Happy Halloween!

Halloween season this month has definitely been different this year and here's hoping that whatever plans you have that it is filled with fun, and laughter. Whether your keeping your distance and staying home watching scary movies, and answering the door to give trick or treaters a treat I hope it'll be a good memory.

Here's a young "Carl Grimes" going on a scavenger hunt-trick or treating at the shops at Hudson yards. It was a fun adventure and we were able to do this with an abundance of caution. Our kids still want to go out for a bit tonight so we will keep our distance while we're out and about. Although it doesn't feel like Halloween we will make it fun for our children, and I hope y'all do the same too. They deserve all the treats! 

Here's a little scary video to end this post! Happy Halloween everyone! 

King Kong In Brooklyn.

Noah is a huge fan of King Kong and whoever installed this gorilla prop is pure genius. And the fact that they added a mask to it is doubly cool! It truly is the coolest halloween decoration ever! The drive to Brooklyn was worth it. I sure do love how New York goes all out for Halloween. Even in Brooklyn. I love this small island and how big they go out to make it fun for everyone. Especially the kids. This year has definitely been a rough one and to see New Yorkers adding spooky fun, and joy this Halloween warms my heart and I'm sure the kids get a thrill out of it too! So looking forward to Halloween! 

Halloween Week In The City!

 

It's Halloween week and all month we have been venturing out to see all the creepy displays in the city. October is my favorite month and as long as we live on this side of Jersey you better be believe that we will make numerous trips just to see the Halloween decor and there are so many brownstones and blocks that are filled with all things spooky! Last year we went to a few homes and I posted most of them on my Instagram, but the more I see more of these amazing displays online the more I want to venture out and take the kids to see how creative New Yorkers get with Halloween. The fact that we have no backyard or even a small space to majorly decorate (thanks to our landlord being our neighbor) we get our Halloween fix by going to some of the best spots in the city to capture these amazing creepy creatures! This amazing home which I call 'the Addams Family' is located on 10th and photo is located 10th e. 67th st. Most of these decorated homes are located on the Upper west side. 

Here are more halloween decorated photos below with the locations if ever you're in the neighborhood!

The Pumpkin Arch At Pier 17 In NYC.

Happy National pumpkin day! This pumpkin arch is the best thing that has come to Pier 17. We found out about it last year and captured a few photos and when we heard they had it up again had to come back for more. It's a picture perfect moment to make memories and it's even dreamier at sunset with the lights lit. It truly is a beautiful display of pumpkins so if you need a pumpkin fix this is the place to go but you better hurry because it's only up until October 31st. 

More photos below....

Pumpkins Galore In Industry City!

Love the way New York decorates for fall in every part of the city and while we went to explore more of Industry City found ourselves surrounded by this gord-geous pumpkin installation! Since Noah's birthday is in the fall decided to capture some momma and son photos and I think they came out pretty sweet. This boy is growing up too darn fast, and there are days I look back at his baby/toddler photos and think, "how the heck is this kid going to be 11?" I always have a blast with this kid and there is nothing else I'd rather do than to enjoy these simple moments with him and take in all that this city has to give! More photos below...

Mini-Golf In Industry City!

Going a bit backwards here on the blog and writing about some of the things we did in early fall and because we love mini golf had to document this so the kids can look back and say, "hey, I remember that day! That was sooooo fun." The kids developed a love for mini golf over the summer and when we went to the Industry city last month around my birthday we happened to stumble upon a pop-up mini golf course in so after we had Burger Joint we paid the 5 buck deposit and played a couple of rounds and had an absolute fun time! The theme of this pop-up mini golf course was of course "New York" so I captured a few photos of the kids golfing and had to capture a picture of Noah's favorite installation of King Kong atop the Empire State building. 

