Skyler and Sadie: The New Year in NJ!

We decided to head up to NJ for the New Year. I LOVE NJ in the Fall...at least, where I grew up. It's lush and colorful and crisp. Everything you think of when you think of this season. Plus, we pretty much won't be heading back up there until way after x-mas. It was a short stay, which Skyler was extremely disappointed about, but we packed in a ton of activities and had a fabulous time. I have uploaded pictures from Day 1 which was SO MUCH FUN! And spent around the house and lake. Perfect way to get some outside time in between all...of.....the....rain. The sun came out today and I literally felt weird seeing it. Anyway, Friday we headed to the ferry in Weehawken to head into NYC. We went to see the Intrepid, which Skyler and Michael loved. Sadie was a bit disappointed because she wasn't tall enough to see the submarine, but she still saw the inside of the ship. Saturday was kind of rainy and cold, so we chose to go to the local country fair. We weren't expecting anything much, which is why I didn't bother to take my camera (and I'm kicking myself for that!), but we had such a great time! It ended with pony rides and mini golfing and lots of smiles and fun had by the kiddos.

Here are pics from Day 1:)

Papa had the great idea of searching for worms in the yard to use as bait. Here they are turning some rocks and finding the worms.

Skyler's turn...he flipped the rock and was so psyched that he actually found worms underneath!

Proud of his worm bucket.

Now he was into it...the search continued all around the house.

Ready to fish! Skyler had never really been fishing before and didn't know what to expect. A storm was rolling in and we were crossing our fingers that 'something' happened for him.

My dad was the only brave one who would actually put the worms on the hook. This is how I remember him from when we used to fish when I was a kid.

Could they look any more a like? Not including the hair of course:)

And the fishing begins!

The boys:)

He started getting nibbles and finally the fish took the bait! SO EXCITING!!! Skyler was beyond thrilled...surprised....and couldn't wait to do it again!

But, the storm was literally rolling across the lake, so we quickly packed up and jumped in the car just in time.

Post storm, Nana had the great idea of putting the rain boots on and jumping in the puddles. My kids LOVE to jump in any standing water, no matter how small or big. So, this was the best activity ever for them. By the end, they were soaked, dirty, and loaded with very big smiles:)

Can you see how muddy all of these splashes are??

Nana wanted them to check out the 'big mud puddle'. Here they are checking it out....

And the rest is history!

They were filthy...so, the next logical place to go was the creek! They hiked to the back and threw rocks in the water until we dragged them into the house for their baths.