May - Memorial Day Weekend, Part 2

How about a lovely family day at Monmouth Park?!  Well... it's Memorial Day Weekend.... it's 'Family Day'... and it's 'Food Truck Wars'.... think it might be crowded?  Yeah, just a little.

The kids were oblivious to the mob scene - and painfully long lines.

Nothing like a pony ride to put a smile on your face!

Mr. 101 Questions met his match.  This guy was HYSTERICAL and kept Nick entertained with nonsensical answers and feigned interest - hanging on Nick's EVERY word.  Whatever this guy was on.... I need some.  Then again, this guy has been propping up shapeless baby blobs for camera-happy parents (wait.... doh!) and cleaning up pony poop all day.  He probably welcomed an actual conversation, as ludicrous as it may be. 

We couldn't get them away from this game.... loop the ring around the neck of the bottle and make it stand up.

SSOOOOOO close!

Yet so far......

We then waited on another painfully long line for balloon creations.

Adrienne wanted a crown.

Nick wanted a black stick.  That's right.  A black stick....

.... with which he proceeded to try to slay his sister as I attempted to get a picture.

Adrienne: "NICK! STOP IT!  STOP IT AND COME STAND! RIGHT! HERE!"

"Mommy!  Nick won't stand next to me."

Listen Adrienne, be happy that's a BALLOON bar and not an IRON bar.  Nick's not loving you so much right now.

Now Greg was able to join us for this outting but as you may have noticed he's no where to be found.  That's because he's been on the food line for almost (over?) an hour.  At this point the 3 of us are wilting from hunger so we headed over to the band while waiting for any form of sustenance to come our way.

Nick is so famished he's actually contemplating a meal of grass and beetles.

"DADDY!  You've been gone SOOOOO LOOONNGG!!  I missed you so much!!!!"

Memorial Day Weekend calls for the first ice cream cones of the season.

Nick's out of practice................ BRAIN FREEZE!!

Can he open his mouth any wider!?  Look at that schnoz!  Love it!

(Invoke your inner Zsa-Zsa while reading this one...)

"Ah-lo my sweet dah-ling.... I am going to leeeck you up with zee finesse of Renoir and zee pash-ion of Edith Piaf!!!"

Ehhhh, who needs all that fancy French talk!?!

nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom

It's leaking out the bottom.... and he'll be DAMNED if he's going to miss out on a single drip of deliciousness!

Story #1: At the end of the day we went BACK to the stand-the-coke-bottle game and Adrienne DID IT!

WITHOUT CHEATING!!

I got a lecture from the couldn't-be-bothered-tween who was working the game that they 'aren't supposed to hold the chain' as they had been doing earlier.  OK, well you didn't tell me/them that the last time they were here.  DO forgive me, my carnie game etiquette isn't up to snuff.

ANYWAY, now that we know that holding-the-chain = cheating they didn't do it..... and POW!  Adrienne stood the bottle up!

So TAKE THAT snotty little juvie-bound brat!  Step aside and let my girl pick out her prize!

This was just after she picked her candy..... RELISHING the moment!!

Story #2: Note that Nick's black stick is mia.

We were upstairs in the Grandstand, they were kneeling backwards on a bank of chairs that runs along the windows overlooking the patio grill. The windows - the size of walls, really - were all WIDE OPEN.  Some strange cross-breeze / gust of wind whipped up and Nick's balloon got sucked right out the window onto the roof in front of us.  It was just out of reach - as a leeeaaannnnneddd out to get it ANOTHER little burst of wind bumped it even FURTHER along the roof.  So now I'm running from window to window hoping that I could catch it as it swirled around the restaurant's rooftop.

I gave up.

So THEN we went downstairs and stalked the poor patio diners while we stared the balloon down trying to will it off the roof. (damnit! where is the Force when you need it?!?!)

Needless to say, that didn't work.

(Happy Ending: He DID get another balloon!  THANKFULLY the line was super short so we stopped back.  The balloon guy asked if he wanted something else - nope - another black stick.  The kid is a nut.)

On to Yiayia house for a BBQ with Tori, Toot & Burp.

Playing catch - literally - with Uncle Peter.

*sigh*

Trying to pick just 1 (or 2, or 3....) of these shots to post was an impossible task..... so you're getting a full run!

OK - the next few..... watch in progression....

Oh those noggins'!  They take after their big cousin, Nick!

