Summer, Week 6

Monday- I worked, so Rudy spent the day at PALS.

Tuesday- I did a few things around the house in the morning, then Rudy went to PALS and I went to work.

Wednesday- The library had a Paleontologist give a talk for kids, today, so we went to that this morning. We went home and got ready for our new foster kids to arrive- Niko is 7 and Jada is 4. We expect them to be with us for at least several months.

Thursday- I worked; Rudy and Niko spent the day at PALS.

Friday- Rudy, Niko and I ran some errands in the morning. We came home for lunch and Rudy and Niko watched The Lego Movie while playing with Legos. Then we met Rudy's friend, Anna, and her brother, CJ, at Imagination Station.

Lake Fred

Saturday morning was supposed to be a breakfast on the beach morning, but it was cloudy and cool and a little rainy, so instead we decided to try a hike someplace nearby that we hadn't been to before. Lake Fred is at Stockton College; Paul and I have both been to the lake many years ago but we've never explored it with Rudy. We will definitely go there again. It was perfect for a short walk.

The first small bridge we came to. As we were at the bridge, a man was walking his dog and he said he had recently seen a muskrat here. For some reason when we walk with Rudy, we rarely see any animals. :)

Again we heard before we left, "I hate hiking."

Rudy ran ahead and started yelling for us to come because he found a beautiful area. I couldn't get a really good picture of it, but it was an area that jutted out into the water. It was really cool looking and kind of hidden away.

A nature-made archway. Rudy thought maybe the tree was stuck and was trying to undo it.

Summer, Week 5

Monday- We lazed around the house in the morning and then met Rudy's friend Joshua, and his sisters, at Imagination Station. We had lunch and the kids played on the playground, walked around the lake, and played on the playground some more. It was a hot day but they kept going for more than two hours.

Tuesday- We ran a few errands and then I went to work and Rudy went to PALS.

Wednesday- Rudy and I went to the $1 movie. We saw The Adventures of Tintin. We came home and had lunch, I did a few things around the house, and then we headed to Imagination Station to play.

Thursday- I worked all day and Rudy spent the day at PALS.

Friday- Grandpa came over in the morning and hung out with Rudy while I went to an interview. Then Rudy and I went to Chick-fil-a for lunch. After doing a few loads of laundry, we headed to a playground in Brigantine- Shark Park.

Summer, Week 4

Monday- lazed around the house, ran a few errands and then headed to the library in the afternoon for "Meet the Stormtroopers". The only problem was, the stormtroopers didn't show up. So we hung out at the library with some friends for a while instead.

Tuesday- Grandpa took Rudy to breakfast at Shea's and then he spent the day at PALS

Wednesday, Thursday- Rudy spent the day at PALS

Friday- we had some visitors in the morning, then Rudy's friend Joe came over for the day. We went to Pizza Hut for lunch and the boys played video games and watched TV for a few hours. I had to go to work, so I dropped them off at Donna's for a little while until Paul could pick them up. While there they went swimming, jumped on the trampoline and had lots of fun (There were 8 boys there all together.) Then Paul arrived and eventually took Joe home and he and Rudy went to Arby's for dinner.

Andes Get-together

Sunday we had a get-together at Chris and Patti's. The reasoning was to celebrate June birthdays and father's Day (a little late), but really it had been a while since we'd all gotten together.

Paige and Charlie enjoyed a book read by Renee.

Rudy checking out the sand table.

Paige and Charlie finding a way to get their feet in the sand.

Lucy photo-bombing Paige and Charlie.

Max observing Chris's grilling techniques.

Grandpa with some of his grandkids.

Heading to the playground.

3 adults. 3 kids in a wagon. And one 10 year old who willingly pulled the wagon. It's nice to have older kids around!

Swinging.

Swinging.

Lucy opening her presents with Rudy and Paige's help.

Water table fun.

Even Bill got in on the fun (accidentally- he squirted that gun into the air and ended up only drenching himself).

Rudy brought his new (to-him) scooter and many of the adults had fun trying it out.

There was also tennis playing (with Charlie dressed as a pirate).

Baseball catches.

Rudy and Lucy pulled out the costumes. Here he is an "ironworker" (blacksmith).

And later a pirate....

...with tattoo sleeves.

Paige came out in a princess dress. (here the dress snagged on the scooter and she was attached to it by one little strand.)

And that princess is also a tough, motorcycle-riding-IN-HEELS kind of girl.

Summer, Week 3

Monday- lazy morning at home doing chores and playing Wii. I gave Rudy the choice to go to a playground,  take a walk, or head to the library and he chose the library. Once there he went immediately to the library catalog computer and started searching for Doctor Who. When he was done, we had about a dozen books and DVDs requested from other branches.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - I worked, so Rudy spent his days at PALS (which he loves!)

Friday- started our day with a bike ride around Absecon on  a little hunt for the Absecon symbol that was on a building. We found it on the library. After lunch, we went to the Arc thrift shop and Rudy found a razor scooter for $10. We stopped at 7-11 and got a free slurpee (because it is 7/11/14), and then stopped at heritage Park on the way home to use the new scooter. It was a hit!

Summer, Week 2

Monday- Rudy started a camp at The Noyes Museum called Tall Tales- Castles and Dragons. After a morning of camp, he went to PALS for the afternoon.

Tuesday- morning camp again, then bowling with Will, Jared, and Nathan.

Wednesday- camp in the morning, a lazy afternoon at home.

Thursday- camp in the morning, food shopping and a stop for ice cream in the afternoon.

Friday- the 4th- a rainy day, he ended up watching two baseball movies (The Bad News Bears and A League of Their Own) and went to Fro-Me-A-Party to bounce for a few hours.