Governor's Island

We ended up going to Governor's Island for Scott's birthday.  It is just off the tip of Manhattan, and we enjoyed it much more than Staten Island. It is a free ferry, the island is really close with views of the Statue of Liberty, and it is just quaint and nice.  If we had bikes we'd definitely ride them around the island.  I would go here just for the island alone, but luckily for us, there is a fun French carnival going on right now.  We had a ball riding with T and enjoying Scott's birthday together!  Here's a quick video (totally amateur) that really gives you a feel for the day, and of course, photos below.

  

 The girl LOVES Camelbaks.  She finished that bottle on the ferry ride over, which is about 5 minutes.

 Scott loves cotton candy and got it for his birthday... yep, this is what happened.

A great day to be a New Yorker!

Fears Dispelled.

We have been here a month now.

A lot of the fears about living in the city have resolved themselves.  

Will I be able to go out for a picnic???

Will I be mugged in the streets???

Will I have friends???

Will I be able to grocery shop, and do the laundry???

Okay, I was never really worried that I wouldn't have friends or be able to shop for food... but just worried about how hard it would be to do such things.  And as it turns out, it's easy :)

Today at Stake Conference we ran into 8 people we know in the city from before we moved here.  It's really fun making new friends with people who are really goal-oriented and doing great things with their lives.  And, there is green space after all!

Life in the city isn't so bad after all :)

The Firepit Gift

During our last few days in Seattle we decided to build my parents a fire pit. Well, with a tag reading "Happy Father's Day."  We figured there will always be family gatherings here, and our affinity for the outdoors and s'mores led us to tackle the most giant rock of all time. 

It looks large in this photo, but believe me, it is much larger in person!  

 

It was a nice area to work in and T had a blast running around and playing with dirt and plants while we worked.  And fyi, while there are only pics of Scott working, let it be known that I was working just as hard! :)

 The beginning was really difficult.  Scott found this plank in the garage and sort of made a lever out of it.  

 But once he got it up (This step prob took 2 hours) I had to quickly place that stone underneath to hold it up.  Well the first stone I placed cracked in an instant, so we had to get a new plan and more support stones.  This whole ordeal was a much bigger endeavor than we planned on.  Also, "placing the stone" was one of the most fearful moments of my life.  If the lever had broken while my hand was underneath the rock, it would have broken all my bones in an instant.  Sometimes I was too scared to place the rock so I'd have to switch places with Scott.  That means holding down/standing on the level so we didn't lose the height we'd just gained.  The switch from Scott to me standing on the plank was hurried, emotional, and always logistical.

 Then, inch by inch, we raised the rock and replaced the stones to support it. 

 Finally standing up, and worn out!!!

 The flip isn't pictured here (I figured 15 pics of a rock in the backyard were enough!) but we then flipped the rock onto it's other side.

 And finally, we dropped it back down creating seating and an open hole for the fire. Success!

 Me and T have become Hathaways, which means we're a little too comfortable at Home Depot.  

Carrying the stones from the trunk to the backyard was really difficult.  It would have made a perfect Amazing Race challenge.  The only thing that kept me going on my 20th trip carrying super heavy/awkward stones was the idea of winning a million dollars.  

 Scott leveled the base and poured a bunch of gravel in so it will drain properly.  Then, stacking the stones and gluing them together went quickly and was easy! The stone will wear with time and become the same-ish color as the surrounding rocks.

 Just in time for my parent's return the next day and a big family party!

 Scott and I were not thinking nice things about Cosmo as he dug up all the dirt we leveled and moved rocks we'd meticulously placed...

 We are glad to have a fire pit there where it's less likely for kids to fall in and has no metal parts that burn babies!

In retrospect, we are pretty glad we did it.  I think my parents loved it and it will surely get used with all these kids living in the same state!

Painting the Town Red

We met up with my cousins who were in town for a few days and hit the town with them.

Gasworks Park is always impressive :)

This picture melts me.  I love these two gingers!

I still haven't gotten tired of that skyline!

Can you see the fish jumping?  Be glad if you can, because I had to take about 60 photos just to get one fish!

This was a Seattle day to remember, for sure!!

Crawdads for Dinner

Now for a while I'll be posting from July.  Can you believe I just barely uploaded these photos?  Yikes.

One thing I love about Scott is that he thrives on having new experiences. If I had gone into Uwajimaya alone, I probably would have noticed the crawdads but I'm 90% sure I wouldn't have grabbed out 20 live ones, transported them home, and then boiled them.  

Going in for the kill:

They turn red almost immediately!

Ice bath:

This was such a memorable evening on the deck.  We just sat out there for a few hours, eating away and enjoying the lake. And my $5 market flowers!

If you've never done a low country boil, you MUST try it!  It's even more fun to do with lots of friends, eating off newspaper with no napkins or utensils allowed!  

Thanks for the fun, Scott!

Lady Liberty

We got on the 1 train toward South Ferry, and this time, we actually got off at the last stop, South Ferry!  Craziest thing happened, just 2 stops into the ride, my friend Tamara from Jerusalem boarded our train!  What are the chances!?!  We had a great time catching up, and luckily Tamara had an ipad for T to play with (Have I mentioned she's in a screaming phase?) and she had hand wash for when Scott accidentally touched a stranger's blood.  Yeah that was weird.  Oh the New York subway...

The ferry terminal to Staten Island shares a building with the metro stop, so the transition was easy.  There was a man in our elevator who had is headphones on, but we could hear his music louder than if we'd had a true speaker going ourselves... apparently T liked his tunes because the started shimmy-ing and dancing and pointing and waving "Hi" to the man.  He was very flattered and hung around us a bit longer than he needed to, I think because he got such positive feedback. :)  

(Side note:  We've been very confused as to why, how and where T learned to shimmy.  Then one day we watched her Sesame Street show with her, and saw that Destiny's Child is featured in several songs on this episode. Yep. Destiny's Child taught my child to shimmy.)

Back to Lady Liberty.  The free ferry was very crowded, especially on the side with the Statue of Liberty, naturally.  So we joined the masses and I snuck my camera above heads and through arms to get what I think are some great images!

Leaving Manhattan behind:  

Once we arrived on Statten Island we just took a walk around the point and ate our picnic in some shade.  Pretty dreamy.  I think Scott and I have an unspoken, mutual understanding that it is a sin to eat at any chain restaurants in NYC because there is too much good, cheap food to spend time and money on something generic we've had before.  But Subway was just too convenient and tasty to pass up this day.

 I thought there was no better day to wear her tourist shirt than our day to the Statue.

One the way back to Manhattan we stayed inside and got a much better view of Lady Liberty, but through glass.  One of the MTA workers told Scott that he couldn't carry T on his shoulders inside the boat.  Too dangerous.  I would understand it if that rule were in place outside on the deck, but inside, really?  Another government employee told us earlier this week "Your baby can't move around here." Hmmm.

And on the way home, a stop by the Charging Bull.  Note to self: Go early in the morning to avoid hoards of people and the use of your elbows to get a photo alone.  Was it worth it?  No.

It's hard to imagine that 6 months ago I didn't know that all the neighborhoods/streets in Manhattan  revolve around Central Park, or even that Manhattan is truly an island.  (I can't believe I just admitted that, but my mom and sisters will undoubtedly think this is too funny not to share...)  We are learning lots and getting to know our city, although we definitely know we are still new!!