The DeCoite Family

BUSY BUSY!!

2011-11-27T15:47:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving, shopping, hair cut, seeing friends, reunion,..sleep! seeing friends, shopping, family time, ...sleep, ww, raidio city mh, family time...sleep!

Great time at Woodloch!!

2011-11-14T15:11:00.000-08:00

We had a fantastic time at Woodloch Resort. HERE are some pictures : )

My FAVORITE holiday..

2011-10-29T05:46:00.000-07:00

Halloween is definitly one of my fav's...one of our family traditions has become our annual Pumpkin Carving Party that we host. Our neighbors come over to join us for some pizza and carving fun! This year we welcomed our new neighbors Nick, Sam, and Theresa!! Check out pics HERE

lots of exciting things going on!

2011-10-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we celebrated Aunt Danielle and Uncle Jay's wedding. This week we celebrated Nate as he was picked for Student of the Week, and today we celebrated fall by going to Battlefield Orchard for some apple picking! As student of the Week Nate was asked to take "Chip" the class monkey everwhere he goes. Look for chip in our pictures!!Pictures can be seen HERE.

Double Digits Today!

2011-09-14T04:51:00.000-07:00

Very good to know he is not to cool for the Birthday Cloth! WOW..10 years... Celebrated by getting an ipod and going to the Outback for dinner tonight with the family, Joey, Mommom, and Grandma Karen!

Field Hockey Opening Day 2011

2011-09-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Great first game for Sophie.. no goals yet but she has a great coach..thanks Aunt Marci! Thanks for coming to watch us Mommom! Pictures are HERE. Good luck Flamingo's!!

First day went GREAT!

2011-09-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today was Mikey's first day as a 4th grader and Sophie;s first day as a 3rd grader. Nate had his first day at Centenary Learning Center. Everyone came home happy! I as so glad they all adjusted to their first day! HERE are pictures.

block party 2011

2011-09-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our annual black party! We had a scavenger hunt, ate lots of great food, played our own version of Minute to win it, and cooked smores! Check out the pictures HERE.

Here is what we have been up to...

2011-07-19T04:06:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we went to Philly for our family day. We met up with The Von Deaks, the Wolf's (x2), the Smalls, mommom, aunt Gert, Barb and Emily. We started in Franklin square where we did min golf, rode the carousel, played in the park, heard stories at the benches, and ate soft pretzels. Then it was of to the military muster and more stories. When we were finish we ended our party on the roof of the Von Deaks (our usual end of party spot). They made us a great bbq! thanks for a wonderful day family!! Pictures are here.

Yesterday the DeVizios's came down to visit us. We has a great time on the beach then we hung out at the house and made some dinner. Chris had requested we go the beach with a playground. So we went to summer sweets and walked with our ice cream to the bay beach. Thanks for coming to visit guys! We had a great time!! Here are pictures.

First hermit crab races of the season!

2011-07-14T05:26:00.000-07:00

Last night we attended the annual Wed. night Hermit Crab Races at Salty's in Lavalette! We entered 6 crabs and wore our lucky hats! Apparently Nate and I were the only ones in the family that thought they were cool! Nate's hat worked! He had 2 crabs in the final heat...(10 crabs in 6 heats last night the top 3 crabs in each heat make it to the finals). One of his crabs came in 4th ! Great job Nate and Spidey the crab! We can't wait till next Wednesday!! Click here for pictures.

Blast in Boston!

2011-07-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

We had our road trip to Boston this week. We met up with the Marinello's and Lj's Aunt Bella and Cousin Caroline. We started our site seeing at Sam Adams Brewery the it was off to Legal Seafood. After dinner we has a great view from the top of the Prudential building. Day two was a a trolley ride, a tour of Fenway, lunch from Regina pizza, a swim in the hotel pool and dinner at the Barking Crab. After dinner we went to Mike's Pastry shop in little Italy..DELISH! Day three was a the science museum and a walking tour on freedom trail.

Happy July 4th!

2011-07-04T16:44:00.001-07:00

Nate as an only child : ) (for a week)

2011-06-30T05:18:00.000-07:00

While Mikey and Sophie were having fun with Grandma and Grandpa in Wildwood this week...Nate had fun with us!! Nate went for lots of ice cream trips, out to dinner, to the beach, to the boardwalk (and rides), had special friends (jack) visit, went to the Aquarium, made arts and crafts projects and saw Cars 2! We had such a nice time with Nate! Yeah for being an only child for a week.

First race and a shower!

2011-06-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

Yes I ran my first 5 k..shocking i know.. another shocker-no camera! After the race I needed a shower, but I am talking about a bridal Shower. Today Sophie and I shared in Danielle's special day. Pictures are HERE. She looked beautiful and we all had a nice time.

Memorial Weekend

2011-05-31T03:47:00.000-07:00

Lots of fun in the sun..click HERE for pictures!

Happy almost birthday Sophie!

