn looked at me and started to laugh. She pointed out that it looks like we'll definitley have a few more ER visits in our future....
I asked for the nearest restaurant... with a bar.

Oh! The person most concerned about the whole process... was Nick! He looked up while Dr. Pepe was sewing her up he asked, "Excuse me doctor!? Are you hurting my sister!?" Dr. Pepe said, "Adrienne! Does this hurt?!" "No!! Not at all!" He watched a little while longer and went back to his doodle pad, satisfied that she wasn't being tortured beyond what he does to her on a daily basis. Too cute!

May I present.......... the first (and assuredly not last) stitches of the youth!

March - Madness

I let her give me a REAL mani!

(As opposed to the fake manis she gives me while she's on the potty trying to go... I have no idea how that evolved but yes, if she's stuck on the potty waiting it out I / Nick / whoever is around may keep her company for a bit and she pretend-paints your nails. You pick the color, usually you're railroaded into picking a different color for each nail, then you have to blow on them to dry while you / she waits....)

I had Greg take the picture of the final mani... Adrienne and I looked at it together and she gasped in disgust, "MOMmy! You've got....... OLD HANDS!"

Nice. Just all me the Cryptkeeper.

There wasn't an inch of driveway left after we finished with chalk this lovely spring day. And yes, I'm completely bragging about my killer Slowths. They came out great, right!?!?

Hence, the title of this post:

March Madness

Oh. My.

Ta-dahhhhh!

Love how I got him airborn. And of course, OF COURSE, the tongue....

Why God invented washing machines. And bathtubs.

Adrienne LOVES club music. The kicker is... we can't figure out how / where she's hearing it. Until recently when she let it slip.  And now it's on video for ALL THE WORLD TO HEAR just WHO puts club music on...

No matter how detailed their chalk drawings get... at the end they ALWAYS end up making a scribble-scrabble "rainbow" together.

Her first 100% made-by-herself PBJ. And she actually got some jelly on the bread, too!

What's better than dressing up her dolls...?

Did you know the Easter Bunny lives at the Johnson Park Zoo??

One of my favorite pictures............ EVER. The circle of life......

Nick feeds the ducks. The coyote wants to feed ON the ducks.

WHY would they torture the poor animal like this?!

"MOMMY!!! IT'S BAMBI!!!!"

(doesn't it look like she's smiling?!?)

No Fear Deer

And this horse was just as bold.

Whose teeth are bigger??

Cutie!!!!!!!!!!

Then Adrienne wanted a turn with the camera. Nick's pouting in the background because he wanted a turn first. (I'll sprare you from having to look at the 48 pictures of grass, emus and pigs)

Not bad for a family-self-portrait with my short little arms....!

Guess who got signed by the Jets today.

My cell went off with a trifecta of cuties... Ellie...

Kate boppin' in the kids' old jumparoo (I STILL wish I could fit in that thing... just for a bounce or 2!!)

And Tori busted out this HYSTERCIAL model-pout!

Move over Sandy Claws..... The pinacle of holiday mascots is here. The Easter Bunny is comin' to town!!!

Yiayia's birthday gift to Adrienne was Cinderella at Count Basie. But there were a few surprise guests... Yiayia Lou and 3 of her granddaughters with whom Adrienne LOVES LOVES LOVES to spend time - Nicole, Hope and Kate. And to top it off, lunch at Uncle Ted's! Life doesn't get much better!