Here comes fall

I have been neglecting the blog so during the few minutes of quite time left between nap and the bus coming I will be playing catch up.

We got have been getting our yard ready for fall. There is a "yard of the season" competition sponsored by the spouses association and I want to win!!

Tot Time & Swimming

After a rough start to the week, Jackson is doing much better getting on the school bus in the morning. I think he had a hard time adjusting to the morning routine and being gone all day. Sawyer loves school and is very excited to go. He holds his lunch box in his lap in the car on the way. Jason took his ship to Brooklyn, NY Saturday to be fixed in the shipyards. He is coming home for a visit this weekend. The repair is expected to last a month. On Tuesday I took Sawyer to Tot Time on the base. There were tons of kids and he really enjoyed it. His lady friend, Alyssa was there too. They had gymnastics mats, a parachute and races for the kids to do. Jackson has started swimming lessons on the base as well. They are both enjoying their activities. Jackson's friend, neighbor & classmate, Hayden is a regular at the Fealy house. Jackson says they are "just friends." Sawyer doesn't mind her either.

Turning 5!!

Jackson celebrated his birthday party on 9/3 at the Nature Center in Cape May with his friends, Grammz, Auntie, GG & Opah. The kids decorated buckets and the dads pulled the net in the harbor to collect critters. Then we celebrated his actual birthday on 9/5. The next day Jackson started Kindergarten! What a busy week. Sawyer was not pleased that he did not get to ride the bus.

Evacuees

We made it through the storm in great shape. Liz was an amazing host - walked the dogs everyday and was a great help with the boys. Jackson's only request while we were in the big city was to ride the subway and Sawyer wanted to ride the city bus. Luckily, Liz is a master of public transportation so we accomplished everything. We went to Reading Terminal Market and had a fun lunch at Johnny Rocket's. The day of the storm, the boys got a little bit of cabin fever and wanted to help clean Liz's floors. Not sure how that happened, wish it happened at home. We got to see Jason a few times and Liz got a tour of his cutter. He is still in Phili and will be starting home tomorrow. Our house is just the way we left it and everyone slept very well in our own beds last night. Thank you LIZ!!

More pics from Phili

That B&%#$ Irene

Jackson, Sawyer, Bosco, Marley& I are safely in South Phili at Liz Cashin's house to wait out the storm. We got to say goodbye to daddy on his boat as they left the harbor. We left Cape May at 5:00 yesterday afternoon ahead of the mandatory evacuation. In the first 90 minutes of the trip we went 18 miles, followed by torrential rain, then coming into Phili in the dark. It was the most stressful 3 hours I have felt in a long time. Liz is a very gracious host, tolerating us and the dogs. She is actually out walking Bosco right now. Bosco has adjusted well to city living, peeing and pooping anywhere. Marley is more particular and requires specific locations and types of vegetation to do his business. As a result, he woke me up at 5:00 AM to go out so I walked them both through South Phili. You'd be surprised how many people are up at 5:00 AM. Jackson slept like a rock on the floor next to me but Sawyer was a much different story. He was wide awake from 1:00 to 4:00 AM - have no idea why, other than in a strange place. Hopefully tonight will be better. I think Liz felt bad for us today and called off work to give us a tour of the city. We rode several city buses and the subway, per the boy's requests. Jason had his boat towed from Cape May to sector Delaware Bay and is here in Phili...somewhere. Haven't seen him yet. Tomorrow the plan is to ride the subway to go see Jason and then get ready for the storm.

How does your garden grow?

I was very inspired while in NC and have planted a "late crop" garden. I have peas, carrots, spinach, cabbage, collards & broccoli - all items that are good fall crops. I also have some cilantro, basil & rosemary in an herb garden. The peas, carrots & spinach I started from seed and they are just poking up. I hope it all comes in nicely!

The kids and I made a trip to Atlantic City this week to go school shopping. They both got new shoes and Jackson got a winter coat. Sawyer got a "nap mat" to take to school to rest on. They are both excited for the upcoming school year. Jackson is most excited about riding the bus. Jackson went to the doctor twice this week for wheezing and a bad cough. We have to do breathing treatments at home with a nebulizer machine. Jackson tolerates it. We have an appointment with a Pulmonary Specialist on 8/25.

