New York Con't

SATURDAY

Saturday was a GREAT day with lots of fun activities in New York.

Our day started with a great NBC studio tour where we got to see the set of the Dr. Oz show, Football Nights, and Saturday Night Live. It was neat to see the actual sets where these shows are filmed as well as the different areas around these sets. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed so all we have to show you are us with the famous peacock. After the studio tour we walked around Rockefeller Plaza and took in some sights before heading out to do a little shopping and more sightseeing. We spent some time in H&M, Trump Tower, FAO SCHWARTZ, and some other shops that we passed along the way to Central Park. We enjoyed some yummy Starbucks in Trump Tower and bought some gifts for the kids in FAO SCHWARTZ. After our shopping we headed over to Central Park where we had a blast soaking up the sunshine, taking lots of pictures, and hanging out with great friends. It was so much fun and even though it was still cold, we loved every second in that area! After more walking and shopping we had to head back to our hotel to bundle up for our sunset cruise. Our cruise was a 2 hour tour of the island and it was amazing to see everything from that perspective, including the city skyline, NJ, and the Statue of Liberty. It was definitely BITTER cold outside on the decks but we were able to tolerate it briefly for photo opportunities. :) This was definitely a unique, fun, and relaxing way to see the city at night and we loved it! Afterward we were all starving so we headed back into the city and ate dinner at BB King's restaurant, which was a fun atmosphere with some live music. The food was great and the entertainment was fun. It was a great ending to a wonderful day for sure!

(We highly recommend the tour next time you're in NY.)

(After the tour we had to take a bathroom break...of course...and a few pictures before moving on.)

(Trump Tower was the perfect place to run inside, grab a cup of coffee, and warm up before walking even further and shopping some more.)

(Our little Playboys)

(FAO SCHWARTZ was definitely a lot of fun for window shopping and playing!)

(By the time we got to Central Park, the sun decided to come out more. It was beautiful and we had a blast climbing the rocks and bridges while taking lots of pictures.)

(Some of our pre-cruise pictures are above and then the ones below are from during the cruise. Our ship pulled out promptly at 7:00 and we pulled back up to the dock at 9:00 sharp.)

(Dinner at BB Kings. We had a very quaint and comfy booth. If you look below you can see what the restaurant looked like from the balcony. Our table is in the botttom-right corner.)

NEW YORK!!!

We have just gotten back from an amazing long weekend in New York City and we have lots of great memories, stories, laughs, and pictures to share with everyone and anyone that is willing to listen, look, or read. :) However, we don't want to overwhelm you with too much at one time so we'll post our weekend 1 day at a time. We'll spread out all of the fun throughout the week ahead so please be sure to check back soon for more...It was a great weekend, with great friends, and we can't wait to go back again! For now....we'll just let the pics tell the story.

FRIDAY

(It was weird..me and Kelly randomly wore the same shirts on our road trip down!) ;)

(Our hotel room...tight but nice.)
(Our first moment in Time Square.)

(Dinner Friday Night - Bubba Gump Seafood Restaurant...decent food with a GREAT view! )

(A night out and about in Time Square...amazing!!!)

Spring Fever

Our family is a big fan of spring!

Our family LOVES sunshine!
Our family enjoys smelly flowers!
Our family appreciates the wind in our faces!
Our family most definitely likes spending more time outdoors.

However,
our family knows that spring has a flaw...

Can you see it???? Hold on....

Yep,
even though we love almost everything about spring,
we have to be honest and say that we're dreading the bumps and bruises
that come along with this season.
We are praying that we survive the spring season with
minimal injuries and lots of smiles instead of tears.

In other words, we're hoping to learn something from this cutie and her attitude about life....(her biggest issues is that her hands are dirty when she falls)

We're also wishing the same to all of you!
Happy Spring!!! :)

Wordless Wednesday

Airport Adventures

Today our family decided to pack a picnic lunch and head to the airport after church to eat, play, and watch out for planes. The outing was a HUGE success!!!Our lunch was super yummy but Bryleigh definitely seemed to enjoy it the most. She was eager to go and play but kept coming over to chow down every spare chance she had.

Brenden seemed to enjoy playing on the "runway", huge "sandbox", and climbing structure the most. After her lunch, Bryleigh was quick to join in on the fun which was very exciting to watch. We are definitely at a different place in our lives where we're able to sit back and watch both of our kids play with minimal assistance and intervention from us. (We just had to occasionally help Bry when she would fall because she is too dainty to get her hands dirty trying to stand back up. Ha!)
However, watching the planes was definitely the most fun for us all. We were excited to hear them coming no matter how big or small and thrilled to watch them taking off as well. We didn't honestly see a ton of planes because one runway (the one closest to the observation tower) was closed but all of the ones that we could spot on the other runway made us super happy!
We were also very excited to have Nana and Papa join us for this outing. Anyone that has been around our 2 kids know that they both love their grandparents like crazy so any special outing with any of them is definitely a treat for us all. This was definitely the case today...we all 4 appreciated their company!

It was definitely a great day and a fun outing! We always have a handful of things that we love to do during the warmer months of the year and airport adventures are surely towards the top of our list. We cannot wait to go back again very soon!!!!!

^{1 Peter 4:10 - 11 10}Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. ¹¹If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Last weekend we were blessed with the opportunity to serve at our local Ronald McDonald House with the other couples in our church small group. We volunteered to go to the house to prepare and serve dinner to the 50 guests that are staying there. We created a YUMMY mexican buffet complete with chicken and/or beef tacos, beans, rice, chips, salsa, and 2 different dessert options. We were so excited to talk with some of the families living there and to eat dinner beside them that evening.

Our hope is that these families caught a glimpse of the amount of love that Christ has for them. We hope that they know that to God be the glory for all that we provided them in such an amazing place during a difficult time in their lives. We also pray that they know that The Summit Church loves them and wants to help them during their stay/journey. We have always loved the Ronald McDonald house but we're eager to get more connected to this place and to serve there more regularly in the time ahead.

Here are some fun pictures from our night:
(Bobby and Jeremy hanging out...I mean helping)

(Amy cooking up some yummy hamburger meat)


(Tiff and Karen cooking and talking)

(All of the men - Jeremy, Bobby, and Jeremy...we missed you Reggie)


(All of the women - Amy, Tiffany, Karen, and Brooke)