New York!

I can't believe it had been almost 3 years since Bowen and I last set foot in New York. My last memory in NY was driving back to Utah in my little car, away from the hustle and bustle, to get married to my best friend, Bowen, whom I had dated & fell in love with during my short stay there.

A couple of weeks ago we were able to go back and visit. Bowen had his two week annual training for the Navy, & Mason and I just wanted to go along for the ride. Our wonderful New York family, the Weidlers, opened up their home and let us stay there. It was so great to see Ralph & Gerti! We'd missed them tremendously! Chris and Terry (Ralphs son and daughter-in-law) & their kids live at the Weidler home as well so Mason was thoroughly entertained. Even though Bowen had class all day Monday-Friday, Mason and I kept ourselves entertained. We slowly adjusted to the time change. Even though it was a three hour difference I definitely felt jet lag the next day. One sunny day Mase and I walked to downtown Port Jefferson. There is this cute little park next to the Ferry port. Mason had a great time playing on the boat and running around with the other kids. He wouldn't go play in the water area, but he was quite content just watching the other kids soak themselves. Being my forgetful self, I'd forgotten sunscreen, so after a couple of hours it was time to find some shade and lunch. I was dying for some NY pizza & Ralphs Italian Ice, sooo that's what we got!

Yummm!

Double Yum! Mason was a little sunburned and sooo tired, but he managed to eat his entire ice (with, of course, some help from mommy).

After our fun outing he was so tired. I thought he'd fall asleep on the walk home, but he didn't. So as soon as we got back I put he and myself down for a nap.


Bowen was had about a 2 hour commute each day & each way and it was starting to get a bit redundant for him, so after a few days at the Weidlers we decided to go stay at Fort Totten where the rest of the people in his class were staying. It was so much closer to the academy and that left more time to spend with Bowen in the afternoon now that he didn't have that commute. I thought it was going to be like a motel (don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting much) but it was a little more like army barracks...well that's exactly what they were.

The good thing was that now I had a car to get to where I wanted to go. I was a little too shy to take Mason into The City by myself, so we hit up the Great Neck/ Kings Point area for a couple of days.
One of my favorite parks is Kings Point Park. Mason loved it too! Not only were there slides and swings, but there is also a picnic area that has a lot of trails you can go for walks on.

Of course Mason had to have his football at all times. I cannot separate that kid from it!

I couldn't believe how green it is there!

That day we met up with Bowen and his old coach, Coach Joe Martuci, for lunch.  Bowen was excited to show off his little boy and Mason warmed up to Joe fast. He even took his Yankees hat to wear for the afternoon. What a nut!  I had never met Coach the whole time Bowen was in school, but I'd heard what a great guy he was. It was great to finally meet him.

Bowen had the weekend off so we got a hold of our friends Jo & Nicole Coughlin. They have a cute little boy a little older than Mason and a brand new baby boy.  We had just planned on staying there for the evening, but we ended up spending the weekend with them. On Saturday they watched Mason for the afternoon so Bowen and I headed to the City. I'd had a request for a couple of knock off items from Canal Street in China Town so that's where we headed first. Since it'd been a while since we'd to Time Square we decided to be tourists and head there next. It was so much fun being in the city again! I think I love New York so much because I have such great memories there! Bowen, of course, is the best memory; but I got to take him with me when I left. What a souvenir!

That next week it really cooled off, but that didn't stop Mason and I from finding some more parks to play at. He had so much fun here chasing squirrels and trying to feed the birds his fishy crackers.

Of course he had to try a few of the crackers himself.

Mason had worked up quite an appetite, so we met Bowen for lunch at Deli on the Green. It was blissful! All too soon Bo had to head back for class so Mason and I headed to the library. He loooved it there! We read books, he made me pretend cookies (they were delicious), and played with Legos.  

Oh! I forgot this....

Sunday was Mothers Day. Bowen had given me, Nicole, and Ashley (Nicole's friend who was staying there also) flowers. So sweet! We all got ready for the day then headed over to Joey's parents house for a BBQ. The boys were busy playing football while the girls stayed warm inside.

If you look at this picture of Bowen throwing the football & look at the one of Mason at the top of the page, it's exactly the same throw and follow through. Like father like son!

Bowen and Joey

A picture of the group...we couldn't take a normal picture.

Sooooo...back to that next week. I'd called my nanny family, The Seditas, to tell them we were in NY and we wanted to come visit them. There was only that Wednesday evening that the boys didn't have baseball. They're so busy! So me and my boys headed over there. Krissy had fixed a very yummy dinner and we all visited & caught up on what was going on in everyone lives. It was so good to see them! I couldn't believe how grown up the boys were! I guess I had their images from 3 years ago still in my head. Mason had a blast hanging out with the older kids and even left with a couple of presents thanks to Krissy.

The last full day we were there I was a little sad. We'd had so much fun visiting with all of our friends and seeing all the sights. I didn't want to leave! But I knew it was time to go home.

Early that morning I took Bowen to the Academy and Mason and I headed to the bagel shop. I hadn't had my breakfast bagel yet, and I was determined to :) I blame it on my pregnancy cravings...or just the fact that they are absolutely delicious!

Even Mason enjoyed his breakfast!

My plan had been to go feed the ducks at a little pond nearby, but it was raining too much. So I figured we'd head to the library again. Except when we got there it didn't open for another hour. I was exhausted from getting up so early, so I put on a Sesame Street episode on my phone, handed it to Mason, and fell asleep. My intention was to only close my eyes for a minute or two, but Mason fell asleep also & we ended up sleeping 2 1/2 hours in the car, in the library parking lot. I'm sure the people walking by thought we were crazy, but oh well.  I woke up just in time to drive over and meet Bowen for lunch. It ended up being a fun day despite all the rain.

We headed back to Jo and Nicoles for our last night there. We wanted to take them out to dinner to say thanks for letting us stay with them, but it would've been a little difficult bringing all the kids. So I ended up making breakfast for dinner. Despite my limited resources, it turned out pretty good!  I packed the suitcases and set the alarm to wake up bright and early to catch the flight out.

What a fun trip it was! It was so nice just to able go and see all of our friends, eat yummy NY food, and see a couple of sights. Thanks to all who let us stay with them. We already miss you!

I think this was the highlight of Masons trip...

...feeding the squirrels.