New Jersey- The Cheese Capital of the World

We went to NJ this last week to visit our families. It seems like I ate more cheese and dairy in the past week that in the past six months. The problem: I love dairy (especially great NJ dairy like pizza and stromboli and bagels with cream cheese) and I’m lactose intolerant. I have pills I can take to help me digest, but it seems like they work less and less each time. So I was back to my pre-intolerance-awareness coping mechanism- mint. Eat cheese, chew gum, eat cheese, chew gum.
My sister-in-law threw a surprise birthday party for my brother’s 30th birthday. I was glad we could be there to celebrate and poke a little fun at him for “getting old”. Heather thought that the plates that said “Guess who’s turning 30” were mean, so she got ones that said “Aged to Perfection” which makes him sound like an old cheese or something. I love it!



We gave him a Bald Man’s hairbrush, that has no bristles- even though he’s not balding, he usually shaves his head pretty closely, so I thought it would be funny.
















Heather and I spent a morning taking pictures of Hailey. She wanted “parts pictures” to make a book to teach Hailey different body parts, so that was fun. If Hailey has a problem with any of this, it was all Heather’s idea. Hailey was very happy in her diaper and bloomers, and I would say, even happier naked. She was hanging out sucking on her toes. It was wonderful. She did so many great baby things, and I have to say, maybe I'm just being partial, but isn't she the most beautiful baby you've ever seen?











This week was also Charles’ brother Jon’s birthday.
Charles and Gordon and Andy worked on very important
color-coded, symmetrical buildings. Sammy (the one-socked wonder)
launched himself off of a table onto a mat, and
from the mat to a lower mat over and over again.
We all opened presents (for Christmas, my birthday, and Jon’s birthday).
Sammy and Andy enjoyed Jon’s cool tools about as much as Jon did I think.



We gave the boys a sno-cone maker and Andy busied himself constructing it and asking Susan if he could make one right then, and Sammy ran around putting the box on his head and sitting in it. At least everyone was happy.































Nana was in the hospital until Wednesday, clearing up a viral infection and lingering congestion. She seemed very happy to be home at my Mom’s house and I got to spend several days with my mom and Nana.





My mom even baked me a birthday cake with dinner since I wasn’t home for my birthday this year. Mom’s have a great way of making us feel special with their attention to details.






My mom’s dog’s name is Flash, and ironically, when I photographed him, he loved my off-camera flash and wherever I held it he would gaze in that direction. When I stopped photographing him he whimpered a little- either he missed the attention or the flash, or maybe he was partially blind, I don’t know.




My Dad picked us up from the airport and brought us back. He brags because we managed to see him every day of our visit- either for dinner and a movie one night, lunch several days, and so on. It was great.
My Dad kind of looks like Harrison Ford, and when were driving back from the airport, we saw a billboard for the new Harrison Ford movie, and my Dad just laughed. It’s got to be funny looking like someone whose head is two stories high on the side of the road.