New York--the Country

 Between our visits to the city, we spent two days in the country, in Cold Spring. The kids said it reminded them of Shepherdstown, WV. We could walk everywhere. It was quiet. We had a little two bedroom apartment vacation rental that was just enough room and no extra room! 

The first day was beautiful. The Hudson River was spectacular.

 

There was a short trail through the remains of a foundry that dates back to the civil war.

That's Aliza out there by the waterfall. Indeed, I did tell Isaiah that he was not going out there with her!

A local ice cream shop called Sweet E's was our afternoon stop both days! Ice cream cookie sandwiches was the specialty and they were yummy!

The second day was very very rainy. We decided on the little bit longer drive to go to Roosevelt's estate in Hyde Park. Thankfully everyone had a good attitude and it was an enjoyable tour.

I will never quit being thankful for much these siblings enjoy each other's company.

Lucky for us, we drove right past the ice cream shop. Anna tried mango and she was an instant fan.

New York--the City

 We did it! We picked dates, guarded them carefully on the calendar, rearranged by a day to be back for our youth pastor's last Sunday when we found out he was taking a new job, and went to New York for a couple days. 

New York City has been on Aliza and Anna's list of places to explore for a long time. Our lodging was about an hour and a half north of the city and so we planned to go into NYC on our way to Cold Spring and again on our way home. 

But first, we got lunch at the Christiana Mall and were very surprised that our friends were also having lunch at the mall on their way to a family getaway. We had a more social and little longer lunch than we had planned but it was fun!

Jeremy is an amazing navigator and I can follow directions so I drove into NYC while Jeremy found and prepaid for a parking garage very close to Grand Central Terminal. Several times we debated taking the subway, but with 6 people, logistically and $$ it made sense to just drive in. First stop was Grand Central Terminal for bathrooms.

We walked up 5th Avenue to St. Patrick's Cathedral.

We went in an walked around. Anna was especially impacted by this experience in relation to what she was seeing compared to what we believe.

Rockefeller Center is across the street. The Lego store was amazing. 

F A O Schwartz was almost instantly over stimulating.

We continued walking up 5th Avenue to Central Park.

Taking in everything along the way!

In Central Park, it was a little disturbing to watch a raccoon wander out of the bushes and across our path. 

Anna was in her element! She loved everything about the city!

 

Isaiah's outfit choice had to be documented. I wanted so badly to tell him to change his socks. But I decided he would be easy to spot if we got separated and he was quite happy about them. Isaiah was happy to make sure he was holding my hand while we were walking. Our family is a picture of big contrasts right now--Aliza ready to wander off by herself, Anna ready to move to the city, Isaiah still holding my hand, and Josiah biding his time until we leave the city.

There is one child who makes her way into most every picture!

And then we walked the mile down to Times Square. It was about 12 blocks and Isaiah was counting down. There were so many people.

And then we were in Times Square. Anna was mesmerized. Aliza was looking for Broadway because the goal is to make it to a show at the end of the summer.

Jeremy's navigation skills got us to the perfect NY Pizza place that was on our way back to the parking garage. The pizza came straight out of the oven. I was so hungry---I burned my mouth---It was really yummy!

After walking past an ice cream truck on almost every block, ice cream was a necessity after supper. It wasn't even very good ice cream, however it hit the spot anyway.

Three days later, on our way home, we went back into NYC and this time parked in Chinatown. The plan was to eat lunch in Chinatown which we did. Jeremy found a place that had high reviews and it was just the experience we were looking for.

Walking the streets of Chinatown was also it's own experience and did not disappoint. Aliza compared the smells to Kolkata. Everything happening on these streets made the over stimulation of 5th Avenue seem like nothing!

We drove from Chinatown to the Financial District. Chinatown really did us in. lol. Isaiah didn't eat well and he needed a bathroom. Bathroom was first on the agenda and was not easy to come by. I thought I found something for Isaiah to eat, but it wasn't right for him. 

The only thing Josiah expressed minor interest in was Wall Street and the Stock Exchange. We didn't make it to either of those, but we thought the Charging Bull would be interesting. We didn't even try to make it through the crowd to actually see it. (By this point, Josiah really didn't care what he did or didn't see.)

The ultimate goal for the afternoon was to get to the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. We were successful in doing that. The city skyline from the ferry was spectacular.

And we saw the Statue of Liberty.

I'm not sure what we could have done to make that afternoon better...besides packing a few snacks for Isaiah's lunch! We were happy to get back to the car and most everyone was asleep before we got back out of the city. 

We saw the city. We had an adventure. And we were happy to be going home. Anna was the only one still excited about NYC when we left!

