Little Red Lighthouse

Columbus is the man that just keeps on giving. Thanks to his holiday, Brandon had a day off, and we got to get out of the city, if only for a few hours. We decided to take a bike ride from the lower west of Manhattan up to the very southwest of Harlem to see the iconic Little Red Lighthouse. 

I'm a pretty awful bike rider, so Brandon insisted on taking both of the kids on his bike.  

Brighton was....a bit nervous.

I think we estimated that the ride was a total of 20 miles roundtrip. We rode along the west Hudson the whole way, and it was a gorgeous day.

Arriving at the George Washington Bridge

The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge 

We packed this amazing lunch complete with mini-cherry pies and baker's paper. 

On the way back we strolled through a stretch along the esplanade that featured some pretty amazing statues.

...and a train.

In the last few blocks, Bright just couldn't stay awake any longer, so Brandon had to hold his head up while biking. It was pretty talented considering I nearly crashed a dozen times trying to take this picture.

He knows he has a good Dad

When in Palmyra, New York...

Do as the Mormons do! And boy, did we! I can't believe we did ALL of this in one day. This has to be on of my favorite experiences to date...from my whole life, third to marrying my eternal companion and having children!! It was like finally meeting someone you had heard so much about. It was great to put a "face" to the historical locations of so many stories I grew up with.

We started the day bright and early, arriving at our car rental at 6 a.m. Another 6 hours later, we were in Palmyra, where we began our exploring at the Sacred Grove. I couldn't wait for this!! Hence, why we went there first! I spent half the hike rushing my kids down the trail to get "there," when Brandon pointed out that we were there...at the Sacred Grove. I had it in my head that there was a clearing at the end of the trails. I wasn't exactly expecting a marked spot indicating where Joseph was kneeling and where exactly God and Jesus were, but literally, I misunderstood what a grove was. After clearing up that misconception, it was pretty magical, and probably more fun trying to guess where Joseph might have been, where I might have gone had I been looking for a place to pray, and taking in the peacefulness of the grove. I enjoyed, in essence, walking Joseph's steps that day. Pretty humbling.

Everything is close to each other, so from the grove you can walk to the cabin where Moroni appeared to Joseph, the barn, framed house, etc.

The framed house....Brighton was literally jumping off everything. He was in heaven. 

I spy Angel Moroni!

I have to smile thinking Joseph would have appreciated my rambunctious boy!

A replica of the family cabin built in it's original location

The room where the 6 boys slept and where Moroni appeared to Joseph

Stairs down to the kitchen

We then drove over to the publication site of the Book of Mormon and did a tour through the building.

Downtown Palmyra

First edition Book of Mormon. My amazing father-in-law bought me a replica of this. 

Original floorboards

Learning about how the letters were printed on the page. The sister missionary leading this part of the tour mentioned something about a miracle, and Brighton yelled, "Yeah!" haha.  

Printing room

This picture makes me so proud! Tori listening so intently!

From there we went to scout out seats for the Hill Cumorah Pageant. Pictures don't do this much justice. When you first drive by, it's pretty amazing to see. The hill is fairly good size, and the set literally looks like a Peruvian stone temple right there in upstate New York. Specifically, Peruvian...definitely not any other style temple ; )

Before the show, the characters come out in costume to mingle and take pictures. Tori really wanted to see this "Indian princess," but got pretty start struck like her Mama.  

View from our seats.

We loved scoping out pretty head dresses!

Moon rising on the set.

Tori asked questions through the whole thing. It was so great! She loves theatre! She was extremely bothered when they burned Abinadi. As Brandon put it, the pyro-technics were pretty legit. The waters of Mormon had a pool with waterfalls flowing out of the set. It was beautiful! 

I loved it! I loved everything about this day! 

1 Year Anniversary

It's official! I've been in New York a year, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than with a free concert by one of my favorite bands! 

Fist pump!! 

AND this may have been my favorite event to date (how many times can I say that? I keep one-upping myself). BUT it did combine a few of my favorite things: skateboarders, bands, Julie Pearson and free stuff. Hard to top that.

I am such a geek for good alternative rock bands. I may suffer from a "pre-occupied with 1985" syndrome However, AWOLNATION drew a pretty diverse crowd, so I was able to bypass the awkward/confused stares from adolescents. I will always believe I'm cool enough to be here! Period. Ninjasonik opened for them...they're kind of one hit wonders from Brooklyn. Their song "Daylight" is the ONLY good song in their repertoire. Ugh, they were pretty awful. 

Of course, AWOLNATION was great live. And the best part of the crowd, was it wasn't too crowded! Which, whether you like the band or not, free anywhere tends to draw a ridiculous crowd. So that was a pleasant surprise. I got to walk off into the sunset with "Sail" playing live...yeah, we left mid-song. Kiddos had had enough amps for one day!

New York and I have had our rough times. REALLY rough times. But, this city spoils me so I keep coming back for more. This trip downtown really marked the day that I decided to get over my issues with public transit and make it work. Funny how we can just stop bad attitudes if we really want to. Something that once made me sick to my stomach and was probably the center of my outings, is now just a small part of getting where I want to be. Sigh, it's so liberating. Our relationship promises to be an everlasting love! 

Mind Over Madness

"Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do..." Even if that dream is to do yoga in the middle of the streets of Time Square. I read about this event before I moved out here, and of course, fell in love with the idea. I wouldn't say it was the once in a lifetime, "I can do anything," type of love, because last year I chickened out, and this year, I nearly forgot about it. Thank goodness second chances exist in all good relationships, because this experience was, in fact, once in a lifetime! Or at least, annual, and I won't be here next summer (tears and streaked mascara). 

Each year on the summer solstice, yogi's gather via free reserved tickets to benefit from a full day of classes hosted in the middle of Time Square. I opted for the last session of the day, which was taught by Douglas Stewart, the brains behind this whole operation. He was super traditional, spending the first 20 minutes just saying, I guess...imagery words? "Water. Earth. Breath." I was kind of over it and ready for the work out, which was pretty great when we finally got to it! 

A security guard insisted on taking my picture before the event started. After watching him photograph a girl in perfect dancer's pose, I declined. He then insisted brunettes were not insecure. This photograph, in fact, depicts how insecure I felt in that moment, haha! 

Meditating upon what angle I want to photograph the meditators.

Love this girl, LOVE her!! Obviously, Time Square was blown away by our form!

Down dog....don't pretend you aren't impressed. 

Accidentally snapped this....haha, but I kind of liked it! 

My view while laying down 

Amanda is our fearless Primary President, and a kindred spirit who is always up for anything.  She was kind enough to come with me even though she hates yoga. I was proud of us for finishing the whole 90 minute session.

We missed out on the free yoga mats, but we did score 6 free yoga classes from the lady sitting next to us. It was just a great night that I will never forget!