2011-05-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

Last night we celebrated Sophie's birthday early. We had a Peace Out 7 hello 8 party! Check out our pics HERE..notice all the girls clothing : ) they were asked to wear peace sign shirts.

2011-05-08T17:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day!

Here are pictures from our day.

RELAXING!

2011-05-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

Today was truly a relaxing day. We took a day trip to our little beach house. We did a few small things around the house then packed up for the bay beach. We brought our crabbing gear hoping to catch some dinner :). No such luck! We caught a few but they were to small to keep. We stayed on the bay beach for over 2 hrs. The kids were very content playing. We are so happy to be having some fun in the sun! Click HERE for more pics.

back to the beach!

2011-04-24T07:11:00.001-07:00

I took the kids to the beach house on thursday and friday. We met up with the Martins and the Cavanaughs. It was great to see the beach and the sunshine. Now we just need it to warm up a little! Here are a few more pictures.

Opening Day for Metuchen Little League

2011-04-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

Today was a GREAT day for opening day! The weather could not have been better. After we marched in the annual parade to the field and had the kick off ceremony we had some time to play outside before our games. Unfortunately both Mikey and Sophie had games at 4:30 :(. I went to Sophie's game and Mike went to Mikey's. What are we going to do next year when all 3 of them play: /.

Sophie is lucky enough to have Uncle Ben and Izzy as part of her team! We would like to thank Mommom for coming to our first game! Click HERE for pictures.

Beach Patrol...

2011-04-04T04:44:00.000-07:00

On Friday night (April 1st) I went to the St. Francis tricky tray. The theme was "Beach" .This thing was huge! There was easily over 1000 people there and lots of great prizes. One of the things I put in for was a real size lifeguard stand. It was supposed to be a joke with my friend Jess- we both put a ticket in to win it. We said "this would be so cool down the shore at our houses". We never thought we would win. Well the joke was on me ...I WON IT!

Sophie Goes to London and Paris

2011-03-31T04:47:00.000-07:00

Flat Sophie that is : )..... Check out Sophie's Flat Sophie Project. With the help of Aunt Danielle and (soon to be) Uncle Jay, Sophie is sure to get an "A" on the project!

Great day for a bike ride!

2011-03-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

Today Nate rode a bike for the first time! Yes, it has training wheels and yes I had to give him a Tootsie Roll every three driveways but he did it! He loved it. He tried to keep up with Sophie but she is very fast. Click here for a little video (your volume : ) )!

Daddy Daughter Dance

2011-03-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight Mike and Sophie are off to the Metuchen Daddy Daughter Dance. Sophie picked out her dress all by herself! We did her nails and she was very excited to spend the evening with her daddy!Click HERE for more pictures.

Baking Hamentashen

2011-03-16T16:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight we celebrated the Purim. We made Hamentashen at Marci's. Purim is a Jewish holiday rich in meaning and plentiful in food. Hamentashen is a cookie that represents the three-cornered hat that Haman, the villain of the Purim story, wore on his head. Thank you Marci, Hannah and Izzy we hat lots of fun baking with you! P.S. we are sorry some of our Hamentashen looked like taco's and diamonds : /. Click HERE for more picures.

What we did with our rainy Sunday...

2011-03-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

Our morning was filled with wrestling. Today was the final day of the season with a tournament at Metuchen HS. Mikey did great today and we are so proud of him! The rest of the day we relaxed! The kids played and made forts then we made sock puppets! It came in a kit and they were very fun and EASY! No Glue : ).

Peace!

2011-03-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

Look what Sophie and I found at the Christmas Tree Shop today for only $9.99! It is hanging in her room : )

lovin the sunshine!

2011-02-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

Today the kids and I took advantage of the nice weather and went to the park! It was great to get OUTSIDE and run around! We are soooo ready for spring! Here are some pictures.

Hanukkah in February!

2011-02-20T18:11:00.000-08:00

Yes it is true we had Hanukkah in February! We were waiting on one little thing before we could schedule our Sechtin side Hanukkah party..... Little Miss Lindsay! Once Lindsay arrived about 7 weeks ago we picked a date that worked for everyone- that was today : )!

HERE are some pictures from our fun day we spent together. We LOVED seeing everyone!!

Let's hear it for the Harlem Globetrotters!

2011-02-19T15:00:00.000-08:00

Marci was nice enough to organize a trip to the see the world famous Harlem Globetrotters at the Izod center! Allie and Mommom were both sick : ( ...so we had some additional fans with us! Jay came along and so did Joey, but when Joey's family thought about it they did not want to miss out on the fun so all of them came along also! With only a few hours till game time they were lucky enough to get tickets in the next section! Yeah!!

We had a terrific time! I remember going when I was little with my family, hopefully my kids will remember and they can take their families one day! It was great entertainment for all ages : ).

Click HERE for pictures.

Rutgers Women's Basketball ROCKS!!

