Laraway Family

Tuesday, August 28th, was the first day of school for the boys. We had gone to the school the day before to meet Chas' teacher, see Anthony's classroom, and pop in on Mrs. Hoge just because we love her. So, when Chas arrived on Tuesday, he was already aware of what his classroom was like and what his teacher was like. As you can see, Chas was excited about starting Kindergarten. Anthony was excited, too, though not one person from his class last year is in his class this year. However, he's Anthony and those things really just don't bother him.

They both really like their teachers and are excited about this new year. I have met some new mothers of children in both classrooms, and we're hoping we'll be getting together after school with some new friends. I am struggling with how much- if any- time I spend in their classrooms... there's a lot going on this year. But, I know it'll go just as planned... just not always my plan. :) TWO KIDS IN SCHOOL!!?!?? I miss them already.

So, while on vacation, one of the bonus perks for Russ is not having to shave everyday. When we arrived home, his beard kind of looked like George Michael's in the day... and the women are hopefully with me on this one... he was HOT!!! (Especially BEFORE it came out that he was gay.... we all wanted him.) So, on the urging of his wife and to the dismay of his boys, Russ kept the beard. It looked VERY nice on him, and as you can see, it showed off some gray. :) He ended up shaving it last weekend before heading down to San Diego for a wedding. I haven't asked what his coworkers thought of the cleaner look, but they were at times before just calling him "Beard" while in a meeting. "What do you think, Beard?" I think they were probably somewhat jealous!

Russ has his baby face again now. Even though he only kept it from beginning to end a total of three weeks, Starks was still a little shocked when it was shaved off. He stared, patted Daddy's face, and looked a little sad I dare say. However, the particular expression on his face in this picture looks like a before shot in the "Just for Men" commercial. :)

We'll have to wait for another vacation to see the beard again... until then, we'll have to check out this picture.

So, we quickly packed up, loaded and headed up to the famous Sicklerville, NJ to say our last goodbyes to family. This is a picture of 6 of GG's grand kids on MomMom's couch. We were well fed, of course, and enjoyed just relaxing, talking some more and spending time together.
Everyone LOVES GG. She is the spunkiest, quickest, and most open minded person. She is everything MY grandparents were not, thankfully. I love her to pieces, and I am always left feeling a bit honored to have spent more time with her. You know how you kind of still feel in your teens or 20's in your mind? Well, I think she still does, too, and she's 82!
Well, let's take a good picture of Uncle Joey. He is currently in the whirlwind of life that is wedding planning. Do you think they'll put some spandex in the arms of his shirt and jacket to accommodate those pipes? I guess we'll see next August! We, unfortunately, did not get to see Brandy again, but we are looking forward to getting to know the woman better who finally stole Joey's heart. We loved seeing Joey, though, and again, he has a crazy, busy life and made it to see us. Can you feel the love again? Thanks, Joe, for stopping by ReRe's and spending time with us and the boys. They love you!
Speaking of ReRe... this is why we love her. She is forever laughing. She has the best laugh, and she's Russ' biggest fan. She makes him feel like he's 6 feet tall. :) She is very giving, loving, and quick with a comeback to all of Russ' jabs. We are so blessed to have spent a week near a beautiful beach, with God's awesome ocean, in a gorgeous home, and with so many friends and family to sweeten each day. Thank everyone - even those who wished to make it but alas could not! We still love you, too!

Well, after some breakfast, we quickly headed to the beach. By this time, Starks would wake up and ask for it right away. "Beach, Mommy!" The surf was mellow, and we were all quite comfortable in the water past the breakers. On occasion, there is that set that breaks just a little earlier than the others, and Starks kind of enjoyed running up to the growing wave and jumping just in time before it lapped his face! Anthony especially was comfortable bobbing around, and Chas was more daring. Of course, we also made our trips out of the water to paint ourselves with sand, too.
As you can see, the boys loved having sand all over them. Daddy stayed out with the boys at the beach while Mommy and Starks heading back to the house. Mommy got some early packing done and did some laundry, and Russ and the boys got to play a couple of hours more! We were touch and go on who and when people were coming down. Matt and Kristen decided to make the trip from outside the city (NYC) to the southern most point of New Jersey! Wow! While they were battling traffic, we ate some nice dinner, had someone FINALLY take a family picture of us- note the beard growth after 7 days of not shaving, and bought some Cape May gear!
We met up with Matt and Kristen in Washington Square, walked around a bit and headed back to the house to chat. A few beers, some wine, and catching up made for a very nice final evening at the shore! Anthony was having fun taking pictures all week, and this was a nice one he caught! We had a lot of fun with them, and we were taken aback by the long drive they took to see us. Are you feeling the love?
Thanks Matt and Kristen, for hanging out with us and sharing your weekend! Chicken Broccoli!!!!