 

Joy Dare::April

 12,168. Isaiah comes in an says we need to organize shoes in the laundry room and so we did
12,169. Coming in to Aliza, Josiah and Anna laughing together
12,170. Getting to see Anna get her dance certificate
12,171. My brother
12,172. Watching Aliza take on extra responsibility in an unexpected situation
12,173. An hour with my Dad
12,174. Anna wanted to help at ESL when the rest of us couldn't
12,175. House is company ready
12,176. Dance recital rehearsal
12,177. Getting to the theater before the show was over
12,178. Aliza happy with her performance
12,179. Jeremy's family
12,180. Dance recital
12,181. Jeremy cooked supper and Amanda and I went to the store together
12,182. All the fluttery feelings
12,183. Playing peek a boo with Ronan
12,184. Watching our girl play Ariel
12,185. Ronan enjoying playing with cousins
12,186. Cousin time means we can legitimately put off school
12,187. Home for an entire evening
12,188. Fun Minecraft lunch
12,189. Isaiah took his job as my helper very seriously
12,190. Aliza home all day
12,191. Friends
12,192. Exciting things happening at church
12,193. Making a fun connection with an ESL student
12,194. Jeremy's mom is doing ok
12,195. Jeremy cleaned up the kitchen
12,196. Teaching Aliza how to navigate pharmacy issues
12,197. White dogwood blooms against a grey sky
12,198. Anna so excited about a 6 hour Bible study
12,199. Spending the evening with Isaiah
12,200. Listening to the rain
12,201. So many friends and family supporting Aliza
12,202. Watching Aliza play Ariel while sitting beside a 5 year old cousin
12,203. Showing our house to Christie
12,204. Psalm 29:11
12,205. Supper with Mom and Dad
12,206. Talking to Cheryl
12,207. Josiah enjoyed working with his Dad today
12,208. Isaiah concentrating to play piano
12,209. Setting the pace for the day at moderate to slow
12,210. Anna and Isaiah living their best playing-in-the-rain life
12,211. Giving grace to myself
12,212. Giggling with Anna
12,213. Processing and praying
12,214. Taylor checking up on Aliza
12,215. Cleaning up flowerbeds this evening
12,216. Goldfinches at the bird feeder
12,217. Aliza came home calm and happy
12,218. Being able to be strong when I need to be
12,219. Good Friday service
12,220. A little time beside Jeremy
12,221. Tears after a friend checked on me
12,222. Angel food cupcakes from scratch
12,223. Family supper
12,224. Easter family picture

12,225. Baptism
12,226. Warm and sunny Easter day
12,227. Key lime pie tastes like spring
12,228. Success in making appointments
12,229. Parenting a young adult
12,230. Lunch and the afternoon with Aliza and Josiah
12,231. Safety in traveling
12,232. Jeremy was able to work from home
12,233. Anna survived standardized testing
12,234. This book--Single, Dating, Engaged Married by Ben Stuart

12,235. Josiah can explain math concepts to Isaiah
12,236. Spring cleaning the porch
12,237. Seeing Aliza rested and relaxed
12,238. Aliza and Isaiah ha PE time together
12,239. Brilliant yellow goldfinches
12,240. Home alone for a whole evening
12,241. Isaiah telling me all about his evening
12,242. Being able to talk to Melinda
12,243. Supper with new friends
12,244. Big kids playing with little kids
12,245. Watching King of Kings with church kids
12,246. Friends in the same season of life
12,247. Bible study
12,248. Aliza's clarity in decision making
12,249. Sharing my fears with Jeremy
12,250. A few minutes of fresh air
12,251. Talking to Mom
12,252. Some time with Laura
12,253. Maria listening to me
12,254. Weed bouquet

12,255. Iris blooming
12,256. Focusing on today
 

What I Want to Remember

It's been a month since Aliza played Ariel in The Little Mermaid. I've let this sit for a month because I wasn't sure what I wanted to write. I've decided that there are some things I want to remember. 

I want to remember how excited Aliza was when she called to tell me she was cast as Ariel. 

I want to remember how important theater was this year as Aliza transitioned from high school to college. 

I want to remember the pure joy Aliza had through every stage of the production--rehearsals,  practicing at home, tech week, and shows. 

I want to remember that Aliza was the last one to leave every rehearsal so that her director would not have to leave the building in the dark alone. 

I want to remember the car rides Aliza and I had to and from the theater during Tech Week.

I want to remember how this cast was friends, had fun together, were positive and encouraging to each other and that the drama was limited.

I want to remember the first time I heard Aliza sing Part of Your World during tech week--it left me with such a feeling that I called my brother and told him that I actually did want him to see the show.

I want to remember how my heart nervous fluttered during the shows that Aliza played Ariel. 

I want to remember how proud I felt to see Aliza living this dream of hers in this setting that is completely her own. 

I want to remember how Aliza battled comparison AND purely encouraged and built up the other girl casted as Ariel.

I want to remember that Aliza got to be in The Littler Mermaid with Renee and Lydia.

I want to remember how Charlie (King Triton) could hardly bring himself to "yell" at Aliza (Ariel) and how Aliza had to really practice how to be an angry rebellious daughter.

I want to remember what it felt like to watch my daughter pretend to fall in love on stage.

I want to remember how much fun Aliza and Guy had playing Ariel and Prince Eric together.

I want to remember how sick Aliza was feeling during the 2nd weekend of shows and how she would not let it stop her--from singing or smiling.

I want to remember how kind and respectful Guy always was to Aliza.

I want to remember how no one knew my name, but they knew I was "Aliza's Mom."

I want to remember how special Aliza made every little girl feel when they came up to meet Ariel.

I want to remember how MANY family and friends came to watch the show.

I want to remember how the show weekends were moments that I knew Aliza was flying and building her own life, independent of me and Jeremy.