More pictures in NJ. The weekend of the big party!

The Ladies. Working hard to cut veggies for the party~

My Aunts: Laurie and Lois. My mom. My Grandma.

Beautiful, aren't they?

Francis found a frog to play with. No, I did not let him put the poor little guy in a jar and take him back home to Michigan... he survived some playtime with the boys and was then set free!
James and Michael. Playing baseball?

Grandma's 80th.. A celebration of the McCarthy Family!

Friday.. Grandma's Actual birthday. The little cakes to "make do" until the party on Saturday. ALthough, they were REALLY YUMMY cheesecakes. :)
My sister BethAnne and her little Sean

My cousin Jim with Patrick. We hadn't seen Jim since James and I got married!

What a treat!

The Friday night gang~

What a blast!

Michael's First Smiles

There is something really amazing about the first time(s) that your baby engages with you.. and smiles at your silly antics and chatter. Finally.. the baby can communicate! WOW! THis happens around 2 months. He has also started cooing, which is just too cute for words. Here are the pics of his beautiful smile (and dimple!)

Long Island Fun!

My Cousins, Colleen, Kelly and Emily.. and my Uncle Patrick came to visit with us at my Grandma's house. The girls are so much fun.. and they love the boys!
If you are in the McCarthy family, then you have "grown up" getting your picture taken in front of this fireplace... The tradition continues...

Robert Moses beach.. The only problem was the sunburns. Ouch!

My Uncle's Monster Truck was flying over the kids...what a riot!

OK, so it is really annyoing that these pictures post in the opposite order than what I downloaded them to be... but here is the packing ordeal. Have you ever wondered what it is like to pack for 8 people for 5 days?!? SOME chore!!

(Notice the color coordinated choices.. outfits for each day are horizontal.. each person goes vertically. Then, I pack each day in a seperate bag, and mark it. Then we look somewhat 'put together' and I am less likely to miss important pieces of clothing!!)

Miscellaneous pics!

I thought maybe some of you had not yet seen our pet snake, Strikey. He is a Ball Python and is about 3 and 1/2 feet long.

We love picking time! We picked strawberries (above) and pease (below).

My grandma was visiting, and she came along to help! (Thanks Grandma!)