A trip to New Jersey!!
So we finally got to do it! Mike and I flew to New Jersey to visit with Stacy and Jason and the grandchildren. We flew in on a Saturday night Nov. 1st. after a really good flight...it went really fast considering we left at 8:00 in the morning and got to New Jersey about 8:00 p.m.!
We had a wonderful time there. Stacy and Jason have made a very nice home in New Jersey. They live in a beautiful neighborhood in Williamstown. They have a large yard with lots of grass for Jason to mow! There is a pond just behind their backyard where we could see the ducks and all the beautiful fall foliage from their dining room and kitchen windows.
It was so fun to see Ben, Sammie and Cailin! They are all growing way to fast. Ben is so grownup and doing so well in school, Sammie is so funny and happy go lucky and Cailin is just what Grandpa calls the epitome of cute!
The kids warmed up to us pretty quickly and we had a lot of fun being around them. It was fun watching them during their scripture reading before bedtime. They got to pick some of their Halloween candy to eat while Jason read from the scriptures. He would stop every now and then and ask Ben or Sam if they knew what something meant or asked them a question. Ben knew most of the answers and even Sammie was able to chime in. One night Sammie kept interrupting Jason and asking him what different words meant. Jason would stop and explain the meaning of the word and then continue reading only to be interrupted a minute later by Sammie asking what the meaning of another word was. It was so cute.
Cailin loved playing with her baby dolls and playing with Grandpa. The boys had fun jumping on the mattress we were sleeping on and wrestling around! It is great being a grandparent and just enjoying everything about the grandchildren!
On Sunday we went to their ward and had a very nice time. Their ward was so friendly! They even welcomed us there from the pulpit in Sacrament Meeting. It was funny...before sacrament meeting started this lady came over and said to dad "I had to come and ask you this...has anyone ever told you that you look just like President Ulchtdorf of the First Presidency?" I told Mike he should have spoke in German to her with his best German accent! Sunday night Jason made a wonderful dinner with pork chops. We had a wonderful Sabbath.
Cailin on Sunday afternoon.
On Monday morning we headed for Philadelphia to see the sights. Sammie in the car getting ready to go!
Ben 
In Philadelphia we got to walk around enjoying the historic city. We visited Constitution hall where we got to "pretend vote for president".
Here is Stacy leaning in to share a secret or give a kiss...you be the judge!
Here I am thinking with...I don't remember his name but he wasn't very friendly...kind of a cold stiff character! 
Mike and I in front of the Liberty Bell...don't judge my hair...it was a very humid, rainy day!
Independence Hall where the declaration of Independence was signed! How cool is that. To stand in the very place where history was made!
Sammie, Cailin and Ben in Philadelphia!
Tuesday we got up and went back across the Ben Franklin Bridge to take a tour of the SS New Jersey! It was very interesting but there was a lot of walking and walking and climbing up very narrow and steep stairways. The living quarters etc. were so cramped...space was at a premium. It would be very difficult to be at sea! The kids did very well on the tour. We all had a set of headphones that we listened to on our tour. Ben and Sammie had their own headphones with a younger version of the tour on them.
Here is Mike, Sammie, Ben, Stacy and Cailin with the SS Ne Jersey behind them.
On Wednesday we headed off to find the New Jersey Devil...or at least the "Blue Hole" where he had been spotted. We had a hard time finding the place where we could start the hike. Stacy found some directions that someone had posted on the Internet on how to find it. After a little bit of driving back and forth we found the turn off. The hike started from a gun firing range. There was a man and his son at the range. Mike asked them about the "Blue hole", the man said he had been all around that area and never saw the blue hole. We decided we were on an adventure and decided to press on. It was a raining a little and all the foliage was just beautiful. According to the directions there were supposed to be blue dots painted on the trees to help direct us. After a little bit of walking...we hoped in the right direction we saw the first blue dot on a tree. We found more and kept following the path. We found the "Blue hole"! A beautiful little lake that was so clear, it had some Lily pads growing in it and out in the middle a log with a turtle on it that we could just barely make out. But sad....or glad to say we never saw the New Jersey Devil! It was a beautiful hike through the woods though. Cailin walked the whole way up and back by herself...if Stacy picked her up and tried to carry her she kicked and yelled til she was put down! After our hike we got in the car and headed for Cape May light house. It was a nice drive. When we got there it was really raining hard and the wind was blowing pretty good. We got out, ate our lunch we brought, walked along the beach a little way and then viewed the lighthouse. It was closed so luckily we didn't have to go in and climb the million stairs to the top!
Here is Stacy, Cailin, Ben and Sammie (under the Spongebob umbrella) hiking to the "Blue Hole".
The Blue Hole!
On Thursday we went to the Philadelphia Zoo...who knew it was the oldest zoo in the country!
It was a really nice zoo with lots of animals that we got to see up close. I won't bore you with all my pictures of the animals...only the following animals...my favorites.
