Labor Day Lovin' and the Oyster Festival

When it came around to Labor Day weekend, we didn't plan anything too big because we heard traffic going in and out of here was pretty bad. We decided to stay close and on Saturday we went to Hoboken, New Jersey because we LOVE the show Cake Boss on TLC and I've told Brian since the day he got the job that it was one of the top places I wanted to go. The internet said it was about 1 hour 15 minute drive to avoid tolls, so we thought, what the heck? That's not too bad. Well it wasn't bad until we hit all the traffic in downtown Manhattan going into the free tunnel. It took 30 minutes to go 300 yards...I guess we weren't the only ones with that idea! Once we got there we thought, hey that wasn't too bad, we're here and it will be fun. Until we ran into this...

The line to get in!!! And that was only half of it, the other half was down the block across the street! We had no idea it would be that busy and at one point we heard it would be a 2.5 hour wait. We debated about getting out of line but decided to stay in line when we met some fun people that we talked to in line for the 1.5 hour wait. 

Finally made it to the front!

Just a pic of Buddy in the background when I was paying for our DELICIOUS cannolis!

T

This is Buddy's sister Madeline that is on the show a lot. You probably don't care if you don't watch the show, but it was pretty exciting. It was a ZOO when we got inside and this is the best pic I could get because there were people EVERYWHERE!

After the excited of the baker we headed over to a park and had lunch and our dessert right across from Manhattan.

Isn't that an awesome view! The cannolis were seriously amazing and we should have gotten a couple pounds of them. Next time, because I will go back. The wait was totally worth it!

This is the only thing in the park that Thad could play on. He loved it and was hilarious of course!

We just walked around the rest of Hoboken, not too exciting apart from Carlo's Bakery, but it was actually a very pretty city!

This is the view from Frank Sinatra Park. They have concerts here in the summer with this as the background...awesome!

We of course had to stop and swing at the park to finish off the evening:)

THE OYSTER FESTIVAL:

So we have heard about his celebration from the time we moved in because they block off several of the streets around our house for the event. We live very close to the park where the festival aka carnival is held and it was finally here. We attended with a lot of Brian's friends from work and we had a blast!

We hit the rides first thing and Thad LOVED the Super Slide. He has been in love with slides lately and especially daring since Leah came and showed him how to be brave no matter how tall the slide is!

None of us have had Funnel Cake before so we had to give it a try. Loved it!!! (Are you even surprised? If you know me you know I love treats;)

These are a lot of Brian's work friends. The girls are all so sweet and I am so glad that we get to hang out with them once in a while. They are all in love with Thad and so sweet with him.

We ended the night on the ferris wheel and thanks to the Farr's we were all able to ride together. They gave us some extra tickets to pay for Thad cuz we didn't think we were going to have to.

 The Farrs on the ferris wheel

 I really felt like a wannabe carni last night! I would have ridden all the rides if the didn't cost $2 a piece and bought a ton of stuff at the booths. Luckily we only took $18, and that doesn't go too far after funnel cake, Super Slide and 2/3 of a ferris wheel ride.

View from the top! 

It was really a fantabulous night and I'm glad we could go with such great company! We are having tons of fun back here and it is going to continue with our next visitors...Heidi and Sadie Mae! We are so excited to have them and can't wait to see them bright and early on Thursday morning:)

A Sister is a Girl's Best Friend

My sister Brigitte came to visit and we had a FABULOUS time! It came and went too fast, but when she was leaving today I didn't feel too sad because we just has so much fun. Brigitte is so easy going and we had a few kinks, but she just went with the flow and was great about changing our plans.

Brig flew in on a red-eye with Leah, and needless to say she was grateful when the plane landed. They  made it though so we headed back to my place and they were able to rest. It was a rainy day and it was the only bad weather day, which is fabulous because Brig came here to go to the beach. The day she got here she was a good sport and did my hair and Hanna's hair. We put her straight to work!

The next day we slept in and had errands to run, but don't worry we made it to the beach!

