{...a breezy life} at briemarisa.com

It's been a while for the blog and I. I know. Bad Blogger {raps wrist with ruler}

Our summer has been full and most nights, I fall on the couch to watch tv, too tired to do much more than wield the remote, much less blog and use my brain. But while my brain might be a little tired, my body has been going, following my son on any adventure he can find and because of that, it's been a full, fun summer.

Last week was no exception as Pete, PJ and I , along with our nephew Robbie, set out to conquer Jenkinson's Boardwalk in Point Pleasant, NJ. We were invited as part of program, in conjunction with my amazing friends at Jersey Moms Blog, to visit the beach and boardwalk as a Jenkinson's Memory Maker. As such, we had the honor of being provided with wristbands that were our ticket to all things Jenks- the beach, the boardwalk, the amusements and more! We didn't get to everything (the curse of a day at the beach with small children!) but we left tired and happy.

We started off at Jenkinson's Aquarium, a small facility located in a cute pink building towards the top of the boardwalk. Home to sea otters, penguins, sharks, and gorgeous tropical birds, the Aquarium dazzled PJ and Robbie. "Look at all the fish on the TV," exclaimed PJ! We had to explain to PJ that the giant glass panes were not televisions but, rather, real-life sea-life swimming before us! Robbie fell in love with a tank full of "Nemos" or clown-fish, and we all enjoyed watching the penguins! We were just in time for a feeding, and the boys gleefully watched the tuxedo-ed cuties vie for first crack at the delicious fishy offerings. My favorite was a tank of colorful, tiny frogs!

After the Aquarium it was time for lunch. At least, I was ready for lunch. The boys were ready to hit the beach but with all of the delicious smells filling the air from the many eateries on the boards, I knew I needed some pizza! We headed to the Pavilion Restaurant and filled up on my favorite- pizza and fries and a huge Diet Coke (for me- no chemicals for the children!). With my pizza craving handled, it was time to head to the beach. The boys jumped right in and didn't leave the ocean until we left a few hours later!

Note: Calling my pizza craving "handled" might be misleading. I could have eaten a full pie all by myself. Mmmmm...pizza.

After the beach, we made a quick stop to one of the boardwalk Bath Houses to rinse off and change and after we dropped our beach stuff at the car, we scouted out a place for dinner. Thankfully, we didn't have to go far- the Boardwalk Bar and Grill is (as its name suggests) right on the Boardwalk and was the perfect spot to grab some dinner. The kids got chicken nuggets and fries, served in beach buckets, much to their delight! Pete and I considered treating ourselves to an Adult Beverage from the gorgeous bar, but since we were both already tired and were about to get on carnival rides, we passed.


As we headed to Jenkinson's South Amusement Park, it started to rain a bit. It never got heavy, in fact, it made the night even more lovely. The air cooled to perfect amusement park temperatures and when the kids spied a train ride, we were off. Robbie is the less ride-tolerant of the two boys but, despite that, found a number of rides he was willing to try and enjoy, including a ride that allowed him to lay on his belly and "fly" like Superman! PJ, on the other hand, is ride-tolerant enough for both of them and, now that he's reached that magical 42' height requirement has the world at his feet. He rode the Flitzer roller coaster with a huge smile on his face! The sky was turning pink before we noticed how late it was, and we gathered up two very tired little boys to head home.