2011-02-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

Today we attended a Rutgers Women's Basketball game! It was a last minute plan that was put together by Marci. In addition to the DeCoite's and the Small's we had a Rutgers Hall of Fame Women's Basketball player with us...our very own Kathy Glutz and Emily and Allie came to the game! We had a fantastic time getting R tatoo's, cheering on the team and spending time together. To top it off RU won!!! yippy! HERE are some pics

Nate's Super Birthday!!

2011-01-31T16:04:00.000-08:00

Nate wanted a superman themed party....I did my best with Superman plates and napkins, superman capes for the kids to decorate, and a Superman cake. Nate had a great time celebrating his birthday with his family and friends!! Here are some pictures.

Happy 4th Birthday Nate!

2011-01-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

Birthday Mode

2011-01-22T16:16:00.000-08:00

We are in birthday mode in the DeCoite house. Hand prints have been made and birthday pictures have been taken! Now we just need it to be his birthday...only a few days till Nate turns 4!

Marinello Holiday Breakfast

2011-01-02T13:03:00.000-08:00

This morning we went to the annual Marinello Holiday Breakast. Lisajoy did a fantastic job and made a delicious breakfast! It was a nice way to end the holidays and break from school. Tomorrow it is back to reality! Here are some pictures from the breakfast party.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T07:10:00.000-08:00

We had our traditional Rainforest Cafe get together with our friends to bring in the new year (the early new year that is). We celebrated with hats, noisemakers, dancing and lot of fun from 6-8pm at Rainforest. After that it is was back to the Marinello's for a little more fun! Here are some pictures. We wish all of our family and friends a happy healthy 2011!

So much fun sledding!

2010-12-28T17:09:00.000-08:00

Sledding with the Marinello's was sooooo much fun. "Big"Mike and Isabelle were quite a team. We were very proud of nate and Joseph, they were both super brave and went down by themselves. All of the kids had a great time. We only went for a short time, but we has TONS of fun! Click HERE for pictures.

Snow Storm

2010-12-27T11:55:00.000-08:00

What a whopping storm we got yesterday and last night! We are thinking it is a little more then a foot! After we got our gear on we were ready to take on the snow. The kids played for about an hour outside. This was longer then I thought they would last. It was COLD and WINDY outside! We came in for some hot chocolate and homemade Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies (these are our favorite..recipe is on the top of the Quaker Oats lid). Here are some pictures.

Our Christmas

2010-12-26T07:08:00.000-08:00

We spent a quiet Christmas eve at home eating a nice dinner and watching the Polar Express. Sophie said she could not wait to go to sleep so it would be morning quicker. We woke up to open presents. Then we had egg McDeCoite's (which are like egg McMuffin, but a DeCoite made them : )). Later in the afternoon we went to Grandma Karen's and Grandpa's. Mommom joined us this year. We got to meet Jay's parents. The food and company were great! Here are some pictures.

Sophie is inspired by Matisse

2010-12-24T04:50:00.000-08:00

Sophie took her first art class. The class was to weeks. The final project was a painting of your choice inspired by an artist. Sophie chose the painting titled Goldfish by Henry Matisse. She did an amazing job with her painting technique and the color choice! On the final night of class there was an art exhibit of the students work. Great work Sophie! we are soooo proud of you.

Ho Ho Ho

2010-12-21T17:36:00.000-08:00

Santa is in town! Actually Santa was on our street tonight!! He came around town on a fire truck and handed goodies out to all the kids : )! Thanks Santa and the Metuchen Fire Department!!

Oooohhhh what fun it is to.....

2010-12-11T14:53:00.001-08:00

decorate a gingerbread house!

Elfing yourself is SOOOO much fun!

2010-12-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Click on the box to the right to see The DeCoite 2010 Elf Yourself Video!

Our Annual Chanuakah Party

2010-12-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

This year we changed a few things at our annual Chanukah party. We did a Chanukah Harry (better known as secret Santa). We also had crafts and cupcake decorating. The food was AMAZING as usual (White House subs : ), but the company was even better! Here are some pictures.

Happy Chanukah !

2010-12-02T03:37:00.000-08:00

Last night we celebrated the first night of Chanukah by lighting the menorah candles and playing driedel with red Swedish fish! Happy Chanukah!

Kicking off the holiday season!

2010-11-28T12:36:00.000-08:00

Today we kicked off the holiday season by decorating our tree and going to the Metuchen Winter Parade. The kids had fun decorating and only a few fights broke out. After the tree trimming we went to the parade. Sophie was in the parade with her brownie troop. She did a great job and we are very proud of her. Here are pictures from our day.

Our Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T18:46:00.000-08:00

We had a terrific Thanksgiving! We were so happy to have Aunt Karen, Uncle Steve, Michele and Todd join our usual crew! Nate had so many questions about what Michele had in her shirt. It was very cute!! Aunt Danielle asked the DeCoite Kids to be in her wedding. We are all very excited to share in our family's great events of 2011!! Here are some pictures from our dinner.

