I'm on a roll!

VBS
Lisé just finished up her 2nd Vacation Bible School. The first time was in June, and it was here in AH. She loved it so much that I searched out another at the Baptist Church down the street. On Thursday night, she had her program.




Can't keep them out of the new cabinet



Brusha, Brusha, Brusha

As soon as Abri hears you turn the water on, she comes running to climb atop the toilet to brush her teeth.
Fun in the sun

This afternoon, Abri had a little "Me" time in the backyard. Lise' was napping. She had GO GO (aka Dora the Explorer), and she made sure she wasn't parched from the heat by giving her ice cubes.

Bad medicine is What I Need

Living in New Jersey finally has its perks. It's no secret that I've been a Bon Jovi fan for over 25 years now. And, one of the first questions I asked our realtor was, "Where is his house." It turns out it's just down the street from us. Unfortunately, he now resides in NYC for the majority of the year, but from time to time, the gates at the street are closed, so you have to wonder if he's in residence. It turns out his wife used to run a martial arts studio here in Atlantic Highlands, and his keyboard artist lives here in town. So, the Bon Jovi fever is alive here in Atlantic Highlands and all of NJ being that he is a native.

The best part about being here is that you don't have to be a closet BJ fan. Months ago, my friend Karen told me that we'd have to get tickets to see him when he came to NYC. Those tickets went fast, and the only ones left were over $300 a piece-not exactly in my price range. But then, we got wind of a free concert in Central Park. The key was to find out how I might get my hands on those tickets. The answer was a general lottery. It was a concert in celebration of the All-Star game at Yankee stadium, and they were handing out a set number of tickets at each of the 5 boroughs of NYC. Unfortunately, I didn't find this out in time to get mine. Plan B was to enter my email into another lottery. BINGO, I won 2 tickets! I couldn't believe it. Now I just had to find a babysitter. Not an easy task! After 3 no's, we finally got a yes from our "old" neighbors from Dallas, Dan and Richie. They live in Hoboken, which is just across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Perfect! It was all set, but then Lise' woke up with a cold and saying her tummy hurt. It all seemed to be working against us, but thankfully she improved in the day. We headed up to Hoboken, hung out at their apartment to let the girls warm up to them, fed them dinner and hopped on the train into the city.

We literally arrived at Central Park 5 minutes before the band was playing. People had been there in line since 2 am, and there were 60,000 people there, and because were walked in right before, we were at the back. It was great though. The weather couldn't have been prettier, and we were able to weasel our way toward the center of the crowd. We didn't need to be front, it's actually where all the 'youngins' were-you know the ones who weren't alive when there were still actual music videos on MTV. The show was great.
Go ahead, click on the pics, you'll see Mr. Jon Bon Jovi

They played for 2 straight hours and only quit b/c there were strict rules with the city to shut down at 10pm. I can't tell you the last time B and I went out to a concert. It was amazing to be in the park. I kept reminding myself where we were. Afterwards, we walked around the city a little, but we soon realized that the kids would be up by 7am, so we couldn't paint the town red. The Empire State Building showing it's Americn Pride

Be jealous of me though, it was a great concert, in a great city, and it was FREE! Looking across the Hudson River at NYC

July in a Nutshell

Hello again,

Nope, I haven't forgotten about all of you people who are addicted to my blog. It's just we've been having so much fun this summer that I'm too tired to blog at night. At the moment, we're planning a road trip south, so hopefully, you'll be sufficiently satisfied until I have time for another blog. It's always my goal to blog while traveling, but the reality of it just isn't there.

Fourth of July
Unfortunately, being 1500 miles from Louisiana, we weren't able to travel back to celebrate Gramps' life. The Landry family was in our hearts that weekend, and we wish we could have been there in person. Hugs to all of you.

We did a few people from USG over for a BBQ. We did a brisket in the oven. It was the first time we used an oven bag for it. It sure was easy and delicious! It was a test run for our upcoming BBQ for our neighbors. It's definitely a winner and EASY too!

Texas Oven Brisket
This is an absolutely wonderful way to cook brisket. The result is tender, succulent and flavorful. And it's practically foolproof. The wonderful aroma will fill your house and make you, and anyone else who comes along, impatient for it to get done.
5- to 6-pound fresh beef brisket, well trimmed
1 cup barbecue sauce (your favorite)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup liquid smoke (Colgin's® is best)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons celery salt
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup water
Preheat oven to 275°F.

