Fleet Week and Jones Beach Airshow

It's Fleet Week here in NYC, and a city swarming with sailors makes things feel so much like a little southern town: so many restaurants offering free meals for military, so many "yes ma'am's" from those uniformed friends, and so many times that I almost snuck one of those nice-mannered young bucks back home to teach my boys some manners. I could get used to "yes ma'am" around here!

We tried to get in as much Fleet Week goodness as we could, including eating lunch on the pier of the Intrepid Aircraft Carrier and touring a Navy Destroyer and U.S. Coast Guard Ship. I knew my boys would like it, but I guess I didn't realize that they would LOVE it. Over and over again Talmage would say, "Mom, this really is the best day of my whole life! Thank you so much!" And if that wasn't enough to put a tear in my eye, the ship was full of sweet Veterans who marveled at the interest my boys had in everything and kept saying, "That is why we did what we did. It was for them." Yep--and then the tears were of the waterfall persuasion. James and I both have a rich military lineage and I love spending Memorial Day weekend thinking of them and all others who have served our country, and teaching my boys about their sacrifices for our freedom. In fact, Everett marched right up to a Navy Captain (of his own doing, might I add) outside of Trader Joe's and said, "Thank you fo pwotecting ouw countwy!" Memorial Day weekend for the win!

 No doubt one of their favorite parts was holding all of the huge guns on display. The ones above are fake, but most of them were real--and HUGE. I have to admit, we're not a super "play with guns" family so when my babies were picking up 30 pound sniper rifles I got just a tad bit nervous. But they were in heaven and it was educational--I hope!

Everyone was so nice. I'm pretty convinced that they only let the nicest sailors be spokesmen on the ship (locking the others away in the mess hall presumably) and they let us touch everything. And you better believe I was right there with them climbing on huge tanks and trucks and having a blast.

No big deal--just Talmage climbing on top of a tank. And smiling bigger than ever!

My boys playing the ultimate game of dress-up (with me behind the camera shocked that they could keep those heavy helmets on their heads!)

While on the flight deck we were introduced to this gorgeous lady--a 3-month-old Osprey. It's a helicopter-airplane fusion that is just remarkable. They let us sit inside and buckle up (too bad they didn't take us for a spin) and the crazy fun thing is that we saw one of these flying at the Airshow the next day.

The next day (Saturday) we went to the Jones Beach Airshow. We almost didn't make the two-hour trek (walk, subway, railroad, bus, walk) because it was storming all night and James was a little under the weather, but we decided to just do it and I'm certainly glad we did.

It was a gorgeous day at the beach. Soft winds and sunshine created the perfect beachy atmosphere and we left feeling sun-kissed but certainly not burned (with the exception of Chase's nose that is!) This picture is most definitely my favorite of the week. I'm glad my boys can rest on the shoulders of these great men!

The Golden Knight parachute team and the Osprey, just waving hi to us onlookers at the beach.

Why hello Ever Knight, make yourself at home! By all means, hug your DD, suck your thumb and watch those airplanes with your cool shades on.

My sweet baby boy and the American flag celebrating Memorial Day. With a killer airshow. On the beach no less. Life is good.

And then there was this one time when Uncle Chase turned Talmage into a merman. That lasted at least five seconds!

It seems almost ungrateful to pick a favorite, but come on, the Blue Angels were performing, how could they not top the chart? I felt like I was watching Top Gun in person and I was giddier than can be (and also ridiculously scared when one snuck up behind us). Airplane pictures can never do anything justice, but gosh it was amazing! SUPER amazing. Overall it was a fabulous day!

So...I'm trying to soften the blow of this sad airport departure picture by adding this picture of Chase stuffing his face with a Carnegie Deli pastrami sandwich. For the record, he loved the sandwich. And also for the record, I bawled like a baby watching him walk through security and out of my view. So...let's focus on him loving the sandwich...and hope he comes back to visit soon!

Uncle Chase hits the Big Apple

My baby brother just got home from his mission and we were lucky enough to steal him away to NYC for a whole week! I can't even begin to describe how much my boys love this Uncle Chase of theirs, or how amazed I was by his patience with their constant wants and needs for his attention. They hung on him all week long, and I mean literally HUNG on him! We filled every last second of his time here and went adventuring all over the city {hopefully he wasn't expecting a restful visit because he definitely didn't get one!} One thing's for sure, we had a blast and I know these memories will live forever in the beautiful minds of his adoring nephews.

Before I do an annoying little travelog of our week (except the weekend--I'll do that in a different post) I want to remember some of the very most special parts of our visit. All the fun was fun, you know, but what I was more impressed with were the moments I caught my baby brother teaching my babies about Jesus and the gospel and about so many other righteous things. Like in church when Talmage and Chase were passing notes back and forth and I later caught a peak of their note which went something like this:

Chase: Do you know why we take the sacrament?