Thanks Giving Place Cards...

2010-11-21T03:50:00.000-08:00

Sophie and I were looking for a fun place card idea for Thanksgiving and we found THIS one online. Here is how ours came out :)

Bowling with the Marinello Family!

2010-11-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

Today we went bowling with the Marinello's and the went to Jose's for lunch : ). We all had a great time! Here are some pictures.

Check out the new workstations....

2010-11-10T16:02:00.000-08:00

Back from Florida!

2010-11-06T10:28:00.000-07:00

We had a terrific time at the Small's Florida house! We did so many fun things. We went to the beach (Honey Moon Island) and looked for shells and relax in the sun, we went to the Tampa Zoo, played in their pool ,watched a sunset, went kayaking (on a very windy day : / ), ate at yummy restaurants Lucky Dill and Casa Tina, went to a greek fishing village, and met up with our friends Bob and Erin from Edison. It was a fun filled 4 days!! I will post pictures in a few days...most of them are on Mike's camera and he is in Vegas till tues. : /.

How was your Halloween?

2010-11-01T08:52:00.001-07:00

Ours was good! I liked having it on a Sunday. It was a busy day with some packing for our Florida trip and a field hockey game, but we still had time to trick or treat! We met up with our neighbors and started trick or treating arounf 3:30. I remember the days when my kids moved slowly from one house to the other collecting their candy, well not any more! They were like lightining! We lost some of our neighbors shortly after we started :(. Sorry Jack, Anna, oz and Charlie! We ended up in Beacon hill by the DeVizio's. Their neighborhood adopted us for a scavenger hunt and pizza party. We were all pooped and got home areound 7pm. Here are our pictures!

Field Hockey Party

2010-10-31T09:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Sophie's field hockey party! It was sooo fun. We had it at the local middle school and about 40 girls out of 50 came to the party. The girls signed each others shirts, got their trophies, got their team pictures, and had lots of pizza and good snacks.

Halloween Party at Somerset Run!

2010-10-24T04:14:00.000-07:00

Our Mommom lives at the coolest place called "Somerset Run"! They have terrific events year round for the 55 and over crew but on Halloween it's all about the grandkids. They have a big party that includes lots of crafts, games, and treats! Thanks for a terrific time Mommom! HERE are some pictures.

Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

2010-10-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

It's my favorite party to host...I love this party. Keeping it simple- pizza and dessert!

Everyone came at 5pm to carve their pumpkins. We had some fancy ones and some good old Jack O' Lanterns. Sophie and I made a peace sign pumpkin. The kids had a running and playing. We were luck to have a nice fall night the party ended around 7:30. Here are some pictures!

Lovin' Lancaster

2010-10-12T03:53:00.000-07:00

We had a blast hanging with the Murphy's in Lancaster. They were so good to us- they better be careful or we will come back all the time!! Here are some pictures from our trip!

One last horah!

2010-10-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

We had our last horah at the shore house this weekend. We slept there Friday and Saturday night. Saturday we did a few of our favorite shore things-bay beach, crabbing, playground, and dinner out! The weather was great and we loved every minute of it!

We closed up the house and we did the big "room switch", Mikey and Nate will now be roommates and Sophie has her own room!

We also had time to squeeze in a quick craft :)....

Happy birthday to you!

2010-09-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Mike!! Sunday we celebrated at D'Italia and tonight we celebrated at Champps. We love you Mike!xoxo : )

Our Sunday

2010-09-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy day! We had lots to do around the house around the morning. In the Afternoon we had Sophie's first field hockey game. Aunt marci is one of her coaches and Hannah and Isabel are on her team! We were luck enough to have Mommom come to our first game!! Hannah was so amazing I was watching her coach Sophie out on the field. Sophie had a great time and worked very hard- yeah Sophie : )!! You can see pictures HERE.

After Sophie game we came home and packed up for a Family and Friend at the park. We met up with the Marinello's, the D'Alessio's and the Gialluisi's for some fun. We played in the park, ate dinner, and had a kickball game. I am glad we could find a time to get together. It was great to see our friends. HERE are some pictures.

Mikey's Party

2010-09-18T04:51:00.000-07:00

We had another successful Bionical Birthday Party for Mikey. We played Lego creationary, ate pizza, built Bionicals, played, bashed a Lego pinata (built by mike and Mikey),played some more, made ice cream sundae's, and played some more : ). It was a fun time and the boys were great! Here are pictures.

How old are you now?

2010-09-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

Happy 9th birthday Mikey!! Wow time really does fly! Mikey will be celebrating his birthday tonight at Champps with his family and his best bud Joey! On Friday we will celebrate with his friends at our house. I am happy to report that at 9 years old Mikey is still proud and happy to put his hand print on the traditional "Decoite Birthday Cloth" : )!

