So Much Going On, Part One

So where have I been lately that has prevented me from blogging? Well we spent a long weekend in Runnymede, New Jersey with Phil's family the weekend before Memorial Day. His grandfather was the pastor of a church there for 55 years. The church was celebrating its 100th anniversary and invited the whole family to come back for the celebration. Lots of firsts that weekend: the 1st really long car trip for the kids (12 hours, including stops at every rest stop between Cincinnati and NJ), 1st time seeing NJ (the kids and I had never been there before). The most fun 1st though was the trip to Ocean City on Saturday with Phil's cousins and their families. It was cloudy and a little cool (only about 65 degrees), but that didn't stop the kids from playing and splashing in the waves and having a fabulous time! I loved seeing the Boardwalk and checking out all the shops. We ate lunch at a place claiming to have the World's Largest Pizza. One pizza measured 26" across. It was HUGE!! But we still managed to polish one off. Yummy!

The church graciously opened up the parsonage for us to stay. This was the house Phil's mom grew up in and Phil visited when he was younger. It was so fun hearing stories from the family about adventures in the house. Friday night there were 19 of us crammed into that smallish house (the 6 of us, plus Phil's sister and 2 of his cousins, plus their spouses and kids). Saturday night we had "only" 14 of us there and Sunday night it was down to only 9 of us. The 6 of us Hahns slept in 1 room on the floor, which was another first. We did manage to get some sleep, although the kids enjoyed the adventure of it more than Phil and I did (we are TOO OLD to be sleeping on the floor!)

The church service Sunday was amazing! Phil's mom played the piano beautifully, his uncle preached a terrific sermon and his cousin sang. It was a tiny church and I think that people related to Phil made up more than half the congregation. At one point the current pastor of the church asked people to share blessings. Rose, David and even Matthew each stood up and shared something. After the service, the church had put together a potluck for us. There was so much food there, including this garlic bread that was absolutely, hands-down the best garlic bread ever anywhere in the world! I ate far too much of course, but the kids evidently didn't because they were hungry a couple hours later.

Monday morning we headed home after a fun, but exhausting weekend. The car ride home was much easier than the trip out. Not any shorter, but at least the kids didn't fight as much! The pictures I posted are of us at the ocean, Phil's mom playing the piano at church, the huge pizzas we ate in Ocean City and a group shot of the whole gang of us that made it back east for this fabulous weekend!