T: Because He died for our sins.

Chase: So who should we think about?

T: Jesus. He loves us.

And have mercy, my heart was full, especially when I saw them continue their conversation through reverent whispers. Then there was Monday night when we were home late so I told the boys to grab their scriptures for a condensed Family Home Evening...but then Chase offered to teach us all a lesson for FHE and wow, my boys were enthralled with everything he said. Days later they were still talking about Uncle Chase's lesson on baptism. He read them scriptures, he taught them hand signs for the 10 commandments, he told them funny stories from his mission and generally, he was just an awesome example of a good man. I don't have any pictures of these moments, but I always want to remember how great they were. He's a good guy in so many ways, that Uncle Chase. I am so proud of my baby brother!

And now, onto the travelog:

 The Natural History Museum and Shake Shack. The most memorable moment of dinner was when Chase squeezed his portabella burger and the cheese squirted ALL OVER James! It was hilarious!

 This was pretty much how our nights were spent...oh the joys of an itty bitty apartment! Yes, that is all three of us cuddled up on our bed together ;) Chase had his own bed for sleeping, but we shared a bed for nightly movies!

 Passionfruit bubble drinks in Chinatown, Rice to Riches rice pudding in SoHo. We also had lunch with James at our favorite Chinese dive and it tasted just like Taiwan. Chase loved the Chinese food, but I'd be shocked if he ever ordered another bubble tea of his own free will ;)

 We took the Staten Island Ferry and as always we were in love with the view of our city and the beautiful Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately the most memorable part of this trip was Ever's epic fit on the subway down to South Ferry. He screamed and shrieked and made a massive scene for a good 20 minutes, and poor Chase not only had to witness it but had to help me control him. Gosh Ev, you and three better get along better than you and two have!

 Three gentleman and a lady.

 Gray's Papaya for hot dogs and juice (pina colada for me, papaya for Chase, grape for the boys). Oh yeah, and those are Chase's new coral pants and I'm rather obsessed with them! No wonder he kept getting hit on in the streets of New York!

 Uncle Chase and Ever Knight making faces for the camera.

 Chase shopping at the Times Square H&M. He got new swim trunks and those awesome coral pants, and looking at this picture he should've bought that hat too--how great does he look!

 Chocolate exhibit at the David Zwirner Gallery in Chelsea. Not only could we eat endless amounts of Columbian chocolate, but we also had a meaningful and interesting discussion about the definition of art. Like those flats covered in boxes of chocolate above that are sold for $50,000 (but become worthless if any of the plastic rips), do you think that's really art?

 And a couple of subway shots for good measure! Next up: our Memorial Day celebrations.

My little yogi

There we were, finishing up our rainy playgroup at the church, when out of the corner of his eye Everett caught sight of some women laying out their mats for a good yoga session. Hooked, I tell ya. That Everett took one look at the whole ordeal and he started begging me to let him stretch along. Luckily someone had an extra mat, so he sat with the ladies and I fully expected him to give this yoga-thing a good five minutes before starting to rough-house with some of the other little boys on the sidelines. But 50 minutes later, I was still watching that little yogi of mine follow all the directions with as much precision as a two-year-old can muster. I was snapping pictures and whispering praise and sometimes, when the "tricks" were really tricky, he'd say, "Mom, come help me wif dis one." It was just almost too much for this mama's heart.

 Yes, this is totally real and ridiculously adorable.

Sorry friends for posting a picture of your rears, but seriously, how adorable is that little Ever stretching along with the ladies? About halfway through the workout he said, "Mom, I can do my yoga much better wif no pants on." Clearly!

A little Ever pocket story

Putting on pants is quite the undertaking, I've learned through raising a toddler Ever Knight.  The problem is in the pockets, he informed me this morning. You see, Ever is quite independent lately and underwear is exclusively his thing. But that kid, he's notorious for having his undies on backwards. I must admit, seeing his cute little buns in backward undies is enough to make me never teach him, but after a few comments lately from friends and nursery leaders I decided it was time. It is time! So for the last few days I've reminded him (a gatrillion times) that the pocket goes in the front, but it seems that's easier said than done for good ole Everett Knight. He'd put those undies on after a trip to the Lou and then we'd spend the next 30 minutes re-putting them on, as if re-putting is even a word ;) This has gone on for days, with seemingly little progress, until this morning when he came out to show me "dat I'm weawy big now" because shoot darn heck those undies were on just right. We cheered and danced and made a pretty big deal out of this new achievement. Feeling like a pretty big deal himself after all that encouragement, Ever decided he'd try his hand at putting his shorts on. He came out from his room with those little britches on as backwards as can be and I couldn't help but laugh. "But mom," he said, clearly exasperated, "I put da pockets in da fwunt." And that he did. So then I had to explain to him that underwear pockets go in the front, but pant pockets go on his behind. He just shook his head, took off those shorts, and decided that wearing anything more than undies is pretty overrated anyway. This getting dressed business is trick-y!

it's my birthday too, yah!

