Coney Island

Praise the Lord, we are all (finally) healthy! June has been a rough month for us health-wise, but that is behind us now.

Since we were all feeling much better and because it was Father's Day, we decided to celebrate with a day trip to our favorite place....New York City. Sunday was supposed to be cloudy and rainy, but it was actually the complete opposite so we gave Coney Island a shot. I had heard of Coney Island, but I was only picturing the amuse park stuff....and hot dogs. I honestly didn't know that there was a beach too. We arrived right before it got super busy so we got a great parking spot right next to the boardwalk and there's FREE parking on Sunday! We walked right past all off the super creepy and gimmicky carnival rides and games (trust me, they were creepy) and went straight for the hot dogs. Actually, we split two corn dogs. I figured two would be enough for the four of us, but Luke devoured one by himself so I only got a bite. No big deal though...I was holding out for ice cream. Madeline was so anxious to get to the beach so we didn't spend much time on the boardwalk like we did in Ocean City. Madeline immediately started working on a sand castle and Luke actually was way more into the beach than last time. This time was warmer and less windy so I think he was just much more comfortable. I need to pick-up another shovel and pail for Luke before we go to the beach again. Shoveling sand into a bucket is surprisingly entertaining for kids. Luke sat there for 30 minutes just shoveling and was having the time of his life. George and Madeline spent some time in the water (only their legs). She was getting such a kick out of running away from the waves as they came in. I have memories of doing the same thing on a trip to Florida when we were kids.

After a few hours at Coney Island we ventured up toward the Prospect Park area of Brooklyn and walked around for a bit. I had read about an ice cream shop called Ample Hills Creamery (because who doesn't spend their time reading about ice cream shops on the internet?!) so we made sure to park relatively close to it. We got our ice cream and I was a happy camper. It was incredibly delicious, in case you were wondering. On our walk to the Ample Hills, we saw a playground and splash park so we took the kids there for a bit after ice cream. We eventually made our way back to our car and by then it was almost 6PM so we drove to Baba's Pierogies to grab take out (you might remember it from our previous trip to Brooklyn in December). We ate in the car because the kids were so beat and we didn't feel like getting them out again. They both fell asleep in the car on the way home and we transferred right to their beds....covered in sand and all! It was seriously a wonderful day, which was just what we needed after a rough couple of weeks.

 

My cute little blondie enjoying the beach...

Our little beach lover...

 

Notice Luke is the background....what is he doing?!

Let's just say that Luke consumed some sand...

Arizona Trip and Dwight Wedding

Get ready for a serious picture overload! I am playing catch-up on the blog tonight. Since I didn't know where to begin, I started by downloading a ton of pictures from the last month or so and will let the pictures guide me through this post. 

The first several pictures are pre-Arizona/wedding and the remaining picture are of our time in Arizona, including many from the wedding. 

These first two pictures crack me up. On the left, you can see that Madeline is trying to talk George into something. She must've been shot down because the picture on the right clearly shows her disappointment.

 Being from Arizona, it's so different for us to have decent weather this time of year. We put in our time with the crappy weather for the last 4 months so it's nice to be able to do things outside again. The early spring in PA was still very cold, but late spring was spectacular. We visited several parks and spent lots of time outside in April and early May. 

 A favorite park is Gring's Mill Park in Reading, PA (about 40 min from us). What a gorgeous place!! I've made a note to go back this fall. 

 

Mary Poppins is one of Madeline's favorite movies and she loves the song "Let's go Fly a Kite" so we bought a kite from the dollar store and have gotten our money's worth out of it. 

We also had our fair share of rainy days this spring, so we've gotten creative with indoor activities. Here is Madeline running her ice cream shop....complete with a drive-thru window :) :) 

On May 16, the kids and I were off to Arizona! George was 3 days behind us due to work. I was dreading the flight for weeks since Luke is in a very curious and "on the go" stage. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. The flight home with all four of us was actually more difficult. Luke was overtired and did some screaming. 

Emily and I planned Hannah's bachelorette party for the weekend before Hannah's wedding. We started the day off by volunteering at Feed My Starving Children in Mesa. It's a really fun way to hang out with a group and volunteer at the same time. Afterward, we headed to the Airbnb that we rented for the night in downtown Phoenix. Everyone brought snacks and drinks so we hang out there all afternoon. In the evening, we went to Cibo for dinner, Bitter and Twisted for drinks, and The Duce for dancing. The next morning, we had breakfast at the Airbnb and then everyone headed home. I thought it was the perfect Bachelorette party...and I think Hannah agreed. :)

Madeline and Luke really enjoyed the cousin time. It took Luke a few days to warm up to everyone, but for Madeline it was as if we never moved. She tells me all the time that Parker and Paisley are her best friends. 

I loved hanging out with this little dude! He was so little last time we saw him back in January. He's still a little peanut and a very content baby. 

The Dwights hosted a lovely rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's in North Scottsdale. It was fun to meet many of the Dwights/Andersons and get some more time in with our out of town family. 

 And finally, after months of anticipation, the wedding day arrived!! It was an amazing day. The girls arrived to the bridal suite at 11AM and spent the day getting ready. It was so convenient to have the hair/make-up girl on site. Hannah was calm as a cucumber and seemed to be soaking up every moment. While everyone was getting ready, I took a few minutes to go around the venue and take some pictures. 

The flowers -- SO beautiful! I thought their florist did a wonderful job!

Aunt Emily doing some pretend make-up on the girls. It was Madeline's dream come true (she's become very fancy as of late and loves all things girly...dresses, bows, jewelry, make-up) 

 The dress -- my pics definitely don't do a justice. Hannah looked nothing short of stunning in it. 

The ballroom and reception area...

I loved the use of eucalyptus in the center pieces

My mom outdid herself with this chocolate covered Oreos. She hand dipped and covered each Oreo with an edible floral design. They were so nice looking and delicious!!! 

Some other detail shots...

Feeling fancy... 

The stunning bride! 

 

Luke made an appearance for the pictures. He looked so cute in his little bow tie! :) 

Madeline was 100% over pictures by this point! She did a decent job with the pictures before the ceremony and actually did a great job walking down the aisle. However, being a stubborn 3 year old, she was pretty much done with taking demands during the picture time after the ceremony. 

Love these one of George and Luke :)

Love this one of the brand new married couple! (reminds me of the scene from the Hunger Games movie when Katniss and Peeta are doing their victory tour. Haha). 

And finally, a few of the bridal party.

It brought me so much joy to see my little sister get married. The wedding ceremony was the most beautiful wedding ceremony I have ever witnessed. Hannah and Jeremiah wrote their own vows which were just perfect and gave everyone a glimpse into the deep love that they have for each other. And the reception was so much fun. Paul and Anna took Madeline home early so George and I were able to hit the dance floor pretty much the entire evening! I had a blast!

We flew back to PA the day after the wedding. We've had a rough go with sickness the last 2-3 weeks. The day we came home, Madeline caught some sort of stomach flu and was in bed with a 102 fever (and some throwing up) for the next few days. Then last week, George got the shingles! He's on the upswing now, but he had a very rough 4-5 days of pain and discomfort. AND much less severe, but nevertheless, yesterday, I started coming down with a cold. So yeah, we've pretty much been a mess!