Macy's Fireworks At The Jersey City Waterfront!

Celebrating the 4th seemed so different this year. The fact that we are now a trio seems surreal. We have celebrated many a fourth of Julys with the girls and now that they are older, married and my youngest daughter in college they don't get to celebrate certain holidays with us. We kept it pretty simple this year and decided to see the fireworks from Liberty state park. We walked to the Jersey waterfront on the Hudson and the Macy's fireworks were spectacular. I wish the fireworks would have gone a bit higher but it was still a great show! I appreciated them and no matter all the negativity America gets with those who are leading our country I will always be proud to be an American! Happy 4th! Hope y'all had fun celebrating! 

A Simple Fourth Of July!

Our Fourth of July started out with donuts from Broad St. Dough co. and Wawa breakfast sandwiches. We ate while watching Independence Day. It's such a classic movie and it never gets old. The temps have been increasing lately and the day was hot and muggy; and because of the torrential rain pour we had earlier in the afternoon made our plans change. I honestly didn't want to go into the city to catch the fireworks so we had our own little sparkler party. I honestly just wanted to relax and so did the kids. As much as we love the city we want this summer to be chill. Especially since Chelsea is leaving for college next month. The sparklers were a hit. We went to a nearby lake and watched the fireworks as we were driving all over town. It was definitely a chillllll 4th and honestly didn't have FOMO for once! 

Lady Liberty!

Two years ago we found out about the Reclining Lady Liberty through social media and had the chance to go see her at Morningside park in Manhattan where she laid for about a year or so. We then found out she moved to Liberty State park in Jersey City last spring and in all honesty think this is the perfect place for this 25 foot sculpture to reside. She is beginning to fade a bit but she still reclines comfortably and the kids enjoyed climbing on her two years ago but now we give her rest and just took pictures. Here's wishing everyone a happy Independence Day and hope that we can all slow down every once in a while and relax and recline like Lady Liberty! (artist is Zaq Landsberg)

Lexie Lately: 4th Of July Weekend!

Talking to Lexie twice a week feels like as if she's still in college and the weeks without her continue to fly by.  I miss her presence in our home but technology is a miracle and a blessing and we absolute enjoy hearing about her week and the weekend on Mondays. We recently talked about the 4th of July and how she celebrated the holiday in Arizona. One thing for sure is that she is the life of a "missionary party." Her photos literally brighten my Monday's when she emails them. You're missing out on her musings which sometimes have grammatical errors but blame that on typing it from her smartphone and the fact that she wants to type in spanish instead of English.  Ha Ha! She probably takes after me in that department! Luckily I get the gist of her emails and they are wonderfully written. 

No matter what her days bring she truly relies on hope and faith in God. In her email last week she mentioned how neighboring communities go all out for the fourth and how united all the missionaries are in her district. She has more ups and fun with her sisters than lows. Even when things don't go as planned after one has lost interest or is not ready in the Lord's gospel her faith is unwavering and she continues to stand tall and love her mission more and more...and she is humbled.

Our Fourth of July Weekend In Nantucket!

Our fourth of July was a bit different this year. We usually explore historical places but his year we kept it low key. With the parades and fireworks being canceled we decided to make our own fun and decided to spend a couple of days in Nantucket. It was the perfect getaway for our family. Everyone needs a getaway from the place they live. Even it's your hometown or a place you've been living in for the past 13 years everyone needs to getaway. And that's exactly what we did over the 4th. Although Summer will definitely be different this year for everyone because of the pandemic we have come to terms that if we go anywhere we will do so with an abundance of caution and WEAR OUR MASKS! Cause for some of us we need that getaway. Jon has been working 14 hour shifts six days a week for the past two months and let me tell ya, he really needed this little vacay. He's hoping the deliveries will die down soon from 450+ packages a day to the minimum which is usually about 250. He works his tail off and I'm just so happy that we got to spend some of our days in Nantucket. It truly is a magical place and absolutely loved it here. To tell you the truth I came here to see the Brant Point lighthouse and all the hydrangeas in bloom and man they are everywhere! It is my favorite flower and I definitely had fun taking pictures of everything and everyone! I even did another little video on TikTok.  Here are a few highlights from our weekend...

