Princeton Tulips With A Flashback Link!

Last week before the rain hit and when the tulips were in full bloom we ventured out in our neck of the woods and treated Noah to a walk on Nassau street for some gyoza and a mango slushee from Kung Fu tea. Passing these tulips, stopping by Lindt chocolate and prancing around Palmer square brought back memories of the last time I took Noah out here on a little date. The tulips were bright and colorful. Cheerful. It was a perfect day with perfect weather. Sunny. The piano on display was a unique touch and even though Noah was too shy to play a tune he let me capture him in front of it as if he was about to play. 

A perfect moment and a perfect memory for the books.

Life Lately With Snow!

Brace yourselves for there will be a few winter posts coming your way. It's been such an un-motivating month for me to blog so I'll be playing "catch up" again. We had our first snowfall at the end of January and then the nor'easter hit earlier this month. The kids and I did venture out and enjoyed the snow for a bit. The snow always looks beautiful when it first falls, but then the next day everything turns into slush. Our snow days have been fun and pretty to look at and when I see the kids jump for joy knowing that they have an early dismissal or no school at all due to the snow the looks on their faces are priceless!

My Mini Central Park.

Autumn is still hanging on in our neck of the woods and to be honest I hope she hangs on for the rest of the month! I love fall and because it doesn't last want it to linger a little longer. Seeing the leaves hanging on to the tree branches gives me hope that she'll stay until Thanksgiving but smelling that cold chilly air tells me that winter is coming. I felt it as I walked the grounds of Princeton University yesterday. I love this campus. It's nostalgic and coming here never gets old.

More Summer Please!

Last year when we moved here I was pretty anxious for the kids to start school, but this year I'm just not ready for it. I know it has to happen, but I wish that summer can last until October, and that we can start school then! Clearly we love summer, and exploring. and making the best of our days. There's something about being outside in the warmth of the sun that brings smiles to our faces, and lots of giggles. I have loved our summer so far even when our car is in the shop. We count our blessings for train stations, that will get us to the city, and Enterprise when we want to travel further. 

My Spring Date With Noah.

So yesterday Noah decided to play a bit of hookey from school. Well, not really because the other night he developed allergies that turned into a bit of a cold that turned into a slight fever, and even though his fever broke in the middle of the night he woke up a bit groggy from the medicine and so I kept him home. But that didn't last long. Soon enough he jumped out of bed, went downstairs, and asked if he can watch the movie Sing. I wanted him to relax, and rest and he did just that throughout the entire movie. So after doing my motherly duties such as cleaning up from breakfast, and putting a load of laundry in (which is endless by the way) I rolled up the windows, and there it was...sunshine!! 

Our Spring Break So Far...

Spring really motivates us to explore the outdoors more, and since we're big on travel, and finding places to go to that are worth the drive we decided to venture out to Central Jersey, and found this wonderful hidden gem of a town called Cranbury. It's not too far from the main highway where you'll find your shopping plazas with a trader joes, marshalls, and whole foods, and it's only about 20 minutes away from the shopping malls. 

I can't even begin to tell you how friendly, quaint, patient, did I mention friendly, this town is. The town was established in 1872. Very old, nostalgic, quaint little village, and we love it. We loved it so much that we came back again three days later! I have to brag about some of the shops, and places to eat here because the owners were so friendly, and welcoming to out of towners. And the food at some of these places is absolutely delicious!! They even let me take pictures of their porches, and inside their restaurants without any complaint! 

// The fact that this door was yellow, and had an owl on the wreath made Noah more interested in taking a  photo in front of a door. //

// Another favorite. All of the homes in this village have the same historic look, and blend in very well with each other. //

If you want some good ol' home cooking food come to Teddy's. Everything here is homemade, and cooked to taste!! I am very picky with food, and I don't mean to boast, but as long as I have taste buds I know what good food tastes like! Especially since I'm from Texas, and having lived in various states eating at various restaurants has really helped me distinguish what's good food, and what's bland food. The nachos here are done right, and without the cheese whiz!! I'm sorry, but when I first moved to Jersey and saw that every place puts cheese whiz on their fries, and nachos I'm like...nope, sorry. That should be illegal, and is not the way to do it! Thank you, but I'll pass! 

