Fall's Final Stretch In Central Park.

While Noah was at a scout camp Jon and I had the whole weekend to ourselves and we decided to spend time in the city. We are so so fortunate to live close by and that it's only an hour drive for us. We didn't get a chance to catch the fall foliage when it peaked earlier in the month or when my sister was here. Not enough time. I swear there is never enough time in the day to do all things one would want to do in NYC when they visit! So luckily we caught fall's final stretch inside the park and it was nice to see the last of the fall foliage. We also decided to capture moments of us (a little photo shoot if you will) and the beauty that Central Park brings....

Shakespeare In The Park-Twelfth Night!

Shakespeare in the Park....

My favorite part of summer is going to Central Park for Shakespeare in the Park. It was postponed for over a year and after 18 months of renovation their historic stage with Shakespeare in the park is back and it returned with Twelfth Night. 

It was a perfect evening and this play was brilliantly done and funny. Peter Dinklage, Sandra Oh, and my favorite Lupita Nyongo were so fun to watch. We had amazing seats and the view was perfect. I especially loved the storyline and to know that Lupita and her brother Junior were playing siblings made the play so real. So cool that they were both in it together. BRAVO!!

Noah is 15!!

My favorite, yet bittersweet time of the year is celebrating Noahs birthday. Every year I say this and it is such a cliche saying this but time does fly! He's 15 and getting taller every day. He's now an inch or two taller than me now. I had so much fun capturing random photos of him at our favorite spot in Central Park. I love that he still likes for me to take his picture (sometimes) that he's still into legos, transformers, sonic and shadow figurines, and playing Roblox. Although he says girls are pretty he's not into them right now. He says he is focusing on school and guitar and that's good because he is still young!! He's old school in a lot of ways by playing outside and also loves staying at home watching youtube videos. I am so lucky to have an amazing kid. Sure he can get a little annoying at times but it's very rare. I love that he still likes to snuggle and that he gives me a peck on the cheek when I drop him off at school and when he comes home from school. May those moments never end! Happy Birthday Noah! Love you more than ever!!

New York In Bloom!

Spring has officially popped up in the city and the blooms are stunning! After watching this show we headed toward Central Park to see if the blossoms have bloomed and they have! It was still a bit chilly over the weekend so we didn't walk for too long but I did capture a few shots of a blossom tree with Noah standing near it. Noah also captured a photo of me with these tulips before crossing the street to the park. Aren't these tulips stunning! So glad spring has arrived so we can enjoy the outdoors instead of being cooped up inside!

53.

 

Another year, another birthday and this tall drink of water turns 53! He continues to shine and smile no matter what. I love how jovial he always is no matter what situation we are in. He deserves all the goodness and love especially this time of year because he is literally Santa Claus. He delivers packages all day long for the entire month of December except for Sundays but luckily we have him home early on Saturdays and we always make up for the days we aren't spending time as a family another time. He loves making people happy when he delivers packages to his clients and those tips he gets this time of year are worth his hard work all year long! So proud of my blue collar worker and that he doesn't like to get his hands dirty. Even at the age of 53! Happy birthday babe!

Autumn In New York & An Expression of Gratitude For This Season!

It's been over 10 years since I've been blogging and it's been a few years since I've kept up with gratitude posts. I blame it on Covid and the lack of motivation that it has caused me to "keep up." There are times when I just want to "live" without feeling the need to post and blog all the time. The fact that my back is beginning to hurt as I sit down in front of a computer for hours doesn't help my motivation either. But alas here I am expressing my gratitude and love for autumn online. I love this time of year where the leaves change and the temps become cooler. Fall is indeed becoming my favorite season over summer. Now I know I'm getting old having written that! So let's see how long I will keep up with these posts. There might be days when I'll skip a couple days and a month where I literally write something everyday in November like I did back in 2018. But for now I want to express my gratitude for autumn in pictures. I especially love Central Park in the fall. The fall foliage, the people in the backdrop of some of the pics, the energy that you can sense by looking at them. I love it all and so thankful to live close to this magical city that can make you happy and cry at the same time! It's bittersweet not having the girls around anymore during this colorful  time for photos but luckily Noah doesn't mind being in pictures...for now! 

At The Tail End of Spring....

 

Here we are at the tail end of spring and soon summer will be here. As I was cleaning up my phone and  scrolling through old photos I realized these spring pics never made it to the blog. I really have to be motivated to hop on here to load and edit photos but lately they have all been making it to the gram. I know eventually blogging will become obsolete for me but as much as I want to give up I somehow find myself back on this computer typing my fingers away until my wrists and back start hurting. I love to write but I feel that my aching body permits me to do that these days. That's why I love Instagram, it's so easy to do. You post photos with a caption and....voila! You're done! IG is like a mini blog/journal for me and since 90% of my friends and family don't write letters anymore I figure this is the easiest way they can "keep up" with me. Social media, it truly is the way of the world these days! This blog has meant so much to me throughout the years and as I look back into the archives it blows my mind how diligent I was in writing on here. And I mean really writing. Not just writing boring stuff (at least I hope not) but raw stuff. Maybe someday my blog will go back to the old school days but for now this is it. Little snippets of my life as my kids not only grow older, but get taller than me too! 

The Bridal Path & Cherry Blooms In Central Park!

Ahhhh! Here we are on the last day of April and since the rain we've had for the past three days have caused the blooms to fall off the trees wanted to document my day in the city from last Friday while the blossoms were still in bloom! 

