A Hike In Bucks County.

Hiking is honestly not one of my favorite things to do but oh how I love basking in nature. Over the summer we went on a hike in Bucks County Pennsylvania and I have to admit it was beautiful. Going hiking at this age proves all too well that I am a city girl through and through but theres something about nature that lives in you. Noah loves to go on hikes and being a Boy Scout has helped him appreciate the outdoors. He loves using his compass to find his way through the woods. Not that we would get lost in a hiking trail but you never know. It's good that he learned how to use a compass and the do's and don'ts of hiking. It was a beautiful warm day and something that I needed to do to feel closer to my mom. She wasn't a hiker either but the fact that I was in one of Gods beautiful creations in the outdoors and being high up helped me to know that she is always looking out for me from above. 

Sunday Brunch.

Earlier this month we ventured out to the outskirts of Philly and explored Life's Patina Mercantile and & Cafe and it is the cutest shop. We went there for brunch and I had the keesh and Jon and Noah had the pork sandwich. It was delicious and the poppy seed cake was rich and mouth watering. I feel that my sweet tooth is diminishing. I've never had one to begin with but being that it's my birthday month splurged and ate some. I also love their home decor and they have funny birthday cards and fresh flowers. It was a beautiful spot and being away from the city was soothing. I love venturing out in the country every now and then. I love the city but sometimes you just need to getaway. Especially this time of year when the leaves are beginning to change.

Flight 93 Memorial.

Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the September 11th attacks and every year on this day it never gets old and I never forget. I will always remember that dreadful day waking up to the sound of a loud tube tv at my husbands grandfathers house in Washington hearing him shout out, "a plane just crashed into the twin towers!" I woke up and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Here I was across the country from one of the cities I have always loved and it was in distress! Living near the city for the past 16 years has really made me appreciate NYC even more which is why I love going there so much. I love the energy and the strength that this city gives when a catastrophe happens. New York is a strong city and we will never forget what happened there. We will also never forget what happened in the outskirts of Stoystown Pennsylvania where flight 93 crashed. On our way home from our cross country trip to Utah we decided to stop by the memorial. It was our first time visiting here. Another trip we should have made a long time ago because it's only a five hour drive from Jersey.

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. 

Day Trip to Gettysburg.

I can't believe we have lived in Jersey for almost 17 years and we just now took a trip to Gettysburg! Over the long Memorial Day weekend we fixed that and really enjoyed all the sights! Can you believe there are at least 13,000 monuments here! It took us at least three hours to drive around and read all about Gettysburg and the war that was fought here. Such a travesty to have seen all the names on this one monument. This is the Pennsylvania monument and it was our favorite. I think it's everyones favorite because there were quite a lot of people here. I was very impressed with Noah as he paused and stopped to read all the signs and stories about the monuments and asked questions. He asked a lot of question and learned to really appreciate all about Gettysburg. He's growing up and I am happy to see that he is developing a love for history. I'm so happy we took the time out of our weekend to learn about what happened here in Gettysburg; and since we all have a penchant for history really bonded us as family as we walked around and talked about our nations history in this part of the world. 

It was a beautiful day and a great way to pay our respects to those who fought and sacrificed their lives for our country. 

A Lovely Walk In Society Hill, PA!

Our little adventures have become more sporadic these days and lately we have been venturing out to places away from our comfort zone because it's whats needed to snap me out of my funk and for the kids to relieve stress from being on zoom all day. We are so lucky to live close to some amazing states that include NYC, Pennsylvania, D.C. and Connecticut (New England area). Philly and New York are the two closest places to venture out on the daily or when time permits us and lately it has. The weather has been perfect for sometime now with a little scattered showers here and there but that doesn't prevent us from going out. I love these kids how they still like to get outside and simply...LIVE. 

