Old Greenwich

So today's adventure was to Old Greenwich, CT and to Greenwich Point Park....a state park located on a beautiful peninsula with views of Manhattan (way on the horizon) and Long Island (across the Long Island Sound). GORGEOUS!!!

Of course I have a series of images of the kids. Who else? They had so much fun on the beach when it's not 30 degrees outside. It did get up to the mid 50's today, so it was very pleasant outside, but we still needed hats and gloves, because there was a cool breeze coming off the Long Island Sound. There were many "treasures" collected for the treasure box, and many rocks thrown and skipped into the water.

So here is a rare occurrence....pictures of me!! I have often said that my children may not have proof that I was their Mom when they were little other than their memories, but here it is. I do exist!!

Greenwich Point Park is definitely on the go-back-to list. There is a circular drive around the peninsula including the Old Greenwich Yacht Club, places to go claming, boat rentals, cabins, wind sailing, and hiking trails and picnic tables. To get there, you have to drive through Old Greenwich, which is the most gorgeous area of Greenwich. House after house is just what you would picture in an East Coastal Town, but with excess money. Really, it's gorgeous. Lots of beautiful, but not extravagant homes on the water. Lots of white picket fences, and a main street that belongs in a magazine. In fact, it kind of looked like Stepford, if you've seen the movie.

No wonder it's a nice place to live...I got pulled over twice by the same policeman!!! First, I pulled over to check the GPS to make sure we were still going the right way to get to the Park, and he pulled up next to me. In not such a nice way, he asked me what I was doing. He wanted to make sure I wasn't planning on going into the "private" community. I told him I was just checking the map to make sure we were still going the right way, and he looked at me like I was lying or something. Instead of asking me if he could help, he told me it was his job to make sure the private community stays private. Like I'm some out-of-state riff raff that is going to peep in people's windows!!! Then, once we were in the park, he pulled me over again (with his lights!!!!!) to ask me more questions!!! Were we on vacation? I guess out of state plates heightened his scrutiny, but my CO plates do expire at the end of February, so he wanted to make sure I wasn't driving around with a non-registered vehicle. Good gracious!!!! Yes, I'm going to the DMV to get New York plates this week.

Other than the run in with the Connecticut police, it was a great and beautiful day. We had an amazing lunch from Rockridge Deli down the street from our house (the most amazing hot pastrami sandwich), and I'm going to end the day watching the Bachelor....tonight is the hometown dates.

Breaking Rules on the Beach

Heeeeeelllllloooooo 50 degrees!!!!! Haven't seen a 5 on the temperature gauge in a while, unless it's been 35, 25, even 15 degrees. Wow, what a gorgeous day!! I think everyone else in Rye had the same idea. We took Presta and the grandparents to Rye Beach to walk around. There was even a girl on the beach with her beach towel and beach accessories. A bit much I think. I mean, 50 degrees felt nice, but it's no 70!!!

Presta desperately needed exercise, and the usual dog meet-n-greet is in Rye Beach Park, but today it was on the beach. I'm thinking that most signs and postings are generally ignored in the winter time, because these signs were posted all along the beach where all the dog owners and their dogs were happily playing.

We decided to not break the rules with the masses, so we headed down the beach and broke the rules all on our own. I figured if we got in trouble, we could use the "we're from out of town" excuse. It's worked before!

The afternoon ended with a football game at the Rye Rec. It was a bit messy and wet given the warm temps and all the melting snow, but I think the guys had a great time. Berl (our neighbor extraordinaire) was the instigator, with Wade, his Dad, and Berl's buddy Marty as the rest of the team. By the time I got there, the games were ending, but at least I got to greet them as they came off the field. Go team!

I Love Saturday Mornings....

I love Saturday mornings. Wade is home, we all hangout in our pj's and the kids love their Saturday morning Daddy-time. Love it.


PS. Mom and Dad H (my in-laws) are flying in tonight for a 10 day visit! I'll be posting all about our adventures this next week. One thing I am excited about is we (Mom H and I) are going to be in the Martha Stewart studio audience next Thursday. The episode they are taping will be airing on Monday, Feb 16th...President's Day. Check it out and look for us!!!

Quote of the Day

I know kids learn from what is modeled to them, which is often times a scary proposition for a parent. Good thing there is such a thing as grace in the world. Thank you Lord!

The last few days, I have been doing some deep cleaning, vacuuming, and cleaning whatever else I can get my cleaning paws on. I've hemmed 5 sets of curtains, deep cleaned the kitchen and started organizing the basement.

So today I decided to completely rearrange Ava's room. Why? Not sure, but I wanted to clean all the dust bunnies from under her bed and I guess I got carried away!

So Ava started cleaning the playroom, and she started organizing!! Never seen that before! The quote of the day is, "Mom, if I organize my room, it will be sooooo beautiful. Look at all my collections!"

