I HEART FALL and I HEART Pumpkin Picking with Ashley

Fall is STILL my FAVORITE season! I especially love Fall on the East Coast! The leaves are absolutely beautiful and I love the nice little chill in the air!

In 2009 (When I lived in NY), Karen, Ashley, Jen, and I took a little fall trip up to Connecticut to pick pumpkins. We had so much fun, that we did it again in 2011 (It's my fault we didn't go in 2010....I was doing the whole getting married thing). Even though Karen and Jen moved away, Ashley and I decided to keep up the tradition and went in 2012 and 2014, but to New Jersey instead of Connecticut  (Once again it was my fault we didn't go in 2013....I was like 8 months pregnant and didn't feel like it).

Well, once again Ashley and I got together and traveled back to Connecticut for our little Fall/pumpkin tradition.

We did what we alway do.....1) Get pumpkins, 2) Buy WAY too many pastries, 3) Eat said pastries in the car, 4) Go to Target and wander around for hours and then fill the car to capacity (we actually didn't do as bad as we have in the past) and 5) Get something to eat! It's totally the perfect trip! Can't wait for next year!

Another trip to the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City!

Two summers ago, Jeff and I traveled to Utah for a family reunion and his parents 50th wedding anniversary. We stayed at the Stein Eriksen Lodge and LOVED it, so we were thrilled when Ben and Sharon wanted to stay there for a week in August. It was great relaxing and hanging with Ben and Sharon in an amazing one bedroom suite!

A trip to Chelsea Market

Last Tuesday, Jeff decided to take a little trip into the city to go to Chelsea Markets and visit a friend who just had a baby. We only visited two places at Chelsea Market, but I think it was all I needed to do to know that I totally want to go back next time I'm in the City. (Jeff and I were fasting so we had to pick up stuff for later which was very very hard). We went to Lobster Place and Rana. We got some amazing pasta at Rana and I wish we would have gotten more!

Cohen's first trip to the Central Park Zoo

After a couple games of chess, we made our way to the Central Park Zoo. If you're thinking that the Central Park Zoo is anything like the zoo in the movie Madagascar, I'm sorry to be the one to inform you that it is NOTHING like that zoo. Ok, maybe there are some architectural elements that are similar, but there are no lions, hippos, zebras, or giraffes. There are penguins and Cohen just loves penguins so a total win for us. I actually really like the Central Park Zoo, but there really isn't much there. It was Cohen's nap time, so he was getting fussy towards the end of our trip, but I made him sit through the seal feeding. The trainers come out and feed the seals while they do some tests which means they do some cool tricks. It was totally worth waiting around for.

Central Park Chess and Checkers House

Many of you probably already know this, but I lived in New York City for awhile after I graduated from college. I lived on the Upper West Side close to Central Park and use to walk through the park all the time.  I'm ashamed to admit that I never knew that there was a Chess and Checkers House. I've seen the building before, but I had no idea that you could go borrow chess and checker sets and play a game. Well, my nephew heard about it and wanted to stop by and play a game on our way to the Central Park Zoo. It's a really cool facility and I'm glad we stopped by.

Cohen, Penguins, and Sharks...oh, my!

I love when family comes to visit. They are great at getting me out of the house and doing fun new things. When Kari was visiting last month we went to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. Jeff has told me about this aquarium several times, but I have never taken the 1.5 hour trip down there until now.

It is a nice aquarium (a little expensive for what it is in my opinion), but I think Cohen really enjoyed looking at all the fish. True to previous zoo/aquarium trips, Cohen still loves Penguins! He also really liked the Shark tank. They have a tube you can walk through and Cohen totally loved it! I think I will go back in the Fall when there are less people there, so Cohen can run around and not get trampled.

Thanks for the water table Grandma and Grandpa!

When my parents were visiting they took Cohen and I on a little trip to Toys "R" Us. Well, they bought so much stuff it almost didn't fit in the car! One of the items that they purchased was a water table for Cohen to play with in the backyard. It's been set up in his toy room for months and we finally busted it out the last day Kari was in town. (Why the delay? Well, we headed to WI shortly after my parents visited where Cohen broke his arm)

Cohen LOVES it! He just loves water in general. Thanks so much Grandma and Grandpa for such a fun toy!

Brie also loves the table. It's at great drinking height for her. Cohen watched her take a few sips and decided it was the "cool" thing to do and started doing it as well.

Happy Father's Day....in July!

So, I'm a bad daughter. I had an idea for a Father's Day gift, but was super busy in June and didn't get around to making it. (Don't worry....I did call my dad on Father's day) Well, now it's over a month later and I finally got the gift to my dad!

My dad is in love with the Minions from Despicable Me, so I decided to dress Cohen up in a little Minion onsie and take a picture of him and put it in a frame that says, "Grandpa's little Minion." It didn't turn out exactly like I imagined (the picture was too small so you couldn't even see the onsie), so I ended up printing off a bunch of pictures and sending those as well.

Happy Father's Day DAD!

Congratulations Bekah!

Last month Jeff, Cohen, and I had the great pleasure of attending Bekah's high school graduation. (Bekah's my niece) To my great surprise, Cohen actually sat on Jeff's lap for most of the ceremony without incident. He did cry whenever someone around us screamed and cheered, but that's not unexpected. He really doesn't like loud noises.

I'm so glad we had the chance to celebrate with Bekah and visit with Johnny who just recently returned home from his mission in Brazil.

Easter! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a fantastic basket!

My parents sent Cohen a fantastic Easter basket this year. Cohen had so much fun playing with the Minion ball and the plastic Easter eggs. He really loved the plastic eggs. Total win with him. I can't wait until we get to do an Easter egg hunt with him next year!

Isn't it great that I'm posting about Easter in July?

Sharon's Surprise Baby Shower

I'm really digging into the archives for this one. Back in February, Emilie and Sharon (my sisters in law) came to New Jersey for a girls weekend. We visited with Noramah and Bekkah, got mani-pedis, played games and just talked! It was a really great weekend, but one of the highlights was the surprise baby shower for Sharon! She had absolutely no idea! It was a children book themed shower and I think it turned out alright. Special shout out to Ashley. She did this theme for another friends shower and let me use some of her decoration and recipes!