Janine's Birthday

Janine turned eight yesterday, so we had a party for her today. Using the standard formula, we invited eight girls and all of them could come, but not at the same time!

So we had a continuous party from 1:30 to 4:00 this afternoon. In fact some of the girls are still here as I write this post!

Sarah is the party queen. She came up with the ideas for most of the activities. Even better, she lead all the girls in painting flowers, suncatchers, a giant happy birthday sign, even making scarves.

Look for more later...

Glad we missed that one

Janine's Brownie troop had their first outing while we were on vacation. Today was her first meeting after returning.

Unfortunately one of the girls got poison ivy on her face. Heck, we don't have to go on any outing to do that! We just go into the woods bordering our backyard.

Thankfully through recognizing the leaves and spraying as much of it as we can, we all have been able to avoid it for the past few years.

Sunday - Going home

On Sunday morning we left to return home, but we brought back with us many memories of the vacation. Here is one of my favorites, all my girls down at the beach.

I don't know what they are looking for in this photo, but it was a great opportunity to get everyone in the same picture.

The drive home was long. On every long car trip, Bobbie helps out by reading a book out loud. This year she read The 21 Balloons on the drive to Richmond and Carry on Mr. Bowditch on the rest of the trip. She finished Mr. Bowditch by the time we got to Breezewood.

But home was still two and a half hours away across the most treacherous part of the PA Turnpike. Thankfully we all arrived safe and sound at about 10 PM Sunday night.

On Monday when I put the Thule roof box away until next year, I left some of the sand in the bottom of it just for old time's sake. It was a great vacation.

Saturday - Pack up

We first stayed at the Heart of Duck vacation house in 2001 when it was still called Bailey's Irish Dream. On the morning we were packing up to go we found tiny ants had invaded one of the bags. Because Bobbie and I had to work fast, we asked the kids to sit on the steps so we would not step on them. I took a picture of it as a cute scene of the three kids.

Well this year we have four, and thankfully no ants!

Friday - Sun and wind

After Thursday's rain, the wind picked up. While it was 85 or so during the day, the 20 mph wind made the beach a little challenging.

We all got down to the beach after breakfast but it was too challenging for some of us. So we swam in the pool at the house. It was quite cold at first, but one got used to it quickly.

Later, we opened up the hot tub at John's insistence. Getting into the pool was much easier after that. But as Sarah found out, getting and staying on the air mattress was tough, especially when you little sister is pulling you around the pool.

Thursday - Shopping

Janine looks like she needs the coffee in this photo. Her sister was shopping her under the table.

Thursday was the obligatory day of rain during our vacation week, so we all went shopping in Duck village. There are three mini-malls of trendy shops in the village. While Janine sat on a stylized bench in front of one of these shops Sarah was inside surveying the fashions.

We went back to the house for lunch then we were off to one of the other mini-malls. Thankfully they all closed by 5:00.

The weather cleared late in the day, so we were able go to the beach after dark.

Wednesday - Happy Birthday on the sandbar

All week last week the Coast Guard was either patrolling the shoreline or conducting training exercises. Most days we saw a Blackhawk helicopter, but on Wednesday this C 130 flew up and down several times.

We almost needed it. The surf was pretty strong all week and it had formed a sandbar about a quarter mile out where the water was only three feet deep. Because the waves broke across it there were several people standing on it with boogie boards riding in on the odd wave. Sarah and John got out there too using the small boogie board that was in the service closet at the vacation house.

Then John got out a little too far. Sarah called to him as he fought the waves. Bobbie noticed this and swam out to John. She realized that they were on the edge of a rip current and swam parallel to shore away from it.

At this time the, lifeguard on patrol was on shore ready to help if she got the signal. Thankfully both Bobbie and John got in just fine.

Just in time so we could go out to dinner to celebrate Bobbie's birthday. Here we are at one of the Outer Banks' finest restaurants. While most of the restaurants there are warehouses of food, this one is patterned on a French bistro with small tables and great food. I was glad to find such a nice place to celebrate Bobbie's birthday.

Tuesday - Happy Birthday Eve

At dinner Tuesday we celebrated Bobbie's 50th birthday eve by having a chocolate mousse cheesecake. Sarah and I got it earlier in the day while we were out on a bike ride. If we had driven the car it would have raised suspicion.

We bought the cheesecake at a bakery in Duck. Once we had it, we had to walk the bikes back to the house. I didn't want to risk dropping it. When I got into the subdivision I lived dangerously and successfully balanced it on the handlebars. Sarah hid it in the mini fridge in the downstairs rec room.

I thought our cover was blown later in the day when we came back from the beach and Bobbie insisted on putting away the drinks from the cooler in the downstairs fridge. But she didn't notice it and was surprised after all.

We had fun celebrating Bobbie's birthday over two weeks. Stay tuned for the birthday dinner tomorrow night.

Monday - First Day

Always with a mind to routine and precedent, John asked me to go down to the beach with him first thing Monday morning. We did the same last year as seen here. This year I captured the moment on video.

I always enjoy doing father and son activities and this is one of my favorites.

We spent the rest of the day split between the beach and hanging around the house. Because it is only a quarter mile to the beach, we returned in the afternoon. As you can tell from the video it's quite windy. But that is why the Wright Brothers chose this area to test their new invention, the airplane.

