Maddie, our family weather girl, tells me that it is 14 degrees outside and feels like zero, so it is hard to believe spring will ever arrive… but I just read in our local paper that Mansions in May is coming to Harding Township, New Jersey, this year.  I’ll post more details and maybe a [...]

I don’t know about you, but I feel like the last month or so of holidays was both relaxing and a blur… while we had plenty of family time, including Rex’s terrific holiday meals, with London and Maddie’s brothers, sister, niece, nephews and grandmothers, we got away from our usual routines… ballet, modern dance, gymnastics.  [...]

Rex, London, Maddie and I are relaxing in front of a roaring fire, waiting for Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year to count us down to 2010.  We just returned home after a perfect evening at Ninety Acres, the brand new restaurant at Natirar (Raritan spelled backwards) in Peapack, New Jersey.
I started with the Yellowfin Tuna & [...]

It’s the last half day of work and school for Rex, London, Maddie, and me… and when they get off the bus around one o’clock today, our family will head out to Lambertville, NJ (and maybe cross the bridge to Newhope, PA) for some last minute Christmas shopping and an early dinner at Hamilton’s Grill [...]

The Nutcracker will be performed by the School of the Garden State Ballet’s Youth Company on Saturday, December 12th at Holy Family School in Florham Park, NJ.  There will be two performances: 3pm and 7pm.  Tickets for the 3pm performance are $5.00 each (family maximum of $25); tickets for the 7pm performance are $7.00 each [...]

See Santa arrive on the big red fire engine at the Mendham Junior Women’s Club Winter Carnival on Saturday, December 5th from 10:00am until 2:00pm at the Brookside Community Club. Proceeds from this family fun event will benefit vital programs and services within Morris County.

Bring your camera to take a picture with Santa in [...]

While London and Maddie may never be strong enough gymnasts to make the Randolph Gymnastics team, that doesn’t stop us from admiring their achievements and aspiring to greatness. Tonight — Tuesday, December 1st – from 4:00pm to 7:00pm, the amazing Randolph Gymnastics Team will host a Lia Sophia Designs Jewelry Open House. 20% of orders placed [...]

We’ve started our Thanksgiving weekend, and in addition to the usual reasons we give thanks (family, friends, good health), I would like to say thank you to every Mendham Township Taxpayer, whether or not you voted to pass the 2009-10 school budget, for contributing to the school programs that benefit my children, London and Maddie. [...]

We’ve just come home after an awesome performance of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory by Hexagon Players of Mendham.  I believe there are still tickets available for next weekend’s performances, and our family recommends that you scoop them up and check out a spectacular show.  I’ll try to write a longer review over the [...]

I’ve posted my review of the Miley Cyrus show over on my Roxiticus Desperate Housewives blog, but wanted to let all of you know about another great dinner our family (and four friends) enjoyed before the show at the Adega Grill in Newark, New Jersey.  We arrived to find the table set for eight (8), [...]

London and Maddie had a blast yesterday during their Halloween Week make-up class at Randolph Gymnastics… I was going to wear my pirate costume to try to sneak onto the giant inflatable slide, but my girls told me the staff would realize that I didn’t fit in as soon as they saw my attempt at a cartwheel.  [...]

We’ve just enjoyed the annual Halloween parade at Mendham Township Elementary School, and London and Maddie are still posing around the house as their all girl band, the Butter Bites. It’s Halloween Week at Randolph Gymnastics, and the girls missed a class earlier this week in favor of pumpkin carving with the Brownies, so [...]

We took a lot of photos of London and Maddie as the Butter Bites, as well as the competing Scariest, Prettiest, and other costumes…. as I sort through them, I’ll share the best ones with you.
On the left, we’ll start out with London and Maddie as the Butter Bites and Rex and Roxy as the Pirate [...]

Actually, I’ve got six (6) golden tickets… to the Hexagon Players’ Sunday, November 15th matinee performance of Willy Wonka at Delbarton Preparatory School in Mendham, New Jersey.
Back in June, I told you all about London’s audition for a part in the Hexagon Players Fall production of Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka. After waiting among hundreds of [...]

We’ve just received the following H1N1 Influenza Update via London and Maddie’s “Backpack Mail,” so I thought I would share it with any of you who are seeking information about swine flu shots in the Mendham, Bernardsville, and Morris and  Somerset County NJ area.  The first part of the letter outlines basic healthy and hygiene [...]