First Day

2010-09-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

Mikey had a great first day of third grade. He had some old fiends in class and made some new ones. Sophie liked her second grade teacher. She is lucky enough to have Anna in her class! Nate is returning for a full day at Bobbies house. He loves going to her house and has made some great friends there. Today he made a picture using stamps from an ink pad. Here are some pictures!

Block Party Blast!

2010-09-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our annual block party. We made a few changes, there was no scavenger hunt this year but there was an amazing version of Minute to Win it played. Kathy and Emily prepared a ten event game for the neighbors to play. Approximately 30 people (adults and children played the game. There was also great food, fireworks, and fire pit! I was a fun time. Here are TONS of pictures : ).

All Sophie Wants for Christmas is......

2010-09-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

her two front teeth : )! Sophie lost the "other" front tooth tonight the first one fell out 4 days ago! She looks super cute. This will be a fantastic 2nd grade picture!! For the first one the tooth fairy brought a bike helmet. Sophie was thrilled- not your traditional toothfairy reward, but a good one! We will have to see what the tooth fairy brings tonight-hmmmmm!

Our summer celebration dinner!

2010-08-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

Last night we celebrate the end of our summer with our friends the Cavanaugh's and Nana. Nana lives up the street from our beach house, lucky for us she has a great big family. We spent lots of time with Nana and the Cavanaughs (Brendan, Dana, Maggie, Conner, and Decklin)this summer. Dana and her 3 kiddies spent the most of the summer at Nana's house. Maggie and Sophie are both seven and have become great friends. The boys hit it off great. I think the highlight of their summer was playing army guys on the beach. Dana and I are like to peas in a pod. It got to the point at the end of the summer that we knew what the other was thinking without saying a word. It was sad when we said our goodbyes : (, we are already planning an October get together : ). Here are some pics from our celebration dinner.

The rain did not stop us!

2010-08-24T15:22:00.001-07:00

We had a visit from Deena, Matthew, Jacob, Sammy, Aunt Cookie and Mommom today and the rain did not stop us from having fun! We gave Deena the grand tour of our summer home (tee hee hee) and then we chatted while the kids hug out. Then it was off to the Seaside Boardwalk for some lunch. The boardwalk was rainy and gross so we hit the rode and went for ice cream in Lavallette at Salty's :). The kids were happy and loving spending time together. We came back to casa el DeCoite after that for some more together time then it was time to say goodbye : (. Thanks for visiting us today!!! We had fun and pictures are HERE!

Thanks Swartz Family!

2010-08-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Today we hung out with the Swartz family! The kids were very busy all day. They had so much fun that we stayed for dinner : ). After dinner we went up to the beach for a little bit then we went to the bay to feed the ducks and play on the playground! We always have fun when we hang with Jessica, Nick and Vanessa! Pictures from our day can be seen HERE. Thanks Guys : )

we love having visitors!

2010-08-16T03:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend we were lucky enough to have visitors on both days! On Saturday Michele and Todd came to see our shore house and hang out. We had a blast people watching. This included some Jersey Shore cast sitings. The kids and Todd went on some rides : ). Sophie and Todd braved the log flume. I am not sure who was holding onto who tighter! After that it was time for some Khor Brothers ice cream.

We were all tired so we came back to the house to relax. Michele and Mike managed to take a nap :). We cooked a nice dinner then we ended our day playing and watching the sunset on the bay beach. Pictures are HERE. Great day Von Deaks-thanks for coming!...and that was just Saturday

On Sunday the Schiffl gang made their first visit to our little bungalow. We ate a quick lunch and then went to the bay beach. The day was filled with crabbing, playing, kayaking, and swimming. We packed it up around 5pm and went back to the house to cook dinner. The kids played so nice together! It was a terrific visit! Thanks for visiting Schiffl's! Pictures are HERE!

Huge catch!

2010-08-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

It was cloudy and cold on the beach yesterday afternoon, so we came back to the house. Sophie and Mike decided to go crabbing. We were not expecting much because last year at this time of the summer, the bay seemed all crabbed out. Boy were we wrong! Mike and Sophie caught about 10 crabs. Five of the crabs were huge! We cooked them up with a little old bay and had them with our dinner.YUMMY!!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

2010-07-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to Salty's Ice Cream in Lavalllette for the weekly hermit crab races. We raced 5 crabs. Sophie's crab, Cody, came in 3 out of 82 crabs! Go Cody!! Sophie won a Jewlery box decorated with shells and a coupon for a free ice cream! Congratulations Sophie!

Perfect Beach Day

2010-07-28T04:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the most perfect beach day. The company was part of the reason and the weather was the other reason. The Glutz girls and the Small girls came to visit. The beach was sunny, but not to warm and the water was warm with few waves. The kids were in the water almost the entire time. They only came out for food! It was great to see everyone, we missed our friends, our cousins and aunt marci!