So was she imitating what she's seen the last few days, or it is embedded in her DNA and is just starting to make an appearance?

Who knows, but it sure made my day.....




P.S. Thanks everyone for all your comments and well wishes for Tyson. His fever has finally broken, and it is no longer 102. Wow. He's still a bit lethargic, but he's on the mend. We've been enjoying our snuggles the past couple of days....

Valentine Cards

Since we've moved, Ava has certainly missed her friends in Denver. She has four friends that she has always, and continues to talk about. Anne, Charley (a girl), Bobby and Cole. So we decided to make some Valentine's for them, and we SCORED at the $1 spot at Target. So for $2, we got our Valentine crafts! Cards, stickers, and sparkles. Excellent!

Ava and I made chocolate milk while making the cards and she dictated a message to each friend. Halfway through, she looked at me with an exhausted look and said, "Mom, I think I need a drink!" And she chugged the rest of her chocolate milk.

Her messages are just hilarious and so sweet, with most of them ending in "the end" (Reminds me...Tyson always ends his books with "Amen").






P.S. Tyson is in bed with a 101.4 fever. Where did this come from??! We were getting ready to go to Costco and he felt a little warm, so we sat in the bathroom and I took his temp. Shocker!! We snuggled, and he started singing "Rock A Bye Baby", then "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", and then his "ABC's". His eyes were closed by the beginning of Twinkle Twinkle, then he was asleep in my arms before he reached the end of the alphabet.

Our Last Day with Dad

So yesterday was our last day with Dad. It was a big one!! A little too big for Wade and I towards the end of the day.....

We all piled in the car and drove to Manhattan to go to Redeemer Presbyterian for church. (www.redeemer.com) They have services all over Manhattan, so we went to the one in the Upper West side because we were going to the Natural History Museum after church.

The service was amazing. Tim Keller spoke on a passage in Genesis, and I took a lot away from it. I know you can listen to sermons on their website if you're interested. His message was titled "A Tale of Two Cities". Check it out!

After church, we walked up to the Museum and saw a bunch of dinosaurs. We decided that membership has its benefits, so we joined. We got free passes to see the live Butterfly exhibit, so we'll be going back soon.

Check out these blue skies we enjoyed on our way up Central Park Ave. I'm really surprised I didn't walk into a telephone pole while walking because I was constantly looking up. The architecture is amazing, and I am always so curious about what's behind, or who is behind those windows. Of course I kept my eyes peeled for anyone famous, but no luck today.

This was Papa prooving to Ava that there are no crocodiles in NY. She's convinced there are alligators and crocodiles in the Long Island Sound. I wish I knew where she got that from!!!


So after paying $40 for parking (we thought we could find street parking, but no luck), Dad was the brave soul to drive back to Rye with our kids in tow. With GPS, you can find your way home wherever you are...even New York City.

So Wade and I had the rest of the day to kill all by ourselves. I think we walked about 10 miles, and by the end of the day, my back was feeling it. I've realized that my camera and two lenses I took progressively get heavier as the day goes on.

We stayed on the Upper West for a while and went to the Kangol store to buy Wade a new hat. The stores in NYC fascinate me. Stores are so specialized.....hats, beads, fabric trim, records etc. And most of them are only about 10 feet wide. Because of the number of people, it makes sense to specialize in what you are best at, and let others do the same.



One thing that NYC is not lacking in is Starbucks. So we stopped for our usual mocha and hazelnut latte and walked through the Green Flea Market (Columbus Ave between 76th & 77th). Mom and I actually found this market when we came to NYC in September 2002, and I found the exact costume ring I bought 6 years ago....although now they want $18, and I paid $6 back then.

I did find a super cool vendor who takes real maps and decoupages them onto tiles that you can use for trivets or coasters. I LOVE maps, especially vintage ones. so I found a great one for me that was of lower Manhattan. I bought Dad a coaster with a map of Queens from the 1964/5 World's Fair, which he came to in high school with his buddy George in his 1950's VW bug.




We spent another hour or so wandering Central Park. It was amazing. No stroller to push, just Wade's hand to hold. Ahhhhhh. That sounded cheesy, I know. I'm sorry. But it's nice to hold a hand instead of a stroller handle for once.





We headed to Greenwich Village and wandered the brownstone lined streets and shops (and saw a super cool VW bus....maybe we'll paint ours in 20 years). It's amazing to me how quiet the City actaully is once you get off the busy streets and into the neighborhoods.

All in all, it was a great day, but my feet are still sore and I can feel my butt muscles (which I guess isn't such a bad thing).

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you.



PS. I know I used the same photo as on my sisters blog, but this was the photo that came to my mind as well, and since it came from my camera..... :)