Another BBQ...The kids and I went next door last night for another bbq. It was very fun and much more relaxing. There were only 7 people there plus my kids. We all just sat out on the porch and ate burgers and talked. The kids spent most of the time blowing bubbles, looking for planes and telling knock-knock jokes.

John has headed back to OK to finish up stuff at the farm since we should be close this Friday (I think). It will be nice to have everything behind us and just be enjoying the here-and-now.

The kids are excited because we are going to ride the bus today to pick up the car at the train station and then we are going to try out a new park today. I found the park nestled in this neighborhood the other day when I went walking.

A Sunny Afternoon...Julia and I spent a couple of hours on the porch this afternoon playing with her stuffed animals, smelling flowers, riding her scooter, and saying hi to the neighbors while Jacob played V-Smile inside. Very restful day!

Big BBQ...Had a really good time yesterday at the bbq at Wayne and Jennifer's house. Their kids, Isabella and Flynn, are really sweet and the kids LOVED playing with all their toys. There were about 12 kids there. We had a good time getting to know new people. Julia wasn't interested in eating. All she wanted to do was play and blow bubbles with the other kids on the porch.

John took the kids to the park in Lido Beach yesterday and they were able to watch the airshow at Jones Beach. They got to see the C-130 and the Blue Angels perform. They all thought it was very loud but Julia loved the plane rainbows (the smoke coming out of the planes) and Jacob loved the loop-ty loos that the Blue Angels did. He said they were FAST-FAST!

Long Beach Historical Society...Mr. Greenberger(but I've got to remember to call him Alan), our neighbor down the block, and I have been talking about the Long Beach Historical Society. He is on the board and it sounds very interesting. I think I will become a member. They have all kinds of interesting things going on and ways to volunteer. This summer is the centennial celebration for Long Beach so there will be all kinds of things to do this summer. The first weekend of June they are having home tours of 5 or 6 historical homes here in Long Beach. Plus, every summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day they have all kinds of live music on the boardwalk 3 nights a week. How fun! It'll be great to walk the kids down after dinner to the beach to list to live music. They have all kinds like rock, jazz, big band, Sinatra, etc. I can't wait!

Sunset...I went to workout yesterday evening at the rec ctr here in town. It is right on the bay. It was so beautiful last night when I walked out of the rec ctr that I just walked out on the pier (which is across the parking lot) and here are a couple of shots. It was very relaxing and a wonderful way to end the night.

Storytime at the Library...Jacob, Julia and I had the BEST experience today at our main library in Long Beach. First of all, it is a great library and has an entire "Children's Wing" on the second floor. We went to Storytime from 10:30-11am and then played blocks and dinosaurs in the children's wing. Then from 12-1pm we went to Toddler Time in the auditorium. We sang, danced, did arts/crafts, did puzzles, and played with the parachute and sang more songs. Both kids had a blast! Only had to leave the room with Julia once during story time and secure her during a tantrum twice. But by the end of class, she was really getting into the groove of what she was supposed to do and watching what the other kids did. It was so great and really productive in working with Julia on how to behave in public and how to handle public tantrums where you don't want to just be paddling their behinds everytime. It is a weekly deal and they have lots of programs for the kids. Yea! One more reason to love Long Beach!

Other Okies in NY...John met some other folks from Oklahoma today that live right here in Long Beach. Apparently they were very nice and he is originally from Tulsa. He is a stuntman and rents out space in Manhattan to producers for movies. They have OK and NY flags out in front of their house. They said when it warms up, they'll invite us over for martini's and cigars. Ha! Can you imagine? Anyway, John said they were very friendly. She teaches yoga and how to do feng shui. They would be pretty interesting, I think.

Over The Hedge...John and Jacob went to the movies today and saw Over The Hedge. They said it was pretty funny. Jacob thought the skunk was the funniest and liked something about her farting and making it stink. Not sure what that is all about since I wasn't there.

Tomorrow, the kids and I are going to Storytime at the library. They have a session for her age group and one for Jacob's that are just about back to back so that'll be interesting.

Julia's First Doctor Visit...Was up and down all last night with Julia. Never really could figure out the problem but by this morning she had a runny nose and no appetite so we went to the doctor. She has a double ear infection...poor girl. She's pretty pitiful when she doesn't feel good.

Italian Ice...John and Julia went to have italian ices together last night. Big time fun as you can tell.

Long Lost Family...Had a great visit yesterday with my cousin, Sara, and her husband, Steve. Sara and I had not seen each other in years and then husbands and kids had never met. They came out from Manhattan on the Long Island Railroad and we stopped off at Minnesota's for a snack in the sunshine. Then came back to the house to meet the kids and John for dinner and a marathon V-Smile game...ha! It was so good to catch up and learn about each other as adults but the time went by WAY to fast. Hopefully now that we live on the east coast we can get together more often.

Yankee Game II...
John and Jacob had a great time yesterday at the Yankee game. But Jacob said there was one bit of bad news...The Yankees lost. After they got home, we all get to do the Yankee cheer they learned and Take Me Out to the Ballgame. The neighbors probably thought we were nuts.

John has gone to Hauppauge, NY today to see his friend, Paul, from college. It'll be a nice time for them to catch up.