On Friday...our last day we took the trip to New York City...We got to take the ferry over and then walk all over New York City...or what seemed like it! It was great fun. We got to see so many sights and take in so much atmosphere. You could tell we were tourists...we just kept looking up at the buildings and all around!
The kids were so good! They were real troopers.
Stacy and Mike were in charge of finding out where we were and where we were going!
Ben 
In Philadelphia we got to walk around enjoying the historic city. We visited Constitution hall where we got to "pretend vote for president".
Here is Stacy leaning in to share a secret or give a kiss...you be the judge!
Here I am thinking with...I don't remember his name but he wasn't very friendly...kind of a cold stiff character! 
Mike and I in front of the Liberty Bell...don't judge my hair...it was a very humid, rainy day!
Independence Hall where the declaration of Independence was signed! How cool is that. To stand in the very place where history was made!
Sammie, Cailin and Ben in Philadelphia!
Tuesday we got up and went back across the Ben Franklin Bridge to take a tour of the SS New Jersey! It was very interesting but there was a lot of walking and walking and climbing up very narrow and steep stairways. The living quarters etc. were so cramped...space was at a premium. It would be very difficult to be at sea! The kids did very well on the tour. We all had a set of headphones that we listened to on our tour. Ben and Sammie had their own headphones with a younger version of the tour on them.
On Wednesday we headed off to find the New Jersey Devil...or at least the "Blue Hole" where he had been spotted. We had a hard time finding the place where we could start the hike. Stacy found some directions that someone had posted on the Internet on how to find it. After a little bit of driving back and forth we found the turn off. The hike started from a gun firing range. There was a man and his son at the range. Mike asked them about the "Blue hole", the man said he had been all around that area and never saw the blue hole. We decided we were on an adventure and decided to press on. It was a raining a little and all the foliage was just beautiful. According to the directions there were supposed to be blue dots painted on the trees to help direct us. After a little bit of walking...we hoped in the right direction we saw the first blue dot on a tree. We found more and kept following the path. We found the "Blue hole"! A beautiful little lake that was so clear, it had some Lily pads growing in it and out in the middle a log with a turtle on it that we could just barely make out. But sad....or glad to say we never saw the New Jersey Devil! It was a beautiful hike through the woods though. Cailin walked the whole way up and back by herself...if Stacy picked her up and tried to carry her she kicked and yelled til she was put down! After our hike we got in the car and headed for Cape May light house. It was a nice drive. When we got there it was really raining hard and the wind was blowing pretty good. We got out, ate our lunch we brought, walked along the beach a little way and then viewed the lighthouse. It was closed so luckily we didn't have to go in and climb the million stairs to the top!
Here is Stacy, Cailin, Ben and Sammie (under the Spongebob umbrella) hiking to the "Blue Hole".
The Blue Hole!
On Thursday we went to the Philadelphia Zoo...who knew it was the oldest zoo in the country!
It was a really nice zoo with lots of animals that we got to see up close. I won't bore you with all my pictures of the animals...only the following animals...my favorites.
On Friday...our last day we took the trip to New York City...We got to take the ferry over and then walk all over New York City...or what seemed like it! It was great fun. We got to see so many sights and take in so much atmosphere. You could tell we were tourists...we just kept looking up at the buildings and all around! See what I mean!
The kids were so good! They were real troopers.
Stacy and Mike were in charge of finding out where we were and where we were going!Now where are we?
Ground Zero...the construction going on.
A chance to rest while we rode the subway!
Ben and Sammie having fun on the subway!
The sights of New York City! Yup that is Mike in the picture...he was always popping up in my pictures!
30 Rock!
Ground Zero...the construction going on.
A chance to rest while we rode the subway!
Ben and Sammie having fun on the subway!
The sights of New York City! Yup that is Mike in the picture...he was always popping up in my pictures!
30 Rock!
Well all good things do come to and end.
Here is Jason, Ben and Sammie on Saturday before we left to fly home.
Cailin...one last time with Grandpa!
As you can see we had a great time in New Jersey. Thanks so much for everything Stacy and Jason! We love you guys and wish we could visit a lot more often!
Cailin...one last time with Grandpa!
As you can see we had a great time in New Jersey. Thanks so much for everything Stacy and Jason! We love you guys and wish we could visit a lot more often!
4 comments:
Cool pictures. It seems like there were some that even I hadn't seen in your slide show last Sunday. I wish they lived closer to the west coast.
We had so much fun, too, and also wish you could come more often! Ben and Sam have been running around playing and yelling "I saw the Jersey devil!" lately. That NYC picture is so funny with everyone looking in different directions! The kids (and us) miss you!
You have really great taste on catch article titles, even when you are not interested in this topic you push to read it
You have really great taste on catch article titles, even when you are not interested in this topic you push to read it
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