A Lovely Walk In Society Hill, PA!

Our little adventures have become more sporadic these days and lately we have been venturing out to places away from our comfort zone because it's whats needed to snap me out of my funk and for the kids to relieve stress from being on zoom all day. We are so lucky to live close to some amazing states that include NYC, Pennsylvania, D.C. and Connecticut (New England area). Philly and New York are the two closest places to venture out on the daily or when time permits us and lately it has. The weather has been perfect for sometime now with a little scattered showers here and there but that doesn't prevent us from going out. I love these kids how they still like to get outside and simply...LIVE. 

Especially Noah. His generation requires all technology these days but the only time he's on technology all day is when he's on zoom. He's as old school as it gets. All my kids are. And I love it. A few things I wrote about Noah on my Instagram that made me think while taking this beautiful walk in Society Hill among these lovely tulips were...

Ringing Rocks.

I'm going to rewind back a bit from moments of our spring break. I document everything on Instagram and on my journal but not on this blog. Why is that?? I love to write but man, some days I wish we didn't have a computer and I'm just not motivated to edit, and upload over 1000 photos! But I don't like clutter on my phone and so eventually I get around to it and so far I have about five drafts on this blog that I will post on the daily so for those of you who continue to click on my "harmonious combination thank you for hanging in there. I will do my best to catch up!

A Little Bit Of Spring Break In D.C!

So here we are in the last week of April and I'm blogging about our last week in March! So behind in the game but looking through all my photos on my phone and seeing all the beauty of spring in pictures gets me motivated to share with you the colorful and wonders of spring. 

Spring break fell on the last week of March and luckily Jon took Good Friday off to spend some time with us! Our tradition on Good Friday has always been going to the temple in D.C, seeing the blossoms, and then eating at Willard's bbq. Well, we stuck with tradition this year except we were only able to view the temple from the outside since it's still closed. We did get to see some blossoms near the Washington monument and walked around until our noses turned red! It was about 40 degrees and super windy but we managed to take in the loveliness of spring.  Lunch at Willard's definitely happened and as usual it was sooooooo good! Hopefully this time next year the temple will be open so we can all go in and serve. Even Noah! It was a beautiful day and so happy that we were able to take the time to drive and enjoy ourselves. Here's a little photo dump for your viewing pleasure! 

Spring At Washington Square Park!

Once again I have never seen the blossoms at Washington square park in the spring and after seeing pictures of them on New York Instagram pages we had to join in on the action. And they were amazing! It is such a quaint park and every single time we come here I am reminded of the movie August Rush. It is one of our all time favorite movies and Noah always brings it up every time we come and walk through here. We weren't here for too long but to just take a few photos and listen to a jazz band. It was pretty cool and if you follow me on IG you would have seen them on my instastory. It was such a gorgeous day and I'm sure after the rain we've had lately are pretty much washed away but coming to Washington square park on any day of any season is the best! 

Blossoms At Central Park!

Well, we made it! We finally made it to Central Park to see the blossoms before they looked bare. In the past years we've always managed to come when they are somewhat bare but this time they were in bloom in all their glory. We spent about an hour walking around the park. Also excited that the row boats are back! We will do that next time Jon is with us! We watched some salsa dancing near the Bethesda fountain, saw dancers dancing around tourists, and as usual...saw a lot of troubadours singing and playing their instrument all around the park. It was lively. It was great. It was energetic. It was thriving. I've said this before and I'll say it again...New York is not dead. I took so many photos and these pictures don't do it justice. You literally have to plan a trip here in the spring to witness spring in all her glory. And she was blooming with happiness on this day! 

A Lovely Walk On Campus!

One day after school last week we decided to go for a walk along Princeton University and holy magnolias they were everywhere! I've never really paid attention to spring on campus but I am from now on because it is absolutely stunning! The kids got all dressed up and of course I took pictures. They are such good sports when it comes to capturing lovely moments like this. We are so lucky to live near Princeton and to witness such earthly beauty. Never again will we take for granted the beauty of magnolias at Princeton University. Besides these photos you can also watch a little tiktok video I made capturing the blossoms here. 

A Blossoming Neighborhood!