The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze

For family night this past Monday we had tickets to go to the Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze and it did not disappoint! This was our first time going and to be honest don't know why I never bothered taking all the kids when they were younger and living at home. Well, once Sierra and Lexie are home for a visit we will definitely take them there. There are over 7,000 carved pumpkins displayed. From The Statue of Liberty, to the headless horseman. A unicorn, carousel, dragon, dinosaurs, sunflowers, and a graveyard to name a few. There are sooooo many pumpkins that are tastefully displayed in this blaze and it is definitely worth the price. It was a perfect beginning to start the witchy season. I love how New York does Halloween! You can see a little snippet of it on my tiktok here. More photos below...

Happy October!!!

I can't believe October has arrived! These photos were taken last year in the upper west side of Manhattan. We love coming here during October to see all the decorations in this neighborhood. I'm hoping that the residents of this location will decorate their stoop again. It's soooo aesthetic and since halloween is not cancelled in new york here's hoping that the UWS will go to town and spook up their stoops! Here's hoping for a fun month of tricks and treats wherever you live and that this pandemic won't ruin Halloween! 

Indian Summer In September.

For a while it felt like summer didn't  want to leave us and then the temps went down to the 60's and then last weekend they went back up to the 80's. Although it's autumn it totally felt like summer again and so we ventured out to Long Beach Island. If we had our bathing suits we would have gone to the beach and played in the water! This was truly an Indian summer and so we took advantage of the weather and walked barefoot on the sand, and the sun shine down on our face. Lighthouses are my thing and this is one of my favorites. It's sooooo tall and the location is perfect. We've come here many times to have picnics or just walk along the visitors trail. It wasn't crowded and the weather was perfect. I had fun taking pictures and hearing the sound of the waves. These kids just informed me today that they are total beach babies. They absolutely love the ocean! No matter the weather we will come here just to take in the sounds of the ocean and to capture this lighthouse in all it's beauty! 

Apple Picking On The First Week Of Fall.

When September rolls around particularly on or around my birthday we go apple picking. It is the best part of the beginning of fall and other holiday traditions. This time we were super lucky to have had a wagon all to ourselves. There was no one else on it and so off to the orchard we went to go pick some apples. I have to admit it was odd having the wagon and orchard all to ourselves. Truly makes you miss people. This pandemic has people changing on all different levels and on our way back from picking we had to stop to pick up 12 people who were picking pumpkins. It was nice seeing other people on the wagon, but they were all distanced from each other which is safe, but it's nice when someone smiles underneath their mask or nods their head. Although it was nice having the wagon and orchard to ourselves the sounds of other children laughing and parents helping their kids pick apples is a sight to see. Something I don't do anymore with my kids since they are too big too carry! It was unusually weird to have the orchard to ourselves but it was nice and we had fun. One good thing is that no one was able to hear me yell at my kid for throwing apples like they are a baseball. Every time Noah would pick a bad apple he'd throw it as if he was Derek Jeter. LOL! Good thing there was no one around for them to hear me yell like a crazy mom! Now for some happy pics!

49 Septembers!

Turned 49 today and it honestly felt a little off. Maybe it's because we are still living in the middle of a pandemic or maybe it's the fact that it's my last year in my 40's! Yikes! Nonetheless, my family made my birthday pretty special and because it fell on a school night celebrated it with pure simplicity. Although Jon worked we managed to have dinner at a decent time in the evening. My two oldest daughters including Lexie who is serving a church mission in Arizona called me today. Those phone calls totally made my day. Chelsea, who in all honesty hasn't written me a handwritten letter since like the 4th grade made, and wrote me the most brutal and loveliest letter! I laughed because she's so much like me, and I even got a bit teary-eyed reading it. I can't even imagine growing up in her era right now which makes me all the more grateful that I am living in a generation today where I can pretty much handle my own and teach my kids to be fearless, yet kind. Noah who is such a sweetheart has been so tired lately with having seven zoom classes a day and although he knew my birthday was today sort of forgot, but then after hinting to him that today is a special day he remembered! Crazy kid!