Well, after naps, Jim,Heather, and Samantha Petolicchio arrived for the evening. We chatted at the house, drank some beer and headed off to.....WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY! If you've never been, it's a beach town with a VERY long boardwalk with three branching piers off of it. Each pier has an amusement park and water park, and the boardwalk is loaded with shops, food places, and craziness. So, the first "ride" we hit was to ride on the Monster Truck, "Jersey Devil." The boys were thrilled!

Next, we headed to the piers for bigger rides. Anthony and I rode a huge wooden rollercoaster, VERY FUN. Here is Starks riding with Sam on the Scramble.

The boys playing their second round of a water gun game to win the penguin stuffed animal- which Chas has adopted for himself.

And, as the evening drew on, we rode more rides to use up the tickets. I think we ended up leaving some time after 10 and got to the house close to 11pm. Again, trying to keep the boys on Pacific time, but they still kept waking on Eastern time!

We had a great time visiting with the Petos, and it was nice to chat and hang out all night. Thank you so much for coming down to see us, and we know it was a later night for you guys. Thanks!

Another run to Starbucks helped us gear up for the day! We were expecting friends to visit in the afternoon, so we headed straight to the beach after eating and took advantage of some leisure time there. Starks was definitely interested in being IN the water. He would smile, squeal, and want to float. When he was not in the water, he was lying down in, "swimming in" and digging in the sand.

I dug a deep hole for them to "slide" into and play. Here are pictures of Chas chillin' in the hole and looking like he's 18 years old.

We took turns taking the boys past the breakers, and Daddy even would take both Chas and Anthony out by himself. Starks and I went back to the house for the little man's nap, and Daddy and the older boys stayed at the beach soaking it all in!
They have the BEST tan lines on their hineys!

Well, we awoke with some Cafe Du Monde coffee courtesy of Deb and Sharmane, and after eating breakfast, we got ready for the day. Shortly after, Russ' parents and GG arrived.
GG is 82 years old, but she is spunky, energetic, with a bright mind, and flexible. She is not one of those people who just believe what they want because they always have. She listens and can be swayed if she deems the information compelling. She is just a wonderful woman who is greatly loved and admired.

Well, Russ and the boys hung out while I took Shar and family to Washington Square for shopping before heading to the ferry. We JUST made it in time for the ferry, and therefore, we wasted no time together! We used it all!

When I got back, Tracy had arrived, and we all headed down for some shopping this time with GG, MomMom and Pop, Tracy, and the girls. This is a picture of GG with 6 of her great-grandchildren.
We had a fabulous day together. Starks got much love- as did his hiney- and so did GG. Lunch was great, dinner was fantastic, the company was fun, and we all survived some sweltering heat! :) After our family left for the day, Russ, the boys and I headed back down to the beach. It was maybe 7pm, so the people were scarce. Given Starks' chaffing on his thighs from wet diapers and trunks, I opted to let him run around naked. OH JOY!! He was giddy with excitement, and he fell in love that evening with the ocean water. He squealed with delight splashing in the waves, and he was running everywhere! That began a battle in the following days to keep him from taking off his clothes, but it also sparked a love. Well worth it!
Thank You, Dad and Mom for picking up GG and giving us the opportunity to spend time with her. It was priceless. Thanks, too, for the doughnuts!

Wow! After some Starbucks and some craziness at the Lewes-Cape May Ferry, we FINALLY got Sharmane, Deb, the girls, Deb's Mom, and Deb's sister with her girls to the house. We very quickly geared up for the beach and headed out. The sea was angry the day before, but on this day, it had calmed down quite a bit with a much smaller and less violent surf. This made for some great time out past the breakers just treading water, floating, talking, laughing, being entertained by the people getting hit by the crashing waves closer to the beach, and just playing. It was nice to meet Deb's mom, Jean, meet Maria's girls, and see her again. They were very generous to share their goldfish and juices, and Deb was thoughtful to pick up some hot dogs for us, too, at lunchtime! Yum! Thank you for coming for the afternoon and for sharing my sister and nieces with me! It was a great day! Needless to say, all of that playing in the sun makes for tired people. Given my sister and family were only staying one evening, we opted to eat in and relax! After some great hoagies, chips and fountain drinks (sorry again, Shar, for dropping yours), we played and talked until almost 1am! Yikes! And, it seemed that even though we were putting the boys to bed later to try and keep them on Pacific time, they were waking up on Eastern time! What the? Anyway, we had an awesome day, as usual, with our family, and we loved just hanging out together. Thank you guys for coming to see us!!!!

