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!

Father's Day Appreciation Post In July.

I know it's been a few weeks since fathers day passed because of I know it's been a few weeks since fathers day passed but couldn't let my days go on without writing a little something about Jon. My father left when I was five which is why I never really write about him or hardly share anything about him. Last time I shared something about him was in this post and writing about that has helped me cope with the fact that he wasn't in my life. With that being out in the open we are so lucky to have this great guy who likes to have his picture taken and I love writing about him! Even after working 14 hr shifts, six days a week for the past two months he is always willing to take us to the places we love. Jon, thank you for staying and for working hard for our family. Thank you for always being there for us even when you're physically not (life of a city UPS driver). You truly are the perfect example of what a dad should be. Here's to more Father's Days like this with kids who are willing to do anything for you. You truly are a super hardworking dad!

Scenes of Mystic, CT In A Video.

Summer is not summer without venturing out to one of our favorite spots in the world, and with summer quickly winding down decided at the last minute to drive three hours to one of our favorite gems, Mystic. 

The kids are always down for pizza, and even more down when we are near the ocean, and Mystic seaport is always the perfect spot for us to go to where we can walk down the harbor, and down main street to window shop, and buy a little something if needed, and of course to eat at our favorite pizza place, Mystic Pizza! 

And have some yummy dessert at one of our favorite ice cream spots. 

This blog post will be super short because of all the numerous other posts I've written about Mystic which you can read here, here, and here. Also because I want to spend as much time with the kids before school resumes, and don't want to be on the computer too much. Besides...who reads this blog anyway, or reads other blogs during the summer. 

So instead of taking numerous photos I decide to make a little video of our trip instead, and I hope you enjoy it! 

 

Happy wednesday, and hope y'all enjoy the rest of the summer before it's gone! 

Day Trip To Mystic.

Mystic is one of the most unique places in Connecticut, and one of my favorite places to go whenever I need to rejuvenate myself. It's quaint, with a tinge of New England culture. Although touristy, the people there are friendly and if you're into antiques, and beach wear the shops down main street are pretty fun. We tend to come here during the summer months, but this past Saturday we decided on an impulse to take a day trip with the kids. With school coming close to an end, and Lexie and Chelsea having almost every Saturday booked with school activities, jazz band competitions, recitals, and birthday parties we decided to just take off! We love everything about this place, and I just wish we had more time. More time to have gone on longer walks, or taken the kids to the aquarium, or the Pez factory in Orange, but with the four hour drive to and from there's only so much one can do in an entire day! My main goal, and purpose for this trip was the craving I had for Mystic Pizza. Yeah...the crazy things we do huh just for pizza! We love that place! In all the years we've been to Mystic that is the one place where we have to stop to grab a bite to eat, and it never disappoints! 

We took a walk all the way down main street passed the drawbridge, and went for a walk on the dock. There were moments when Noah would walk into a store and see something he liked, and wanted it! I told him we can't always buy him something every time we enter a store. He tends to get this way when we are on trips, and thinks he can get his way, but this time I put my foot down, and told him that we are not buying him anymore toys! He has way too many! We walked out of the store, and I found him like this. 

Luckily his resilience kicked in and got over it! So grateful for resilient children! I told him the next we come we can go to Mystical toys which is his favorite, but we didn't get there in time. We spent too much time on the dock, and the store had closed. We continued our walk and I captured a few photos of the kids, and we found an anchor! We've always had a love for anchors, and because the theme this year for our youth of the church deals with "embarking in the service of God"(hence the anchor connecting with that saying) they have become more popular in our home life! 

^^^ Mandatory picture of Noah getting out of the shot so he doesn't photobomb it, but to no avail. I captured it! ^^^

It was such a beautiful spring day, and a perfect day for a road trip! Wish we could have stayed an entire week! So looking forward to the summer months so we can do just that! 

***Other trips to mystic you can see here, here, and here.

Hope y'all had a nice weekend!

Happy Monday! 

a taste of New England.

There is so much to do in the New England area, and every time we come to Connecticut we always try to find different things to explore.

Well, on this trip we definitely did something different.

We are possibly thinking of relocating here and aside from looking at properties for the past couple of days we decided to take advantage and go to our favorite little corner of the world...Mystic.

We took a boat ride down the Mystic River which we'd never done and had a bit of a history lesson about the tall ships and even learned a few tips on what the proper etiquette is on how to sail up and down the channel.

We had a very thorough tour guide! 

It was a fun and interesting ride and it sure was needed after looking at a few houses. 

A little too fun! Jon & I tried to take a selfie family photo with Noah & these were the results...

Sneaking a kiss on me...

This was so relaxing, and I definitely wouldn't mind being a resident of New England.

After you see these photos I'm sure you'll agree...

Sister selfie...

Overlooking the drawbridge...

We also had our usual at our favorite pizza place...Mystic Pizza.

The House Special...yum!!!

We even had ice cream in the country...

Huge, small banana splits, a cotton candy cone mouth child, capturing a toddler devouring his cone, and hoola hoopin' was a perfect end to a New England day.

You can see some photos of our trip to Mystic last year  here.

hydrangea flowers are my favorite.

One of my favorite parts of summer are blooming hydrangea flowers, and they have them all over New England.  They are so vibrant in color, and so perfectly created. I actually see more hydrangeas in New England than in New Jersey. The people in the New England area seem to take more care of them than those in Jersey (at least in my area.) I see so many hydrangea shrubs dried up, discolored, and lifeless. It's a shame because these are the most beautiful flowers on the east coast. 

I first noticed them while we were living down in North Carolina, and was immediately drawn to them. I've never planted them, but one of these days I will. They don't grow in Texas or in Utah, and they come in the colors blue, lavender, rose, white, and an off yellow. They certainly are beautiful, and they definitely flaunt themselves out in the open.

 As were driving around to see the attractions of where the movie Mystic Pizza was filmed we were surrounded by hydrangeas. We drove along the alluring seaside country of Watch Hill & Westerly in Rhode Island, and found all these hydrangea shrubs. These towns are about 20 minutes away from Mystic.

My myriad of pictures were all taken with my iPhone 4S, and I think they came out just beautifully.

If I ever do plant them I'm going to make sure they are treated well, so that they can bloom year after year.