An invitation to the December 6th performance of Handel’s Messiah at Hilltop Church just arrived in the mail, reminding me that this time last year, a few days before Halloween, we had about two inches of snow on the ground here in the Roxiticus Valley!  Thankfully, a repeat of last year’s freak snowstorm is not in the forecast, and it [...]

For the past few years, it feels like the annual Bay Head Halloween Parade has involved a grim weather forecast of hell and high water.  Yesterday we drove down to our beach house in the pouring rain, which flooded Lake Avenue and didn’t let up as we made our way to the Crab Shack to [...]

Turns out the forecast calls for rain, rain, rain… starting tomorrow (Thursday) and continuing right through the Far Hills Races on Saturday, October 17th. Our family was on the verge of making “the Hunt” an annual tradition… we went two years running:

in October 2007, when the sun was shining, the horses were running, the beer [...]

Hi Roxy,
I was browsing your site (it is terrific!) and wanted to let you know that we are hosting a fall festival and benefit with a horse and farm life theme on October 17th from 1 to 4pm at Center Line Farm in Tewksbury, NJ.
The festival will benefit two very worthy local organizations. The first is Animeals which [...]

Our family just received an invitation from the Ralston Engine Company (Mendham Township Fire Department) to meet our neighbors and our volunteer firefighters at a pancake breakfast, coming up on Sunday, October 11th from 8am to 11am.  As long as the weather is nice, we’ll be away at our beach house in Bay Head, NJ, celebrating my [...]

Come out and set the course record this Saturday, October 3rd, at the first annual Mendham Harvest Hustle 5k Race, dedicated in thankful and loving memory to Sergeant Richard Morales. The sanctioned and certified course winds through historic Mendham Borough.  The children’s events include a 1k run and dashes.  After the race, “Catch the Wave” [...]

Back in the Spring, Rex and I were lucky enough to score two sets of four tickets to take London and Maddie and friends to see Miley Cyrus on Saturday, November 7th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Today, I’ve wrapped up our plans to include a mother-daughter pair of friends for Maddie [...]

In a few minutes, London and Maddie’s babysitter will arrive, and Rex and I will head out to Kitchens by the Sea, an amazing day of peeking into our neighbors’ kitchens and enjoying delicious food samples provided by local Jersey Shore restaurants and caterers.  This year’s participating restaurants include:

Rock’n’Joe’s

Scone Shoppe

Miletto’s

Bay Head Chocolate Shoppe

Labrador Lounge

Martell’s

Theresa’s South

Shore Fresh [...]

When the weather is nice, there’s nothing better than a day off from school and a long weekend at the beach.  However, once the leaves start to fall and cooler, drizzly or rainy weather sets in, a school holiday can have London and Maddie whining, “Mooooommy, we don’t have anything to do!”  Here’s the good news:  Randolph [...]

London and Maddie are happy to be back to school, but even happier to be back in their after-school classes at Randolph Gymnastics.  One night this week, Rex and I came home from work early for Back to School Night at Mendham Township Elementary School, and to see Maddie in her Novice II class and [...]

Yes, I should have given all of you a bit more advance notice about this fun family event, but I have been quite busy hosting Rex’s family reunion this weekend.  Tomorrow — Sunday, September 20th, 2009, from 11am until 4pm  – is the second annual Schiff & Mendham Junior Women’s Club (MJWC) Family Farm Festival at [...]

Having spent a couple of sun and fun-filled weeks at our beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey, before school started, Rex, London, Maddie and I are staying here for a rainy weekend in the Roxiticus Valley. The rain kept us away from the annual clam bake at the Brookside Community Club, and the Sounds [...]

This just in: Sounds Around Town has been POSTPONED to the RAIN DATE of THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17th.
Unfortunately, that probably means that London and Maddie and their friends from Annie’s Playhouse will not be able to perform, but the event still sounds like lots of fun.

Since London joined the Crazy Clovers 4-H Prep Club two years ago, and her sister Maddie joined in the fun last September, I’ve been posting about the good times our family has enjoyed at the club meetings and the annual Somerset County 4-H Fair.  If London and Maddie’s 4-H adventures sound like fun, I’d encourage [...]

Experience a wide variety of hand made items including traditional craft, fine art and country crafts at Chester’s 36th annual Fall Craft Show. The event returns to Chester, New Jersey, next weekend: Saturday, September 12th and Sunday, September 13th from 10:00am until 5:00pm, rain or shine. Chester’s Fall Craft Show was featured [...]