Monday began with small, intermittent showers, but we still headed out to the beach after breakfast! At one point, we stopped at this plantation style home now a bed and breakfast for shelter from the rain. Of course, the rocking chairs called out to Russ immediately. Eventually, all of the men were rocking and enjoying the porch- as you see here.
Jeanine Polk, Russ' friend since high school and mine since having kids, ventured down with her parents and children. The kids had a ball playing in the house, then we headed down to the beach. The waves were HUGE given a storm at sea, and they were pounding the shore- and people. The kids had a great time digging a cliff into the sand, and Chas was the happiest that day with his playmates. He even said it was the best vacation and he didn't want to go home. We played in PA with the girls, but I was still surprised how they very quickly bonded again and just started playing together. What a great day!
Natalie is 9 months younger than Anthony- and they both have green eyes.
April is 9 months younger than Chas- and they both have blue eyes.

Her youngest, Chase, is six months younger than Starks- and they both have brown eyes! She is currently carrying her fourth- sex and eye color yet to be determined. :)
After another wonderful day at the beach and dinner in Washington Square, we set out for frozen custard- Kohr's- and home. I had such a great time catching up with Jeanine and her parents, the boys LOVED playing with the girls, and it was another fantastic day! Thank you, Jeanine and Mrs. McHugh, for venturing down and heading back so late, for the delicious New Jersey peaches and tomatoes (ALL were eaten!), and the tasty rolls. We are blessed to have such great friends!!

Well, we arrived Saturday at 9pm in Cape May after quite a long journey on Southwest and a two hour drive from Philly to the quaint "Charleston-like" town. Once packed into our beautiful townhouse, we headed straight to the ocean!! It was a beautifully, warm evening, and the boys were a little unsure about not being able to see anything but white from the crashing waves.

The next morning, we were spoiled upon the arrival of Russ' sister, Tracy, and her family- complete with food and Starbucks in tow. :)
We hung out a while inside and then promptly headed to the beach. It was beautiful, and the marine layer kept the temperatures comfortable. The girls and V played in the water, the sand, and did some handstands. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and playtime. After our showers post beach, we relaxed inside and then headed to Washington Square to shop and eat some dinner. Here, you see the boys "relaxing"

and then finding respite in a Scobby Doo video.
The whole day was wonderful, and it was great to see everyone. The girls are really becoming some young women, but it's nice to also see them playing and being young girls.
.
We threatened the kids with sending them inside this store if they got out of line.
Thanks, Tracy and Don, for making the trip down, making extra stops for coffee, bringing dessert, Philly pretzels, bagels, pepperoni bread, Tasty Cakes and Diet Coke! :) We were spoiled!

Well, this first picture is of Starksy trying on the Cat in the Hat hat! He's just hamming it up here. (I have to interject that he just walked up to me while I was typing and wiped greasy pizza crumbs on my arm to let me know he's been into it and is hungry NOW!) What a funny boy. The next is of Anthony's "ice experiment." He froze several things in water to see if they would change. What you see is a bracelet Chas made frozen in the ice. It did NOT change properties! However, we really enjoyed the spike shaped water bubbles in the ice.
This was last week. I taught the games portion of a VBS, and we took our neighbor and friend, Christian, with us for most of the week! It was really nice to have him, and being an only child, he thoroughly enjoyed having so much activity around him all day! After the final day, Amy stayed with us and shared our pizza night. This is a picture of all of the kids. You see here Adam in the foreground, then from L to R is as follows: Luke, Anthony, Chas, Jacob, Daddy, Starks and Christian. You can see they are all enthralled with the Scooby Doo they were watching! At one point, Starks was frustrated trying to get the blanket, then he walked it over to Daddy, placed it on him, and snuggled in it with him. (sigh... and Daddy's heart melts.) Life is good!!!