As well as Santa Claus & the Easter bunny...

*PS- My "Journeys Near & Far" page has been completely updated...mostly with Jersey eatsJ 

Morning, ya'll!  How are ya guys doin?   Like I said, Monday snuck up on us so quick that I didn't even get my bearings to be able to post yesterdayJ  I can't even believe that this summer is winding down already and that FALL is flyin right at us.  It's almost too fast for ME, and that's sayin A LOT!  Summer used to be a complete DREAD, with my counting down the days to FALL as soon as spring/April hit.  August was actually spent going "This time NEXT MONTH we can be apple picking/sweatshirt wearing/crisp nights loving."  Sighhhhh.......so much has changedJ

MEMORIESSSSSSS....

Let me digress before I summon the humidity gods and have them give me a reminder of my non-favorite summer attribute and why I'd be happy to see summer on its wayJ  (I should mention that those gods have been staying FAR away from us, which is 99% major reason for this 2-year old love of summerJ) 

BUT ANYWAY, back to the weekend and back to the 'so much has changed' comment, given that THIS was how we spent our Saturday morning:  

Thomas the train is one of Katie's absolute favorite...people...things?? on the planet and YELPS in happiness every time she sees him....

....buttttt, unfortunately, the 'visiting' with Thomas proved to be too much reality and he went about as well as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny...

...would now be a good time to mention that I waited in line over an hour for us to get up & close with Thomas????     

Nah...I won't even mention it.

...at least the rest of the Please Touch Museum went over a little better, preventing the day from being a total bustJ

And after 4+ tiring and LOUD hours at the museum (which was CRAZY busy on a Saturday, obv!), neither of us felt like fighting Philly/weekend traffic and decided to head out of the city for dinner.  And when we got home, I just wanted SIMPLE PIZZA.  NOT thin-crust, fancy toppings or any of those things I usually ADORE.  NO, I wanted OLD SCHOOL pizza and I got just that at Scotto's Pizza in Yardville.  

I hadn't been to Scotto's in YEARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRS, but it was everything I wanted at that very momentJ  SIMPLE, CLASSIC and PERFECT.

Plus it helped that Scotto's shares a parking lot with Carvel, where we were finally able to try their Nutella ice cream...

Which, as you can imagine, was simply divine.  It tasted like frozen chocolate milk kissed with hazelnuts...and let's not even discuss the level of YUM that those CHOCOLATE CRUNCHIES addedJ  

And then it was back to my 'reasons I love summer' when we packed up Katie, our niece and about 85 bags to take down to my Mother-in-Law's 2-week beach house rental in Manasquan on Sunday...

And it was actually the FIRST time all summer that the ocean was slightly warm enough to take a swim.  Emphasis on the SLIGHTLY, cause it was still pretty darn cold!  I guess here's the only place I can chalk up a 'bummer' in the 'nice & cool summer' department.  Not that Katie cared...she was out of the ocean for about 20 minutes the entire day...

And when we got back to the house, it was time for our 'classic shore dinner':  Lobster tails, baked potatoes, salad & 'corn & beans'...

Katie even sampled some shrimp tails, like the proper summer-lover that she isJ

So yeah...usually after an indulgent weekend, Monday is usually met with a 'clean sweep' of health.  This was NOT so yesterday, folks (sometimes the call of a tuna hoagie is just too much to take...even on a MondayJ), so I'll try to clean it up today in the attempts to have a healthier recap for you tomorrowJ 

Have a great Tuesday!