Celebrating The 4th Of July In Our Nation's Capitol.

When it comes to the fourth of July we don't have any major traditions, and our plans are pretty spontaneous. We are not big planners so when that day comes we will wake up and decide what we want to do and where we should go to watch the fireworks. Our 4th of July's have been pretty much doing our own thing and we always make the best of celebrating our country as a family. And no matter how hard our country has it right now we celebrate it with a smile, and go on with life always hoping for the best!

Our 4th Of July Celebration!

Our 4th of July celebration consisted of endless walking among new york crowds, in high humidity, eating good food where we spent most our time downtown touring the federal building, and walking along various streets in the city where there were lots of balloons!  

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.

U.S. NATIONAL ARBORETUM ON THE 4TH OF JULY.

Since we've never seen the fireworks in DC, taking Lexie, (my photo bombing girl in the background) to attend EFY in Virginia gave us the excuse to spend the day in DC for the 4th, and even though check in time for Lexie was today we decided to spend the whole weekend in Virginia. 

Before camping out near the Potomac to watch the fireworks we ventured out to the U.S. National arboretum to check out the Capitol columns, and if your into history and lots of trees this is the place to go. 

The columns looked like ancient ruins from a foreign country or something. You can read the cool story behind the columns here. We enjoyed the day walking around, and as you will see I captured a few photos of the columns in different angles with some of my favorite people!

 ^^^ and a photo from my snapchat (btw...you can scope out my stories at r_jorgensen) ^^^

The arboretum also has a youth garden where one can take the kids. Chelsea & Noah had so much fun chasing monarch butterflies, and playing in the garden. 

^^^This boy sweats profusely, but that didn't stop him from playing and Noah digging in this crate of soil.^^^ 

^^^...and when he saw this Tonka truck life stopped for him for a moment. ^^^

Since it rained the night before it was a bit muddy, but who cares...I let him be little and he went to town running around in the garden. Good thing I always plan ahead with bringing a change of clothes cause you know...boys.

^^^ Let's holla for sweaty, muddy little boys!^^^

It was so relaxing walking through the garden, and looking at all that was planted. There was Thai basil, mint, thyme, carrots, onions, potatoes, blackberries, and so much more. 

You're allowed to pick with permission, but because there was one carrot that was visible, eyeing and dying for someone to pick it Chelsea asked if she could. There was no one on the premises to ask so I was a rebel mom, and told her to go ahead, and pull it. It was practically leaning off the stem. She washed it, and chowed down on it. 

I dared Lexie to eat this onion, but she was like "not."

Noah saw this teepee and is now determined to build one of his own in the outdoors with sticks when we get home. I said to him,  "if only we lived in the boonies son."

^^^ And check out these succulents! ^^^

...and marbled stepping stones. 

As we left the grounds Jon captured a picture of one of my favorite flowers that are only grown in the south...magnolias. The arboretum is surrounded by them. Sure do miss the trees in my old backyard where I used to live in North Carolina. 

The day ended with celebrating Americas birthday with our fellow man. I was too involved in family time that I didn't capture any photos of the fireworks. We picked a perfect spot, but because the fireworks were hiding behind the clouds we couldn't see them all (darn cloud coverage!) Hopefully next year the weather will be super clear so that we can actually see the fireworks clear up in the sky. 

Overall our fourth was fabulous and we certainly look forward to celebrating it again and again! So thankful to live in a country where we can celebrate our freedoms, and to live in a land of the free, and home of the brave. 

Hope your fourth was fabulous too! 

Selfies from the Fourth.

On the day of the fourth before Lexie's grand finale concert in Philly started we decided to go to the park, and the let the kids play around. Noah was excited because even though we didn't go to a parade, or have our own little swarry in our neighborhood we decided to do our own thing. We decorated Noah's little scooter, and he rode around in it feeling like someone important. He loved it, and next year I hope we can be more elaborate in our celebrating by attending a fourth of July event during the day, possibly have a little bbq with family, and a few friends.