We are in our third week of spring and the blossoms and magnolias continue to hang on. We've been to a few places in Jersey where they continue to blossom. We have flowering trees in the front of our house and all over our neighborhood. We have gone on walks and Noah has jumped and pulled off magnolias from the hanging branches. I do love our neighborhood walks and now that the weather is getting warmer hope to go on more of them. We don't have a backyard so we venture outside a lot. Although Noah enjoys being outdoors he can also be a homebody at times and on some days I've had to make him go outside. Luckily he's agreeable and listens to me and eventually goes outside with us. He's learning quick that even though he's getting older and his generation today consists of video games and technology that he can't always sit behind the screen. He knows all about balance and limits and when enough is enough. I taught him that. So glad I'm one of those archaic moms who likes to get outside, play boardgames, do sports, go on walks, enjoys to read from a book, writes letters, and still watches dvd's so that he can continue to learn that the world doesn't revolve around technology. Well, it actually does but it doesn't have to revolve us. So, as a mother, I am grateful to be old-school and that my mom taught me how to be creative when I was "bored" and couldn't afford to travel and buy boardgames. Here's to spring and hope that these blooms will last longer than a month! 

Noah's First Priesthood Session!

For the first time in about 10 years Noah took full attention into listening and I mean really listening to all the conference talks including all of priesthood session. I think it's the fact that he's growing up, and that this would be one of those times he has one on one time with his pa. But most of all, I honestly believe that he really wants to believe for himself about these things that have been taught to him his whole life...without any force. I am so proud of who he is becoming. He is his own person and does think for himself. Believe me, having a mom like me and a dad who pretty much explains things to him thoroughly and carefully he's going to grow up to be like us-with his own individuality. So grateful for conference and traditions for this is a tradition that is going to be passed down. Jon's dad would take him to conference and have ice cream or dinner after. It is the best bonding between a father and son and on this evening I saw that stronger than ever before. 

Officially a Boy Scout!

Noah had his arrow of light ceremony late last month and and now he is officially a Boy Scout! I'll always remember the first time he started to go to cub scouts at the tender age of eight. And now he's 11 and moving toward doing hard things. We are so proud of him! He's growing up so fast and learned so much the past four years in cub scouts. He is excited o be joining a new troop, meet new friends and go on bigger adventures and learn so much more. He is definitley following in his dad's footsteps and leaning toward bigger things. So happy for our Noah. He has so much to learn in the next few years. One thing for sure is that he will be taking his time in learning as he is progressing in scouts. No need to rush getting his eagle at 13 or 14! Although that could happen! We shall see....

Our Easter -2021

Spring has sprung all over the garden state and all I want to do is just play outside, stay away from my phone and dnothing! Of course with the Easter holiday we just had didn't quite do that because I love to take pictures. We did a little bit of everything over easter weekend. We watched general conference, cracked cascarones on each others heads, and we even had ourselves a little Easter egg hunt. The kids still love being egg hunters, and it was a beautiful day for it. No clouds. No rain. Just pure sunshine. We went to the same spot we went to last year before Lexie left on her mission. We've had our egg hunts in the past at Central Park or Roosevelt Island but Covid hit and well, you know how that goes. We have kept the past two Easter Sundays low key and close to home. Focusing on the Savior is what matter but we also put fun and laughter in our day! It's times like this that I can relive over and over again. Repeating it multiple times a month! I just love these kiddos of ours and the time Jon has to spend with us. He works so hard all week and most weekends he'd like to rest but he sacrifices his sleep to spend outdoors with us. It was a special and uplifting day and hope y'all had a wonderful Easter weekend too! 

Happy April!

Woke up to some nippy temps on the first day of spring but at least we had some sunshine. It rained so much yesterday and I'm just so happy that we at least had some sun. The flowers are beginning to bloom and the blossoms are already showing off. Spring is definitely here.

Last weekend we went to the city and saw this gorgeous flower installation in the garment district! This is the best installation by far and it is absolutely exquisite. I love the pincushion with the roses and butterflies on it. The sculpture of the man sewing is also eye catching and beautiful and love all the colors that the artist put together in this installation. Floratorium collaborates with other artists and does a lot of the flower flashes here with other florists. Such a talent and I am so happy that we saw this beauty. The best part of venturing around the city is always taking pictures with my kids. I'm so happy that Noah still likes to have his picture taken with me in front of flower installations. He's such a sweetie and hope that he'll continue to take photos with me forever! Chelsea is my girl so of course she loves to take pictures too!