Here Comes A New Shelmet

This year we decided to head up to New York City on Thanksgiving weekend to see the tree, stop at the American Girl Doll store, and find out what else we could do on an overnight trip. We drove up to Newark and parked outside of Penn Station. From there we rode the PATH to 33rd Street and went to our first destination, American Girl Doll Store! This place had everything from a salon where both the dolls and their owners could get their hair done, to a little recording stand, to every doll and accessory you could want. Zoe really enjoyed it. After she picked out a relatively modest amount of stuff, we then made our way to our hotel, which was only a few blocks away. There was a lot to see on the way, so we stopped by a Christmas tree before heading up to our room on the 23rd floor. After laying around for a bit we decided not to waste the daylight and went back out. We went past the tree, which we learned would not be lit until Wednesday. I'm assuming the police officer

Since the July 4th holiday fell on a Wednesday this year, we didn't make plans to go anywhere or do anything. Luckily, another family in the neighborhood was going to the local fireworks show, so we decided to tag along with them for the evening. The light wasn't good for pictures, but the fireworks were pretty amazing! We found out later that Zoe's cousins would be down at the beach house for the holiday weekend. Packing into the car, we got down there at a reasonable hour on Friday, with just enough time for the kids to enjoy a quick ride down the promenade. After that all of the kids, big and small, wanted to play some games in the arcade. Skee ball was a favored activity where lots of tickets were won, but somehow Uncle Joe managed to pull in the biggest haul on another machine. The next day there was lots to do, mainly at the beach. All of the kids really enjoyed running around and played well with one another. They were really good at bocce, Henry an