Back in business and upright again....

Love the hand holding!!

COME ON!!!!  TOO TOO DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!

May - Assssss Youuuuu Wisssshhhhhhhhhh

In light of their recent introduction to (and subsequent obsession with) The Princess Bride, a trip to visit Greg at Princeton afforded them the perfect opportunity to re-enact.....

"Assssssssssss youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu wissssshhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

They started off straight but inevidably ended up in either the bushes or the trees.

(and afterwards they both broke out in massive allergic reactions all over their arms and legs - COVERED in flaming red hives... oopsie)

Ponce de Leon!  Look no further!  The Fountain of Youth isn't in FLORIDA.... it's in the good ol' Garden State!  Just take GSP 98 for Rt 195.  Because really.  Isn't EVERYTHING in NJ 'right off the Parkway'?!?

And along with the lovely weather, let the annual TB Zoo trips with Tori, Kate, Ellie and Gila Monsters begin!

Giddy-up!

(omg! look at those thunder thighs! c'mon growth spurt!!!)

Whhhooooa NELLIE!

Tongue = out, therefore all is under control.

There was a local "kid day festival" - in other words, a conglomerate of money-sucking shops hocking everything that kids WANT WANT WANT.

Well.... these 2 wanted face painting.  The line wrapped around the courtyard and there was only ONE. WOMAN.  Adrienne and Nick didn't care and to their credit they waited so very patiently for OVER AN HOUR.  Parents were making snide comments (thankfully I chose to keep my yap shut and only mentally chastize her for horrifically bad foresight on not bringing a 2nd, 3rd AND 4th person to a WIDELY-PUBLICIZED-KID-CENTRIC event) until the face painter over heard them and proceeded to take their head off to the tune of "If you don't like the wait then GET OUT OF THE LINE!" Ohhhhh happy "kid day" to you too!

To her credit, she did a fabulous job.  I was also a little scared to tell her anything different.

A well deserved treat of kettle corn.
(Mainly because the 'snack' of fresh mozz & tomatoes from an hour++ prior hadn't exactly filled us up & they were already shutting down the food vendors by the time they got their faces done.... sooooo... kettle corn it was.  I also would've taken a box of Junior Mints.  Or pack of Big League Bubblegum.  Whatever I could get my hands on that could be gratuitously shoved into my mouth.)

St. George Graduation Day 2012!

(just an fyi... I'm SOOOOOOOO far behind on the blog that Graduation Day 2013 has actually come and gone too.... but hey, who's counting.... well, Nina, Becky, Keri, Tammy, Cindy, Sharon,....)

Of course Nick started asking questions... poor Father Andrew had to move him along.  Literally.

"MOMMY!  I GOT A CROSS!!"

Yes.  Thank you bud.  Noted.

Congratulations Sunday Schoolers....
Umm, Nick....?  Think you can save the ridiculous mugging for the camera poses until some candids later on??
ugh.

Proof that they're getting into heaven.

*whew*

Aunt Cindy threw a killer Memorial Day soiree and because that just WASN'T enough.... she added home made cotton candy to the usual pool-Dorito-fabulousness that is a party at her house.
OH the anticipation!

Here it comes!!!!!

Might as well be the Holy Grail.  LOOK at those faces.....
Ooooooooooooooo...........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Ahhhhhhhhhhh.......!!!!!!!!

In case you hadn't noticed that one particular little face is SHOCKINGLY MIA in the above events....
Adrienne LOVES sweets.  Like Willy Wonka's love-child, she's got chocolate running through her veins.  The girl never met a sugar cube she didn't need to devour.
But it's now official that she loves dogs even MORE!
Through all the cotton candy spinning she was off in the corner with ChiChi!

Nick, on the other hand....
num-num-num-num-num-num

As Sharon spun the cotton candy a 'crust' of sugar formed along the rim... Ryan snagged it.
And washed it all down with a KoolAid.
All I can say is.... that HEAVEN that's not my kid.

Where'd she go!??
Back with ChiChi..... yes, yes... we WILL get this child a dog....
(fast forward 10mos - DONE! - except ours is.... *slightly* bigger...)

Meanwhile, Nick & Wes found the lightsabers and duked it out for the controlling stake in the universe.
Nick won.  If for no other reason that Wes moved to the Carolina's thereby giving up all rights to the Monmouth County Sith Lord Dictatorship.