Run Mama, Run

I raced again on Saturday and did a pretty awesome job! It was a 4 mile race for Central Park. This was my second race of the season, and I will hopefully do one (or two) more this year. I beat my own time with an average of 8:19 min/mile. Sweet! It was, of course, the hottest day of the year...again!

I barely made it to the race on time because the downtown trains weren't running. So I jogged from W 119th St to W 72nd St, which is about 2.25 miles. And, yes, I drank gallons of water that day!

Fantastic Fountains!

Isabella loves fountains! Rightfully so, especially since it was so hot and humid on Saturday. This was down at Battery Park as the sun was setting.

Waterfalls

On Saturday we went for a cruise on the East River to see The New York City Waterfalls. It was fantastic! Anyone interested? Grab the $10 Circleline tickets.

West Village

I seriously love the West Village. Each time I visit I fall more deeply in love. Last week when I just had to get out of the hood I hopped on C train and got off at West 4th St. Isabella and I just cruised around, enjoyed the people, shops, and gelato. We stopped at a fantastic playground where Brian met us after work. It was the perfect day.

Sew Mama

Isabella washing her hands after church (and spraying herself).
And me, finally getting a photo of the dress on her before striping her down for a messy lunch.

The past several months I've had an intense desire to create things with my hands; sew, craft, make! I'm not really a crafty or creative person so I have had a slow start. Not sure where to begin, afraid my lack of skill and experience would make my creations look, well, blah...I found something I wanted to make for Isabella. I had seen this Oliver + S pattern featured on a few blogs I had been visiting and basically learned all I could about it to make sure I knew what I was getting into.

When my mom came to visit in May we went fabric shopping in the garment district. (So fun!) And then she helped me. I don't think I could have made this dress without her. The sewing machine I have is an old Singer (I think from the 60's) and worked great once my mom worked out all the kinks. And then she patiently retaught and reminded me all the bits and pieces of sewing she had taught me when I was a teenager.

And, BTW, the pattern is called "Tea Party Sundress". So sweet!

Touring with Friends

Hanging out on the front steps of the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Harlem with friends, Chase & Eliot

Daddy + Cooking

Isabella loves her daddy and she loves to help in the kitchen, so this was a very special treat!

Daddy + Bedtime

Silly gnome baby!

When Brian gets Isabella ready for bed it's all fun and games! Isabella's favorite spot lately is our bed. She loves to pull up the covers to her waist and sit and read books. It's pretty cute. (Probably because we often have the air conditioner on in there.) It reminds me of growing up and how my siblings and I use to pile onto my mom's bed Saturday mornings. We would just hang out, laugh and talk and then we'd go make waffles or something like that. Oh wait! We still do that (when we visit)!

The Perfect Weekend

Cousins Devon & Wednesday

Red light!

Green light!

Catching frogs

Not only was the blueberry picking absolutely fantastic, but the rest of the weekend matched it. We played outside with the kids, visited Brian's great aunt, had s'mores on an outdoor/patio/camp fire, and watched The Incredibles on an amazing out door movie theater, set up by friends Dave & Malisa.

More Weekend Fun

Berry Picking

Cousin Roman

I LOVE blueberry picking!

Isabella finding her treasure.

Spencer, Brian's brother, with his loot.

Isabella loved the tart raspberries too. I couldn't pick them fast enough for her.

Cousins Devon & Roman raspberry picking.

YUMMY!

The first time Brian took me blueberry picking I knew I was in love. The most perfect moment was when I was crouched in a field of blueberry bushes on the top of a hill in South Glastonbury over looking the lush, green hills of New England. Then popping a warm, sun ripened blueberry (the size of a grape) into my mouth. The flavor, texture, and whole experience was amazing. Oh, sweet blueberries, I love you so!

Beach Bums

Some of my favorite photos from our trip to the New Jersey beaches yesterday. The weather was fantastic and we had a great time.

Picnic in Sheep Meadow

Brian had a pretty mellow work week with his boss off on vacation, so we got to spend some nice long lunches with him.

Pooped

Isabella was pooped after a long, fun weekend in New Hampshire!

Day 3: Story Land

Isabella's favorite ride: "you drive 'em tractor"

Milking a cow, of course!

Every child's fun place must have a ball pit!

Since we only had a couple of hours at Story Land the first day we went back to fully enjoy the park our last day in New Hampshire. It started pouring before we even left the hotel, but it turned out to be a very lovely, lovely day to play!