Beach Day!

My brother-in-law was sent to Chicago for business this past week, so Alenna brought the kids and their dog to NJ for a few days. I was able to work some extra time last week to get ahead at the office, and my boss had no problem with me taking some time off this week to enjoy my visitors.

On Wednesday, their first full day in NJ, the weather was beautiful so we headed to the beach. My in-laws usually spend 2 weeks at a condo in Atlantic City each summer, and Wednesday was the last day of their rental. Thankfully my in-laws are some of the most hospitable people you will ever meet, and they graciously allowed us to invite ourselves down to their condo! We arrived in Atlantic City around 11am and, after layering up on sun block, we joined my in-laws at the beach.

Here's Mom Cundey (Maureen), along with Alenna and Cora.

Cora was so happy to be at the beach!

Dad Cundey (or Mr. Bruce as Aiden and Seth were calling him) impressed the boys by making a car out of sand.

My other nephew, Julian, spent part of the day collecting the dead jelly fish that kept washing up on the beach. (No, you can't get stung by the dead ones!) Alenna and I were pretty grossed out by this, but Aiden and Seth thought it looked like fun and soon all the boys were gathering them in buckets. (Someone had teased Julian by telling him that jelly comes from boiling jelly fish, and the boys were diligently trying to accumulate enough to feed us all! Don't worry, we - eventually - told them the truth and I don't think anyone was scarred for life, though they were a bit disappointed.)

Marney, my sister-in-law, and Mom Cundey encouraged the boys to make sand angels, and Aiden really got into it! He was completely unfazed at having a thick layer of sand stuck to him, though Seth didn't want to get that "dirty".

(Based on that, even those who find it difficult to tell Aiden and Seth apart will be able to figure out which is which in this picture!)

Here I am with Marney and Julian.

Dad Cundey helped Aiden and Seth with boogie boarding and they were so thrilled at the experience! (When we got home that evening the boys kept telling Uncle David that they went "surf boarding for the very first time!")

Even Seth, who is a little more cautious than Aiden at trying new things, had a wonderful time on the boogie board!

Julian, who has been boogie boarding like a pro since last summer (when he was 4!) was very kind with sharing his board with the two newbies.

When it was time to head home we walked back to the condo so that the kids could get baths before our 1 1/2 hour drive. Day trips to the beach are very convenient when you don't have to bring tons of sand home with you!

I had a wonderful day with all 8 family members! Thanks Mom and Dad Cundey for a great beach day!

Crosby Family Reunion

Last week we went to Coudersport, PA for the annual Crosby family reunion. Despite some rain, it was a good time of visiting with family. Here's a few memories!

The whole gang, after lunch on Thursday (minus Dan and Cora Loucks).

Seth, enjoying the watermelon that Grandpa Crosby brought from NC.

A toy at the playground provided fun for the little kids and the bigger kids!

Here's David with Cora, Seth and Ellie.

Seth and Aiden convinced Grandpa Crosby to play on the jungle gym with them.

And yes, he really went down the "fireman's pole" after the boys did!

(I guess he forgot that he's 84 years old!!)

Seth enjoyed looking at books and toys with his Great-Aunt Bonnie.

On Friday morning the Howard Crosby family went to the Homer Cemetary.

This is where my mother, my father's parents, my aunt, and many other ancestors are buried.

Ellie and Uncle David, picking Queen Anne's Lace at the cemetary.

The Howard Crosby family on Friday afternoon. Dan, Cora, Alenna, David, J, Lori, me, Seth, Dad, Aiden, Gene, Ellie, Howie and Hannah. (My sister in law, Mary Jane, had left Friday morning.)

Baby Cundey News

We found out at the end of May that we're pregnant, but (due to a previous miscarriage) we waited many weeks to start telling people. We're now 15 weeks along and Baby Cundey looks healthy! He/she is due January 25th.

Here's our ultrasound picture from July 19th (13 weeks).

1st Anniversary

One year ago today we brought Sophie home... we made it through our first year together! Looking back, the good has outweighed the bad (by far!) so I certainly can't complain. The first 2 weeks were torture (Sophie didn't really know who we were or what we wanted, and we kept thinking "what have we done?!"). The next 6 weeks were better, but still somewhat stressful. Finally, by October, we'd all settled into a routine! Ever since then we've commented to each other (multiple times) how thankful we are that we got her. She has such a sweet disposition and brings so much joy to our home. We're looking forward to many more years together!

Meeting Sophie on June 26th, 2010

Sophie on June 26th, 2011

It's been 4 weeks since I posted about the garden and (despite the heat wave we've experienced lately) things have been going well! The corn is taller than me (well, some of it), the peppers are starting to come out and we've even got some cantaloupes showing up!

Garden Progress

All our plants have shot up a lot in the past couple weeks! It's been so great to see all our hard work start to pay off. Here's some pictures of the progress so far...

The basil will be getting it's first cutting this weekend.

The corn is almost knee-high.
The roma tomatoes are 1-2 inches long.

Maryland's Eastern Shore

Today I took a drive to Easton, Maryland to visit my friend, Karen. The Eatern Shore of Maryland, where she lives, has an abundance of old towns, complete with brick sidewalks, mom & pop restaurants and cute stores. We only ventured about 20 minutes from Karen's apartment, but I had a wonderful time getting acquainted with the local area.


We spent part of the afternoon in Oxford and rode the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry while we were there. This ferry was established in 1683 and is believed to be the oldest privately operated ferry service in the country.

Karen taught me how to tell the age of an oyster. (It involves cutting the shell, so she only explained the process.)

Later we drove to St Michaels and sat outside at Ava's Restaurant for our pizza dinner. (I got the specialty pizza... spinach and meatballs. Yum!)

Sprinkler Fun

When we're working in the gardens Sophie loves to run around and (occasionally) get into trouble. So, like parents who use TV to get a break from their kids, we set up the sprinkler to keep Sophie entertained while we get some work done. Thus far, this seems to be the perfect toy to keep her occupied. Seriously. She only stops playing when we turn it off!

Simple Gardening

After my father helped us build 2 raised garden beds, David decided to expand the beds to a total of 5. We put down biodegradable weed barrier that we can mix into the soil at the end of the season. And (my favorite part!) David dug a trench in our yard, laid down pipe and then (with the use of spider irrigation) ran individual emitters to each plant. We won't need to worry about dragging a hose around the yard to keep the plants hydrated! And, since we've already experienced temperatures in the 90's, our plants need lots of water so they don't die.


We're growing tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, watermelons, cantaloupes, string beans, basil and corn. I'm looking forward to all the fresh vegetables and fruit that we're going to have this summer!

Sometimes She Acts Like a Kitten

If Sophie had her way, she would have David or me play with her for 90% of her waking hours. Since that is not a possibility, it is nice that she has learned how to keep herself entertained. It means that dog toys are strewn all over the house, but I've gotten used to watching where I walk.

The other day she got a new toy that had a bell inside it, and I had an hour to read my book in peace while she chased the toy around the living room. I got the camera out so that I could show David how much she was enjoying her toy (since he was still at work). Notice how she paws at the toy, nudges it with her nose and purrs?/growls? at it. Sometimes our Boxer reminds us of a playful kitten!