Philly with the Family

2010-07-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in Philadelphia with our family! It was a HOT one, but it was fun. Michele and Todd were great hosts they even provided pretzels and water guns! Does it get any better then that! After touring around Franklin Square, Independence Hall, Listing to Once Upon a Nation Stories, and watching the kids participate in a military muster it was back to Michele and Todd's for a BBQ.The evening ended on the roof with dessert! Thanks again we had a great time! Pictures are HERE !

We had a blast in Baltimore!

2010-07-23T06:46:00.000-07:00

We had a 3 day trip in Baltimore Maryland with our friends! There were 20 of us in total! The Decoite Family, the D'Alessio family, the Gialluisi family, and the Marinello family loaded the cars on tuesday and headed out of NJ and to Baltimore. Lisajoy came up with the idea for the trip and created a great itinerary for us. The 3 days were packed with fun that included an Urban Pirate tour, a Baltimore Orials baseball game, the aquarium, a walk on the harbor at night, a tour of a real U.S. Navy ship, and the Maryland Science Center.

The DeCoite family had a terrific time sightseeing and spending time with all of our friends. We are so lucky to have these familes in our lives! Click here for more pics- warning there are TONS!!

To Infinity and Beyond!

2010-07-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

Definitly beyond- this is a picture of Sophie and Nate playing Nate's new Toy Story Wii game in 3d! Nate earned the game as part of the Lavallette Leaning program. His assigment for the program is to behave, and he did!!

As many of you know I digi scrap (digital scrap book). My friend Lisajoy takes part in this crazy hobby as well! She inspireded me to start taking pictures of the little everyday things in life that I want to remeber-not just the birthdays and holidays. I thought this was a PERFECT example of something I will want to remember. Is there anything better then kids in pj's, playing Wii, and 3d! I think NOT!

beach house with a pool...does it get any better?

2010-07-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

The DeCoite family is livin the life! We now have a pool at our beach house! O.K. it is blow up pool-but it is still very cool! It is big enough for all 5 of us! Sophie and Nate spent about 6 hours in the pool and loved every minute of it. Mikey did not want to go in, maybe next time. Mike and I took a quick dip in the pool as well. Pics are HERE!

What do you do down the shore when it rains?

2010-07-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

Want to know what we did? Mike took all 3 kids to Lowes for the free craft. They go there a bit late, but the people at Lowes were nice enough to give them the craft to take home! The craft for today was a wooden ball catching game. Mike helped the kids put together their ball catcher. When they were done they painted them!

Lets hope it is sunny tomorrow this post is LAME!

and they are off!

2010-07-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

Tonight we kicked off the first Hermit Crab Races of the season at Salty's Ice Cream Shop in Lavallette. We had 5 crabs racing tonight and I am sad to report none placed in the final heat. Our friends Nick and Vanessa had a lucky night placing 3rd out of 53 crabs! There is always next week!Here are some pictures from the race.

Bay Bash

2010-07-07T04:47:00.000-07:00

Last week we spent the afternoon at the bay in Toms River. Our friends the Lisa, Todd, and Max invited our family and the DeVizio family for some fun in the sun. This was our second annual "Bay Bash". Lisa and Todd rent the same house on the bay every year. The afternoon included rides on their jet ski and tube, crabbing, and EATING! It is always great time! Thanks Garris Family! Pictures can be seen here.

Our 4th of July

2010-07-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

Our 4th was a busy one. We started off at the beach for a few hours. It was a HOT one!! Then it was home for a bit. After that we went to the Swartz House for a BBQ. The kids were lucky enough to play in the pool. They had a blast! Then it was back home to go to the fire works on our beach. We were able to watch the tons of fireworks from all the surrounding towns it was terrific! Check out our pictures here. Check out the patriotic cupcakes Nate and I made YUMMO!

Mommom and the Smalls Visit!

2010-07-03T06:32:00.000-07:00

So I am a few days behind on posts-sorry : ( we are on summer mode. We had a terrific visit with mommom, aunt marci, izzy and hannah! The kids all got along great and had a fun time on the beach. Click HERE for more pictures.

It's not all Ice Cream and Sand Castles

2010-06-30T05:22:00.000-07:00

ahhh summer at our beach house.. we love it here!! We spend lots of time at the beach, swimming, crabbing, watching the hermit crab races, eating ice cream, watching movies and other fun activities. Today we started or our own Lavalette Learning Program.....

Instructor:Lori DeCoite

Mission : Keep the brain juices flowing over the summer

Process: Variation of reading, writing and math for 45 minutes

We are keeping a tally of times we accomplished this process, once the tally gets to 5..they get a prize, then we start again!

So far so good, we accomplished the mission today, we will try for day #2 tomorrow. We are not all business down here at the beach. Yesterday the kids snuggled in Sophie's bed to watch a movie. We are trying to have a nice balance of vegging out and thinking a little: ) wish us luck!