In a very large Pyrex baking dish, thoroughly mix all ingredients for sauce. Put the brisket in the baking dish, and turn it over once to coat it with the sauce. Seal the dish tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Bake at 275°F for 5 to 7 hours (about 1 hour and 15 minutes per pound). Remove from oven and allow to stand for 1 hour before slicing. Slice across the grain, and serve with sauce. Makes 8 to 10 servings.



After filling our bellies with delicious food there was a round of Guitar Hero with the Wii. As you can see, we had 2 dogs in the house, which the girls LOVED! Abri woke up the next morning screaming "DOGGIE, DOGGIE" from her crib.


Following the Wii off...we headed out for the fireworks. The weather had threatened rain all day, but we went anyway. As we were walking up the hill the drizzle started, and so did the fireworks (15 min early-I'm guessing b/c of the weather). Lise' and I took off running for a better view. She was in the stroller, and I was the motor. It was an uphill run, and thankfully, the fireworks show was worth it. We were soaked in the end, but the girls loved it.

Other than that, we've been hanging around the house. I'd love to tell you that we've finished another room, but it seems our social life is on the rise, so we're always at playgroups, bbqs, and casual dinners with friends.

Here's a few fun pics of our exciting lives.
It makes us want 8 more



Learning to use the umbrella

We're currently letting Lise's bangs grow out. I'm tired of having to trim them every other day, so she's in the phase where it just looks bad.


An ice cream break at one of the summer bbqs

How to get chocolate stains out of clothes...soak in OXY Clean overnight


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Note: Before you prepare the brisket, remove it from the refrigerator far enough ahead of time to allow it to come to room temperature.

I survived

I can finally walk again. It took a good 3 days though. Who would have thought a bee could pack so much of a punch. An entire 24 hours after the sting, my foot puffed up like a balloon. It felt like it had a sunburn that was increasing in intensity. Very strange. I did get a somewhat good picture of it. You can see the swelling in the toe an ankle area on the left foot. Just what you always wanted to see, I know.

Luckily, it improved enough for us to take Lise' down to the Fireman's Fair in our town at the waterfront. She rode a couple of rides, but her favorite was the giant slide and the kids "fun house" which included running through boxing bags, then through a ball pit, climbing up a wall, across a hanging bridge and then down a slide.

What's my IQ?

Have you ever seen "Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" My life should be titled, "are you smarter than a 16 month old."

Due to the fact that my foot is itching like crazy and swelling on and off as my body fights off the bee venom, I've taken some Benedryl to relieve the discomfort. Unfortunately, it comes with the side effect of drowsiness, which I've been most of the day. I'll sit down for a few minutes and snooze for a second or two. During one of these timeouts, apparently Abri climbed up on the chair next to the computer and typed away. In addition to attempting to download some sort of program, she turned my screen 90degrees to the left, so as I'm typing this, I'm having to tilt my head to read. That being said, I cannot for the life of myself figure out how to remedy this situation. I've pushed all the shift/control/function keys I can find, but nothing works. I"m sure I learned this in school at some point, but considering that was the last ice age, I cannot be blamed for the lack of memory. I'm certain B will fix it in a flash when he gets home from work, but in teh meantime, I'm in a ball of frustration. Wish me luck.
"

Warning to all flip flop wearers

STAY AWAY FROM THE CLOVER!

Ok, that may be a little extreme, but I have my reasons.

I am an avid flip flop wearer. I simply love the comfort and ventilation. That being said, I may have to alter my ways.

The preface to this story is that we chose not to park in our driveway at the moment b/c our neighbors mulberry tree covers the car, along with a heck of a lot of bird poop. (That is an entirely different story). So, we're parking on the street. Today, I went to get Abri out of the car, and I was on the curb side, so I first shuffled through the grass (read weeds/clover that when mowed resembles grass). At that very moment, an unsuspecting honey bee must have gathered his last speck of pollen before he found himself under my foot. By no fault of his own, he did what any self respecting bee would do, and he jammed his little rear into my foot-right there on the bottom where the toes meet the larger part of the foot. Yes, in the TENDER skin. Of course, all I felt was instant pain, but I had a sleeping child in one arm and another that needed to get to the potty, so it was a good 5 min until I was able to pull not just the stinger, but the bee booty that was attached out of the bottom of my foot. I can't tell you the last time I was stung. That was sometime around noon today, and I can honestly say the dang thing still hurts! My foot is swollen too, and I can't bend my toes for the pain. I'd take a picture for you, but I don't think it will really come across because I dont' have fat feet to begin with, so what is swollen to my foot is normal to others. All this on a day when B is out of town. I'll accept any and all sympathy from you readers out there.

Heed my warning, and DO NOT SHUFFLE IN FLIP FLOPS thru the clover.