The Homecoming Of Hermana Jorgensen!

I can't let the month of September go by without writing about Lexie's return from her church mission. She flew in late on a warm Tuesday night in August around 11pm and I couldn't believe how awake I was. It was so nice to have had all my crew to welcome her home including one of her dearest friends from high school. Owen is literally one of my favorites and he has always treated Lexie with respect. He was such a great sport to have waited with us so late and to have visited with us before we left. She was super excited to see him and we were super thrilled to see her. I could tell she needed mom hugs more than anything. I'm sure every missionary who returns home is so thankful to have survived and made it home to their families. Especially during a pandemic and I am extremely grateful that The Lord watched out for our daughter these past 16 months. What an amazing feeling to have her home with us and that she will be here with us until Christmas! Now that's exciting. 

Now for some welcome home photos...

Cheers To Fifty!

Today is my 50th birthday y'all! That's a half century of living on this earth! I am so grateful to be living another day. So thankful for my friends and family who constantly think of me not just on my special day but throughout the years. All the random "hello, how are you doing?" and "thinking of you" texts are always a sweet surprise. Something that we all need from time to time. Blessings to those who have such a friend and wonderful children who write the sweetest letters. Just hearing those words "happy birthday mom" come out of their mouth without having their dad remind them is music to my ears. Adding in hugs and kisses is a bonus and I'm especially grateful to have one of my children home with me all day while I celebrate. So happy to not be spending it alone. This weekend should be all about me but it never is because I just don't allow it. But I know that I will have a great time regardless of how I celebrate. With the kids at school all day and Jon working until 9 sucks but it's okay because like I mentioned, I'm glad to have at least one of my daughters spending my 50th year of my life with me today. 

Back To In-Person School!

After a whole year of being remote these two have been back in school full-time and they couldn't be more happier. As am I! As much as I loved having them home they need to be back in school in person surrounded by their peers and teachers. They learn more, pay more attention, and won't get so bored. Noah got so bored toward the end of school last year that he literally would not pay attention. There were only four remote kids and about 15 kids in person so I totally felt that his teacher was not giving enough attention to the remote kids which is why Noah was soooo bored. Luckily he passed 5th grade and is now in middle school! 

Seaglass Carousel!

When we venture out to the city we tend to do more than one thing and drive to more places than we should. No wonder we are exhausted when we come home! If we lived in the city I know things would be different and we most likely wouldn't be galavanting all over the city in one day. (Yes we would) LOL! Anyway, the day we went to Riverside park was the day the Seaglass Carousel opened up and you better believe we went. I think Jon was the most excited to ride because he's hardly ever with us when we go to the city. This is definitley one of our favorite carousels in the city to go to and we can ride it all day! So relaxing and the background music is enchanting. 

Riverside Park in the Spring of 2021.

Looking back at a few photos from spring this past year. Summer is waning down and here I am continuing to catch up on my blog in September. Riverside park has become one of our favorite hangout places. I started bringing my kids here since 2015. Once we saw Little Manhattan I knew that this park was going to become a favorite and here we are five years later still scooting around. And watching You've Got Mail in the 90's didn't help either. I have always loved that movie and told myself if we ever live near NYC I am going to that garden on 91st street. And here we are making more dreams comet true. It was a perfect spring day and the weather was perfect. I love this crew of mine and its bittersweet watching them grow up. Here are a few photos from that day....

Water Gun Fight!

 

When we moved into the "new" house the one thing the kids loved about it was the backyard. That's it. The yard. All they have wanted their young lives is to have a nice size back yard so they can run and play hide and seek, and hopefully have a hammock and a blow up pool. They have loved every minute of it and have taken advantage of it since summer solstice. 

So the first thing they asked us to buy was a slip and slide and water guns. So we bought both but they couldn't wait to set up the slip and slide and because they wanted to test the waters went old school and played with the sprinkler instead and had a water gun fight. And it was the best sight of my two youngest I have ever seen. Totally reminded me of my sister and I when were little without the water guns. 

And they are going to continue to take advantage of every hot day outside in our backyard getting wet until school resumes! 

Light Leaks In Brooklyn!

So happy to be a 70's baby and to have been raised in the 80's. This amazing immersive art installation took place in Brooklyn and it took me back to the 70's where Chelsea and I took in the sounds of listening and dancing to the background music while a ton of disco balls were glistening all throughout the room. Truly a genius creation. Light Leaks is the place to go that will take you back in time to relive the 70's. So glad they expressed their creation with disco lights and balls for 50 days! It's no longer on display but hopefully they'll come back again next year! 

Sunflower Season!

Sunflower season is blooming and being that we live in the garden state there are so many sunflower fields to go to. I discovered this beautiful sunflower field last month on my way to Freehold called Del Jardin. It truly is a hidden gem and a simple field at that. Never have I've been to a peaceful and more secluded place. If you go as soon as they open on Thursday or Friday you can find some time for yourself and take in the beauty of the flowers. Noah was photographer for that moment and he captured me pretty well I think! 

Dog Days Of Summer!

Since the end of July summer in the east has been scorching hot with heat waves and high temperatures. And August was worse with Hurricane Henri bringing in a ton of rain to New York and New Jersey which set off sweltering temps nearing 100 degrees! Luckily I'm an archaic mom and bought an old school slip and slide so the kids can play on and cool themselves off. Our little neighbor Gwen joined in on the fun and the kids had such a fun time. If you follow my Instagram I created a couple of reels of the kids slipping and sliding! So fun and you can watch them here and here! As much as I love fall weather I don't want summer to end yet. There is still so much I want to do with these kids and so little time. It's not like I can pull them out of school like I did during the pandemic for a day of relaxing and adventuring. We will try to soak in more days of summer before it ends because I can already feel the autumn breeze coming in! 

For The Beauty of The Temple.

Going to the temple even if it's to walk the temple grounds is peaceful especially in the summer time with all the colorful flowers. I don't know what heaven would be like but I can only imagine it will be surrounded by beauty and cleanliness. 

While on our trip to Palmyra we stopped by the temple and we walked all around it.The flowers that surround this small building were bright in color. We could have just sat here all day and just gazed at the sun. Pondering our heaviest thoughts and imagining what it would be like to be together forever. No matter what annoyances and disagreements we bring in a family we know that at the end of the day we can choose to overcome, find a resolve and be happy. Find joy if you will and learn from the lessons that might have been trying that day. To not stress over the little things that we have no control of. God will not judge us because He knows us. And He also wants us to see those small miracles that are waiting to happen to us. 

After a year of the temples being close due to the pandemic I am so happy that they are now open for us to attend to gain and feel that peace again. I only hope that they won't shut down again because of the surge of the delta variant virus again. And if they do, we can always just go anyway and walk the temple grounds just like we did on this day.

Peter Whitmer Farm.

Going to the Peter Whitmer farm is another great reminder of how The Church of Jesus Christ started. It was where the church was first organized and where they first held church service with like eight people. It's also nostalgic for me to go to historical log cabin homes like this and like the the Joseph Smith log home, reminds me of my childhood. Not necessarily how the house looks but the fact that it was small and simple. I love it and I love the feeling that it brings as we tour and walk around through and around it. Although these kids are all about the city they also find solace in visiting places like this.