These nachos were super tasty, and you can tell by the smile on Lexie's face that she couldn't wait to devour them the second time around! 

// chicken cilantro soup was the soup of the day, and it was delicious! // 

// I love this shot I took of Chelsea. It kind of reminds me of one of the black and white photos in the opening theme song of Felicity. // 

// and here's my goofy kid doing his super hero pose before eating his cookies and cream ice cream topped with whipped cream which is very rare for him to eat!/He doesn't have too much of a sweet tooth, and has to be in the mood to crave ice cream! // 

Everything here is within walking distance. After eating lunch we walked around the village where they have a cool consignment shop, and found a short cut to a nearby park where they have tennis courts where the kids decided to play for a bit. (you know their true tennis players when they each have a spare racket in the car.) They didn't mind that spring was a bit nippy, because once they were on that court they took their jackets off, and played like it was the US open.  //

 // this boy has good posture. Those piano lessons are really helping him with his form. Love it! //

// I had to add another black and white photo in here! And he has a pretty good back hand too! //

Some of these photos were taken the first time we explored this place with Jon. We all had such a fun time together as a family, and told Jon that I would definitely be back with the kids, and what do you know...we did come back! 

I almost forgot to mention this yummy pizza place where we grabbed a couple of slices of pizza for Jon on our way home, and this is good pizza y'all! Seriously...really good! They even gave the kids a lollipop! 

As the years pass me by I feel that Spring, and Summer are my two favorite seasons, but Autumn will always top winter. When I see trees blooming, and the sun shining it brings so much peace within me. I'm so grateful for the renewal that spring brings not only to earth, but to my soul as well.

Seeing this just gets me more excited for summer!

70 Degrees In November.

The autumn season is indeed the shortest, and most colorful season of the year. The colors of fall are exquisite and unique, and I really don't want these trees to change in color anytime soon.   

cheeburger cheeburger.

When we lived in North Carolina several years ago we took a trip to Virginia and discovered a place called Cheeburger Cheeburger, and loved it. It was different, and the atmosphere was so fifties. The girls favorites were receiving kids meals in the form of a fifties car. I loved everything about this place. It was so tasty that we would drive the extra long miles to eat there every once a while. We only lived in North Carolina for two years so driving to Cheeburger wasn't as frequent as I wanted it to be. You think you're going to live in a place for a long time, and don't take advantage of the good restaurants. Oh well. Then it was time to move to New Jersey, and didn't give Cheeburger another thought. Besides...when we discovered that there are diners in every town and realize that there's a five guys nearby you tend to forget all those other burger joints you left behind. 

As we were getting familiar with Jersey we had discovered more cool restaurants, and...... a Cheeburger! I was excited, and thrilled! Too bad we only ate there twice before it shut down. I was a little disappointed that the place closed down a year after moving here. I'm not sure how long it was in business before we moved in, but it was nice knowing that we had a familiar place to eat at other than your Wendy's, five guys, etc. The thing is you forget about the food places that close down, and then all of a sudden you discover an even more awesome tasty burger place, and then you know you scored (Shake Shack...I know that place won't ever close!)

When we visited Princeton for the first time I noticed that there was a Cheeburger in their town. Funny how I didn't really care for it anymore. I guess I gave up on the fact that this specific burger place is not going to last. Visits to Princeton became more frequent, and it was still in business. 

We recently went to Princeton the day before Noah's birthday, and what do you know. I was craving a Cheeburger. We decided to have a pre-celebration for Noah's birthday and so we stopped in for lunch, and it was delicious! 

^^ hot dog & fries inside a ford fairlane ^^

 ^^ laughing at something papa said ^^

^^ driving his car against the window ^^

^^ chelsea's chicken tenders inside a thunderbird ^^

 ^^ a pre-birthday sundae for noah ^^

^^ chelsea singing to the music while twirling around in her seat ^^

I have a feeling that this place will thrive here being that Princeton University is right across the street.

I absolutely love this quaint, & cozy town...even when it gets crowded! There are so many areas that are breathtaking, and places that you can drive to stop & get out to take in all of its beauty.

It definitely was a good day spent in Princeton with my sweet family.

p.j.'s pancakes in princeton.

