Memorial Day In Essex, CT!

Love how New England coastal towns decorate for Memorial Day. Its so quintessential and aesthetic. It inspires me to move here but I am grateful that we are only a 2. 5 hour drive away from some of the cutest towns in Connecticut. Essex is one of my faves and I captured a lot of red white and blue while we came here. I've explored this town before but not over memorial day weekend. It was quaint and pretty and we had a lovely time taking in the peace and the sounds of the ocean as well! 

Art Omi

 

Fourth time going to Art Omi and the 2.5 hour drive is always worth it and never disappoints. The huge wide open space. The art sculptures. Nature. Serenity. Quiet. Major social distancing. I love it and I'm so glad I found out about this place during the pandemic. There's always new pieces of art on exhibit inside the visitors center and new sculptures displayed outside. It's fun and I'm always in awe looking at them. Reading about them and how the artist depicts it. We all had a nice time going and taking Hyrum for the first time reminded me of when Jon first went. I have to admit I look at the sculpture before reading about it. Jon and Hyrum really delve into the concept and meaning behind the sculpture. They read every detail. I love it! I love that Lexie and I have smart, intellectual men in our lives! I look forward to coming again and bringing more of our kids here!

Nostalgia in Blackwood - 10 Years Later....

It's been more than a minute since I've logged on here. Even though we have a month left of spring it feels as if it's already over. The smell of summer is in the air, and the temps have been warm lately but today it's nice and breezy. The blossoms in the spring are gorgeous but now they have fallen off the trees and have disappeared. Earlier this month I took a drive to my old hood with Noah and couldn't believe how fast time flew having raised this kid here. It's been 10 years since we've seen his childhood train. He loved coming here with his miniature Thomas the train figures pretending to be a conductor. I thought it was a train phase but he is now 14 and still has a love for trains. He was such a cutie. Still is.

Goodbye April, Hello May!

And just like that...March and April have come to an end! The past two months flew by pretty quick. We saw the new Ghostbusters movie, went to a lot of broadway shows, had a simple Easter, and saw general conference. Those two weekends are always my favorite! The cherry bloom festival in D.C. has come and gone. That time of year is a favorite cause of all the cherry trees in bloom along the tidal Basin. 

Our Easter this year was simple and chill without the girls but luckily I was able to still crack cascarones on both Jon and Noah's head! It was funny cause Jon hardly has any hair but Noah has a ton. It has been a very chill time for our little crew here in Jersey and I know my girls have a lot going on in Utah with school ending and all. Now that spring semester is over they can get more sleep and just work their jobs without having to study!

The Outsiders Musical!

 

Last week Noah and I saw The Outsiders musical and it was well done! I'm old school and was looking forward to having it be similar to the movie but they changed a few scenes. It was interesting how they added songs to certain scenes but it was done very tastefully. Noah saw the movie for the first time earlier that day to prepare to see how they would make it into a musical and he was very pleased. We both were. I loved it so much and my 14 year young heart was so happy to see it. It brought back memories from my youth as a kid and how much I felt Ponyboy and Johnny's pain. I still feel it to this day when I see the movie and I felt it that night when I watched the show. Although our lives were similar to a certain extent I am grateful for my outcome to still be here today in my 50's and to have introduced my 14.5 yr old boy to the movie and show.  So if you're ever in NYC...go see it!

An Afternoon At The Washington D.C. Temple.

 

As long as I'm living in the east coast near one of my favorite temples in Washington D.C. I will always be feeling nostalgic. When we first moved here this was the one temple where we the most active in attending and the one temple where we always dragged our kids along since they were single digit ages. I love looking back at old photos and blog posts and having one kid left to take to this temple is bittersweet. Whether Noah fakes it or not or pretends to like coming here to make me happy doesn't matter. Although I believe he really does like coming because of the little pool and the cool auditorium which remind me of a mini conference center. He always has new questions to ask us about the church and the temple and I appreciate his curiosity. He eventually will make his own choice as to continue to attend the temple as he gets older, but whatever his choices are we love him no matter what he thinks of it.  I love that we always have a fun time here. Sure it's a spiritual place but we can always make our own fun by not being so serious all the time. Like President Gordon B. Hinckley one said, "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."

Indulge!

 

 

Meeting Valerie Bertinelli was so fun! I grew up watching "One Day At A Time" and thought she was the funniest. I sure do miss 70's and 80's shows. The fact that I grew up liking the same shows as my mom proves all too well that she raised me to watch good prime time television. I miss those simple days of watching tv. Even with the interruption of commercials. I didn't mind that one bit and now we can watch a whole series in one sitting without any interruptions! Those were the days and meeting Ms. Bertinelli brought back all the nostalgia. I'm so excited to try her new cookbook recipes too. Since my husband loves to cook and is the main cook in the home I got it for him as a fathers day gift. I already have a few recipes in mind to try and reading her essays in between are inspiring too! So if you're in the market for a healthy and inspiring cookbook go get Indulge! 

A Special Temple Morning.

 

I hadn't been feeling well all week both mentally and physically. I blame it on the rain that continues to make my bones ache, and joints stiff. I call in stiff aching "boints." But then I look at these two lovely sisters of mine who are in their 70's and think to myself, "if they can wake up with aching knees and drive 45 minutes to Philly to attend the temple, then so can I. I literally just wanted to lay in bed after dropping off my son at school, but said a prayer and just like that...I felt better.

Our Easter.

 

Our Easter Sunday this year was extremely chill. We went to sacrament meeting and listened to talks about the Savior. We came home and since we had leftover cascarones from last year we sneakingly cracked a few on each others heads. It was still fun, but we all felt that it would have been more fun if we had the girls with us. Oh, those were the days when we cracked confetti eggs on our heads, had a big bbq easter dinner and go for a walk in the park! This time we took a drive to the temple in Maryland to take in the spirit of the Lord and reflect on his resurrection. Holy Week is something we always appreciate and try to reflect on those days where he went through so much. I feel that future easters will be very different from now on. Different as in not having huge gatherings, and just focusing on what's important which is Jesus. Especially during Holy Week. Who knows, maybe our gatherings will be big again when we have grandkids! 

Happy Earth Day!

 

Not only is it a week of service but it's also earth day today. Spring is absolutely stunning right now with the tulips in bloom. We went to the D.C. during conference weekend and the blossoms and cherry trees are all in bloom right now. It's too bad it doesn't last very long. The water is still a bit nippy in the mornings and it warms up during the day. We have had quite a bit of rain showers and are expecting more. Luckily the flowers hang on and are still in bloom. I hope that we find the time to serve in the temple and if you can't enter in the temple smiling at a stranger is good enough. And of course-to keep the earth clean and as healthy as possible. I mean, we do what we can to keep the earth alive right? Whether it's cleaning up trash at parks, or picking up someone else's trash on their property or the side of the road. It's pretty simple to keep our earth looking beautiful and I hope it continues to thrive! 

New York In Bloom!

Spring has officially popped up in the city and the blooms are stunning! After watching this show we headed toward Central Park to see if the blossoms have bloomed and they have! It was still a bit chilly over the weekend so we didn't walk for too long but I did capture a few shots of a blossom tree with Noah standing near it. Noah also captured a photo of me with these tulips before crossing the street to the park. Aren't these tulips stunning! So glad spring has arrived so we can enjoy the outdoors instead of being cooped up inside!