Morristown and Medieval Times

Our next adventure was to Morristown Historical Park. We started at Jockey Hollow where the Continental Army stayed the "hard winter" of December 1779 – May 1780.   The army unfortunately had to stay in tents in the snow (most with inadequate clothing/shoes) until they could build their cabins. Before we saw the little cabins, we stopped at the Wick house where an employee in historical dress gave us information. We also walked around the little colonial garden. I am pictured below with Larkspur, but we became fascinated by the herb Lemon Balm.

As we walked up a woodsy path to see the cabins more closely, we discovered the forest was infested with cicadas. Elena wasn't so sure about holding them.  I do have to say, their little feet were rather prickly.

Afterwards we drove into Morristown proper and visited the Ford house where George Washington stayed the winter.

Later that night we headed to Medieval Times.  I attempted to take some pictures of the kids but they were over-excited and uncooperative since there were swords and princess hats to be had.  We enjoyed the jousting show and eating medieval food with our hands.

Van Saun, Patterson Falls, and Batting Cage

The next day in Jersey we went to Van Saun park and rode the little train and carousel.  It was really hot though and the kids were tired, so we didn't stay long.  I had a nice nap afterwards myself.  On my last full day we hit the local batting cages, which was highly entertaining.  I even batted myself!  I have to say, my hubby was the star of the show. :)  Too bad I didn't get pics.  Afterwards we went to Patterson Falls to snap some pictures.  The falls are very beautiful, but be careful when walking around the upper parking lot.  There is ALWAYS trash everywhere and this time when we walked down to the water we actually saw toilet paper and a pile of human poo right in the path.  Um, gross.  I recommend the lower lot--the pictures are better there anyway! We also saw some big ground hogs running around which excited some of the tourists.

Later that evening we had our last dinner in Jersey at a Mexican Place with Mom and Dad.  (Megan's family left after the falls.)  On our way to the restaurant we noticed another restaurant called "Taste it Again."  I'm not sure that this was the best marketing strategy..hah!

Anyway, the next day we flew home (and Mom was brave enough to drive us to Kennedy.)  This will be my last trip to Jersey sans baby! So, next time there will probably be fewer plays and more parks. :)

New Jersey Part Two: Liberty Park

Our next adventure was to the Liberty Science museum where we played with some pretty cool hands on activities.  We all went through the touch tunnel--which is essentially a maze that you wander around in total darkness. We also used a computer simulator of the type surgeon's use to practice for internal surgeries.  I pretty much rocked at performing surgery, and beat Clint. :) I also messed around in a wind tunnel in the Sky Scraper exhibit, and Clint was fascinated by the kalliroscope. Afterwards we took some photos in nearby Liberty Park.

New Jersey Trip 2013: Birthday, Rutt's Hut, and Hunterdon Hills

Ah yes, I am finally updating my blog.  So, we flew into Newark on June 15--Megan was there with Mom to pick us up from the airport and this is when I told her my big news about the bebe. However, she had to return to Connecticut after this. Clint then went off to a car show, and I went to Thai with Mom and Dad. Yum.  Then on Sunday it was Clint's birthday and we had cake #1, a cheesecake.  We also walked around Brookdale Park and saw a cute raccoon living in a storm drain, but the pictures didn't turn out.

Then on Monday we went to Rutt's Hut for dinner which is supposedly some famous diner in Clifton that has been open since 1928. They are famous for their Ripper which is a deep fat fried hot dog.  Does this look appealing to you?

Yeah, I wasn't in love.  And I had the misfortune to learn about cube steak. Don't be fooled by so called steak and cheese sandwiches. Anyway, it was a good cultural New Jersey experience. :)  Later that night Megan and her family came back, and we had birthday cake #2 for Clint--a delicious Costco fudge cake.

Then Tuesday morning I went on a run with my sister, Megan.  She has decided to become a runner--hooray! Afterwards my mom and I went to the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse.  We had lunch, an amazing dessert buffet, and watched the play Wake Up, Darling.  

It was a lot of fun, but we felt like senior citizens because pretty much everyone there arrived on tour buses from retirement homes. Those old ladies can get pushy in the bathrooms I tell you! Anyway, we also had fun walking around the grounds after lunch--there was a quaint little gazebo next to a pond.

I shall continue the narrative on the next post. :)

Skeletor baby?

Is it just me or does my baby look like Skeletor?

Uncanny, right?

Can't wait for baby photos.

And other household matters...

If I may ride off of my previous post, another item of household hintery has been on my mind lately.  I realized that I never wash my hairbrushes.  And I remember growing up, that on the occasional Saturday, maybe once a month, my mom would send us out to collect all the brushes and combs in the house.  We'd clean out the hair, and then she'd soak them in the sink with ammonia and hot water, hence stinking up the bathroom.  Where did I go astray?  My mom taught me by good example!  Once I realized my error of omission,  I decided to wash my brushes.  It seems though, that there are less stinky ways to do this than with ammonia.  Some sources recommend using clarifying shampoo or even dish soap.  You can also use an old toothbrush for some serious cleaning. If you want to be thorough you can do two steps--a cleansing step with shampoo or soap, and then a sterilizing step with equal parts vinegar and water or if the stink doesn't bother you, 1/4 cup ammonia to 1 cup water. Another option is to use tea tree oil, which has sanitizing properties.

Note: in all the soaking, sources recommend not to soak too long (over half an hour) or you could damage the brush. 

So.  Have you cleaned your brushes lately?

Household Hints, Lemons, and Cookies

When I was a kid, I had a strange obsession with reading household hints books.  This likely stemmed from perusing my grandma's library to find things that seemed intriguing to read.  I was reminded of my obsession last Thursday when we had a relief society activity all about the uses of lemons.  Surprisingly, the uses extend far beyond the expected cooking and cleaning functions.  For example, did you know that  Komori et al. did a study that suggested lemon odor has potential anti-depressant properties? Also supposedly Jean Valnet, MD researched antibactieral properties of vaporized lemon essential oil.  However, I can't find any real research to back this up--just claims on essential oil blogs.  Anyway, the church smelled nice and we got to eat a lot of tasty lemon foods.  Here is an easy lemon cookie recipe that I got from the activity:

Easy Chewy Lemon Cookies

Ingredients:
Supreme Lemon Cake Mix
1 tub of cool whip (I used light. At the activity they were made with cool whip free.)
1 egg

Combine ingredients with a spoon first, and then beaters.  (I struggled with the beaters.  The batter is really weird--it has the consistency of taffy, and it crawled up the beater posts in a bizarre way.)  Put some blobs down on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.  When cooled, drizzle with glaze.

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
zest and juice of one lemon

I think perhaps my obsession with hints might mean that pinterest would be highly addictive for me.  Hence I have thus far resisted joining.