We headed to Rehobeth Beach for some summer fun. In attendance were my sister Hollie, her son Josh, sister Heather, her daughter Savannah, friend Rita, her daughter Madison, her son Cody and a bazillion other tourists.

First up was getting some boardwalk fries, pizza, and Nic-o-Boli’s at famous Nicolas Pizza. The place was packed, but we made it in and had a hectic but yummy dinner. Then we were off down the boardwalk to enjoy the scenery as we made our way to our destination of funland – a maze of kiddie and adult amusement rides.  After the kids were somewhat sated from many adrenalin pumping attractions, they did some running on the beach, and some of the kids even made into the Atlantic ocean, which was an unexpected surprise to some parents. We ended the trip with an icecream dessert with a beautiful backdrop of an ocean sunset.

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We visited with lots of my family while in Delaware, along with some family friends. Lots of fine Delaware foods were eaten such as corn, chicken, and blue crab. Jasmine participated in an array of activities from hula hopping, swimming, riding in a wheelbarrow, unwrapping presents, and playing with her new friends Cody and Madison.

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During our week vacation, Jasmine had lots of time to play and get to know her cousins Josh and Savannah.

Josh is a bundle of energy and always on the go. Jasmine wasn’t sure how to play with him at first, much less keep up. But they found common ground in their love of snacks and playing cars.

Jasmine fell right in love with Savannah.  They both kept very busy making baby noises and funny faces.

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We had a wonderful visit with my Uncle Walter, Aunt Jane and Uncle Robin. Jasmine was initially shy, but Aunt Jane immediately broke through with an offer to go feed the fish at the pond. Later, Uncle Walter took Jasmine and me for a ride in his MG. He has been rebuilding this vehicle for the last several years and it looks and sounds amazing. After the exhilarating ride, Uncle Walter was Jasmine’s new best friend. Apparently, Jasmine has a thing for convertibles.

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For our first birthday celebration with Jasmine I wanted something quite, small and intimate. Emily and Jasmine wanted something big, loud and energetic. With two against one, I lost. And so the princess party at Chuck E. Cheese’s was born.

Chuck E. Cheese’s was a sensory overload of noises, smells, and visuals. Somehow the kids liked this environment, while the adults walked around like forlorn zombies stumbling after the children who wondered from one diversion to another.

The mechanics of the place was confusing to me. There are these things called tokens which you use to play games. If you do well at a game, it will spit out tickets. And then you feed these tickets into another machine, which spits out a different ticket. Finally, you use this ticket to exchange for merchandise. Its almost like being a rat in a maze. Hmm.

Anyway, Jasmine had a blast. She loved the games, she loved dancing on stage, she loved being crowned and metaled by the Chuck E. Cheese costumed character. And I loved watching Jasmine having lots of fun, even though I didn’t quit understand what was happening. And yes, the pizza is as bad as people say, but us famished zombies ate it anyway.

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