Thad and Leah were so excited to see each other the first morning Leah was here. Look how cute they are together! They are pretty much BCF (Best Cousins Forever) and we just couldn't get enough of them playing together. There was no fighting or yelling or anything. They loved doing the same things and played together so well. Thad is sure going to miss that little girl:(

On Friday we headed to The Big Apple.

First stop: Times Square

We rode the train in to the city and just stayed up in Mid-town Manhattan. Without a 3rd person the subways would have been difficult to navigate with the strollers and Brigitte wasn't too picky about what we saw in NYC, just as long as we were there and had a good time. Seriously, easiest visitor ever to entertain.

The main attraction was Central Park! We played for a few hours and my friend Lizzie gave us some excellent suggestions about fun things to do in the park:

Leah and Thad were seriously in Heaven! They loved playing in the water and they were sad when we left, but...

They were POOPED after having such a good time, and they both got decent naps in for the day...happy babies = happy mommies! We walked down the pathway called The Mall. It was very pretty and relaxing. We got soft serve ice cream at the boathouse, looked at the fountain and checked out the remote control sail boats. We mostly loved it because there was a lot of space...Brig hates big crowds of people so she loved the openness of the park!

After the park we headed down 5th Ave to F.A.O Schwartz

 This was a lot of fun and Thad and Leah loved looking at all the toys and Brig and I loved the $3.99/.25lbs candy. It was delicious, cherry balls are my new favorite candy!

To finish off the night we

Luckily ran into a delicious sandwich joint called Tasty's and had an yummy dinner,

Made a pit stop at St. Patrick's Cathedral,

 Hung out at Grand Central Terminal, 

 And had a much better ride home. What angels!

We had a blast in the city, but once we got that out of the way Brig had a one track mind...THE BEACH! On Saturday we wanted to go yard sale shopping, hang out at the beach and go to the Greek Festival in Norwalk, but we were only able to do one of the above (the beach, of course) because our car was having difficulties:( Brian and I felt so bad, but Brig just went with it. We were able to get to and home from the beach, but that was pushing it for the car. On Sunday we weren't able to go to church, but Brig and I walked the 1.5 miles down to the beach and of course had fun. We planned on going to the Hamptons overnight from Monday to Tuesday, but it just didn't work out with having to rent a car and pay for the hotel and everything. So Monday we went to Sherwood Island State Park, which is only a few miles from my house and was a great find for my future visitors!

Hanna and Sophie were also able to meet up with us, and it was loads of fun! Thad is showing Brig a rock...he LOVES standing right at the shore line and just throwing the rocks in and watching them splash:)

Monday night we headed to Stew Leonard's and it kinda back-fired on us. We showed up too late to eat dinner there, Thad HATED the mechanical cow, and the car broke down on us once again. Tracy came and picked Brig and I up and Brian got towed. Again, Brig just went with the flow and we ended up having cereal and brownies for dinner. 

Because we couldn't go to the Hampton's we rented a car and drove to Ocean Beach Park in New London. Brian and I went there a few weeks ago with Tracy and Hanna, but it had the white sand and bigger waves we were looking for. We had a BLAST!

The kids were such great travelers and just played together so good. It was a perfect week to spend at all the different beaches we went to!

I am sure going to miss this doll face sucking her thumb, sticking her blanket in her ear, bouncing her curl on the top of her head, and being Thad's BCF. She is such a gem...I mean, look at her!

We headed off to the airport around 10:30 this morning for Brig's 3:00pm flight, because you just never know about the traffic out here. We planned on stopping for lunch and this is where we ended up:

Dunkin' Donuts! They are everywhere back here and it was just off the side of the freeway, so we figured we'd try it and it was decent:) We still had some time to kill and I didn't want to just drop them off 3 hours early, so luckily we ran into this park! There were birds EVERYWHERE and a lady gave us a bag of bagels to feed them, and Thad loves throwing things, so he ate it up! We just walked around and as we were driving out we saw the playground....that would have been helpful beforehand;-) Anyways, they got off ok and are in the air as I write.

