Not long after our trip to Italy, we decided to head out to NJ for a quick last minute trip. I suppose that's the nice thing about having Bobby work for an airline! We made our decision at about 4:30pm one afternoon for a 2:50am flight later that day (after the 5:30pm yoga session, of course :-)
I do not like these red-eye flights!
And oh, by the way - this is my first flight alone with the boys! Of course, I had to pick a long-haul flight. 13 hours, baby!
After struggling to get the boys and the stroller through the gate/barrier after passport control, with a little help from other travelers thankfully, we are on our way! After not one but two security checks and being randomly selected for the US screening/check, we finally made it to our gate. One boy up and discovering Pringles for the first time:
And now, both up with good timing as we are boarding the plane soon:
I do have to say, the boys are "trained" pretty well now once we get on the plane. We are so lucky to be able to travel in the lap of luxury, which was probably why I wasn't too afraid to travel on my own with the boys:
Graham is getting in the pre-flight check down to a T:
I was finally able to convince one boy to go to sleep:
And then, the other! It's so funny how Graham loves to wear those black-out eye shades:
As usual, Graham did not eat much during the flight but decided to inhale this huge bowl of rice krispies with milk just as we are getting ready to land!
Yay... almost there!
Hmm.... Charlie is still sleeping! Of course, he decides to wake up and start screaming as we are already on the descend. And a mother had to do, what a mother had to do... to save the insanity of all the other passengers nearby:
Ahhh... it's good to be back in the US. But why does the traffic from JFK have to be so bad!? After the long flight, the car ride seemed forever! The long awaited sight of the bridge getting closer was a good sign:
We normally stay with Grandma and Pop-pop, but unfortunately they were not feeling so great after the trip to Italy. So first off, after unloading at Uncle Doug's - it was time to call Grandma and Pop-pop to check up on both of them:
The next day, it didn't take long for Auntie Myla to bring out the toys for the boys. Everyone loves Thomas and train tracks!
It didn't take long for the boys to discover the video games too. Graham, especially wanted to play it everyday!
They both loved this particular sword fighting one. It was too cute watching them play:
Graham and Charlie also loved the pool, especially having cousin Madison and her friend around too. Charlie, as usual has no fear of the water and loved jumping off the diving board!
Graham, on the other hand wanted nothing to do with jumping into the pool or even getting his hair wet. He loved playing with the noodle and was using it like a big straw, filling it up and then blowing it out. For whatever reason, he kept calling it the Grand Canyon. I think he probably meant to say "Graham Canon!":
And there were more laughter when Uncle Doug decided to join in on the fun with the garden hose. Too funny!
And even funnier when Graham tries to get up the steps when he's wrap up like a burrito for shower time :-)
On one of the days, we decided to take a quick trip into town. We figured we'd get our fix on some ice-cream. I'm surprised the boys haven't asked for more gelato since being back from the gelato-land of Italy:
Looks like Abu Dhabi isn't the only place with fancy cars! This Polaris brand car actually only had 3 wheels:
A little stroll in town. It was a nice break from the HOT weather of Abu Dhabi:
Ahh... nice green trees too. Happy Daddy and Charlie! Oh, forgot to mention that Bobby took the next flight out the next day to join us in NJ. Yay! :-)
The boys hanging out with cousin Madison and her friend Sophie:
We were waiting for Auntie Myla to finish up her hair appointment. Soooo... why not stop for another ice-cream?! Graham opted for the chocolate covered marshmallows instead:
On a lazy rainy morning (you realize how much you miss these after being in Abu Dhabi!), we had coffee on the covered porch. Looks like Charlie got a hold of the camera again!
He loves taking selfies!
Time for some breakfast cereal and cartoon:
The boys snuggling with auntie Myla:
Of course, what Graham does Charlie wants to do next!
We even had some time for putt-putt. Mommy was looking for some new golf shoes in the store but didn't find any :-(
More pool time! This time at the golf club. Graham and Charlie has played here before and obviously got comfortable very quickly:
See what I mean???!
Dinner time at the club and so happy that Grandma and Pop-pop were feeling better to join us! Cousin Matthew made it too:
It was a short trip yet somehow it didn't seem it. Matching outfits again for the plane ride. Hmm... maybe we need to coordinate Daddy as well next time :-)
Trying to catch the British Open at the airport. Obviously the bar did not think to position the table or the pendant light very well in relation to the TV!
Charlie, Mommy, and Daddy were so tired when we returned back to Abu Dhabi, but Graham was back to his normal routine - waking up at 7am the very next day to watch cartoons on TV. The 3 of us stayed up late of course and Graham was completely knocked out on the floor watching his favorite movie.
Never a dull moment in the Pridgen household. Looking forward to our next adventure!