My 29th birthday was really one for the record books in all the right ways. James took the day off of work and let me spend the morning shopping on 5th Avenue while he took T to the dentist. I got a new outfit and a free sprinkles cupcake and then strolled peacefully through Central Park until I found myself at home, with kids happy to see me and my favorite lunch on the table. After devouring lunch and dropping the boys with friends James and I met a couple of friends at Rockefeller so that we could see a taping of Jimmy Fallon. James and me and Jimmy all on my birthday...that's what we call a dream come true--and don't even get me started on Questlove. We saw all the first picks from the NFL draft, Zac Efron, Guy Fiere,  and Sara McLachlan and the whole experience was pretty rad. We came home, put the babies in bed and ate a homemade buttermilk chocolate cake that was out of this world delish. I felt so loved and happy that even though T reminded me about 100 times that, "wow mom, this really is the last year in your 20's" I still was glad it was my birthday! My 20's have been full to the brim, and I'm going to finish them off right! Thanks for all the love fam and friends!

My birthday in a couple of pictures:

 The best darn birthday breakfast there ever was.

Me, basically just playing hooky on my life--perhaps my newest birthday tradition!

JIMMY FALLON!!!

The amazing cake, featuring the adorable piping skills of James!

May

The thing is, I put up with rainstorms in April because they promise us some May flowers,  and since I truly believe May to be as celestial as a month can possibly be I am OK with the cause and effect. But this is what I'm saying, June better be the best month in existence (like kit kats falling from the sky kind of best) because, dang, my May has been awfully, and I mean awfully, wet.

The perks of a wet May, however, come in the form of Ever Knight looking a whole lot like Paddington bear in his little yellow rain coat, having the bubble man to ourselves in the middle of Central Park, and ditching all chores and responsibilities for a day outdoors when the weather finally does cooperate. Oh, and T's favorite part of lately: shorts! Even if he has to pair them with rainboots.

I love following that Paddington Bear around the city, especially since that means he's not lying face down on the sidewalk complaining about his existence (or mine!)

 Ever dancing to an awesome band in Central Park. I think my kid mighta stole the show completely.

 Babies and bubbles. Babies in bubbles. Babies below bubbles.

 We went on a scooter ride through Central Park on a particularly yucky day, and I was rewarded by:

 Bumping into Sarah Jessica Parker. No big deal.

 Ice cream for dinner--free cone day at Haagen Daas.

 National Train Day--did you know that was a thing? We celebrated with Chuggington at Penn Station and the boys thought it was the greatest holiday of all time.

The internet thinks I should move.

I took one of those silly online tests that was supposed to tell me where I should really be living. You know, because picking your next hometown based on the results of an internet test is totally responsible. So just in case you're wondering, I should be living in Indiana. Indiana? Yes, Indiana. Does anyone know absolutely anything about Indiana...or why I seem like someone should live there? Because I had a little bit of an identity crisis when I saw that on the screen.

But alas, we are living in New York City for the foreseeable future. Which I am totally OK with, especially since Mr. Sun is gracing us with his presence. I love this city a lot. But Talmage told the guy at AT&T today, "No, I'm not really a New York fan. I mostly just prefer Miami." Which, hello Miami Beach, I get it:

Yep, I'd take that on a daily basis too T.

And now let's talk about something random. Like that one time when James took out our garbage and came back with this:

A giant Barney is a totally reasonable friend to store in a tiny apartment, right?

The Tribeca Family Film Festival rocked, as it does. The best part for the littles was getting a balloon from the funniest balloon man you ever could meet. Ever got the Red Ninja turtle, and I'm just grateful that he really meant red when he said red (at what age do they test for color blindness?) and T got Spiderman hanging from the NY Times Building. 

A few Saturday's ago we went to the Sikh festival in Madison Square Park. Before we left we had a mini-lesson with the boys about what Sikh people wear, where they're from and all the other details we thought they needed so we didn't make a scene! There were thousands and thousands of Sikh people and we felt so lucky to be with them, learn more about their culture and religion, and taste their delicious food.

We picnicked with Melis and the girls and gosh, I can't stand to think about them leaving. The day was warm and breezy, and our kids ran around popping bubbles while we sat and ate Magnolia's banana pudding. One things for sure, if Indiana is going to win me over it better have a Central Park ;)