TEN Year Anniversary

One of J's gifts, hung in our bedroom ;) 

On November 27th, my sweetheart and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary!! This year it happened to fall on Thanksgiving, and although we shared it with a holiday, we found time to exchange gifts and commemorate our milestone ;) 

In the morning I woke up to two little ladies hopping into bed and yelling, "Happy Anniversary Mama!" They were excited to take me downstairs where Daddy had set up some presents. They were beautifully wrapped, and after ten years being married, knew Jarrett must have found someone to wrap them for him..lol. A special thank you to the sweet lady in his office :)

A Tea set!!

Jarrett knew for years I have wanted a tea set, and having two little girls meant it would get lots of use! One of my favorite memories when we visited London was when we had high tea at Harrods. It was so fancy, and I just loved the china, teacakes, cream, sugar.. the whole experience. J, being the kind and thoughtful husband he is, gave me the gift of re-creating that precious memory with my girls :)

Now, Jarrett is the king of gift-giving in our house. I really do try, but he ALWAYS out does me. Every year. For example, for our five year anniversary, I was big and pregnant with Lindsay and thought he had completely forgotten. I got him a card (we always agree to do cards) and then he went ahead and left a ring box on my dessert plate, which had my wedding ring (which I couldn't wear because of fat fingers) with an upgraded diamond!! And all I say is, "Where's my pie?!" In my defense, I was pregnant after all. But seriously, don't mess with a pregnant lady's pie. 

So this year, being a milestone I was determined to surprise him. After ten years, he knows me pretty well and I have a hard time keeping secrets. Plus we share a bank account. LOL. My idea was to create a slide show of precious memories we've shared through our years together. Enjoy!

As we watched it together we laughed, smiled and cried. Seeing his face was the best gift ever ;) 

God has blessed me beyond measure with you as my husband, and every day I am honored to be your wife :) Through the good times and bad, through sickness and health, and after ten years and forever, I will always say "I do!" I love you, J. xoxo

Lindsay's Thanksgiving Show

Sassy little Miss!!

 Lindsay's preschool had a Thanksgiving show and feast! Her Pre-4 class were dressed as Pilgrams, and the Pre-3 class were little turkeys ;) They performed on the stage in the gym, and it was too adorable.

 Daddy and his Pilgram and Turkey ;)

Lindsay has been in a skirt phase since summer. Every morning we have the same discussion:
Me: Let's wear jeans today! (In an excited voice)
Lindsay: I want to wear a skirt.
Me: But it's FREEZING outside. Just look- (we open the window to see snow)
Lindsay: I hate cold. I wish it were warm. I want to wear a skirt. I guess I will wear tights maybe leggings. How about snow boots? (as opposed to pink sparkly Mary Janes)
Me: (laughing) Your teacher is going to think I am crazy sending my daughter to school in winter with a skirt every.single.day! What about playing on the playground? Won't you be more comfortable in jeans or pants?
Lindsay: Nope. It is too cold to go outside. (Touche little one. Touche)

Needless to say, I let her wear a skirt over leggings most cold days... I keep thinking, how long will this last? Then we show up at preschool and I see five other girls wearing skirts in frigid weather and realize it is a pretty common problem! Lindsay has always been a girlie girl, and feels pretty in skirts, so we will just enjoy this season of life and take lots of pictures to remember these sweet days ;) There is plenty of time for jeans...LOL.

 Here we are at the feast.. I brought carrots, cucumber and ranch. I thought for sure no one would eat it next to all the goodies, but shockingly, it was empty. I guess there are some healthy eaters in her class. You can see on my girls plates they opted for the sugar. LOL.

Artwork by Lindsay, 4.5 years

What we've been up to...

1. Lindsay had her first field trip to the local firehouse this week. It was adorable that they were able to walk from the school a block to the station. She came home and told me all about Stop Drop and Roll and to call 9-1-1. Papa would be proud!!

2. Grammy sent me Gigi's (my Grandma's) pudding cups. One of my fondest memories was making/ eating chocolate pudding from these cups and I got to carry on the tradition with my sweet girls...

3. We got a Charming Charlie's in the shopping center by our house, and what girl doesn't love a store dedicated completely to accessories?!  The girls had fun trying on tiaras and playing princess!

4. Enjoying the last few days before it gets C-O-L-D. The three amigos, Lindsay, Madison and Teagan at our favorite park.

 5. Where's Molly?! Madison had fun hiding all her friends in unexpected places lately, which makes bed time even later when you can't find her special puppy, Molly...LOL.

 6. Enjoying the season of colors... The girls and I went for a walk in the park by the lake one day to just admire God's glorious work. The water was so still it looked like glass and we could see the reflection of the trees.

 7. Leaves, leaves and more leaves. The big tree in our yard keeps me busy raking.. too bad we can't wear tank tops in winter, because my arms are going to be toned! LOL. Madison loves help me by jumping in the pile and throwing the leaves in the air ;)

Halloween

This year for Halloween we carved pumpkins, did some trick or treating and attended lots of parties! As the years pass, I find myself dreading Halloween. The girls enjoy the elements of dressing in costumes and candy, but the celebration of death, evil and gore bothers me as a follower of Christ. 

As the girls grow older, I am beginning to see this holiday as an opportunity to talk about evil in our world and the message of redemption and eternal life in Christ. This year we started a new tradition, and read the story of  The Pumpkin Patch Parable as we carved our pumpkins. The story is about a farmer who picks out a special pumpkin from his garden, and scoops out all the messy "goo" to make room for his light to shine from inside. In the same way, God's transforming love can fill each of our hearts with joy and light. 

EWWW!! Gross! 

Lulu dressed up this year as Ariel the Mermaid.

While Lindsay went to her preschool party, Madison and I went to the Farmers Market where they had a costume contest and children's sing-a-long.

