~New Jersey: Day 1~

Dustin and I were absolutely blessed to be able to take a two-week vacation this summer that involved both sides of our family. We spent the first week in New Jersey with many of my father-in-law's relatives. I hadn't had the chance to meet a lot of them yet, so it was an absolutely great week. Jim and Peg (my FIL and MIL) joined us and actually spent the entire second week there while we headed down to South Carolina for the week.

Our trip began with a redeye flight out of Portland and into JFK Airport. We arrived at about 6:30 AM, and were promptly met by Dawn and Anthony (Jim's sister). They totally catered to us and spoiled us all week with their fabulous hospitality. On our drive back to Lincoln Park, we stopped in Hoboken, NJ to see the infamous Carlo's Bakery from the TLC Show, Cake Boss. What we saw was much different than any of us expected. Small store in a row of shops and boutiques in the quaint little town. When we first walked by, we wondered if it was closed because there were no other customers in the store. Thankfully, we beat the crowd, because right after we went in the line formed out the door. The pastries were good, but I think we all had much higher expectations based on what we see from the show. And the workers they had on that day were not the most friendly. :) In fact, one was downright rude. But we still enjoyed our time there and were definitely glad we made the stop.

By the time we got home, we were all pooped to say the least. Naps were a part of the afternoon as well as saying hello to more family. Grandpa and Granny stopped by for a few hours to say hello, as well as Jenn, Melissa, and the kiddos. We snagged a few minutes in the sun at the pool before ending the night with some delicious New York style pizza. We ate lots and lots of yummy pizza on this trip.