Especially Noah. His generation requires all technology these days but the only time he's on technology all day is when he's on zoom. He's as old school as it gets. All my kids are. And I love it. A few things I wrote about Noah on my Instagram that made me think while taking this beautiful walk in Society Hill among these lovely tulips were...

Ringing Rocks.

I'm going to rewind back a bit from moments of our spring break. I document everything on Instagram and on my journal but not on this blog. Why is that?? I love to write but man, some days I wish we didn't have a computer and I'm just not motivated to edit, and upload over 1000 photos! But I don't like clutter on my phone and so eventually I get around to it and so far I have about five drafts on this blog that I will post on the daily so for those of you who continue to click on my "harmonious combination thank you for hanging in there. I will do my best to catch up!

A Day Out In Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania!

Last Saturday we took a break from going to the city and ventured out to Pennsylvania where there was more open space, fresh air, and a little bit of a mountain top. The weather was close to 75 degrees and after Chelsea's piano recital we tidied up the house and took off to spend day in a small old mining town called Jim Thorpe. 

My November Days.

My days lately without any kids during the day have consisted of long walks, and drives to unknown territory. When I lived in South Jersey I explored as much as I could in that area, and now that i'm in Central jersey I can't help but to explore some more. October and November have been the months of exploring, and I couldn't have picked a better season to venture outdoors. Fall here has been exquisite lately, and my heart is smitten. 

The Terrain in The Fall.

I have always wanted to see the decorations in the fall at the terrain and since the kids didn't have school last Friday we decided to venture out to Glen Mills to scope it out. The Terrain has become one of my favorite stores since moving to the east. I fell in love with it, and try to come as much as my wallet allows me too! This store sort of reminds me of the Art Garden in Salt Lake City, and Artisans Alley in San Antonio. Such a quaint shop with so many of my favorite things. I love how they decorate the outside for each season, and  we were lucky enough to catch the last signs of fall here. Last year we came in the dead of winter and because of that were not able to see their decorating in all its glory. It was okay because we had a yummy lunch at the cafe. Coming here in the fall was absolutely beautiful, and I also couldn't believe the Christmas decorations they had out already! The holidays are definitely going to be here before we know it so I guess we need to start early! For once I was not upset that they had decorations out already. Normally I'm like...can my kids birthday, and Thanksgiving come first! But it's okay, because I've learned from Kirk Cameron in this video, that it's okay to start celebrating both holidays early. He didn't really put it in those terms, but he identifies both Thanksgiving, and Christmas as the "Holy Days" instead of the Holidays. Nice huh? Anyway, I had fun "window" shopping at the terrain, and as you can see so did Noah and Chelsea. 

Here are a few photos of a few of my favorite things, as well as some shots I took where you can tell that these two kiddos are having a ball. 

^^^ tiny trees, wreaths, succulents, and flowers to name a few. ^^^

^^^ Chelsea's goal, and dream is to have a fairy garden someday. I hope one day we can work on that! ^^^

 ^^^ lots & lots of ornaments, candles, twinkling lights that put a smile on chelsea's face, and a whole lot of garland! ^^^

 ^^^ and let's not forget about the books! We love any store that has books. Chelsea has this one on her Christmas list. ^^^ 

We took a look outside as well, and they still had a lot of pumpkins and gourds. Even though we picked our pumpkins Noah saw these tiny ones, and wanted to get one so I bought one for him so that his pumpkin can have a friend. Everything was half price so it was only 50 cents! 

 ^^^ my favorite part was finding this fire pit. They had marshmellows, and sticks. This was the kids favorite part of their terrain trip too! ^^^

 ^^^ it was a perfect evening to be outside. We walked around, and saw the last signs of fall. Such a fun place to be. ^^^

It's so nice to have stores like this where there are so many sundries, adorable knicks, and knacks, a cafe where you can eat delicious food, but most of all to be inspired as to how to decorate your home, and garden!

But first I need to build a garden!  

We have begun to get into the holidays, but Noah has learned that his birthday comes before the "Holy Days!"