So Long, Old Pal

"It is necessary to find one's own way in New York. New York City is not hospitable. She is very big and she has no heart. She is not charming. She is not sympathetic. She is rushed and noisy and unkempt, a hard, ambitious, irresolute place, not very lively, and never gay. When she glitters she is very, very bright, and when she does not glitter she is dirty. New York does nothing for those of us who are inclined to love her except implant in our hearts a homesickness that baffles us until we go away from her, and then we realize why we are restless. At home or away, we are homesick for New York not because New York used to be better and not because she used to be worse but because the city holds us and we don't know why." - Maeve Brennan

We said goodbye to our home in New York a few weeks ago. The last four years went by so quickly, but I feel like I remember every single day. I am a different person now than I was when I stepped off the plane at JFK airport and wandered through the streets of Brooklyn for the first time. Moving to New York changed my life for the better. I am more capable, confident, and charitable. I am more grateful for the things I have, and especially for the gospel. We have been stretched and pulled and pushed out of our comfort zones. We've been lonely and frustrated and scared. We did things we never thought we would or could do. But we did it! And we had a wonderful experience and have so many memories that will stay with us forever.

I absolutely loved going to Broadway shows, Yankees games, and the US Open. I was so happy as we rode bikes around Governor's Island. I already miss the veggie sandwiches at Vanessa's Dumpling House in Chinatown. The Manhattan temple was such a peaceful place in the middle of a whole lot of noise. And riding the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty never got old.

We were happy to call Staten Island our home. It was good for our family. We met people who showed us so much love and support and who we will call our friends forever. We loved our little apartment and our little yard. We will miss our running route through the beautiful Clove Lakes Park, and the five minute drive to the beach and ocean. People we met at church inspired us with their talents, testimonies, and selfless service. We were lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people.

We will not miss the traffic, the constant honking, and the potholes. We will not miss spending hours looking for parking spots or paying ridiculously high priced parking tickets. Joseph will not miss his long commute. And we are glad to be done paying our sky-high rent every month. It definitely wasn't the easiest place to live, and there are a few things that we are okay to leave behind.

But we learned and loved so much. We will miss New York City. I'm sure we will look back at this as one of the best times of our lives. I'm thankful for every minute we spent there, because of what we achieved and where we are now. We are excited for the future and for change and progression. But I will always have a special place in my heart for New York City!

* first and last pictures taken by sister Robin, the rest were taken by Joseph & me

My Afternoon in the City

Last week, I got to spend an afternoon in Manhattan all by myself. Thanks to my friend who watched the kids, I didn't have to wrestle a stroller onto the subway or fear losing my children in the throngs of people that always cover the sidewalks in the city. It was wonderful.

I did some shopping and people watching and picture taking. But my main purpose for the trip was to visit some of the fabric stores in the Garment District. I could have spent days, not hours, looking through those amazing stores and dreaming up all the things I could make with that beautiful fabric.

I found some great things to buy, ate a delicious slice of pizza, and then headed toward home on the subway... ferry... and bus. I loved my afternoon, and I'll hopefully be able to sneak in a few more of them in the next 7 weeks.

City Life

We've been able to do a few fun things around the city lately. With only about 4 months left here, I'm getting a little sad and I'm anxious to make good use of our time!

Some friends and I went into Manhattan last week to enjoy some tasty desserts. We had cream puffs at Beard Papa's, banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery, and gelato at Screme Gelato Bar. It was delicious and we were only a tiny bit sick at the end of the night. :)

We finally checked out the Bronx Zoo. We highly recommend going to the zoo in January because you get the whole place to yourselves! We were very impressed and we all had a great time. It was pretty cold, but most of the exhibits were indoors so it worked out great.

We also went to dinner with some friends at Schnippers near Times Square. It was delicious and lots of fun to have a date night in the city and catch up with Whitney & Bryan.

I usually tend to hibernate at home during the cold winter months, so it has been nice to get out of the house and have some fun!

US Open

My sis, Robin, flew in to join us the day after we got back from Palmyra. That night we went to the US Open!!!!! I've been watching and playing tennis since I was young, and it was awesome to actually be there in the stadium! We saw Djokovic play, who ended up winning the whole tournament. It was super cool and we had such a fun time.

Besides shopping and sightseeing and bike riding in the city, we also spent a day at the beach. And we ate at Vanessa's Dumpling House, of course. Delicious.

It is always hard to have family leave, but we did so many awesome things and had such a great time while they were here that it was hard to be too sad. We loved every minute with them!

So Far, So Good

Our August was just about as good as it could get. It started out with Anna's birthday and our anniversary Yankees game. We made a trip to Central Park, and lots of trips to the beach (I have a tan for the first time in years). Some friends and I ran into a star from Project Runway while checking out Mood fabric in Manhattan. That store is amazing and I want to live there.

Joseph celebrated his 30th birthday and is feeling old. Matthew absolutely loved the Museum of Natural History and we loved watching him take it all in. We survived an earthquake and a scary hurricane. We took the ferry over to Governor's Island and played miniature golf and rode bikes around the island (one of my most favorite experiences of all time).

And to top it all off, my parents came to visit and we spent a few days in upstate NY. I'll share the pictures from that trip soon. August was wonderful and was the perfect end to the summer.

NY Yankees

Joseph and I went to a Yankees game last weekend to celebrate our 7th anniversary! I've been wanting to go to a game for so long, and I was so excited about it! The stadium is HUGE and our seats were pretty high up, but I thought it was awesome. The weather couldn't have been better and we had a blast watching the game and talking. The Yankees lost, but it was still a great night.

I gave Joseph a USU Aggies baseball hat for our wedding present, and this year I gave him a NY Yankees hat for our anniversary. Kind of fun. Go Yankees!!