Fun times for the boys in NJ

Well, less than 24 hours and we are heading off to Abu Dhabi to start our new life! The boys have been having a great time. Right off the bat, they were welcomed with a sand pit built by Pop-pop in the backyard. How great is that!

Then, there's lot of movie nights:

There was pool time at the club, thanks to Uncle Doug and Auntie Myla:

Who knew the boys would love playing with little tea sets at the pool.

They sure love the water, especially Charlie. He thinks he can swim and sometimes even pushes my arms away while we're in the big pool.  I would put him on the side of the pool and he would jump straight into my arms. Talk about a trust exercise! Graham finally built up some courage to swim on his own with the floaties. We were all so proud of him!

Then there were cakes:

And we can't forget the ice-cream:

And lots of playing ball in the backyard as well at Grandma and Pop-pop's house:

Love the way Charlie winds up to kick the ball.  Too cute!  Graham was a little frustrated there because Bobby was suppose to follow him to another part of the yard to see some deer tracks.

Anyhow, we can't thank Grandma and Pop-pop again for having us at their home for the last 3 weeks!  We will miss everyone, but at the same time we are really excited to start our new life in a new country.  Worse case scenario - if it doesn't work out, it will be a one month vacation in a hotel in Abu Dhabi.  How bad can that be???  Oh wait, did I mention that it will be 110F when we arrive and also it's Ramadan right now, which means no eating or drinking in public even for non-Muslims!  Thankfully the kids will be exempted from this. Phew! Wish us luck! :-)

Boys' first visit to Boston

After our visit to Boston, we decided to take the boys up there. On the way there, we went to visit some friends of mine in Connecticut. Both Ann and Rich were my housing host back when I used to play a lot of golf on the Futures Tour.  Since West Hartford was on the way to Boston, we decided to drop by for a quick visit.  Lunch was great and the water fun after was even better! But first, helloooo???

Daddy getting the water hose ready.  Simon the dog wanted in on the action too:

Run!!!

Because here comes daddy!  Talk about great water pressure :-)

The boys love the water, especially Charlie:

Drenched for sure!

After the visit, it was onward to Boston.  The boys were fast asleep pretty quickly!

And when they awoke, it was talk time on the phone :-)

When we arrived at Hull, we geared up and headed towards the beach.  Graham loved it!

Charlie had doubts about the sand - so much of it!

He did warm up to the rocks though:

Graham loved throwing rocks into the ocean:

He just needs to remember not to squat too low when the waves come in!

And then, it was off to the fair.  Obviously, Graham wanted to play in every game!  Thankfully there were ones where they boys were guaranteed a toy:

Graham actually made 2 out of 3 baskets here!

Of course, we can't leave without getting on a ride.  Charlie was not quite tall enough. Poor fella!

They both did win batons and was happily running around like two crazy kids.  Wait,... they are crazy. Ha!

The next day, we had the boys board the ferry - this time off to Boston from Hull. It took over an hour and a half to get to Boston, but thankfully it didn't feel that long.  They enjoyed watching the airplanes come in when we were close to Logan Airport. There was an airplane that came almost directly over us. Too cool!

And there's the usual jelly fish sighting:

Here's a precious moment for daddy:

When we arrived in Boston, we found a playground that included a big sand pit and lots and lots of sand toys!

After that, it was a quick walk over to the splash pad.  Unfortunately, you have to keep pushing this knob on the side of these blocks and they were too difficult for the boys to do.

So after a while, we gave in, cleaned up, and opted for a HUGE dessert before getting back on the ferry.

I'm glad the boys enjoyed Boston and the beach.  More reason to get a summer home in Boston! :-)

Boston Getaway

Bob and I figured it might be nice to have a quick getaway and we picked Boston because it was easy to get to by train (3-hours from Penn Station in NY) and also who doesn't want to get some nice fresh seafood! Here's a look of the New York skyline on our way out to Boston from the train:

We stopped at the Back Bay train (T) stop and walked to our hotel.  It was such a nice day - such good vibes in Boston!

And how about these City Toilets!?  I wasn't quite brave enough though to pay and check it out. Maybe next time :-)

We found our little hotel and thankfully we didn't have any heavy luggage:

Early dinner of risotto with shrimp and scallops. YUM!

Later that night, we went to catch a baseball game. Go Sox! We are so jumping on the bandwagon here if we buy a summer home in Boston!

The next day, it was off to this "island" sort of called Hull in a commuter ferry. The ferry ride takes about 25 minutes and it even makes a stop at the airport:

What an awesome backdrop of downtown Boston from the ferry:

Check out these jelly fish by the dock. YIKES!

There were other cool things to see in Boston, like this wall of old sewing machines in one of the stores at Back Bay:

And pretty gardens at Boston Common:

And can't forget the yummy Chinese food in Chinatown.  I'm not sure if Bobby was actually comfortable eating noodles for breakfast, but at least he tried :-)

What a nice break!  Thanks to my in-laws for watching the boys. Hopefully we'll be able to get a little place here in the near future.  It would be so great for the boys too as there's so much for them to learn and do here. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Happy Father's Day

My mom-in-law and I were just browsing around the mall with the 2 boys when I came across some pillow cases.  I thought these for perfect us!  Here's one for Bobby:

And then, this one is for me :-)

Can't wait to use them in Abu Dhabi! 

Happy birthday to me!

My birthday was actually 2 weeks ago, on June 12th.  Nothing to get too excited about since I'm only 2 years away from the big 40.  I'm really not looking forward that!

We celebrated my birthday at my in-laws in NJ, as we are here during our "holding pattern" so to speak before we leave for Abu Dhabi.  I opted for just pizza at home:

YUM!

I think Charlie really liked it:

And then, cake - chocolate, of course:

Family pic!

I guess you can tell you loves cake!

Thank you Grandma and Pop-pop for having all of us at your home.  Can't believe we will be leaving for Abu Dhabi in 5 days (July 1)!