I'm not sure how many of you know that I used to do a little bit of modeling in the first years of my marriage when i was in my 20's, and it never fails. Till this day every time we take pictures my husband will mimic me every time I tell him to photograph me. This time we were taking selfies, and as much as I'm not a big fan of them I wanted to have a little bit of fun. When I'm trying to take one looking fierce (which wasn't working) Jon was not helping, and i couldn't concentrate. He was being goofy, and that's when I said, "the heck with this...let's have some fun with this wonderful thing man invented called an iPhone." Here we are in our many different faces...

See what I mean...he's mimicking me!

Chelsea & Noah saw how much fun we were having and were feeling a bit left out. I took one with the both of them individually. We have definitely created some selfie monsters. 

And finally...an appropriate selfie for our posterity. 

We may not have immediate family close by, but what we have is each other. And as long as our little family is happy that's all that matters. We make our own kind of fun, and that's the best part of everyday no matter what the occasion is. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and that this post made you smile! 

My Country, 'Tis of thee.

My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From ev'ry mountainside

Let freedom ring!

May we always reflect on the purpose of Independence day, and always be thankful for this great nation we live in...to love, nurture, and always appreciate those who sacrifice their life in order for us to be alive, and enjoy so freely this wonderful country we live in. I am proud to be an american, and express my gratitude to the men and women who serve our country. May we pass this on to our posterity in teaching them the true meaning of the land where are fathers died.

I love this holiday because of the celebrations we have in remembering this great nation while celebrating its birthday. There is so much fun, and remembrance in it. Although the fireworks  are deemed "celebratory" it sure is a beautiful sight to see them light up in the sky. And this past Wednesday we watched them light up over the water at Princeton near the stadium. 

We are also so excited to be attending Lexie's grand finale concert this evening in Philly with selected members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has worked so hard throughout the past two weeks at the festival, and we are all excited to see her. We have all missed her, and are anxious to have her home again. This day will be celebrated with simplicity, and maybe after the concert we'll go out for some ice cream, and maybe watch the fireworks in Philly. 

Then again...we can always watch them on television too. You know...just in case we're too tired to go anywhere afterwards. 

Hope y'all have a memorable fourth, and to go back in time to see other posts from the fourth go to 2011 2012, & 2013! 

happy independence day!

I couldn't let this day go by without wishing everyone, and the land that i love a happy independence day! It sure has been a crazy, busy week with a lot of rain...sort of. Drops of rain here and there, some drizzle, along with some little thunderstorms. Still...the rain doesn't stop us from venturing outdoors.

This past Monday on our way to Virginia to drop Sierra off for the EFY program we got caught in a massive rainstorm that lasted about ten minutes on the freeway. Most of the cars on the freeway pulled over to the side on the median, and most of us stayed driving with our hazards on. Us...we're pretty brave. Since we had a schedule to keep we kept on driving, and very carefully.

Now the sun seems to be shining brightly and by looking at the forecast it looks like the next three days will be high in the 90's with a lot of humidity. No rain which is good, but that humidity! I feel like I'm literally cooking while walking outside. I thank my lucky stars for nearby beaches, and lots of H2O!!

Every day is blank page, and we never know what the day will bring. With it being the fourth today, and a sure sign that tells me summer is so officially here we plan on being super busy with family things which means I probably won't be blogging as much.

Then again I love this little blog too much to neglect it. So I will do my best to keep it updated.

Besides, this all american boy is just too cute to not document his silliness.

Just look at him...

and adorableness!

Happy Independence Day!

Happy birthday America!

1720 in Salt Lake City, Utah-circa, 2006

There are days when I miss living in the Beehive state (Utah) when our ward held a mini parade, and a breakfast for the fourth of July. I miss decorating the stroller with the colors red, white, and blue, and strolling along the neighborhoods of Sugarhouse. We did that every year for the all the years we lived there, but for now....we will just celebrate the fourth in the comforts of our own home with sparklers overlooking the fireworks above the Jersey skies.

^^^ present day, New Jersey ^^^

^^^Maybe next year we will start a parade in our neighborhood!^^^

Jorgensen beauties-July 2006

Happy Fourth!