Sophie at the 1st Grade Authors Tea

2010-06-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today was the 1st Grade Authors Tea. On this special day all of the 1st grade students invite their families to read some of their writing that they have worked on throughout the school year. Mike and I enjoyed listening to Sophie read her work. After listening we went inside for a class party. The kids ate pizza and lots of goodies. They had a great time signing t-shirts. Thanks for a great year Mrs. Gil and Mrs. Johnson! For More Pics Click HERE!

2nd Grade Play

2010-06-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

Today Mikey performed with the entire 2nd grade in a play title Character Matters. He was One of the Big Bad Wolves in The Three Little Pigs. He did a terrific job and we were very proud of him. Check out the pictures here

the big 7!

2010-06-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

Here are Sophie's pics from last week. She looks so grown up!

is it o.k.?

2010-06-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of my dads passing. I have been thinking about him and Andy all day. I know Andy is finally at peace. Is it o.k. to blog about this kinda stuff?? It can't all be birthdays, family functions and happy stuff-right : /.

Great Memorial Day Weekend!

2010-06-01T05:28:00.001-07:00

We started the weekend on Friday with a visit from the Marniello family. We had a blast playing on the bay beach and kayaking!! Saturday we went to the bay beach again the weather was great. Saturday night we had a cook out with the Swartz family. Great food and company!! Sunday and Monday were more beach time! We finished the weekend with some crabbing on the docks in Lavalette. All in all it was a very relaxing 4 day weekend!! The only stinky party was the 2 1/2 hr ride home :(.

As you will see I did not take my usually 300 pictures. I had the camera, but forgot the battery : (. Lucky for me I had my little point and shoot! The few pics I took are here. You can go to LJ's blog to check out picks from the Marinello visit.

Celebrating Sophie's Birthday

2010-05-26T04:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated Sophie's 7th birthday! WOW! Times goes so fast. I feel like she was just 2 with cute little pig tails! Now my big girl is growing up!

We had a great day yesterday. We celebrated by going to Champps for dinner with Mommom, Grandpa and Grandma Karen. Today i am going into her class to read a book and share some ice pops! Should be fun!!

Sophie's Birthday Party

2010-05-22T03:48:00.000-07:00

We packed so many things into Sophie's 7th birthday party! The theme was sleepover! We tye dyed pillow cases, painted nails, ate pizza and ice cream sundaes, played tin foil funky girl (see pictures), opened gifts,watched a movie, and ate popcorn! It was 2.5 hours jammed full of fun! Sophie and her friends had a great time. Mike and I would like to thank our helpers.. Hannah, Mommom, and Jessica! They were a HUGE help!! Check out the pictures here (warning there are lots!).

Play Ball and Mothers Day!

2010-05-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

Another busy weekend! Mikey and Sophie played in a baseball game on Saturday afternoon, then at night it was off to the Somerset Patriots Baseball game with the Metuchen Little League. Our League had 1200 people attend the game! The kids had fun seeing their friends and going to the field before the game. The weather did not cooperate that night. We only stayed for about an hour. It was VERY windy and it started to rain.
On Sunday we celebrated Mothers Day. Mike and the kids got me a new Vera bag. It is pink and yellow-two of my favorite colors! We went to Marci's for a bbq. Then it was off to visit Grandma Karen and wish her a happy Mothers Day! It was a day full of fun! It was great to see everyone!! Pictures are HERE.

Feels Like Summer!

2010-05-03T11:04:00.001-07:00

From the minute we left for our shore house friday night... it felt like summer. We sat in traffic and it took an extra 45 minutes to get to our house, but it was worth it! Satuday was the most amazing day. Mike took Sophie out on the kayak on the bay beach early in the morning. Me, Nate and Mikey met them there a bit later. The sun was shining and the water in the bay was not to cold. We went back to the house for lunch and to relax. We hung out and waited for the Keenan's to arrive! They are our first guests of the season! They check out the house (which did not take long) then it was off for round #2 at the bay beach. This time there was kayak rides, drippy castles, hole digging, swimming, and crabbing! Lisa was the big crab catcher of the day! She was catching two at a time!
The fun did not end there, we got cleaned up and went to Point Pleasant boardwalk for some pizza and rides. I loved watching Nates face on the rides. He loved it!! Thanks for come to visit Keenan's! Check out pictures HERE!

Miss. DeCoite

2010-04-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

Today was bring your child to work day! Mikey chose to stay at school and do Earth Day activities with his class, and Sophie played art teacher for the day! She said she had a great time and wants to come back tomorrow. She felt like a big shot in the kindergarten classes. Sophie was a huge help today and I loved showing her off to everyone at school! Thanks for spending the day with me Sophie!!

Play Ball!

2010-04-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was opening day for Metuchen Little League. Mikey and Sophie are on the same team and they are looking forward to a great season. We have yellow shirts this year just like last year, so we put sophie's old shirt on Nate. He was the team mascot! Click here for more pictures.

