CHIHULY'S Artwork At The New York Botanical Garden.

Venturing out with Noah all last week was such a treat, and we had so much fun. Ending our week by going to the New York Botanical Gardens to see Chihuly's artwork was the icing on the cake, and a perfect end to our mommy and son dates! The work of Chihuly is breathtaking! I remember looking at some of his pieces in a book at a library when I was in my teens. I remember how he sculptured everything in waves, and how it reminded me of my curly hair! The fact that he too has a head of hair on him helped me realize that I wasn't the only one with bushy hair! Art, and books were my escape from my sometimes not so happy times as a youth, and I will forever be grateful for Chihuly who helped me cope with things that were sometimes difficult to handle! 

A Day At The Smith Playground In Philly!

Although the forecast called for rain on this day, I was hoping that it wouldn't, and that it would hold out until the evening, and it did! We were so lucky to have played all day at Smith Playground without getting rained on. We hadn't been here since last summer, and shame on me for not taking my son to this amazing playground more often! I will always remember the first time we came here, and how much we loved it! We love coming here, and the best part of of it is that it's free! This entire playground is filled with the best for every age, and Noah had so much fun making new friends, and just having a blast! 

Day Trip To The Pez Candy Factory!

Memories of my time with spent with Noah when he was a toddler came flooding back as we have been spending this whole week together........alone! 

Church History Sites In Palmyra, New York.

For those of you who have known us for the past ten years know how much we love going to Palmyra to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant, and all the historic sites in the area. It is what makes our summer, and helps us to overcome the world. We love the peaceful feeling we receive while walking inside the sacred grove, and for once to pretend that life is absolutely perfect! It is the place where one can go to feel peace, and joy. There is no place I'd rather be than with my family while exploring this wonderful place, and to know that it all started here. 

Noah-isms In The Summer.

One thing I'll never regret is having Noah as my last kid. Having three older sisters has definitely given him a soft side, and a huge heart! He is as sweet, and feminine as they come. His favorite words lately has been "beautiful" and "love." He has been describing everything as beautiful. Such as these flowers in the background, and the tree that was planted at his school recently. He called it, "a beautiful garden tree." He says all his sisters are beautiful, and that I'm beautiful too! What a sweet boy he is! 

A Water Fight With Tupperware Bowls & Nerf Guns!

Temperatures so far this week have been at a high of almost 90 degrees so on the days when we don't go to the beach we go outside to play, and get wet! So when noon time came the kids grabbed their water guns, went outside and began shooting each other. They've had these water guns for almost three years now, and for the past two summers have been put to great use. I was reminded of the very first time we moved to Jersey, and how little these two were when they always played in their little blue pool, and how much fun we had as a family when our awesome ex-neighbors would let us use their pool! No matter what these kids make the best of their summer days when it comes to the outdoors, and today they were like, "who needs a pool?" They always make their own fun, and as usual I stood behind the lens of my smartphone to capture some pretty fun moments!

Favorite New York Moments.

The urge for walking the streets of New York comes quite frequently. This city has views that get me every time. The sunsets in our neck of the woods isn't like a sunset anywhere else (that's only if you're paying close attention to it!) The New York city traffic, the sirens, never ending horn honking brings out the energy in me. I may not live here, but if I did it wouldn't be hard to get used to. Living near a highway has helped me adjust to traffic, and honking cars including construction noises in the middle of the night so yeah...if I ever lived in New York life wouldn't be too bad. Especially with all that this magical, dirty, but beautiful city has to offer! 

Seated Ballerina At Rockefeller Center.

When I heard about Jeff Koons 45 ft.public art display at the Rockefeller Center I knew I had to go and check it out before they took her down. I first heard about the artist Jeff Koons on one of my favorite series of all time Felicty. There was an espisode that guest starred Tyra Banks, and she played this huge art freak, and when she mentioned Jeff Koons I had to look him up to make sure he was a real artist, and not just a name they made up for the show.

A Pioneer Trek Without The Trek.

Some people say that reenacting a pioneer trek is something that you do once in a lifetime, but if there is an opportunity where you can do it more than once on your own motive God bless you! When we moved to the Princeton area and found out that the church here reenacts a trek we were pretty excited, because I know how much it will totally strengthen the youth!

Hydrangeas, More Ice Cream & A Carousel Ride!

Words cannot express how grateful I am for neighborly friends. Especially when one lives in farm central near the highway with friends that live pretty far. Having Cristy as our closest neighbor has been a blessing to both Noah and Chelsea. Chelsea would love to have a little sister, and Noah wants to go to the playground with someone close to his age. Cristy has been a blessing to our kids summer, and it's so nice to be able to take her out on some of our adventures with us. After all, summer to us means spending it entirely outdoors! 

A Gymnastics Birthday Party At The Schafer Sports Center!

I love my husband for many reasons. One-since he has every weekend off he always wants to plan something fun for the kids even if it's just to go for a simple drive along the Delaware River, go to the playground or play a game of tennis. Two-he loves to rotate with each of our children to take them out on little one on one dates even if it's just to get ice cream, pizza, take them to the playground again, or...go with him to birthday party.

Blueberry Picking We Go!

Mother nature definitely know what she was doing after it rained yesterday. The bright sun that came out from behind the clouds with the bluest sky made up for the rain she brought all morning long. I thought our plans for blueberry picking was shot, but when we saw the sun shining after we had lunch we were like, let's go! This is one of the most exciting things of summer for the kids to do, and I am counting my blessings for this day because boy oh boy did we have fun at the blueberry patch. There is more on my Insta stories on  my instagram if you'd like to see! 

Making T-I-M-E For Our Children.

There have been many times when I have written in past blog posts how its nice to give "quality time" to each of my children, but as I look back on how that sounds I am not too thrilled about that saying. There are also times when I have mentioned giving equal time to each of my kids, and I like the sound of that a lot better. I don't always want to spend more time with the other, but there are times when I have. When Lexie was away in Utah recently I had so much time being with Noah and Chelsea! They truly make my life worth living, and there was never a dull moment when their sister was gone! Time was never ending with these two!

A Few Photos From The SOAR Program at BYU!

Seeing these pictures brings back so many memories of Sierra when she went to SOAR five years ago. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with this program you can read this detailed article about it here.) The new friends, the temple, the smiles, and the captions that are written underneath these pictures that I stole from Lexie and her friends Instagram is very nostalgic. I love how this program inspires, and teaches our cultured children to prosper, and grow spiritually as well as preparing them with success in their academics once they are in college. 

Our Fourth of July Celebration!

It had been years since we bought fireworks so this year we decided to go for a drive to Pennsylvania to the TNT store to buy fireworks, and as usual stopped by our friend Jenny's house across the Delaware river to take a picture in front of her flag that her hubby hung up after 9/11. This is a special spot for us, and we are just so grateful to have grown to known someone who has so much patriotic appreciation for God's country.