Daddy's On Vacation!

Our weekend away in Lewes, Delaware kicked off two weeks of vacation for Pete.  We decided to spend the first part of our vacation in New York.  Our first stop was to visit Gran on Roosevelt Island.  We enjoyed a lot of good food at Trellis, and then spent the afternoon walking around the Island. 

 

The highlight for the girls was the sprinkler park.  They would have stayed there all day. My favorite was watching them try to figure out how to fill water balloons in the fountain.  They were working so hard together.

The next day we celebrated Mom & Dad's 40th Anniversary with Aunt Jessie & Sara, Uncle Matt, Aunt Jill & Penelope.  Eliana and Leah were thrilled to spend time with their cousins. We attempted a professional family portrait at Sands Point Preserve.  The kids all looked especially adorable, despite the 95 degree heat and mosquito attacks.  We celebrated with dinner at Benihana, and the kids of course loved the ice cream.

 Happy 40th Anniversary to Mom & Dad!!  We love you!!!

We had a lot more fun that did not get captured on film, including a lovely trip to the beach, a trip back to Roosevelt Island where we rode the tram and went to Dylan's Candy Bar, and a secret grownups only excursion to Ralph's late at night.  (Philadelphian's, Rita's is NOTHING compared to Ralph's.  Once you've had Ralph's you can't go back.)



These pictures do capture the essence of our very long car ride home though.  After several hours in traffic, little Leah has had it.  And below, Eliana is making good use of our spacious minivan, and portable potty, as we're pulled over on the side of the NJ Turnpike. 

Back home in Pennsylvania we continued to enjoy Pete's vacation.  The playground is definitely more fun with Daddy around.  He pushes way higher on the swings!  So high that Mommy can't even watch!! 

 

We went on outings to Happy Tymes, U-Swirl, and even the Mann Music Center for a concert.  And we really enjoyed hanging out with beloved houseguest, "Aunt Jenise," but more on that later!

  But MOSTLY what we enjoyed was the emergence of the man you see below, who we call Vacation Pete around here.  Vacation Pete smiles bigger, laughs more, and tells the corniest jokes ever.  Once removed from the stress of Lakeside School, Vacation Pete is in rare form, and you never know what could happen!  I can't even imagine if he got rid of the Blackberry for a few weeks!!!  :-)

Peter is back at work now, and while we're sad to see Vacation Pete go, we are glad that he had the luxury of a vacation, and that he has a good job to return to.  The kids are still adjusting to Daddy being back at work.  When Pete left for work Monday morning Eliana woke up to tell him that she had already started missing him, and all week Leah has been calling out the window every time she hears a lawnmower.  Whether it is Vacation Pete or Regular Pete, he is a popular guy around here.