Point Pleasant

This year we decided to surprise my father for Father's Day.  Deborah, my stepmother, was in on it.  She knew we were coming, but Dad didn't.  When we pulled into their driveway, Dad just assumed we were people coming to look at some bicycles Deborah was selling on Craigslist!  So we made it all the way to his door before he even realized who we were!  It was quite a surprise!

It was nearly a 7 hour car ride to Point Pleasant.  We stopped a few times along the way to feed Leo, change his diaper, let him stretch, etc.  On the ride there, he was so good that Ben and I joked he should've gotten a gold medal!  Leo slept for 4 hours in the car, and then was awake for the remaining 3 hours, but seemed really happy in the back seat of the car looking out the window at the trucks which were passing by.  Ben and I really enjoy long car rides these days, as car rides tend to soothe Leo, giving us grown-ups some time to talk :-) 

My father and Deborah took an early retirement from their long-term careers at Newsweek Magazine a few years ago and bought a house in Point Pleasant Beach on the Jersey shore. Point Pleasant is a lively town which features a famous Boardwalk right on the beach with tons of rides, games, attractions and restaurants.  Leo will surely enjoy visiting his Grandparents in Point Pleasant as he gets older!  Below are some pictures we took of the Boardwalk:

On Saturday morning, Dad and Deborah leant us their beach passes, and we took Leo to the beach.  This was the first time Leo actually 'swam' in the ocean.  The water was freezing, but Leo didn't seem to mind it one bit!  The people on the beach were amazed that he tolerated the water so well!  I've been bringing Leo to family swim at the swim club, and he absolutely loves the water.  Nevertheless, even though he loves a 70 degree pool, we didn't know how he'd react to the ocean water.  

We weren't the only surprise in store for my Dad.  On Saturday night, Dad's cousin Doug and his wife Pam came over for dinner.  Dad smoked some chicken in his new meat smoker, and Deborah made some really good potatoes and a grilled vegetable salad.  

Doug and Pam

Doug and Pam brought Leo some presents, one of which was a bubble-blowing-gun, which Ben had a fun time using. Here's a video of Leo reacting to the bubbles:

One of the things Leo can do on command is give kisses.  I was able to capture it on tape:

Not only do Dad and Deborah live right by the beach, but they also have a pool in their backyard which they maintain impeccably.  It was very relaxing spending time by the pool.

Below is a video of Ben making Leo laugh while in the pool:

We did hit some traffic on the car ride home, which Leo didn't tolerate too well, so on the way home we made several stops.  One place we stopped was IKEA in New Haven, Connecticut since Ben had never been to an IKEA before.  Believe it or not, we left IKEA having only spent $18.  I bought a new broom, stocked up on my absolute favorite dishwashing brushes which IKEA sells for 99 cents each, some swedish meatballs, some ice cube trays, and a new mouse pad.  

We had a wonderful time, and it was so nice to be able to spend Father's Day with both my own father and my wonderful husband on his first Father's Day.  Thank you Dad and Deborah for being such wonderful hosts!