I am so grateful for a wonderful sister and the wonderful relationship we have. Brigitte is all fun and is just awesome to be around. I love her so much and wish she could live in CT with me! Love you, Brig!

Happy Birthday to the Best Husband Ever!

This past weekend was a BLAST as we celebrated Brian's 26th birthday! I decided to plan a weekend of sorts because April is always my birthday month, so I figured Brian could at least get a weekend, right!?! It started off with him getting off work early on Friday and bringing home some Sushi for lunch. I'm not a fish fan, but I have definitely been trying because we are so close to fresh fish and everyone says it's better on the coast. Hasn't changed my mind yet, but I'll keep trying:) Then we headed to Stew Leonard's, Brian's most favorite place in Norwalk. If you remember it from my previous post, it is the World's Largest Dairy Store, and just a fun place to go grocery shopping. Thad is deathly afraid of the mechanical cow inside, but we are trying to get him used to it. After that I sent Brian to the driving range because I watched Sophie for Hanna and Tracy for Hanna's birthday which was on Friday. Weird side note: I must get along very good with Leos (Brian is a Virgo on some calendars, but I truly believe his is a Leo because of this). Hanna and Heidi have the same birthday, August 20th and Brian's is the 23rd...weird! Anyways, Sophie and I made a cake and banner for Brian and Hanna and we had a mini surprise party for them. Well, it was just a surprise for Hanna, but it was super fun and she was really surprised. I freaked her out when I opened the door and yelled "surprise" really loud!

 When baking, the batter or dough is my favorite part, so I let Sophie in on the fun:)

As you can see, the party was a huge success and our friend's Lisa, Moroni and their little guy Noah came over to help us celebrate! I made Teresa's German chocolate cake recipe and I have to say that it was pretty delicious!

To continue the birthday weekend I set up for Brian to go golfing in Greenwich with guys in the ward. Golfing is not as accessible or affordable back here, but if you go with a resident of the city it can be a pretty good deal. 

So the guys went golfing: Jake-Mike-Brian-JT (the man who put it all together)....

 And the girls went to the beach, OF COURSE!! Kristin and Lizzie are in the pic, but I never got a pic w/ my camera of all 4 of us, so there ya go. Lizzie and JT are married and the ones that live in Greenwich and put this all together...they are SOOO awesome and I'm so glad Brian could do this for his birthday. This beach was so fun because we rode a ferry over from Greenwich and it was just a fun little island. Thad was very brave and went down to the water on his own several times. He loves throwing rocks in the waves and having the waves roll over his feet...what a cutie!!

We took Sunday off for celebrations, but started early Monday by making Dad breakfast:

And I also planned for Thad to wake up at 6:45 so Dad could see him before he went to work;-) It worked out great and we had a fun morning together!

I didn't document the evening very well, but Hanna and Tracy babysat Thad while we went out. We went to dinner at a yummy Indian restaurant in South Norwalk (SoNo) called Coromandel. We loved our meals and went to walk around SoNo afterwards to check out the little shops and grab some dessert, but EVERYTHING was closed! It was only 6:30p.m., but I guess they don't get enough traffic to stay open every evening. So we trekked around and found a yummy ice cream parlor and just chatted. We rented a Red Box and headed home...we are such an old, married couple! ;-) When we got home, Brian had some surprises from family waiting for him:

My parents sent him a fun card with lots of funny quotes in it with a bottle of cologne from Abercrombie and Fitch. Brian's parents sent him a book, The Silence of God, about a Russian family in the church. Our families are so sweet and I know he really enjoyed the things he got.

As you can see, we had a fun weekend and I truly think Brian enjoyed himself. It is so fun to celebrate his birthday because I get to do/buy him things I usually wouldn't be able to. He is such an amazing husband and makes Thad and I SOOO happy! Love you tons, Brian!

