The Hampton Times

Here's a couple more photos...

Jason was the only one of us that caught a fish this morning (it was a small flounder). Angie and I both hooked crabs and threw them back. Jason's fish flopped off the hook onto the boat before Grandpop could get it, so Jason dropped the fishing rod and ran to the back of the boat as fast as he could! He stood at a safe distance while the fish flopped around on the deck, until Grandpop got him under control...

After our 2-hour boat ride/fishing trip with Grandpop...

Here's Angel (Angie's cousin Chad's wife), Jason and Adrian feeding the seagulls some bread. They had lots of fun doing this!

Jason pretending to be a seagull.

Here's Dillon, Sophia and Olivia in their own private 'hot tub.'

Here's Adrian on the beach at Ocean City, NJ.

This was a game where the DJ tied a balloon around your ankle and you had to try to guard your balloon while popping the other people's balloons. Dillon lasted a few minutes and then had to go sit out the rest of the game. That's him running off to the left.

Getting ready to start the water balloon toss game (you throw the balloon to your partner and if he catches it, you're still in the game). Dillon and Jason were out after the first throw.

Taking a break from the festivities at the block party.

We had a really nice time at the block party tonight. The kids had an absolute blast, of course. The DJ was great; he did all kinds of games for the kids, and he brought a ton of water balloons for games and a giant sling-shot that he brought with him; he also used hula-hoops and regular balloons to play some games and he had all of the kids do some group dancing. All the neighborhood kids seemed to have a great time. People were hanging out in front of various houses, and most of the older kids were playing volley ball or dodge ball for a while. After the party got going, most of the smaller kids made their way over to the "Tot Lot" to play in the little park on the jungle gym. It was really nice getting to meet more of the neighbors and to talk a bit more with the people we had only met briefly before. There was a lot of food there (tons of hoagies, hot dogs, desserts, snacks, etc.), and everyone brought their own adult beverages. I didn't notice any trouble at al...

You can tell Angie has really done a number on these kids... They're so afraid to get "messy" they won't even dive into a bowl full of whipped cream! Eventually, Jason gives in though. Dillon just has a melt-down and quits (he took the hot dog from my hand and finished eating that instead).

Angie's helping get everything ready for today's block party in our neighborhood. I think we're up to about 33 families that are participating. There will be things for the kids (a DJ, a balloon guy, games, etc.) and food/drink for everyone (hoagies, hot dogs, snacks, etc.). It should be fun, at least as long as it doesn't rain. Weather forecast is calling for clouds to roll in around 8pm. The party starts at 4pm, so that should be plenty of time to hang out, meet some neighbors, eat some food, drink a beer or two, and let the kids blow off some steam. I'd think we'd be back home by 9pm at the latest. A full report will follow... :-)

About to board the Jungle Safari Train in Seaside Heights, NJ. Dillon and Jason.

Dillon and Jason

This one's for all the geeks out there with two or more computers... I read about this program called Synergy that allows you to control two or more computers on the same network (connected to the same router) with one keyboard and one mouse. You don't have to use a KVM-type of switch and there are no cables to mess with. It takes a few minutes to get the software configured, but once it's set up you'll be able to control 2+ computers with one keyboard and mouse. If you have more than one monitor, this software will let your mouse pointer cruise from one monitor to the other, too. You can't drag and drop files or move application windows from one screen to the other, but it lets you regain some desk space by removing a keyboard/mouse. I have only one monitor, but it has two video inputs so I was able to connect two computers to the same monitor (I just press the "Source" button to switch between the two computers). But now when I do, I just move my m...

Recap: FRIDAY: Even though I was off from my day job, Angie and I spent the entire morning doing landscaping/yard work at our Maple Shade house (still on the market, interested?). I picked up 5 bags of mulch and 24 impatiens from Lowe's early in the morning and then met Angie at the house. She dropped the kids off at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's first, of course. I cut the lawn, did the weed whacking, cleaned the front-right gutter, replaced the light bulb in the porch light at the top of the foyer, and planted the impatiens in the front while Angie pulled a lot of the weeds out, swept up the scrap and bagged everything up. She spread out the mulch and we smoothed it out with our rakes. It looked really nice when we were done (which was about 11:40am and we had someone coming to look at the place at noon!). After that, we ate lunch at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house with the kids and then headed back to Mount Laurel where Adrian took his afternoon nap. Uncle Ryan stopped by later...