Cookies!

2010-04-11T04:29:00.000-07:00

I found a new blog a few weeks ago. It is by Christy and it is called The Girl Who Ate Everything. It has become one of my favs! She posted this recipe for Cinnamon Roll Cookies. I made them last night to take to a brunch we are going to today. The cookies are delish. Check out Christy's blog-it is a must!

First Time For Everything!

2010-04-03T04:50:00.000-07:00

For the First time in my life I dyed Easter Eggs! I know it is hard to believe but most Jewish kids don't dye eggs. When my kids asked me to dye eggs, I tried to pass it off to Grandma Karen, but she did not see into the idea of doing it, so I took it on. After reading a few tips online and asking friends for help were ready to start!

My non Jewish friends and readers might not be able to appreciate this but it was VERY funny. As we began setting up for our egg dying Mikey breaks out in song.... dye dyeyenu.... let me explain.....during the Passover Seder there is a very upbeat part where a song is sung about the many favors God bestowed upon us when he brought us out of Egypt. The song is called Dahyenu. The chorus goes like this.... Dahy-dahyenu, dahy-dahyenu, dahy-dahyenu, dahyenu, dahyenu, dahyenu. The translation I guess for my kids was Dye- dyeyenu, dye-dyeyenu, dye-dyeyenu, dyenu, dyenu, dyenu.

Maybe you had to be there : /. It was VERY cute and funny. As for the egg dying I am sure there are certain techniques that work better then other, I have not mastered them in one try : (. I was not so impressed with the magic white crayon. Many of our designs did not come out. I think the eggs need to be done the day before. I had done mine about 2 hours before and the outside was still kind of wet. Maybe we will try again next year.

sunshine + 6 kids = playground

2010-04-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Merrill Park in Woodbridge with the DiVizio Gang. All six kids had a great time on the playground. We only had to make one bathroom trip, which is not so bad. After we played for a while is was time to see the animals. Nate thought we were going to see elephants and tigers, sorry to disappoint you Nate but Katey the horse is about as exciting as it gets. Click here for pictures.

Quote of the day........

"HEY GET OFF MY BACK, WOULD YA!"

She's still got it!

2010-03-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

Last night my mother made cooked and hosted our Passover Seder! It has been about 15 years since my mom has hosted Passover. She did an amazing job and she has not lost her touch. The food was amazing. It was a small and cozy Passover. Speaking of small, we misssed the Small's and I am sorry they were not here to see the wonderful dinner mom cooked. I guess that just means she will have to host again next year : )!! Click here for pictures.

Earth Day Everyday Concert

2010-03-27T05:50:00.000-07:00

Campbell School 1st and 2nd graders presented their spring concert yesterday. The Concert was called Earth day Everyday. The presentation was so nice. The Grades sang individually and then together. They concluded with "This Land is Your Land". Mikey and Sophie both did a terrific job! Mike and I were so proud! Here are some pics...

Fun Filled Weekend!

2010-03-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

Our weekend was super busy with lots of fun activities. Friday night was the Metuchen Recreations Daddy Daughter Dance. This was Mike and Sophie's first time attending. They had a blast! They danced the night away and had tons of fun! While they were at the dance I took my boys bowling with some of our friends.
Saturday we started the day at Myrtle Field in Metuchen . We attended the Easter Egg hunt hosted by the Metuchen Recreation Department. It was a beautiful day and the kids enjoyed seeing all of their friends.
From there we came home and packed some clothes for a trip to cherry hill. After that Nate and I went to a birthday party and Sophie went to softball. At 3pm we packed up the car and went to pick up Sophie at softball, from there we went straight to the turnpike and we were on our way to Cherry Hill!
We arrived in Cherry Hill and hung out with Katie and Stef and their families. We fed the kids a quick dinner and went to Turnersville to drop off the kids at Aunt Karen's and Uncle Steve's. The plan was for them to babysit while Mike and I went out for dinner with Katie and Stef and their hubbies. The plan worked! We had a terrific time and it was a nice visit.
So as you can see it was a JAMMED PACK Saturday! We arrived home early this morning and had a nice quiet day at home. We played outside and enjoyed the sunshine! Click HERE for the pictures.

Mr. Leprechaun

2010-03-17T05:35:00.000-07:00

Sophie came home from school ready to set a leprechaun trap. She piled books, toys and her guitar at her bedroom door. Unforunitly we did not catch Mr. Leprechaun, but he was definitly here! He left foot prints as evidence all over the house!

The kids took pictures of the footprints to school to show their friends.

Happy St. Patricks Day!!

The 2009-2010 Grapplers Season Comes to an End

2010-03-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

The end has arrived. Mikey wrestled in his final match of the season today. He did a great job, but we are still waiting for that win. Nate and Sophie wore Grapplers gear to support Mikey and his team.

Thanks coach Mike for a great season ; )!