The Wedding
After our long drive, we were so happy to be able to celebrate Benjamin and Katie's wedding! They had a beautiful ceremony on a beautiful beach on their beautiful birthdays. The ceremony was followed by delicious food, dancing, sparklers, and the hottest MC ever (am I making this about Tyler, even though it was Benji and Katie's big day. Yes, yes I am. But only on my own blog, teehee).
Seriously, though, aren't they so cute?
The Beach
Let's be honest, we are a beach-loving family. Tyler and his siblings grew up going to Brigantine Beach in NJ and have passed on their love of the beach to their children. The water was cool, the sand was hot, the seagulls were relentless (hot tip: only eat under an umbrella, otherwise the seagulls will steal it), and the company was top-notch. Our goal is to hit the beach every other day while we're in NJ (this is one of the only goals I set while on vacation...other than hitting the NJ major food groups: pizza, subs, cheesesteaks, and cannoli).
Jim invested in some actual shovels and the digging commenced. At some point, everyone who was male or under 15 years contributed to Mt. Vigue. This was the cousin's first major sand palace. It attracted all the random beach kids, just like pizza attracts seagulls. They had so many "helpers" that they could've started an MLM. Which would have been ideal, since the next beach day they built pyramids.
Fourth of July beach trip!
The original Vigue crew may not be kids anymore, but they still know how to keep things fun!
Pool Time!
I know, I know. After all that time at the beach, you're probably thinking, "how can you still want to go swimming!?" Gonna be honest, it gets hot and humid in NJ. May as well jump in some non-salty water to hide the glow!
We were able to borrow a pool during the reunion. Lots of races, jumping off the diving board and catching the ball, dumping people off the floats, and sunblock. Also, we did hit our first NJ food goal and devoured pizzas between swimming.
Of course, we could always swim in Grammy's pool! I think the second most common phrase I heard from Grammy was, "Who wants to go in the pool?" The first most common phrase was, "Here, have a cookie."
Fourth of July
Is there anything better than July 4th on the beach? Fireworks and Family and Fourth and Beach...meh, roll with it! Sparklers give me anxiety, but the kids sure love them.
Magical!
It was a late, loud, sandy night, and it was LIT!
Cousins, cousins, cousins!
Cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles are arguably the best part of New Jersey. There are 23 Vigue grandkids plus a handful of grandkids-in-law. Here they all from shortest to tallest:
And here they are from silliest to goofiest...
Cousin time is the best time for games!
Even the Uncles and Aunts get into the games.
And just for funsies, here's a shot of the family kickball game at a local park. The Vigues may be just the tiniest bit competitive. Like, an itty truckload of competitive. :) But everyone had fun, even though Eliza was pretty sure she'd die of heat, and no one got hurt (which let's be honest, is always a win!).
Pop's Birthday
Melanie threw a sweet birthday party for Pop while we were all there. Happy birthday, Pop!
Pop loves his lemon cake with blueberries and whipped cream!
So much family that loves Pop!
And let's throw in a picture of 4 OG Vigues with Grammy, just to balance things out!
Boardwalk
One of the other thing Vigues love while in New Jersey is the Ocean City Boardwalk. While the kids were little, Gillian's was the place to go. Now that they're older, Castaway Cove is the place to be!
Let's go!
The Log Flume with cousins is always a blast!
Bumper cars were something everyone got into.
Custard on the Boardwalk is one of our faves! Other great choices: the fries, funnel cake, water ice, and (the perennial favorite) pizza.
They were amazing nights with cousins!
Eliza is already dreaming of going back.
New Jersey was a super-blast! We can't wait to go back and see our favorite people and places again. First, though, we had to get home...
Stay tuned for part 3!
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