P.S. I'm so sad I couldn't celebrate with this girl too:

I know she is coming in a couple of weeks (WAHOO!!!!), but I would just love to have been close to celebrate with such a wonderful friend. I know she had a wonderful weekend and she really deserved it! We will definitely show her some celebrating when she comes to CT! Love you, Heid! (

Beach Bummin'

This weekend we headed about 1.5 hours northeast to New London, CT to go to Ocean Beach Park. Hanna and I love going to the beach right by our house during the week and we're not complaining, but it's kinda rocky and pretty much no waves because we're in the Long Island Sound, and not right on the Atlantic Coast. So we googled and found this place and just went for it because we wanted an exciting weekend while our summer is still here!

We got in the water RIGHT AWAY! We had to convince the kids a little, but once we waded out there they loved it!

Hanna and I were super excited that there were waves (even though they're not very big) and we rode them in! We did it a lot more in the late afternoon, but we got kicked out by some jelly fish...ahhhh! Some people just kept swimming, but Hanna and I weren't willing to take any risks.

Just playin in the sand

Isn't this sweet! Sophie is such a momma's girl and they are just so sweet together. We just loved basking in the sun. The high was around 80 degrees, so we were all in heaven!

The kids LOVED riding the carousel and Sophie couldn't stop talking about it after:)

We walked down the beach and found this fun little cove. The water was warmer and everyone was crab hunting...

Brian and Tracy got a little carried away....

But it sure paid off!!  

(Thad wasn't too interested. If you know Thad, you know he has unfounded fears of odd things, and this was one of them)

Needless to say, we had a PERFECT day: 80 Degree weather, a slight ocean breeze, awesome kids that didn't complain, fun friends, gorgeous view, Five Guys for dinner...the list could keep going!

The beach has been so fun for all of us and I am excited for Brigitte to come because we have a trip planned to The Hamptons, and I've heard amazing things about those beaches. I'm going to scout a beach out for when Heidi comes and we may catch a ferry over to Long Beach...I don't know, but we'll have something fun planned for sure! Happy summer everyone and if you're itching for the beach, give us a call and we can help you scratch it;-)

Life Lately...

It hasn't been crazy exciting around here, we have just been laying low, but it has been very relaxing. These are just some of the things that have been keeping us busy:

Skype-ing every Sunday with the fam! Kayci, Kelli and Teresa make this kid feel like he is the only person that exists in the entire universe by applauding him and "Oooh-ing and Awww-ing" over any tiny movement or utterance he makes:) He recently learned how to play the harmonica, and is showcasing his skills to the fam on the other side of the country. (Please don't mind the outfit...laundry got to the bottom of the list and this is what we rummaged up for PJs. Also, the hair has been cut since this pic and it's way cuter!)

The boy LOVES to read! He would really sit around all day and do exactly this. He usually cries until I sit down to read to him and then will get a book off his book shelf one by one and sit on my lap while I read him every book he owns. He is obsessed.

Perfect days at the beach! Brian and I haven't had much exposure to beaches, so we definitely want to take advantage of it while we're back here. It's nice that it's just 5 minutes away and we can go for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning.

Swimming in the backyard has been AWESOME! Hanna and Sophie let us borrow this for the rest of the summer since they don't have a yard to put it. Thanks, gals (Come over ANY time)!

Oh, and just reading the paper! We get lots of ads and Thad loves to thumb through them;-) 

Just tonight he got really excited about the Gutter Cleaners, as you can see!

Connecticut is still treating us well and we are loving our ward and the experience as a whole. Things kinda slowed down this week and I wasn't dragging Thad all over town, and I thought it was a good thing to finally stay home for a whole day...It was good until I started getting a tad homesick and wanting to hang out with my sisters:( I just starting thinking about how I have never been able to live by my in-laws or siblings and their kids since we have been married and I got a little sad. So I just decided I have to stay BUSY! Today we went to Hanna's and played with a couple of other friends and it was the perfect cure! Being surrounded by other people in the same situation reminds me not to pity myself and be grateful for the here and now. We love and miss you all!