Madison was a Cowgirl, from her favorite show Sheriff Callie.

We also want to wish Auntie Sarah a very Happy Birthday!!

Sheriff Maddie (2.5 yrs) and Mermaid Lindsay (4.5 yrs)

Nonna & Grandpa's Visit

Nonna and Grandpa came to visit the last week of October, and we had a blast taking them to the Jersey Shore, Philadelphia and Hershey Park. We had lots of fun and made some sweet memories!  

Love the playground on the sand... so much fun!

As our west coast family arrived, so did our cooler weather! We had some beautiful days, and took a short drive to the shore to play on the beach and eat some yummy pizza for lunch. 

Jarrett gave Jerry a behind-the-scenes tour of Princeton, where he enjoyed architecture, Einsteins classroom and his favorite, the Chapel... gorgeous stained glass windows.

Loving their new Tutu's that Nonna got them

While Grandpa and Daddy toured Princeton, we had ourselves a girls day and took the kids to Chuck E Cheese and went shopping.   

Girls in front of Independence Hall

We ventured into Philly to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and eat an original cheese-steak from Pat's.

YUM!!

Before the rain came we had the opportunity to drive out to see Lancaster, PA and eat at an Amish Smorgasbord. On the way out we visited Valley Forge and Jerry and Carol got to see Amish folks driving their buggies in the road and the giant silos and green rolling hills of PA. Hershey Park was only a short drive further, so we said, "Why Not?" Who doesn't love chocolate?!

The girls in front of Hershey World.. a world of chocolate? Yes please!!

Inside we got to make our own candy bars...

Nonna, Jarrett and the girls getting ready to make their bars. 

Channeling the lunch lady: happy for quality control, sad for fashion. 

You were able to choose what things you wanted inside your candy bar: Crushed pretzels, rice crispies, butterscotch, chocolate chips, toffee etc... or you could choose everything like Madison. LOL.

To top off our experience, we made custom labels... I put my name on so no one would eat it. At least no one who could read, that is.

Thank you Nonna and Grandpa for visiting!! We had a blast hanging out, snuggling and sight-seeing. We love you so much, and can't wait to get together again...xoxox

Papa's Visit

Papa came for a visit at the end of September and we had a blast going to the park, pumpkin patch and Italian Festival! Here are a few photos and highlights of our visit...

 Pumpkin Patch at Terhune... We got a homemade apple-walnut pie to bring home with us...YUM!

We took Papa to one of our favorite places, Rosedale Park! It is gorgeous, and has a lake which has a fun dock where they watched the geese flying over the water.

 We took Papa to the annual Mercer County Italian American Festival! The girls had a blast riding the rides, and we had fun browsing through all things Italian. It was super hot that day, so instead of standing in line and searching for a spot to sit at the festival, we opted to eat at our favorite Italian restaurant, Mama Rosa's.

Since the shore is only 45 minutes away, (much further than we used to be, but still not too bad of a drive) we drove there for the afternoon and had fun playing in the sand and had fish n' chips for dinner. 

I loved chatting with Dad over a cup of coffee in the afternoons while the girls slept. Of course Dad and Jarrett found a home project to do while he was here...changing the faucet in the powder room. LOL. The girls enjoyed waking up every morning and running to the guest room where Papa was sleeping for morning snuggles and stories. Forget about personal space... these girls smothered Papa in hugs, kisses and snuggles to last him until the next time we see him! Love you Papa!!

Apple Picking & Pony Rides

Madison 2.5 yrs and Lindsay 4.5 yrs

On Saturday we visited Terhune Orchards for their annual Apple Festival. We went to our first one only a couple weeks after we moved to NJ in 2012...

Look at my precious Maddie Grace... just 8 months old!

It was a very memorable visit a couple years back, because it was Lindsay's very first pony ride. This year it was Madison's turn to ride the pony, and oh was she excited!! She is into anything cowgirl/pony right now, and couldn't wait to put on her pink boots and get to the farm.

Not sure why Lindsay decided to put Madison in a choke-hold, but it looks like she doesn't mind. LOL

The sweet lady who ran the horse operations asked the girls, "Who wants to ride first?" and not surprisingly, Madison volunteered. She told us the pretty pony's name was "Sugar", or as Madison fondly refers to her, "My pony Sug-ah!".

Hee Haw!! 

She was a little unsure at first, mainly because Mommy and Daddy couldn't walk with her. But as she rounded the corner, she looked up and we could tell she was in hog heaven. When she got off she told me, "That Sug-ah Pony is a bumpy ride!" LOL.

Next up was Lindsay's turn, and she was ready to ride! She talked the lady's ear off, and had lots of questions like, "What's this thing (saddle)? Can I hold the reins instead?" LOL

We took turns feeding the goats dried corn kernels...

 and Daddy and the girls checked out the hens and a white peacock...

 ran through a hay bale maze...

 and took some silly pictures!!

 Lindsay climbed into this tractor for a ride,

 while Madison preferred the slide!

After playtime, it was time to pick some apples! We went into the orchards with a big brown bag and filled it with Empire, Stamen-Wilson and Pink Lady's.

 Daddy and his Little Ladies...

There was a field where you could pick wildflowers, and Lindsay, our resident flower-picking-expert couldn't resist running and smelling the flowers.

Mama and Maddie in front of the old farm house

They also had pumpkins to pick, but we decided to save that activity for next month! We took a wagon ride around the property and saw a really cool corn maze, but opted to not go through it because it was really crowded.

Daddy and his little Cowgirl

We left the farm right before the rain came, and the girls and I made a fresh apple pie in the afternoon. We topped our pie with Halo Farms Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream and were cozy in our warm house as we watched the rain... the perfect end to a trip to the orchards!! Welcome Autumn!!