Beach Day!

With summer winding down we are taking advantage of time by going to the beach. We have less than two weeks before school starts and we really want to soak in these final days of summer-literally! I have to say that this summer hasn't really been filled with beach days because of having other commitments and being that it's been soooooo hot would rather go to a movie, museum, or just stay in the comfort of our home watching Netflix! 

We did manage to go to the beach when Jon was off from work and adopted my other son winsley for the day. Sure do love that kid and Noah is always happy when he tags along. As much as he loooooves his sisters I'm sure that he would like some male bonding with his friends from time to time. It's nice that Noah has a couple of good friends that he can have fun with and are like a brother to him. And looking back at this post I can't believe how tall these boy have gotten in one year!!!! I blame it on the pandemic!!

Beach Day From 2021!

In 2021 blogging became kind of blah for me and really had to push myself and be in the mood to write. Unfortunately this sweet beach post never made it in real time so I am documenting it now. Beach days are our favorite and every time we invite Winsley it just makes Noah's day. He's definitely his brother from another mother. Having Winsley around also gives chelsea a little break from Noah- getting the feel of how it is to have "another brother." LOL! She loves her bro and loves Winsley as if he were her bro too and on this day they all had a blast! 

Coney Island At Dusk!

It feels like it was just June yet somehow we are nearing the end of august! We are trying to "live up" of what's left of summer before school starts so last week we ended up going to Coney Island. It's become tradition to go every summer and even though it can be trashy (in a good way) we love going! We don't mind the smells of weed or trash because let's face it, it's legally part of the world now but we don't mind that and we just focus on the positivity of this unique experience and just have fun with it! 

We always always ride the cyclone and the wonder wheel! They are both old rides and I swear I felt as if I was going to fly out of the roller coaster every time it took a curve. We screamed and cheered and upon rolling up to the top before dropping down the guy sitting behind us said, "welcome to hell." I totally had a final destination moment but nonetheless chelsea and I had a blast screaming all the ahhh's and I even said, "shiiiiiiiiiiiiT" once while riding this 95 year old roller coaster. Don't regret it and it's definitely worth the 10 bucks!  

It was a low key fun afternoon and stayed until late in the evening. I'm so glad I made this reel at dusk when the lights turned on because it truly does look magical. 

Tender Moments...

Two days have past since Lexie flew back to Utah and we already miss her something fierce. I know that time will pass and that we will see her again during the holidays but when you're getting up there in age and have two kids left at school-you just want to relish all the time with your kids and honestly at times don't want them to leave. These tender moments in pictures of Lexie saying bye to us are priceless. I am so grateful for the time she took to come home and visit and spend three weeks with us. We had such a great time and wish she could have stayed longer but school for her starts at the end of this month plus we need to wind down and get the rest of the kids prepared for another school year come September. So glad school starts after Labor Day here in the east so we can have more time for one last little hurrah of summer. 

Tennis In The Summer Time!

Temperatures have been in the 80's lately and before Lexie left the kids managed to play a lot of tennis. It's a perfect time to play and get all hyped up with the US Open beginning in a couple of weeks. We hope to attend a watch a match or two with the kids but with school in session it's almost impossible and Jon and I  usually make it a date night. 

There are many more tennis moments that were made this summer but only captured the kids on this day as the weather wasn't too hot for me! There are days when I can handle the heat and days I can't (thank you menopause!) So on this morning while we let Chelsea sleep in Noah and Lexie had a little match with me being the "umpire." I am so happy that Noah enjoys playing tennis and it is my hope that he will join the team this next spring instead of track, but it's his choice as to what sport he wants to do. He's getting better and better at tennis though and would love to see where it takes him if he sticks with it. Lexie is pretty much a pro and whether it's 100 or 80 degrees she and Chelsea will never say no to playing a game of tennis!

Water's Soul- A Public Art Installation In Jersey City.

We've been having a staycation and have been venturing out to various places near our neck of the woods. I saw this enormous sculpture on TikTok and wanted to check it out. It's located in jersey city at Newport pier and it's called Water's Soul by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. It sits at the heart of the Hudson waterfront and stands at 80 ft. tall. These pictures I took don’t do it justice! You gotta see it in person! The kids sat down and relaxed while I was snapping away this beautiful sculpture at different vantage points. This is one of the best public art installations up to date and it is absolutely amazing! The best part is that it faces my favorite city! 

Shakespeare In The Park- "AS YOU LIKE IT"

Shakespeare in the Park is something we look forward to during the summer and ahhh...it was soooo good! This was Noah and Jon's first time going and they had a grand time. The play this year was "AS YOU LIKE IT" and it will leave you feeling all the feels of love and acceptance. The songs were resonating and there was a scene with a boy band the reminded me of my N'Sync & Backstreet Boys days and today's GEN X favorite boy band- BTS! The girls of course thought that was the best scene and they were laughing and really enjoyed that part of the play. They even had a wrestling match scene which was hilarious.  Overall, the play was comical and joyful and it is one play I can watch over again. 

Tender Temple Moments And The Joy It Brings!

