Romeo & Juliet On Broadway!

Romeo and Juliet for Chelsea's Christmas/birthday that is coming up in 14 days! She was sooooo excited that I got tickets for us to see this. It was riveting and beautiful and oh my gosh I could watch it again. It ends in February after valentines day so if you're in the city go see it! After the show we walked around Times Square and walked through the holiday village where we found a shop that sold ate 30 dollars worth of tongula. This candy coated fruit was delish! It began to snow a bit and the flurries were falling so gently. We walked toward radio city and captured pics in front of these huge iconic red ornaments! Christmas time in the city never gets old and walking to see all the ornaments on this side of Manhattan is always the best!

Snow Day On The Beach!!

Last Friday we had a snow day off from school and it was the best! Noah was in heaven because this was the second snow day in a week! He is realizing that the older he gets the more tired he becomes especially when he goes to bed late waiting for dad to come home. 10:30 isn't super late but it is for an 8th grader and he needs his sleep! He's starting to realize that classes will be more challenging in highs school which means lack of sleep will increase. He loves sleeping in and is so different from his sisters. The girls would wake up on their own but I have to wake up Noah. He owns a smartphone that isn't hooked up but regardless if it's not hooked he needs to use it as an alarm. I don't mind waking him but he is going to be 15 later this fall and he needs to start being more responsible in waking up on his own, but these past snow days were a blessing for him! And for me too as I love spending time with this kid!

Snow Day At Normandy Beach.

I forgot how it felt to be cold or shall I write freaking freezing cold!! Like BRRRRRR! We hadn't had a good snow storm or any winter storm for almost two years! So this week has been a clear reminder that old man winter is definitely here! We had a snow day and a delay in school this week so Noah and I went for a drive to Normandy beach to see if there was any snow on the beach. When we arrived it was all gone and the snow turned into rain but we were lucky to have had a break in between the rain to get down and capture a few photos...in black and white. The day was dreary and was in a black and white picture taking mood. I personally loved how they came out. I sure do miss film and taking pictures with a camera but I shot these with my iPhone and I loved every minute of these freezing moments! And so did Noah! 

A Snowy Weekend In Boston.

Enjoyed a little bit of snow this past weekend in Boston and it honestly felt surreal to be surrounded by it. Winter this year in Jersey has been long and dreary and being surrounded by snow in Boston was just what we needed. I think we all got our snow fix and to be honest are ready for spring! Not sure if we will get any more snow in our neck of the woods but if we do I'm sure it'll be a dusting and that it'll all be gone by noon! Oh, and guess what? We woke up to some snow this morning and it was definitely gone by noon! Crazy weather we've been having but I am enjoying the sunshine and 40 degree temps especially in the winter time! Now for some photos live from Acorn street...

Winter Solstice '22.

 

I asked my son the other day what his favorite season was and to my surprise he said winter. I think he's the only one in the family who really enjoys winter and being outside making snowballs and having snowball fights with his peeps and sisters. And me! I personally don't mind going outside for a bit. And when I mean a bit, I mean like half an hour! First snowfalls are the best and I absolutely love that part of winter. It really is beautiful, but then after a day it becomes slushy and gross and the desire to be outside goes away.  Nonetheless I don't mind winter that much because it means that we are closer to spring/summer and longer days are returning. So as long as I have a son who still loves going outside when the snow hits I will be a good sport and join him on enjoying the first snow. They're only young once! 

**Picture taken in 2019 when we had our first snow in November! 

Lexie Lately in 2022....

 

“One of the best things about a church mission is not only sharing the gospel and seeing people’s lives change, but the relationships you develop with the people and the friendships you create with fellow missionaries.” -Lexie

Since Lexie doesn’t share too much online she gave me the ok to post a bit about the beginning of her 2022.

The first week back in Utah was super busy for her. She flew back on New Year’s Eve and had a whole weekend to move into her apartment. Started school that Monday. Was part of a wedding party and a bridesmaid for one of her missionary companions that same week. A lot of crazy firsts but she loves her classes, her new ward, her new place (she has a room of her own) and rooming with one of her old missionary companions, but most of all…she has much more appreciation for her religion classes, and the fact that she has some of her old mission peeps attending BYU is the best!

Ice Castles In New Hampshire!

Late in January we had the opportunity to explore one of the coolest winter attractions in New Hampshire- Ice Castles. It is a huge phenomenon that literally brings winter fairy tales to life. Especially after watching Frozen 1 & 2 like a gazillion times. The kids LOVE those movies and sure enough when we came here they were expecting it to be frozen and not only was everything frozen but we came on one of the coldest days of the year! 20 degree weather that felt like -11 degrees! We still had the best time walking around exploring and finding all the holes that one could squeeze themselves into. You're not allowed to do that so luckily they had extra amenities such as slides, fountains, snow tubing and horse drawn sleigh rides. It truly was an epic experience that we will never forget and the kids didn't even care that their feet were numb by the end of our adventure. They will do it again in a heartbeat so you better believe we will be coming again next year! There are at least 30 photos on this post so I hope you get to the end of it and you can watch a little video of us snow tubing here. 

A Snowy Day On The Brooklyn Bridge!

There have been many times when we've walked over the Brooklyn bridge but never when it's snowed. When we had the first snowfall we immediately went the next day to see if Noah could go sledding on the bridge but to no avail. The snow had already been shoveled. But that's okay because we had the bridge pretty much to ourselves so no kids. Temps were pretty cold and we probably saw about six people walk the bridge that day including one jogger. We absolutely love this iconic spot and it never gets old. Winter, spring, summer, fall...you will find us on this bridge anytime of the year! I captured my crazy kids. They amaze me with the stamina they have. Especially walking in 25 degree weather. And remember we are on a bridge! Luckily it wasn't too windy so we could tolerate the cold. It was a great day and one for the books (blog!)

