A Day In Mystic!

One thing we have enjoyed doing with our kids upon leaving for college is taking them to their favorite place or restaurant. In this case chelsea wanted to eat at Mystic Pizza and we obliged. We absolutely love New England and didn't mind taking a day trip just for that. There is so much to do in this quaint coastal town and just loving coming here. There is tons of shopping and a lot of places to eat, get great ice cream, seafood and leave with a lot of saltwater taffy too. I love spending time with each other and it's always a joy to leave the chaos of Jersey and go to a much relaxing environment. So if y'all are ever looking for a place to enjoy and relax all year round go to Mystic, Connecticut! You may even be lucky to see the drawbridge go up too!

A Day In Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Williamsburg in Brooklyn is a hip town and I love coming here. there are many things to do here and earlier this year Noah and I ventured out to it. I have always wanted to see this mural of Drew Barrymore. I saw it on Instagram years ago and we finally captured it in person. It's pretty much peeling off but the artist, Steven Paul who was just 17 years old at the time did a really good job. He titled it "Lost Time" and entered it in the Scholastic Arts & Writing competition in 2014. He also won the gold medal for this photo which led for him to collaborate with Colossal Media by turning it into a mural that is four stories high! It is now one of the most famous murals known as "the Mona Lisa of Williamsburg." Amazing!

Cross Estate Gardens.

I have to say it has been a really chill summer since we got back from Texas. The kids had pioneer trek a week after we got home and because chelsea is leaving for college soon she is taking in all the sleep she can get. She knows that once she goes to school and works that she sleep deprivation will kick in. So on the days where she's not dog sitting or figuring out what to take to college I am keeping it low key and trying to find relaxing places for us to venture out to.  Luckily there are many hidden gems and picturesque places nearby that require less than an hour drive where we can relax and spend time as a family.

Pioneer Trek In Pennsylvania.

Reenacting Pioneer Trek in this day and age is an even bigger challenge because of what is left behind such as smartphones & any worldly possessions (which explains these grainy photos taken from an old school camera) but I’m grateful that these kids went including two of my own. Noah said that it was painful but he had great time. He's 13.5 years old and was excited to go and then realized once he arrived at their location how difficult it will be. However, he loved the "family" he was in and was happy to do it and doesn't think he'll do it again!

Chelsea said it was "terribly fun" and got real emotional after coming home and during a testimony meeting at church. She loved it. She hated it, but oh how she appreciated all the sacrifices our pioneer heritage went through so that we can be where we are today with God on our side. She also loved her "family" as well and will always remember them. 

McAllen Texas Temple!

One of the best treats from this trip was seeing the McAllen temple. It is gorgeous. It is seriously the most beautiful temple I've ever seen. And it is so Texas! I love love love it and am so happy we made a pit stop here before visiting my brother. I'm especially grateful that my mom let me take her picture. The older she gets the more allergic she becomes to having her picture taken but she did it. We weren't able to enter in because the open house isn't until mid august. I am so bummed that we will miss it so next time we visit we are definitely going to plan on a temple trip and see my bro again. Chelsea and Noah thought it was a very pretty temple. Noah loved the architecture and felt like he was in Mexico and Chelsea just loved the fact that it was built so differently compared to other temples in Utah and that it had the title of our church in Spanish. LOL! It was another beautiful moment and pretty great to be back in McAllen again after all these years!

Reunited - Catching Up On Lost Time.

Seeing my brother for the first time in about 20 years was the most emotional part of this trip. Not to mention my mom, who is in the early stages of dementia was even happier to have seen him. It was so hard to watch them two reunite. There is so much to write behind these scenes of this post and if I did a video on them reuniting after all these years I would have gotten so much clout. But I didn't because this was a private and tender moment. Tears were shed in every direction. Jon, who only cries when a huge milestone hits such as our wedding day, our kids being born, or kids serving missions. It takes a sincere moment for him to cry and this was one of them.  Even my 18 year old was emotional. My 13 yr old son was like, "what's happening?" It wasn't until we came home that we explained to him how she didn't raise him and why her her parents did. Long story to share on here but if I ever write a book about my life I will include this part in it. But that will have to wait.

Seismique in Houston Texas!

Whenever we go on road trips I try to find fun outings that the kids would like to do. I know that riding in a car all day can be boring especially if you're traveling in a Mini Cooper and so when we made a pit to stop to Houston to visit family we decided to go to this really cool immersive art installation art called Seismique and it didn't disappoint! It literally was 40,000 square feet of sound, lights, music and interactive fun. I made a little video here and it was pretty amazing. I'm so glad we took the time in this busy city to spend with family and explore art in a museum where one can literally lose themselves in all the different exhibits they had. I give it a thumbs up and worth the price!

'Big Fish' Abandoned Movie Set On Jackson Lake Island.

Hello August! How the heck is it august 1st already? 

I will still be documenting a few more posts from our trip. If you're not a big reader then I suggest you shoot on to my Instagram page where there is one photo with a simple caption. But first, I want to talk about Alabama....