 

Going to the temple with my family truly brings me joy. I didn't realize how much joy it brought until I recently attended with Lexie while she was visiting - twice! I mean, I've gone so much in the past but as I get older and as I watch my kids grow older going to the temple brings a different meaning every time. 

Each time I go my will to become a better and more loving person becomes stronger. I feel a big difference in my life when I've been absent from the temple for so long. I seem to become more short in temper and impatient. I know that's part of life-being human and all but there should be limits as to how we treat people. Especially our own kin. No one deserves nasty text messages or emails. Especially when one doesn't know what's happening behind closed doors. It saddens me that the ones I love have done that. No one deserves that! So I plead with those who read this post to rethink what you write or text before you send it off. Rethink about the things in your life that you have done. Picture how you would feel if someone sent something so nasty to you that it causes anxiety to the point that they don't trust you or want to have anything to do with you. Whether its family or a friend- please treat each other with kindness. Not everyone is going to like each other and I get that but we all deserve some level of respect.

The "Hogwarts" Of NYC - The College Of New York.

While I was in high school I did not look into colleges. I wasn't encouraged nor did I have the means to look at any. No car. No support. Emotionally that is. I didn't graduate high school which is one of the major reasons why I never bothered. My mother dropped out of high school at a very young age and although she tried to complete nursing school in her 40's never succeeded. I suppose that's okay because we all have different paths and shouldn't put the blame on our parents as to why we didn't graduate college. Heck, I don't even know if my father is still alive. I was six when he left us so...there. No need to get into great detail about him because I don't know a lot about him. So going to colleges (even though it scares the heck out of Chelsea) is something that's important to me. And I hope that she will realize how important it is for her to check them out. 

Cause When It's 100 Degrees Outside- We Paint.

It's been years since I've blogged or posted anything about Noah doing crafts or painting and since the weather has been brutally hot lately decided to stay indoors and pull out this ceramic dragon tile that has been tucked inside my scrapbook bag since last summer and have Noah paint it. He's a lover of dinosaurs and dragons and to be honest don't want him to outgrow all the things he used to do since he was six, but he will be 13 in three months and so I have to come to terms that eventually he won't be so much into crafts (unless he becomes some sort of decorator LOL) but he's such an agreeable kid that he will pretty much do anything that we suggest-and if he's in the mood to paint he will do that! It made my mama heart happy to see him doing something that reminded me of the time when he was two and painted with his sister Chelsea. Such sweet memories. And to especially watch him enjoy doing it. There's a difference. He truly enjoyed painting it! Just watch this little reel I made of him painting it and you can be the judge and tell me whether you think he liked painting it or not! Ha ha!

The Staple Street Skybridge.

 

There are so many parts of the city I love but one of my favorite places to go to to is the Staple Street Skybridge in Tribeca. We took our family photos here last year and it was so much fun. I would love to live in this area but-keep dreaming Rose! LOL! Noah and I had a blast walking around Soho as well laughing, taking ussies and just living in the moment. I love that Noah still likes me to take his picture and I hope he never outgrows it! 

Walking The Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.

There are so many things to do here in the east and one thing I never thought to do is go for a walk on the Governor Mario M. Cuomo bridge. We have always crossed this bridge while going to sleepy hollow and have never thought to walk it until Lexie mentioned going the other day. I figured...why not. Although the days have been brutally hot we were lucky to have gone on a cloudy day and it was perfect! No crowds, just peace and quiet. It's a couple of miles longer than the Brooklyn bridge so we didn't walk it completely but we walked enough where I could capture some good views and make this little reel. We all had a great time. It's four hour parking so I believe that it takes that long to walk it in its entirety. Two hours each way. If you have the time and stamina I'd say go for it. Maybe next time we'll go in the fall when the temperatures are a lot cooler. But it is a pretty awesome bridge and it's so cool how it was built and how the timelines shows all how this bridge progressed over time!

Yankees Game, 2022!

 

Going to see the yankees is always a highlight during the summer in NYC. Especially for Noah. Now that he's gotten older he understands the stats of the players. One of his favorite players is Aaron Judge and how exciting it was to see him hit a home run. Definitely the highlight of this game. It was such a perfect day especially when you get cheap seats for $10-20 bucks!! And for five people!! The weather was perfect and although it was hot we were up on top where you can feel a breeze. It was such a great game and look forward to seeing the yankees every summer! So fun that I had to make a little reel which you can see here from my Instagram! 

A Little Letter To August!

 

Oh-Hey August!

Please take your time this month and slow down. I want more summer with less heat waves. I want more time spent with my kids. More time to create memories. More time to relax and for all the kids to prepare unhurriedly before the school year begins.

Give us more time needed to spend with loved ones if we can. More hugs & kisses. More Beach days. More time to remember what summers used to be like as a kid so that I can pass those moments on to mine.

Because with time comes aging. For all of us. And before you know it we all have another birthday approaching.

So August-please slow down so that I can embrace September with open arms in knowing that school is going to resume after Labor Day, that I will be turning 51, that my only boy will officially become a teenager and my baby girl will be in her final year of high school.

And then…THE HOLIDAYS! So please…slow down!

Yours truly-Rose