Jacob's First Yankee Game...John and Jacob have gone today to their first Yankee baseball game. They rode the Long Island Railroad to Penn Staion in Manhattan and then the subway to the Bronx. They are both SOOO excited! Here is a picture John sent from his cell phone. He said Jacob was slack-jawed with awe when they walked into the stadium. They bought Yankee hats outside the stadium and had already consumed hotdogs, cokes and were working on the crackerjacks...ha! They had been watching a lot of Yankee baseball before they went and so Jacob had the jist of what was going on. They were having a big time trying to catch foul balls.

Great Mother's Day...guess what!!! John got me an Epson Picture Maker photo lab for Mother's Day. So, now I'll be able to print out my own pictures from my digital camera. Yea! Good news for all the grandparents!

Happy Mother's Day...We visited a new church today called the People's Church. It was nice because it was within walking distance. And met a really nice couple with a baby. Hillary is from Odessa, TX and is in her last year of residency to be a doctor and Kevin is a NYC policeman. They were very nice. Hopefully we might be able to get together with them sometime. I also met another mother named Jeannie who, like me, was out in the hall trying to entertain her 2 yrs old while the service was going on. She said they too had just started time-outs with her 2 yr old, Allie. We were spoiled with Jacob at 2 yrs because Julia is a lot more high maintenance...ha!

Another Amazing Experience...today we lost electricity around 3:45pm. Two neighbors who were outside said huge sparks came out of the transformer on the end of the block. I called the power company and they were aware of the problem and said power should be restored by 7pm. BUT, we had power restored by 4:35pm!!! So, whatever people think (misconceivably) about New Yorkers, they are johnny on the spot! I love it! Maybe that curtness of manner that people sometimes experience when they go into businesses pays off when it comes to BIG matters like electricity! I was already figuring on ordering a pizza for dinner. Of course, I just remembered we have a gas stove so I would have had to claim forgetfulness (not laziness...ha!) about ordering in food instead of cooking. What a country?!? (do any of y'all remember Yakov Smirnov? otherwise you have no idea why I keep saying "what a country!")

Julia Gets a Haircut...Julia got her first haircut since coming to Long Beach. She got a REAL hairstyle this time. Jennifer, the hair stylist, came to our house and everything for $12-14. It was great! I didn't have to sweat and try to keep Julia occupied in the hair salon. WOW!

First Bus Ride...well, the kids and I had our first bus ride in Long Beach today. Jacob had been on a bus in Manhattan before but Julia had never been on a bus before. The both LOVED it! Especially Julia. She didn't want to get off the bus and she just sat nicely in her seat the whole time. It was very nice. John had to catch the train EARLY this morning to fly out of Newark so he took the car to the Long Beach train station. It was very easy to go pick it up. Yea public transportation!

Okies Are Nice People...had a lady at the park today tell me that our Oklahoma accent makes us sound like we would be nice people...ha! Her name was Colleen and she had two adorable red-headed daughters. She told me about a pre-PreK program for 2-3 years called the Sandbox Program. Kids can go 2 or 3 days per week. Think it would be good for Julia. I am going to call about it on Monday.

John and Jacob were at the beach today and were invited to a Memorial Day BBQ by some folks who live here in Long Beach that they seem to run into a lot when they are pal-ing around town. Their daughter, Isabella, is Jacob's age. Apparently the mom is a nanny and the dad teaches ice skating lessons the big ice rink in NYC and at Lake Placid (the olympic training facility). WOW! That sounds cool! They also said their daughter had done the Sandbox program and how good it was.

Working Men...John and Jacob got Jacob's desk for his room put together. Jacob is VERY handy with a screwdriver. Plus, here are a couple of other snapshots...

Here are a few pictures of the inside of our apt. I'll post more later.

Getting Ready for Bed...after baths last night we had some down time. Jacob played computer games and Julia and Daddy read books in bed.

A few more beach pics...

Back to the beach...headed to the beach again today for a beautiful afternoon. Fishermen were out fishing for striper bass and John, Jacob and Julia even dared to run in the cold water. Saw several fishing boats go by...thought I was on the set of Forest Gump (Gump Shrimp Co.). It was great!

Back to the beach...headed to the beach again today for a beautiful afternoon. Fishermen were out fishing for striper bass and John, Jacob and Julia even dared to run in the cold water. Saw several fishing boats go by...thought I was on the set of Forest Gump (Gump Shrimp Co.). It was great!

Kindergartener...Jacob is officially registered to start kindergarten in the fall. It was really exciting but also sad all at the same time. I better enjoy this spring and summer because my routine will drastically change when school starts!

The BIG Boy...well, Jacob went in today for his 5 yr well check and vaccinations. He is 54 lbs (97%) and is 47 1/4 in. tall (^95%). And the doctor was how amazed at how tall Julia was. She kept asking me how old she was. She said she is very tall for 2 1/2 yrs. I really liked Dr. Hanono. She seemed very knowledgable and easy to discuss stuff with. Yea!

The Promised Land...I've been to the promised land today and it is called Costco! It is an AMAZING place. It got 12 chicken breasts, 12 pork loin chops, 8 tilapia filets, and 6+ lbs of lean ground beef, a case of juice boxes, a case of water, a case of yogurt, 2 loaves of bread, 2 loaves french bread, a flat of apples, and a few other things for $102. I was going to be happy to get out for under $150 but I walked out like the queen of sheba. I didn't even get a chance to shop their other sections of the store. WOW! What a country!!!Ha!