July 4th Weekend

I am pretty sure I was 10 years old when we first started our annual July 4th visit to Point Pleasant beach at the Jersey Shore. My dads immediate family pretty much all live in Jersey so this has always been our time to visit. When it first started, we all used to stay at this small (somewhat ghetto) motel right by the beach called Point Pleasant Manor. Every year we would get 4 or 5 hotel rooms for our families and completely take over the motel and pool area (my family is pretty big). I have so many great memories at this hotel, like knocking on random peoples hotel rooms and running, walking to the Italian ice store down the road, and going across the street to the beach and paying $7 just to walk on the sand. We went to this motel every year until 2003 when my aunt and uncle decided to buy a house at the shore. While our trips before were very fun and memorable, everything became much better once they bought this house(minus the first year when we stayed there with no AC during record heats...brutal) Our entire family stays in this one house during the July 4th weekend. The place is completely packed, people are sleeping in all corners of the house, and both of the bathrooms always seem to be occupied when you need to use it, but its great because we can all be together.

What makes me so happy is that we are now introducing the next generation of our families to this wonderful tradition. Two of my cousins have daughters that are 7 and 10 months older than Nathan, and both of them are pregnant again! This was Nathan's second trip to the shore, and it is already very evident that he loves it. It is so special to me that some of my favorite childhood memories may be some of Nathan's as well.

This year, with the babies growing older, the trip was much less of a relaxing, do nothing kind of trip and more of a making sure the babies don't fall in the pool, brawl over playdoh colors, or color on the walls sort of trip. Thank God for nap time! None the less, the trip was still as great and memorable as always.


A view from the pool in the backyard. No wonder Nathan's new favorite word is boat.


Nathan and his cousins at the boardwalk. This was his first time on a ride, and he was very serious about driving that boat!


Nathan eating his first Popsicle with his cousins.


Mommy and Nathan in the pool