This way beach, that way ice cream.

This year's Mason family Jersey Shore trip was extra special...because we got to see Snooki. Just kidding. Though we did see Snooki, but that wasn't the special part. Dylan had so much fun hanging with his cousins all week. There were times he would look at them all and say, "my cousins!" We spent our mornings at the beach where the water was just beautiful most of the week. Dylan took his naps after lunch and by the time he woke up, his cousins would be back at the house, ready to play. They taught him how to play football (sort of)...he does love the hiking part but kind of lingers in a crouched position looking down for a while before throwing the ball forward. Emily gave him some soccer advice. They all played baseball and nerf bowling with him. He watched cartoons with Logan. He had a blast with each one of his cousins and they were so good to him, always letting him play with them and taking care of him, too. There were times they would be playing their own games, and Dylan would come in and demand attention and they just adjusted their game to include him...it was so sweet.

Though Dylan was very fearful of the water all week, and didn't really like the feel of sand at the beginning, or the look of the birds on the beach...he apparently turned into a fearless child at the boardwalk. Keith took him to the games at Seaside and Dylan went on lots of rides with his older cousins that mommy would not have approved of if she had been there. Luckily for Dylan, I was away for one night (seeing a Phish show) and the daredevil side of our child was allowed to shine, under the supervision of his older cousins who took good care of him on the rides, I hear. I wish I had been there.

Finally, the most consistent part of the trip was our nightly ice-cream walks. Every night, a while after eating dinner, we all took a walk to get ice cream together. Every night, Dylan ordered for himself. Some nights, "Nilla" (vanilla), other nights "Nilla and cookies." From our beach house, there were only two directions, according to Dylan: this way beach, that way ice cream. you'd think that's just a toddler's simple perspective, but for most of that week I think we all felt that way which was really nice.

Lilith Fair

We took Dylan to his first concert last weekend, the Lilith Fair. It was a beautiful day thanks to that month-long heat wave finally breaking. Though it was a little hot in the sun, once it started to go down a bit, it was a perfect evening for live music. We went with my friend Gina who is on an extended stay in NJ, having left her home in London to have her baby here in September before she moves to Lebanon. So it was nice to catch up with her and be around a nice big baby belly for the day. We also got to see "Grandma" who had been there early for a special lunch with her friend Kathy. The music was very mellow most of the show. Not too much dancing, unfortunately, but lots of relaxing. The Indigo Girls were the highlight and we left after their set because our little man was falling asleep at around 10pm. I'm glad we got to take Dylan to his first concert and saw that he had fun. I'm also glad it was at the PNC (Garden State) Arts Center where we've seen so many concerts, and I even remember seeing a play there on a grammar school field trip (about Jackie Robinson). That place is kind of special to us and it's so close to home. Now that we've been camping and to a concert and saw that Dylan liked both, a camping music festival seems like the next logical step...