I'm not going to lie... I'm totally in love with my little guy Preston! While Aubree is becoming increasingly more independent... I've really had a little buddy, in Preston. He's my guy... ALWAYS wanting to be with me.

We visited Manhattan again last week & took a nice 3 mile, or so walk up Riverside park - we stopped at the "Hippo Park", which has the cutest Hippo & Animal figurines spouting out water. Preston kept himself busy looking at the fake animals, jumping in the water & also following the live birds around in the park - he's an animal lover! Aubree, on the other hand, made about a dozen new friends & cruised the park by herself with all of her new friends. I love how the NYC parks are all safely locked up & secured, so I know she can never be too far & I can always take a quick glance around & spot her every few minutes.

Preston looking at all the animal statues built into the rocks....

 Aubree & a "friend" playing in the water

The water was cold, so after a good 1 1/2 hours of Aubree playing, she quickly changed into her second outfit of the day...

 This little one loves being in the swing too! :)



4th of July was pretty uneventful for us. After a long day in Philadelphia the day before, we decided to just relax at home. Garrick & I ended up watching the very long movie, "1776" (of course, only after watching the Nathan's hot dog eating contest), the movie 1776 seemed to hit the spot perfectly for us because we were all into the history of the day - despite the fact that 1776 is somewhat of a musical... that we could have done without! :)

After an early dinner, we packed up some popcorn & snacks & headed over to Weehawken, NJ to watch the Macy's Firework show on the Hudson. We loved the idea of seeing the fireworks over the NYC skyline. However, after driving around Weehawken, for a good 45 minutes to an hour, we kind of gave up. Not only was the parking situation looking impossible, the crowds were also a little too much for us to handle. So, in a crazy moment, we changed our plans & drove west over to Hackensack, literally parking minutes before the show started. Good thing we packed blankets, because we set up camp in an abandoned parking lot & caught the whole show just in time. The kids loved it & it was a great end to our long, busy & fun weekend.

After any long weekend, filled with parks, new cities & play dates you always run the risk of the kids coming down with some sort of sickness. Unfortunately, that did happen... just days later, the kids had some 72-hour, up all night 103+ fever, flu's. Good thing they recovered by the weekend - because that following weekend was the wedding on Chelsea Piers & we didn't want to miss that! :)

My little sick girl... looked like this for a few days! :( But, still managed to start her days bright & early... getting dressed, first thing in the morning, despite her not feeling well.



We spent this past weekend in Manhattan, for a good friend's wedding. Unfortunately I missed the ceremony, because I had to get the kids settled for bed - but, the reception was absolutely beautiful!! I am so glad I made it & that the kids were good for Uncle Timmy (thank you Uncle Timmy for watching the little ones!)

Of course I took a few pictures - the views from the venue (Chelsea Piers) was amazing!! It looked right over the busy Hudson River, to Jersey City & Hoboken. I was in love with the sunset... It's been awhile since I've watched the sun set over a body of water.

Ok... So, here are a few pictures of the view, because it was just too beautiful, not to share.

And a couple pictures of the beautiful newly weds! :)

Other pictures from us at the wedding...

My pretty sister! :)

And one with the baby in it - man! I'm getting BIG!!! ;)

 A few cute details - and now... I gotta go! :)





Someone (I think Eric) had a great idea... let's go to Philadelphia for the day, over the 4th of July weekend. Since Philadelphia is only 100 miles south of us, we figured... what a perfect day trip!

I really should have paid more attention in History class (I literally zoned out History in my grammar school days & so regret it now!!), because Philadelphia is the place where all the history of Independence Day comes from! This is the city where the delegates from the 13 colonies came together to make the decisions for the people of their colony, this is where they voted on the Revolution & Independence from Great Britain, this is where the Declaration of Independence was written, by Thomas Jefferson, voted on by the 13 colonies delegates & SIGNED... This is where John Adams & Benjamin Franklin so soulfully fought for the United States of America!

On Sunday, July 3, 2011 we stood in the actual room where these arguments took place, by our founding fathers - we stood in the actual room where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the delegates & eventually signed... 235 years later. Some of the furniture in this room, was some of the same furniture from 235 years ago - it all blew my mind! Garrick & I, so enjoyed it that we actually came home & researched the Revolution, the Revolutionary War, all the events that lead up to that date of July 4, 1776 & the pursuing war to freedom.

It's funny, when I thought of us all going to Philly for the day, I thought of Philly Cheese Steaks - we had planned on eating at both Geno's & Pat's (the two birthplaces of the Philly Cheese steak) & also, seeing the Liberty Bell. Little did I know, that as delicious as the Philly Cheese Steaks were (& yes, we ate at both places - one for lunch, one for dinner), I didn't realize how much I would enjoy learning about our country's rich history.

Of course, since we had kids tagging along with us, we decided we had to also do some fun stuff for them, like playing in Franklin Square park, riding the carousel, eating ice cream, checking out the local markets, and just enjoying family time together!

Our day in many, many pictures....

The famous "Geno's" for lunch.... was delicious! :)

 Their rival, just catty-corner, Pat's

(these two places aren't in the best area of Philly)

 Pretty basic... but the bread was delicious & the meat was sooooo tender, no fat!

 The kids even enjoyed it too!

 The Philly Fanatic... Preston thinks it's Albert.

 Benjamin Franklin's grave site... This guy was amazing, he did so much!

 Franklin Square park... a break from all our walking!

 Liberty Bell...

 Ice Cream (Mister Softee - the best!) & nap time for the little guy....

 This park is a grave site for all fallen solders of the Revolutionary War (thousands of them!)

 This indoor market was so cool...

 The house (on the second floor) is where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence

 Me pregnant & my little guy!

 The courthouse...

 Where the whole Declaration of Independence was read for the first time & signed a few days later, on July 4, 1776

 Garrick always has stacks of $2 bills in his wallet (it's just his thing... haha!)... and look at the picture on the back! Right where we were standing!

 And for dinner, Pat's... I think we all agreed that despite all the options at Pat's - the Cheese Steak was better at Geno's BUT the fries were MUCH better at Pat's!! Next time, sandwiches @ Geno's - Fries @ Pat's, that's the perfect plan! :)



(this is from last April - I was going through pictures & saw this lost folder)

So, while all our childless friends got to take exotic vacations to South America, Mexico, Spain & tropical places for their spring break, we decided we should at least try to do something fun & since we only lived 1 1/2 hours from Disney World, why the heck not go??

So, we spent one special day, at the Magical Kingdom. I have to say... we had a great time! Garrick & Aubree both rode their first (kinda) roller coaster together (Thunder Mountain). Garrick got the bug! I think he had a better time than all of us! :)

Aubree's favorite was 'It's a small world after all' (which was always my fav as a child), she did NOT like Thunder Mountain, or Pirates of the Carribean, but I was very impressed that she even went on those, Preston's favorite ride was The Teacups - he cracked up the whole time! Aubree & Garrick rode most of the rides together while P & I sat out and relaxed. Garrick even did his own set of rides by himself (it was his first time to a Disney theme park & I thought he should enjoy as many rides as possible!).

Anyway, I'm having a tough time remebering the specifics of that day, but I know I didn't take too many pictures & I also know, that we've never been more tired by the end of that day! We all slept beyond well after that night! It was a good spring break & I'm so glad we ended up making a trip to Disney World while we lived in Florida.