4th of July Bike Parade

This morning we took part in the 4th of July Bike Parade in South Ocean City.  I’m not really sure how long we’ve been doing it but it’s an annual event for us now and one I remember taking Jake to when he was a little dude.

Jake and Abby are official “too cool” to take part in it but Brett really looks forward to it.  This year’s list of riders were: Brett, Lucas, Hannah, Natalie, Aunt Jean, and Uncle Erin.  It was a tough one this year because it was really hot and humid.

Brett, Lucas, Natalie, Hannah, and Uncle Aaron

McMenamin’s in Ocean City, Summer 2010

Here are some pictures of the kids down at the beach this summer.  With Jean and I both working this summer, the kids spent a lot of time with their Aunt Kate, who took some wonderful pictures of them.

If anyone’s looking for a photographer, Kate’s always available.  Click here to get in touch with her to schedule your shoot.

Mom’s New Beach House

After close to four summers of looking to buy a beach house down in Ocean City, my Mom finally pulled the trigger on a house this weekend. She was close to buying a different house and decided to check out a few other options before closing the deal.

She went house hunting with the group on Friday (Jean, Jake, Abby, Brett, and Kate) and they looked at a few other single houses on the island. The last one they looked at is the one that got everyone excited. It’s a classic upside down beach house with the bedrooms on the ground floor and then the kitchen/family room/seating area on the top floor.

I got down to the beach Friday night right after they viewed it and the whole crew was bubbling with excitement. I don’t recall I’ve seen my Mom that pumped up over something and she had her offer in to buy first thing Saturday morning.

I’m guessing I won’t be seeing much of my wife and kids during the summer from now on. I’m thinking they may be there non-stop.

I think the purple looks a little overwhelming, but Mom and Jean both told me it just fits in the house.  If it gets old, you can always slap some new paint over the walls.  Regardless, it should be a fun time going down to Grandmom’s beach house from now on.

Clam Bake Anyone?

We celebrated Independence Day the same way we have the past few years with a clam bake for dinner.  It’s a nice tradition we’ve had over the past six or seven summers (funny how quickly you lose track).

Usually the 4th of July starts off for us with the South Ocean City Bike Parade, in which the kids meet over at our Lady of Good Counsel on 40th Street and ride down to the playground on 52nd Street.  This year, the parade was pushed to the 5th because the 4th fell on Sunday.  Shockingly, the church expects to use their parking lot for parishioners on the day of worship.  Who knew?

We spent the afternoon hanging on the beach before heading back for a nice dinner of clams (we went with 500), lobster tails (we went with 10), some fresh sweet corn, and some Coronas.  Of course we had some chicken tenders for those little ones that aren’t up for seafood.  Dinner guests included my five, my sister Erin and her clan of five, my sister Kate, my niece Emily, and my Mom.  It was actually one of our smaller groups.

We capped the night off with some dessert and then the group headed down to the beach to catch some fireworks.  Being the party-pooper I am, I decided to catch them from the deck.  It’s not as sandy up there.

Crazy Vacation/Work/Camp Week

Things are a little odd this week with the McMenamin family all spread out.

For those who didn’t know, my mom rented a beach house in Ocean City, NJ for 6 weeks, beginning June 20^th and running until August 1^st.  We went down to the house that first weekend (Father’s Day) to open it up and move everything in for my Mom, who was still recovering from surgery and is still not back to full strength.

We then went down for vacation from June 26^th until Monday July 6^th.  We spent the first two nights of the trip in Wildwood at a beach soccer tournament (Cape May Beach Blast) for Abby before heading over to my Mom’s.  Jean and I had a funeral to attend on Wednesday for Jean’s friend Sandy up in North Jersey, but other than that it was spent just hanging on the beach.

Jean’s parents also rented a house down in Ocean City starting on July 4^th and running through July 18^th.  That first weekend, they had Mike and Dottie and their kids down for the weekend, as well as my niece Natalie.  We invited them all over to my Mom’s beach house on the 4^th for a nice little clam bake, which was a relaxing way to hang out with some cocktails and fireworks.

On Monday, things got a little hectic as we went our separate ways.  I left the beach house early Monday morning (5:30 ish) to go straight back to work for the week.  Jean and Jake came home a little later on Monday.

Jake has basketball camp at Villanova this week, so Jean dropped him off and helped him get moved into the dorm room he’s sharing with his cousin Michael.  The two of them went together last year and they had a blast; Jake liked it so much he also recruited two of his buddies from Sacred Heart to go this year (Connor Tivanen and Tim Carroll).

Jean had to come back for a variety of reasons.  She started her final school course (yahoo!!) which is being given on Monday and Wednesday nights for the next three weeks.  She also has to teach Spinning class at the YMCA on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, as well as squeeze in her little side job.  She’ll bring Jake home from camp on Thursday afternoon so he can spend one night at the Sacred Heart Fair before they both head back down to the beach on Friday morning.

Abby has spent the last few nights hanging out with Jean’s parents and her cousin Natalie, while Brett spent a couple of nights at my Mom’s house before heading over to the Wynne’s on Tuesday night.  I’m not sure which of the two beach houses the kids will be sleeping at tonight?  What a great parent, huh?

This will be the longest stretch that Brett hasn’t been with us, but he really doesn’t seem to be missing us yet.  We’ve made a few calls to check in on him, but he can’t be bothered to actually get on the phone to talk to us.  I’m guessing that means he’s enjoying himself.

The Ramsburg's

The Beach Blast weekend else happened to be the weekend that the Ramsburg brothers came to visit mom’s beach house. First to arrive were John, Jamie, and Cooper on Friday night. Michael and Caitie made it in the early hours of Saturday morning when the rest of us were dead asleep.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to spend much time with everyone because we were traveling back and forth to Wildwood for soccer. We did get a couple of hours to spend with everyone on Sunday night, and we’ll be catching up with them in a few more weeks at Michael and Caitie’s wedding.