Rest in peace sweet aunt Judy

Judith Ann Sunder Shipp

Published: Monday, August 1, 2011 5:23 PM EDT

Judith Ann Sunder Shipp, 52, went to her Lord and Savior peacefully on Saturday, July 30, 2011, at her home at Sugar Grove in the North Carolina mountains, surrounded by family and friends. Born in Okinawa, Japan, in 1958, she is the daughter of Col. Charles and Eileen Sunder of Southport. Her early life included stops at West Point, New York; Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas; Alexandria, Virginia; and Southport. She attended Southport Middle School and South Brunswick High. These years, living at the Garrison plus the many vacations to Long Beach, were very special to this young teenager. Whether crabbing or fishing, playing softball for the South Brunswick Cougars, water skiing on the Intracoastal Waterway at the Yellow Banks, and serving as a lifeguard on Long Beach, Judy enjoyed it all. She made many lifelong and cherished friends. In 1974, the family moved to Kernersville; Judy attended school there, graduating in 1977 from East Forsyth Senior High School. From there she went to Appalachian State University, graduating in 1981 with a bachelor of science degree in Outdoor Recreation and later a master’s degree in Psychology. This turned into her career as a vocation rehabilitation counselor with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, counseling and helping handicapped youths get employment. During her college years, she met and married the love of her life, Marshall Shipp. Together they raised a family—a son, Carl, a senior at N.C. State University, and a daughter, Hannah, a senior at Ashe County High School. Judy was an exemplary wife and mother, spending many years home-schooling her children and grounding them in sound Christian values. Devoted to her church, she spent hours helping with youths, accompanying her husband with prison ministry work and many other church-related activities. She was a very active, athletic woman who took advantage of the opportunities afforded with life in the mountains of North Carolina. She was an accomplished skier, kayaker, canoer and gardener. Surviving besides her husband, her children and her parents are three sisters, Charleen Porter (Dean) of Wilmington, Gail Sunder of Wilmington and Sue Sunder of San Ramon, California; an aunt, Mrs. Dorothy Jean Acklin of Jeannette, Pennsylvania; an uncle, Richard Sunder (Betty Jean) of Greensburg, Pennsylvania; a brother-in-law, Bob Shipp of Stuarts Draft, Virginia; a beloved niece, Christine Fealy (Senior CPO Jason, their sons Jackson and Sawyer) of Cape May, New Jersey; and numerous cousins. Burial was held Monday at Sugar Grove. A memorial service will be held at Bibleway Church in Boone on Wednesday, August 3, officiated by pastor Michael Green. A memorial mass will be celebrated at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Tuesday, August 9, at 2 p.m. officiated by the Rev. Trent Watts.

Visit

Grandma Fealy & her sister, aunt Judy came to visit and pick up Amber. We all ate crabs and grandma bought the boys hermit crabs.

Pirates!

While cousin Amber was visiting we had lunch with pirates and decided to dress for the occasion.

Playing Tourist

Today the boys, Amber & I went on a trolley ride through Cape May. We learned a lot of history about the city and the architecture...about 15 minutes too much. They boys lost interest and the novelty of the trolley ride was gone. Then we walked to the Hot Dog Tommy's - a famous hot dog stand featured on the Food Network for lunch. Amber thought that was cool. We also stopped by Cape May City Elementary to register my baby for Kindergarten! He is ready but I don't know if I am.

Grammz & Auntie visit

We had a wonderful week with Grammz & Auntie. Jackson went to nature camp in the mornings and we worked on the house, relaxed and enjoyed Cape May. Grammz & Auntie even went to a recruit graduation & ate at the galley. Jackson slept over at the hotel every night and said it was like "heaven."

In our house!

We are finally moved in our house and starting to feel at home. Jackson is in his 3rd week of camp at the Nature Center. There are kids everywhere so both boys are happy. Jason and the boys have had a little success with the crab trap. Jason's niece Amber is visiting for a few weeks and we are happy to have her. We suffered a little damage during the move, scratches, nicks, etc, but nothing too major. Just enough to be annoying. The weather is hot but nothing like Florida. We are getting by with 2 window AC units for now. still hot enough to melt ice cream though! The boys are happy to have their own rooms. The house is looking good - now on to landscaping.