At the end of August, with a hurricane en route, Amy and Joe lucked out with an afternoon of good weather and managed to squeeze in an outdoor birthday party for Justin. Complete with a train theme, a huge inflatable bouncy house, a piñata and of course cake and ice cream, Justin along with friends and family celebrated his day. If you can believe it, the bouncy house was rated for adults so Aaron and I gave it a try before the kids showed up. It was a lot of fun and surprisingly a serious aerobic workout as you are moving all the time in an attempt to stay on your feet. The rain started just as the party was winding down. It was pretty spot on timing.

Here’s the second half of the photos from our time at the shore. Peter and Maria and their girls came down for our last weekend as a surprise which was great. As our family continues to grow, I am grateful for any opportunity when all my siblings are together and for it to happen at the shore makes it all the better. Above the family on the point (a photo I borrowed from James and Chrissy :) and yes, my eyes are closed. And below a very proud Nana with all five of her grandkids. I think the joy in her face says it all.

Posting these photos is bittersweet. As many of you may know, Hurricane/ Tropical Storm Irene hit our beloved cottages on the Long Island Sound very hard a couple of weeks ago. Major damage was done to the entire property and as a family we are just starting to look into our options in terms of repair and/or rebuilding. It seems there is a long road ahead. However, this album of photos and the 2nd part (which I hope to post next weekend) were taken back in early August before the storm. Aaron and I were fortunate to enjoy a week and a half of pretty good weather, lots of family together time and a lovely break from regular life surrounded by the ocean and sand.

One day after work in early August, we stopped by Amy and Joe’s and were lucky enough to squeeze in some outside play time before it got dark. As much as I love the winter and the snow, I do love summer’s daylight lasting into the early evening. Wagon rides, watching traffic, blowing bubbles, playing with cars – simple stuff – but it’s the time together we appreciate the most.