Wintery Scenes At Central Park!

There's something magical about the first snowfall in NYC. I LOVE the city so much that we try to venture out there a couple times a week. I try to make time for my city to nurture it by showing her off to the world in pictures. I went early one morning to capture the beauty of central park covered in snow and it was 'snow beautiful.' I'm not a professional photographer but these pictures don't do it justice. You have to be here in person to take in all the wonder and beauty of it. I literally walked around park for about two and a half hours and in between taking photos sat down and relaxed and watched people as they walked by. You're never bored while walking among 843 acres of land! Strawberry fields, the Bow Bridge, The Gapstow Bridge, Bethesda Fountain, Cherry Hill Fountain, ice skating rink, a horse carriage. Seeing all the these iconic spots that make up Central Park covered in snow was breathtaking and it just made me want to put my camera away and sit down and just stay here all day. Even when the temps are in the 20's!

Winter Time At Bryant Park NYC!

Bryant Park in the winter time never gets old! Before the snow storm hit we ventured out and walked around and ate at our favorite spot Wafels and Dinges. We didn't get to go ice skating because of time and in all honesty Noah gets a bit nervous when there is too many people. It wasn't too too crowded but Noah isn't the best skater and so he prefers roller skates over ice skates but he does love an outdoor rink better than an indoor one. We still managed to enjoy ourselves and man do we love the city! Here are a few pics from that day. I think my favorite capture is the frozen fountain. It has been cold enough for it to freeze. So cool looking!

A Snowball Fight In Upstate New York!

There are years when I look forward to snow and this year just hasn't been one of them. This winter has been "blah" on snowstorms, and the ones we've had lately have been a dusting, and ones that melt, and turn into slush by 5pm. School gets canceled for no reason, but luckily the snowstorm we just had recently caused a delay, and that's better than school being canceled. I was however in the mood to see snow that actually sticks so this past weekend we drove to upstate new york to see how much snow mother nature left for new yorkers. 

A Little Bit Of A Snow Fall.

Well, we finally had some snow this morning. It actually started last night, and stopped around 10 am this morning. It was nice while it lasted, but to be honest I'm pretty much done with the snow. I think it's the fact that we hadn't had a good snowstorm since last year in mid-November, and now that it's February and have 30 plus days until spring don't want any snow right now! I'm glad it's already slushy, and that the forecast for this week is rainy with hardly any more snow.

Two Glorious Days Of 60 Degree Weather in February!

The past two days weather here in Jersey was the dreamiest I've ever had on a February day. Temperatures were in the 60's, and with the sun bursting with rays of sunshine made it feel more like 70! Temps like that definitely called for a beach day, and after the subzero temps we had last week called felt that the kids deserved an outing on the shore. This time I was not alone. 

On The Last Day Of January In 2019...

Last Summer seemed like such a blur with all the moving, and prepping we were doing for our trip to Utah, and because we were too focused on helping Lexie get ready for college felt as if I neglected the one place where I run wild and free with the kids...and by myself. 

MLK On A Cold Winter's Day.

I don't know what it is with little kids, and cold temperatures. You'd think that because school is off that they'd sleep in, and want to stay indoors, but in all honestly because of the blue skies, and sun shining so bright didn't want to stay cooped up in the house, and so we went outside. Although the forecast showed temps were in the low teens with a windchill of -8 degrees I still went outside to see how cold it was, and it was freezing! The weather can be so deceiving when the sun is out! Especially when you look outside the window and the roads are bone dry! 

A "Bomb Cyclone" In Jersey.

Well, the first snow of the year was pretty intense and bitter, bitter cold with sub 0 temps compared to Jonas in 2016 & Stella last year. this bomb cyclone literally mind "blowing" but we came out of it unscathed. The plows did a good job on clearing up the streets, and main highway because at the last minute I had to make a Walmart run to buy some food that I can actually cook for the kids. As much as I dislike freezing temps, and sometimes driving in it,  there is something about freshly dropped snow that is so beautiful.

Storm Stella.

There's something about the snow that brings fun, boredom for some, and unity within a community. My neighborhood has the nicest neighbors. I may not see them too much during the day, but this past snowstorm brought most of them out. It was so nice to see our neighbors helping each other shoveling each others sidewalks. It reminded of the time I lived in Utah years ago when we had one of the worst snowstorms, and neighbors from our church showed up out of nowhere and began going to town shoveling sidewalks! 

Our Snow Day Went Like This...

The day started out at 6am this morning when I woke up to take Jon to work. There was sleet, and light rain...no snow. The forecast yesterday called for so many inches of snow, and it is now after 6pm, and it's all slushy now, and pretty much melting. The weather yesterday was a wonderful 60 degrees, and today it dropped all the way down to about 25! Brrr.

Holly Trees & A Few Pics of Our Winter So Far.

Since it snowed quite a bit last week I wanted to capture some moments of the kids in our new place. This is our first winter in this area, and so far this week has been mild with a high of 65! I am lucky to have captured some shots even though it was bitter cold! I love the holly trees that are built along the property of our house.

Snow Day On A Saturday!

Everyone woke up earlier than usual this past saturday. We had music lessons, and planned on visiting a friend in south jersey afterwards. But all that changed as soon as it starred to snow. Lessons got canceled, we didn't get to visit our friend, and Jon got called off of work. You can imagine the kids faces when he called to let us know that he wasn't driving, and by the sound of his voice...he was relieved. It's not a perk for being a UPS city driver driving in the snow!