Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Day 3: NJ --> VA Roadtrip!



Up bright and early! Before we left, Breck insisted on checking out the plumbing.


First Stop: Seaside Heights, NJ


Hey Dadda... pass the lemonade, will ya?








Does this beach house look familiar to you Jersey Shore fans?? Now that filming has wrapped, you can rent it for ONLY $3,500/ night.



Second stop: Atlantic City, NJ

Third stop: Our last stop before finally arriving in VA was a quick detour into Philadelphia, so that Brian could pick up another Hard Rock pilsner. In the 15 minutes we were there, we got to experience the worlds smallest elevator (stench of urine + reminisce of blood splatter on the walls were free of charge) and a young man urinating on a building (who, may I add, was not homeless, just lazy). We did not feel compelled to photograph this brief endeavor. If we had more time though, we would have loved to have checked out the Liberty Bell.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Day 2: Remembering Grandma


My Grandparents and baby Judie



My Great Grand Parents



After the burial, we joined my aunts and uncles on a tour of where they (and my Dad) grew up.



The Packanack Lake house
Packanack Lake, NJ

The family lived here before my Dad and Uncle Ray were born

Uncle Ron, Aunt Judie, Uncle Ray



Aunt Judie sitting where she used to pose for her first day of school photos as a little girl!



The Fayson Lakes house
Fayson Lakes, NJ







DearPhotograph.com totally inspired me!
(Top from L: Uncle Ron, Grandma, Aunt Judie, Grandpa Opthof; Front from L: My Dad, Uncle Ray)









My Dad's old bedroom


The view from his room wasn't too shabby!




Seriously, how LUCKY were they to get to grow up on this beautiful lake??


On our walk to the reservoir where they used to play as young whipper snappers


At Fayson Lakes beach









Later that night we got a wild hair to head into Times Square to get Brian another Hard Rock Cafe Pilsner. Who would have thought that NYC would still be complete insanity after 10:00 PM on a weeknight?!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Day 1: Our Adventure Begins

Since Brecken's limited attention span would make for a torturous five hour flight, we opted for a red eye that got us into JFK at 6:00am. The good news, Brecken slept the whole flight. However, when we tried to check into our East Rutherford, NJ hotel early, we were turned away since all the rooms were full and nobody had checked out yet. So with nearly seven hours to kill, we did some exploring of the area... mainly hunting down some awesome reality show landmarks. Those who know me well know that this was pretty much a dream come true!


We made a trip over to Yankee Stadium so that Brian could pick up a Hard Rock Cafe pilsner glass from the YS location. He collects them from every place he's been. You should see his collection, it's quite impressive!


Carlos Bake Shop from The Cake Boss on TLC!!
We were going to stop in and get a cupcake... until we saw the line. No cupcake is worth standing in line THAT long. Sorry, Buddy!



At an incredible park in Hoboken, NJ, just across the water from NYC. The view was amazing! Our goal is to come back next summer and stay at the W - it overlooks this (and more):





THE BROWNSTONE!!!
For those of you who aren't in tune with the latest in reality tv smut, it's pretty much the epicenter of drama on the Real Housewives of NJ.

Speaking of the RHNJ, I made Brian drive me by a few of the housewives homes. Yes, I am THAT girl.

Jacqueline's house!
Apologies for the crappy shots. It's surprisingly difficult to take drive by pics... especially when the homes mansions are this big.

Caroline's house!!
Note to self: Stalking celeb house hunting is much easier in the Fall. Damn you trees!!

Crazy Teresa's house!!
Okay, so technically I took this pic the next day on our way back from a very important trip to Friendly's (my favorite!!!) with the fam, but for the sake of consistency decided to throw it in here. :-) Btw, her house is absolutely INSANE. The camera's (TV + mine) don't do it justice. No wonder these people are in financial trouble!!

One of my all time favorite people, KATE! Kate and I go waaay back, like friends since babies back. Nearly every summer as a kid I would fly out to NJ for a week to visit her and her family. I have soo many fond memories with Kate, oh and the trouble we'd get into (the Jersey Shore was our playground long before those MTV floozies)! For several years we were even pen pals (before the email days). When Kate and I met up for coffee that night, she brought me a binder with all of the letters I had written that she had saved. Sooo embarrassing (i.e. "I am so over my crush on BOY A, his skin burns, not tans.")!! How I wish we lived closer to eachother!

On a side note, Kate lives only TWO houses down from Teresa. No joke. You fellow RHNJ fans can only imagine my excitement! And by Kate's stories, I think it's safe to say that Teresa is nutso in real life too.

Our Northeast Adventure!

Now that we're back from our whirlwind trip back east, we've got scads of pictures and adventures to share with you! That said, I've decided it would be easiest to post day to day as I make my way through the hundreds upon hundreds of photos taken. Stay tuned!


(NYC, taken from Hoboken, NJ)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Hawaii June 2011

Many of you have been asking, and I've FINALLY got around to posting some of our favorite photos from our wonderful vacation to Hawaii to visit our friends, the Piateks. The trip was a blast and we were so pleased with how Brecken did despite the time change. Dennis and Elaine- thank you again for having us!! You are AMAZING hosts!!

Once again, prepare yourselves for an overload of photos...


















































Brecken and his lemon-limes!








Brian checkin' out Dennis' sweet pink moped








After Father's Day brunch at the Kahala Hotel


The BEST part about Hawaii?



Lots of laughs


Lots of good food and adult bevies!
Dennis is an incredible cook. Definitely one of the best we know- everything he makes is delish. The guy should seriously open a restaurant. Also, check out the Crown label. Pretty cool, eh?



But most of all, GREAT friends!








The WORST part about Hawaii?


Leaving. Hands down. *tears*