The cherry blossoms in the bridal path near the Jackie Onassis reservoir have become my favorite! I can't believe this is my first time actually coming here when they are in full bloom! I am so glad I took a day to come to the city by myself to take in all their beauty! And the people! So many people on the grass having picnics, taking a nap. mommas playing with their kids, or just resting from a bike ride. Oh how I love this city! This is something I would do on my lunch break if I worked here and every week on a warm spring/summer day if I lived here. So beautiful and serene. Those blooms with the San Remo apartment building in the background is epic! I sure do love this city. Even the sounds of the city are soothing when you're just chilling on the lawn. Wouldn't bother me one bit! 

Spring In Central Park!

Spring in the city is my absolute favorite! Especially when the blossoms are beginning to bloom! Last weekend with temps nearing 70 brought out the entire city into Central Park and it was a beautiful sight! This sunny weather was well deserved after having two days of cold, wet rain! I love the outdoors and when it's cold and rainy I don't really want to go out. So my heart was supper happy that last Sunday was filled with sunshine! I look forward to more adventures like this and hope that spring is here to stay. 

Nowadays it seems that Noah is my adventure buddy. After Chelsea graduates he is it. The last one left to be able to do things with. He's the next best thing to his dad. They are both great adventure buddies and we all had fun on this day as a threesome! 

Noah....

Noah... 

My only boy. He is so full of life and energy and has so much love to give. He deserves to live a long life without worrying.

And with the shooting that just happened this past week has given me even more reasons to worry about his safety. I somewhat trust that his school has things under control and a plan in case this happens but I pray every day and night for his safety. Even his older sisters. All schools whether it's a public/private school or college are at risk every day. No matter what age and what grade they're in. It truly is like fighting a war. I honestly don't know what else to write or say because this has been happening since Columbine shooting in 1999. My oldest was four years old when that happened and living in Utah at the time it happened scared the crap out of me. Especially being a couple of states away. All I know is that America needs to do something about this right now. It needs to stop. 

These kids deserve to go to school and to be safe inside. They deserve the right to be protected at all costs. They deserve to have a future. They deserve to live a life filled with hopes and dreams. To be happy. I want to watch my child grow up. For all of our children to grow up. 

We can do better. 

America can do better.

When will it end....

When Fall Meets Winter...

 

Last weekend we explored Central Park and checked out the last of the fall foliage just in time before the leaves completely fell off. Fall is such a wonderful and beautiful season of vibrant colors yet it's very scarce. Just when you think you have enough time to get outside and check out the autumn leaves they are already pretty much greeting winter by slowly falling on the ground. Nonetheless we ventured out and walked and captured some fall moments. Even with the leaves on the ground Central Park in NYC is absolutely magical.

Little AMAL In NYC!!

 

Last month we had the opportunity to see Little Amal. Little Amal is a 12 foot tall puppet who is a 10 year old Syrian refugee and she has arrived in NYC to raise awareness for all refugee children and represents all children fleeing war, violence, & persecution. She carries a message of hope to those children who have been displaced. 

Amal- which means hope in Arabic already trekked 5000 miles across Europe and even made it to the Vatican where she met the Pope. 

She will be here until October 2nd and like a child is touring all the wonderful places all over the city. In 17 days she trekked and experience so much within the five boroughs in NYC.

On this day particular day she led us through a massive scavenger hunt that began at Diana Ross playground in Central Park where Noah used to play as a toddler and ended at Belvedere castle where she was awarded with a cake!

Such a sweet moment in New York history and a fun afternoon all while marching with Little Amal capturing photos of her with my New Yorker friends.

She also has a website and you can read her story and all the places she’s been. Her final destination was Brooklyn where she experienced the notorious Jane's Carousel which is our fave!

Nostalgic Moments & An End To Summer...

The past couple of weeks have somewhat felt like fall and can't believe today is the last day of summer! It looks like today will be the last temp in the 80's but with New Jersey/New York weather you just never know! There are days when we will have 70 degree weather in December when it should be cold in the 40's! Nowadays we just go with the flow and whatever temperature is that day we'll just go with it! Rain or shine, snow or sun- we'll take it even in the winter months that will soon follow! 

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. 

Shakespeare In The Park!

Shakespeare in the park is upon us and it has become one of my favorite things to see in Central Park. Last year was the very first time to ever attend and I am hooked! How in the world have I never seen Shakespeare in the park before 2021?? Well, hopefully we get lottery tickets to see them again this year. Last year I was lucky enough to have a friend hook us up with tickets and she was a gem to have done that. I captured a few photos before it began (and toward the end which is a no no-oops!)  We were so fortunate to have gone on a perfect rain-free evening! 

And So Goes November!

And just like that...November has passed. This is truly my favorite time of year and although I LOoooove the holidays autumn is truly my favorite! The fact that Noah and I are fall babies makes the season so much beautiful. Luckily I captured fall this year in various places and I still have more content I'd like to share so you'll still be seeing fall posts in the month of December. After all, winter doesn't officially begin until the 21st so I think I will still post fall-ish things! 

These were taken in Central Park before going to the Guggenheim to see the Kandinsky exhibit which I'll post later. Walks in Central park are my favorite and if I lived here I would be here every. single. morning! It seems like fall is still hanging in there and I'm grateful that it at least lasted until Thanksgiving. We are starting to get into the feels of the holiday season and will probably get a tree sometime this week! So long November! Now for some photos...

Autumn in Central Park NYC!

Last week on Veterans Day we went to the city to check out the fall foliage in Central Park and one thing for sure when we got there is that New York city is not DEAD!! There were so many people out riding the carriages, artists painting pictures of the bow bridge and San Remo apartments, and I saw about five brides having their picture taken. It was great. The city felt great. The energy was amazing and it felt so good to see everyone out and about having so much fun doing their own thing. It felt like summer in the fall when everyone goes out and ventures to central park to get away and go for long walks. Central Park is the perfect place for it too! Lexie and I had so much fun getting our cardio fix and seeing various parts of central park. Oh how I love this city and all the action that takes place with it.