The wedding
The wedding was truly beautiful. We had such a great time. The ceremony was held at a beautiful church with great stained glass windows. The ceremony itself had many beautiful, religious aspects. Becky is a true pr gal...all details buttoned up and perfect.
But the reception was awesome. We had about a 3 hour break. First we went to pinkberry (my first experience after hearing rave reviews...honestly, not overly impressed)--my favorite yogurt place is still Yogurt Park in Berkeley, CA! Spent some Saturdays there when I was a teen.
We decided it was too nice of a day to be inside (or at a museum) so we headed down to the Staten Island Ferry for a boat ride. It was actually really fun and you can't beat the price (free.)
As we walked down the street to Bryant Park Grill, we could hear the bagpiper playing. The restaurant was beautiful, overlooking the park. First appetizers and drinks (I told M. it was only my 3rd Diet Coke)... on the roof with a guitarist singing among other ballads, some by James Taylor. Fun times visiting with Mark's co-workers. Then we went inside for a sit down dinner. Delicious salad, choice of entree, dessert bar. Dancing! Can't remember the last time we danced. We hated to call it a night at 10:30. I felt good in my outfit, so that worked out too. It was a fun fun day/night. All our best to Becky and Darren, who are sure to have a happy happy life together.
Properly Attired
So Saturday Mark and I are attending a wedding of one of his team members. I will be meeting his clients and several other staffers, so I want to look nice. After assessing what is currently in my closet, I decided something new was in order. I went shopping. Everything is sleeveless and has really deep necklines. The last thing I also want to do is alter something. If it doesn't fit how it should in the dressing room, I am not buying it.
First I thought if I was going to spend $100-150, I should buy something that would work for the wedding, my 20th HS reunion and Church. Too much pressure, so the reunion will just have to wait until I get to Utah.
After looking at Talbot's, Macy's and Lord and Taylor, I bought one dress at Macy's, I really like the fit but the pattern is a little too much for me. It's also black (well, black and white). So, I went back to the closet. I found my favorite springy cute skirt (Susie will remember it), that I never found the right thing to wear with it. So, off to TJ Maxx where I found a summery cardigan and t-shirt, and then a pair of white open toe ballet flats (darn, I will have to get a pedicure!) Plus a little handbag and some earrings. I think it's cute combination, but wow, it took some effort. All of the things I bought I can wear with other outfits. So I am pleased. We'll see how it comes together. And it's not black!
A sad bird story
This is sad. You may want to not let small bird loving children read this.
We are in the midst of making our backyard more functional and beautiful. We did buy a new patio table and chair set which I am super excited about and was put together on Saturday as my mother's day gift. It makes it very lovely to sit outside now. We are restaining our deck (or trying to hire someone to do that) and patching the holes the carpenter bees created. I planted flowers in the back and cleared out beds. I mulched like crazy. I planted a couple of azaleas as well. We have a ratty awning that we want replaced and when I spoke with the awning guy he said try and find the manufacturer so we know if we can just recover it. I thought great...that will save us a bunch of money!
Mark rolled out the awning which we have not done since we have lived here. In the process a nest with eggs and 2 baby birds fell out and onto the ground. Mother bird screeching. Panic ensued. Caroline--devastated. My only suggestion was to call Tania. She would know what to do. She gave us some great suggestions and ultimately we decided we needed to get the nest, eggs and babies back to the awning safe and up high where the mother could be reunited with the nest. Mark got out the ladder and did that.
The next morning, the nest was back on the ground, totally dismantled. No sign of life. I saw the momma bird today screeching her sad bird song. I am very sorry we ruined your spring and your family. I just wanted a shady deck. Next awning will have to be a little bird resistant too.
Mile Run
Today was the mile run. Caroline was very upset about doing it. I promised her that I would run a mile and then she could see if she could beat my time.
I got to the gym 20 minutes early for the 6 a.m class and headed onto the treadmill. Confession: I did walk the first 3 minutes for a warm up, but then I didn't stop for 14 minutes until the screen flash 1:00. So my time was 17:13. I did it. I felt great afterwards then got beat up in total body conditioning. No it was good too. (I do really detest running...and will do anything to avoid it so after today I think it's all mental.)
Josh reported that his mile was 7:51 and Caroline was 12:30 so everyone was happy with their times. Speaking of times, I am hoping for early bed time. We are exhausted from all our running!
Caroline's Dance Performance
Caroline performed in her school's dance show on Monday. She did a great job. She worked so hard. We love our little dancer!
Birthday outings
We went on a couple of outings to celebrate Sammy's birthday.
On Friday afternoon, I took Sammy and Matthew to the Bronx Zoo. We had such a great day...it was fun to let them choose what they wanted to see (sammy: polar bears and Matthew: bug carousel.) We got to see the butterfly garden which was great because Matty's preschool class had just studied butterflies for the week. It was cool, drizzly and not crowded. A great afternoon.
Saturday we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. There was a cherry blossom festival, and we enjoyed all the blossoms as well as the lilacs and tulips. We walked across Flatbush Ave. and got lunch, went to the smaller Prospect Park Zoo and rode the carousel. It was a fun and memorable outing. We had done this same outing when Josh was 3 and Caro was 1.
He's Three!
My baby turned 3! We had a great time celebrating with him last week. He loved his gifts, including a cape from Grandma N., his quilt from Grandma B. and his new scooter. We had to fit in celebrating with many other activities of the weekend, but he went with the flow. (except he wouldn't eat any of his cake...he didn't want me to cut it!) Oh well, there's always next year!
Day in DC
This week, I was fortunate to spend 24 hours in Washington, D.C. The purpose of my trip was to attend a memorial service for Bill Orton.
I flew out on Friday morning and had an early lunch with my friend Natalie. It was great to see her and catch up and agree that while life is crazy as a mom--to quote our mutual friend Michele, it's much better than attending Colonial Ward campouts.
I then took the metro to Dupont Circle where I met my former mission companion and roommate Kimberly for a late lunch. I hadn't see her for years, but had a great time catching up and reminiscing about all our memories.
I had a couple of hours before the memorial service, so I headed to Mall and the National Gallery of Art for a bit. No hassle, just walk right in, check my bag and off I was to 19th century French paintings. This pictures was one of my favorites, by Mary Cassatt.
Then I headed over to the Rayburn building for the memorial service. A handful of former staffers attended--so enjoyed remembering Bill together and being back at my old stomping grounds.
That night I went home with Kimberly S., a former Orton staffer and good friend, and her husband John. We had dinner with their kids and friends and chatted and watched Lost and it was wonderful. Then back to NYC the next morning.
It was like a breath of fresh air to be back in DC. I really loved the 4 years I spent there. Tons of memories came flooding back. I had the nicest friends there, and so many great experiences. It's so easy to get around, everything is so clean and it was beautiful--spring in full bloom. I look forward to more trips with the kids after Susie moves to DC in the fall!
This guy
I am so lucky to spend all my days with this guy.
Isn't T-ball the cutest thing ever? I went to my first game on Friday and loved watching him play.
Yesterday, he wanted to go home from our family outing. We asked why? He said, "Home is where the heart is." We asked, where did you learn that? He said Wow Wow Wubzy.
He also was very excited to see Beyonce on Wow Wow Wubzy tonight. She's a guest star for Wubzy Idol.
