A Little Vaca

Last week was full of adventure with Mom, Emily and Jordan in town. We spent time touring New England and New York City, but mostly eating. I've never eaten so much cheese and gluten or ice cream in one week! But that's what vacation is for, right? 


We also spend time at the Pond Beach (aka Heaven on Earth). Cony even taught Gracie to swim but couldn't bring myself to document the sheer terror on her face. 

We had a small early Birthday celebration for Jordan with our favorite red heads that included, smores...

bubbles... 

pretending to be Harry Potter... and of course laughs over eating Birch Beer Floats. 

Our 4th of July celebrations included the Boombox Parade in the Big Willi, 

(the Boom Box Parade has no live bands so everyone carries around a radio tuned to the local radio station that plays patriotic music)

enjoying a New England Jamboree, 

topped off with a relaxing hayride. 

Go UCONN Huskies! 

New York City was an adventure. Not just because it's New York City. Mom sprained her foot 3 weeks earlier and was in a boot. Walking was no option and taking subways you don't get to really see the city. So we rented a wheelchair which turned out to be great for a few reasons. 1) great work out 2) Jordan was able to stand on the back and we could move at a faster pace (he walks SO slow). Will I ever do that again? NO. Now mom, don't go thinkin' it ruined our day because it didn't. 

Jordan makes a great photographer. We weren't sure we were actually in the photo. I literally have 30 of me and Emily looking like this...

Big Piano. Huge hit. 

Got to see the Statue of Liberty...in FAO Swartz.

What NYC trip isn't complete without a tour through Central Park? I really didn't get my camera out much, but we visited the Manhattan Temple  and while walking on a random street ran into Alexis Bledel. 

We loved walking around Boston on the Freedom Trail and taking a small break to cool off. 

Cobblestone road in front of Paul Revere's home. 

We also took a moment to do a photo shoot on campus right after the Tooth Fairy found out Jordan lost his front tooth.  

We had a blast all week and can't wait til the next visit. 

One Down.

Today marks our one year in Connecticut. It's hard to believe. As much as I miss home, we adore our CT family. We're celebrating today by picking our real family up at the airport and spending a week rejuvenating together. I'm thrilled. 


photos below are from the Freedom Trail Run I told y'all about... 

This is the narrowest home in the city. Only 10 feet wide. Apparently the owner is renting it out on a week by week basis too.  

Did I mention we did this run right before the huge parade for the Bruins? If you live under a rock and didn't know the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup, now you do. And I have to say... it was one of the coolest mad house experiences ever. 

Until next time.... HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! 

Big Pleasure! Big Pleasure!

There's this awesome little Greek restaurant (if you can even call it a restaurant) on campus that is fabulous. The owner, cook, and cashier is one man and he speaks very little English. He's cute as a button and only knows how to ask for your order and say "you welcome, big pleasure!". He doesn't just say it once either. It got me thinking of all the big pleasures I have in my life.

I feel it would be a little cliche if I started by telling you about our great Father's Day so I'll begin by telling you about this awesome 5k run we did in Boston on Saturday morning. It's called the Freedom Trail Run and it's an easy run around the major land marks on the Freedom Trail and we stop every quarter mile or so, and Eddie-O shares with us interesting facts. It's by far the best $35 we've spent (in a long time) and THE best way to tour a city. I mean honestly... seeing the city first-hand, learning and exercising all at the same time = pure genius.

Father's Day was warm, sunny and beautiful. It's beyond my comprehension that it's the end of June because in the mornings I'm still wearing a little jacket and turning the heat on in the car. Seriously. Beyond my comprehension. However, we spent a beautiful afternoon together just relaxing, walking our dogchild and paying bills. Doesn't get much better than that my friends.

Gracie loves to sit on people's feet. She can find them without even looking. Just plops her little tooch down wherever she feels inclined.

I found this chick on etsy that does custom portraits for a reasonable price and thought it would make a perfect Father's Day gift. I highly recommend AshMae. She was easy to work with...and I love her whimsical (non traditional) art pieces.

I loved what she did so much I ordered an iPad sticker while they were on sale at One Kings Lane. Cony got a kick out of em'.

And finally I thought I'd share my favorite part of our new pad. The pantry/laundry room. I'm not sure what I love more about it- the built in shelves, the window or the fact that we can have a washer/dryer under our own roof again. Big pleasure!

Disconnect to Reconnect

This weekend we made a plan to disconnect from the world as much as possible to reconnect. I tell ya, a marriage is hard work. And if we aren't constantly working at it-life ain't so happy.

We spent the weekend going to a baby shower....

Going to the drive-in theater... We watched the X-Men movie and loved it. In fact, we spent most of Sunday ignoring all the housework and watching the other X-Men movies. Just finished the third one for Family Home Evening.

We even let Gracie Lou cuddle with us in our bed. She loves changing bed sheets day.

Here's the only piece of art I've hung in the house..... found the frame for $6 at an antique store. Have I mentioned how awesome antique stores are up here? Tag sales too!

This cow took a liking to me while on my walk around campus.

And this is a sunset I was able to enjoy on a run the other night. I have to admit, this little rink-a-dink town we live in has some of the best sunsets I've seen.

A Virtuous Picnic

I'm so tickled with how last night's Young Women's Activity went I couldn't wait to share it. For those of you who may not know, every Tuesday night the Youth of our church get together and do different activities (service projects, craft projects, games, etc...something that helps lift the spirits of these young kids!) We planned it to bounce off the Sunday's lesson on Temple Marriage by getting dolled up, eating cake and having a mini photo shoot.

What's a party without an invitation?

And a cake? Don't judge me too harshly. It's been a really long time since I've had to decorate a cake in a legit manner.

My beautiful and amazing Young Women....

The ladies I get to serve with and help me in more ways then they'll ever be aware of...

LOVE these ladies. I would keep them in my pocket all the time if I could.