Sunday - Arrival

After our morning sight- seeing, we left Richmond after lunch at a Waffle House. Note to self - don't go to the Waffle House for Sunday lunch right after the "church rush." There wasn't a clean table in the place. We started to bus our own table when one of the waitresses completed the job obviously interested in securing a better tip.

We arrived at the Wright Memorial bridge, the link to the northern Outer Banks barrier island, at 3:30. We couldn't check in and get the keys to the house until 4:00, so we bought all our groceries at the Food Lion that is on the way.

The sign for our favorite Duck sub-division is in top photo. It's a great location with the entrance in the middle of the village. There is a rec center with workout rooms, tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, plus great beach access with an outdoor pool just off the dunes.

All of the houses have names on signs, most using the word, Duck. The name of our house is Heart of Duck. It changed from Bailey's Irish Dream a few years ago. (I'm glad I no longer have to explain that one.) The corny names are annoying overall. They remind me of boat names which can be even worse. I am glad our favorite house's name is fairly innocuous.

With a full minivan and three bags of groceries on each kid's lap, we got to the house at about 5:00 Sunday evening. By 6:00 we unloaded the minivan and everyone was in their rooms . Bobbie cooked a nice meal and we all went to the beach after dark. A great way to start a week at the beach.

Saturday/Sunday - Richmond Layover

On Saturday morning at about 10 AM, we left for vacation. That's later than I wanted, but because we planned a layover in Richmond, we could leave at such a late hour and still arrive by 4 PM or so.

The first night we went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant. We thought it was a brew-pub, but they just served hundreds of beers instead. Not exactly what I expected, but not bad either. We all recalled visiting Aunt Mary when she lived in Richmond and missed seeing her.

On Sunday morning we woke up and drove downtown to the state house. Above is an equestrian statue of George Washington on the state house grounds. There are also several other statues of notable Virginians including Edgar Allen Poe seen here with Janine. Nevermore!

The city of Richmond has some very interesting historic sights, but tells no one about them. Ever resourceful, Bobbie buttonholed a security guard at the state house gate and got a full rundown on where to go and what to see when you have two hours or so. Like all good Virginians, he ignored talking about the statue of Washington and instead went into great detail about how "Mr. Jefferson" designed the state house.

As he described it, the Virginia state house is the second oldest state house in the United States. Which is the oldest? Here's a hint. Mr. Jefferson created his masterpiece there, and it's in Philadelphia. From 2002, here we are at a different statue of Mr. Washington in front of Independence Hall. The Pennsylvania state capital may be in Harrisburg, but the state house has been in Philadelphia for 250 years.

Vacation Return

Just after 10 PM last night we returned home from our vacation to Duck, NC. It was a long drive after a great, relaxing week. The only regret on the drive home was a bad meal in Breezewood, PA, just before we got onto the PA turnpike.

Here's a photo of the surf on Saturday, our last day there. While the temperature was about 80, the wind was 20 to 25 miles per hour. As a result, we did not spend much time on the beach that day. Needless to say, one felt a little brisk when one got out of the water. Thankfully, we spent a lot of time on the beach the rest of the week.

Look for more in the coming days.

Here's Janine in the wind and surf on Saturday.

Vacation House

Vacation is coming up this week, so we are off to the Outer Banks. Here's the view from last year as we were packing up to come home.

This year it will look pretty much the same. Same time, same house. I never thought I would enjoy predictability so much, but sometimes it can be useful.

The kids already know where to take things once we arrive, so unpacking the car goes pretty fast.

While the kids are looking forward to having a lot of fun, Bobbie and I look forward to a nice relaxing trip.

...and just look at that shine!

When you have kids of just about any age, the kitchen floor always seems to be sticky. So why not ask (tell) them to help?

Janine was a big help cleaning the kitchen Saturday. After I swept the floor, she got to mop it. Of course I also had to scrub the area where we were processing the tomatoes.

Naturally she had to strike a pose. With that shift style dress and the hair band, she looks as if she stepped out of a '60s floor wax commercial.

Perhaps this one, or this one, or here's one with a celebrity's real kids.

TomAHtoes

It all starts in the field. But since I don't have any photos of that, we will start in the sink.

Bobbie went to a local Farmer's market this past Friday and bought a bushel of tomatoes. As in past years, she puts them up as simple tomato puree. She then adds seasonings only when she actually opens a jar to make something.

Yesterday she started the canning process by washing them all. As you can see they filled the sink nicely. At this point I was off to a meeting and conference call only to return in the afternoon.
Then they all got to cook down on the stove. This photo was taken in the afternoon after I got back from my meeting so I am sure the tomatoes cooked down from the morning. With three burners on the stove cooking the tomatoes, I was glad it was a cool day.

Finally, here's John running the food mill. It's really quite a contraption. The cooked tomatoes go in the top skins, seeds and all. An auger device forces out the juice and pulp through a cylindrical screen on the side. The skins and seeds are then pushed out the end of the cylinder. It's all quite efficient and fun. All three kids took turns cranking the handle.

Sorry to miss getting photos of the canning process today, but I was in a meeting this afternoon as well. That's OK however, because I still get to enjoy the sauce for months to come.