Monday was such an odd day for school to end for Lexie and Chelsea, and all I have to say is. "I'm glad it's over!" Lexie woke up today feeling out of sorts because she thought it was Saturday. It totally didn't feel like a weekday for her. Since school is out for these girls, and because they both did so well throughout the school year in passing to the next grade level we wanted to do something special for them.

Last summer Lexie & Chelsea wanted to make pancakes almost every other day, and because they are a lover of pancakes we surprised them with a trip to downtown Princeton to eat breakfast at P.j.'s pancakes house.

This place is sooooo good! Seriously good. Lexie got the strawberry, blueberry, and peach pancake sampler. We all sampled some delicious pancakes on this day! 

Downtown Princeton is one of our favorite spots in New Jersey. There are so many cool shops, and great food. We fell in love with this place the first time we came here, and touring Princeton University last fall was an adventure. 

We love that these two are home with us for the rest of the summer. Sierra is obviously not in the picture. She still has school for the rest of the week, and on Friday she graduates!! We are so excited for her. I told Jon earlier that this is the beginning of small travels without our oldest daughter. I might as well get used to it. Luckily we have this whole summer to spend with her before she is college bound. We are definintely going to take advantage of our time with her, and all of our kiddos. Just watch! 

And now we await the arrival for the grandparents to fly in from Utah to be here for Sierra's graduation. We are excited to see them! If you don't see anymore posts for the next couple of days it's because of them. And they are more important than blogging! I can always catch up on blogging, but my inlaws...we are lucky if we see them twice a year! 

Have a great day! 

Princeton University

Princeton, 2012

This past Saturday we decided to venture out, and go to Princeton, and tour Princeton University. We fell in love with this area when we first moved to Jersey five years ago. I remember buying Princeton pennants for the girls, and how throughout the years of living on the east have collected quite a few Ivy League ones. Sierra was barely in the eighth grade when my better half took this photo, and it's funny how although she thought Princeton was "pretty"...she wasn't thinking of college at the time.

Now she is.

Princeton University, circa-2008

I do remember how she loved the style of these doors, and how she wanted to take a picture of them all. As we walked through the campus we found the doors again which actually lead to the dorms. Time sure has flown by when I compare this picture...

Jorgensen girls- Princeton, circa,  2008

 with this one.

Jorgensen girls- Princeton, 2012

Since we have since added to our family we got Noah in the picture. It'll be interesting to take another picture in a few years to see how much they've grown.

The campus is beautiful especially in the fall. While Chelsea wanted to get in every photo Sierra, and Lexie were more interested in seeing the campus grounds. 

Princeton is surely an option on her list of schools, and one thing for sure is if she gets in she will be doing a lot of bike riding. That she won't mind because she loves it!

Little did we know it was freshman/parent weekend, and we met this really nice family whose daughter named Grace was helpful to Sierra about the school. They were talking for a few minutes while the parents and I were getting acquainted. They later took our picture, and were on their way. I wish Sierra would have gotten Grace's number because she seemed like such a mature, knowledgeable, pleasant young woman. 

 Right now I'm feeling pretty good about possibly being a "tiger mom". 

We continued our day by walking the shops on Nassau street. If you ever get the chance to come to Princeton, and you love thrift shopping, and pizza...here are two places I HIGHLY recommend.

Green Street Consignment shop.
It is by far one of the nicest, cleanest, clothing stores I've ever been in, and everything in it is fabulous. When I read the reviews on Yelp I was sold, and knew I needed to come in. The prices are worth it, and I would definitely drive 55 minutes just to shop here. I have a lot of experience working with consignors in the past, and I am grateful to have an eye for my kind of fashion.

Naked Pizza. 

This pizza in my opinion is the best in Princeton. I love places where you can look outside through the window while eating. The staff was friendly, and I loved the large menu designed on the wall. 

Oh, and if you're a reader, I recommend reading the Princetonian.

We even found this cute cut out board of Einstein in front of one of the stores where I took a picture of Chelsea.

Little Einstein

We love this quaint "college town", and all the shops that it has to offer. I am so happy to have opportunities like this to continue to be taking my family out to see that there is life outside any town that we have ever lived in...especially when it comes to colleges.

Sierra is so excited about attending a university in the fall of 2013, and I am amazed at the courage she has to explore other schools, and not just one.

One thing for sure...she'll be applying at this one.