New Jersey and NYC

On Saturday in NJ we all went to Turtleback Zoo with the kids. It was a busy day because it was free! That night I saw some wedding pictures my mom had on the fridge and I got all misty eyed, missing Clint. This was the longest we'd been apart since before we got married--eight days!

On Sunday we basically sat around and gorged ourselves on lemon cake and coconut cake. After dinner the girls watched Don Juan and gossiped about how many boys we'd kissed. It was a fun girls night and a good prelude to girls day!

On Monday Jacob promised Megan some time away from the kids so we escaped to eat lunch at a Greek place and get manicures. Afterwards we plopped and watched Strictly Ballroom. It was lovely! When we came downstairs Ben had lots of questions about my flute, so I found a recorder to let him play with. I quickly realized that this was a grave mistake and managed to hide the thing when he wasn't looking. After we dined on steaks that evening, I helped Ben get his energy out by running laps and chasing him around the house. I'm pretty amazed at that kid's energy. He's kind of a whirlwind of flailing limbs, really.

On Tuesday Mom and I drove to an iris garden. We also attempted to drive to great falls, but Mom wanted me to drive while she navigated, and this did not work out. So we got take out Chinese and returned home. Later that evening we went into the city and watched Mary Poppins on Broadway, something I'd been wanting to do since all my semester abroad friends proclaimed it was "magical." Parking in the city wasn't fun, but the show was!

On Wednesday I went with my parents into the city again and visited The Cloisters, a branch of the met that specializes in medieval art. It was quite lovely! The museum is designed to feel like a monastery and the hushed, dim hallways certainly had that effect. We enjoyed the gardens and everything we learned on the tour. It was especially interesting to hear how some of the pieces were gained--one sculpture was being used as a footbridge over a stream!









After the Cloisters Dad drove us to Great Falls--this time with success. However, the falls were not as we expected them. The water had been diverted away or something, and the falls weren't much of falls at all. After that we went to a good Thai restaurant. Next time I want to try the exotic dessert with sweet potatoes and jack fruit.

The next day I flew back home where Clint welcomed me with an orchid plant. I had a lot of fun on my trip, but it was good to be home.