Last Weeks of 2011

Beware when shopping at Lowes-you never know what will end up in the back of your truck with your plants...
Erica getting ready to get her braces put on,
Evan testing for his brown belt,

breaking boards,

Evan was the highest ranking person testing so he got to bow everyone in and out, this will probably be the only time this will happen,

Erik took Evan kayaking,

I went shopping with Erica and we saw the most beautiful magi ever, Erica noticed they were each on a different animal,
we also saw the most beautiful kimono ever,

Erik took the kids to a shipyard Christmas party,


Erica and Rachel decorating a gingerbread house,
Erica dissecting a shark at science lab,

decorating Christmas cookies,
Christmas Eve...
Erik starts cutting up our dining room carpet,

scrubbing the red dirt off the concrete,
we were originally going to acid wash the concrete and just use it but Erik had a better idea,
taking a silly break,
laying the flooring,
taking a Christmas bread break, Erik showed Evan how to make this little lantern-I was so impressed,
the flooring is done in the dining room,
it looks so awesome Erik decides to do the whole floor, breaking tile in the foyer-note the wall next to the steps,
it was a mess,

scrubbing,
taking a tree trimming break...I am sure there is an easier way to do this...
oooh, half way,
oh wow, the walls, next to the steps are gone-hurray!
taking a air-soft game break,

two weeks with braces-so far so good,
she had to go back for her jaw expander
the floor is gorgeous, we are loving it,

the closet took Erik a whole day,

picking out a paint color for the walls now,

taking a rc-car break-this car is a lot of fun,
Evan and Erica have been walking Nalu in the mornings...actually I think Nalu walks Evan...

My Parent's Trip to Cape May NJ

Our most recent CCBC bus trip was to Cape May, NJ and it was a very nice overnight trip. Our hotel was the Marquis de Lafayette Hotel centrally located on the ocean and at the same time within easy walking distance of downtown Cape May, the view from our room of the ocean was very nice. 

We had both talked of a visit to Cape May but had never made it there until now and we're happy we did because of all the Victorian homes in Cape May, the tour guide told us that Cape May had the most Victorian homes of any city in the US, plus Cape May had one Colonial period home that has been restored.  

Our house tour was of the Emlen Physick Estate, a beautifully restored Victorian home that was built by a doctor. A group of concerned historians took possession of the Emlen Physick Estate after it had fallen into a total state of disrepair and from there totally restored it. 

While touring the Emlen Physick Estate we were happy to see that all the "ginger bread" wood decorations had been totally restored inside and out. We were also happy to see the dark and somewhat cluttered house decor of hanging paintings, family portraits, furnishings, mounted animal heads and all the period holiday decorations faithfully restored to the Victorian era. 

We walked around the town taking photos plus we had two trolley tours, during the daytime tour so we could see all the houses and the tour after dark so we could enjoy the holiday lights on the same houses. The largest Victorian in Cape May that is open to the public is the Southern Mansion and nearby is the Inn of Cape May which is still a hotel, according to the tour guide it once provided a setting for a party for Bessie Wallis Warfield before she married either Mr. Simpson or the Duke of Windsor.  Another large and old hotel in Cape May, the Congress Hall, it's where President Harrison stayed, it became his summer White House. While there he was entertained by the US Marine Corp band.