Jersey, NYC, Harkers....Just Fun!

After Lancaster County, PA we continued North to New Jersey where we met with our friends Kuuleh & Nick and their adorable little girl Allette. We descended upon them for 3 nights over Memorial Day weekend and though it was cramped and we took all of their space up, it was a blast being with them. They were so gracious allowing us to crash on the couch in their 1 bedroom apt so that we could all enjoy the time together and save some cash. I bet they were thrilled when we took our little maniacs home!
Well, while there we got to do so much! We visited Manhattan for a day, rode the subway (stinky & hot!), ate out most nights except for when Kuuleh cooked for us and we loved it! We went to the Jersey Shore one day (my idea, and I may have been the only one that wanted to go!) oh gosh, and so much more!
I love Nick & Kuuleh! They are so laid back, so easy going total troopers! They did the subway and Manhattan for the day with a 6 week old baby! Gotta love em! We miss you guys! We have to do it again some time! Open invite for you to visit us here in Pittsburgh. Bring that beautiful baby anytime!
My favorite parts of New York are the sights, sounds, the angles, the fun, the things to do. I got a few pics of my favorite sites. Check them out below.

Lancaster County, PA.

We went to check out Lancaster County over Memorial Day Weekend on the way to New Jersey (to visit friends). Rick loves going to Amish towns and wanted to see what Lancaster offered. We found that like many other Amish towns it was farmland, animals, black buggies, hand made goods, good people, and our favorite: Good & Plenty. Everything was similar to other Amish towns in PA, but just on a much larger scale. Ever been to Lancaster? Ever been to Good & Plenty? If not, Good & Plenty is an Amish, family style restaurant where you are served with all other guests (kinda like one big family table). We went and paid (super pricey) and enjoyed a home made meal of bread, fried chicken, baked Talapia, fresh corn, apple butter, mashed potatoes, green beans, butter and desert (ice creams & pies). All of it was made from scratch by Amish recipes and I was amazed! What a difference in taste! What a difference in texture! I don't know that I could ever wear the clothes & adhere to the life style, but I sure could get used to the amazing food! We had a great time & although we paid for Jacob & he ate NOTHING, we were glad that we stopped to enjoy the fun.

Well he did it. Jacob finished his final year of Pre-School. It is off to Kindergarten now. I cant believe he is old enough! Prince of Peace was such a wonderful experience for both he and I. I loved the teachers (as did Jacob) and their patience, love and affection for Jacob was so appreciated by mom. Jacobs last day was Friday May 14th at Pleasant Kingdom Park where the whole school did a final party. Jacob got a certificate of achievement (seen above) and got to say goodbye to everyone for the last time. He was so sadly to say goodbye to Mrs. Patterson (left of Jacob), Mrs. Jantz (just right of Jacob) and his 1st year Pre-school teacher/program director Mrs. George (far right). They were fantastic teachers and I am so glad that we put him in the program! I have a wonderful DVD of his last program but no pictures as I had Ricky in my lap and he is squiggly. I will get some of those of Jacob dressed as a clown from his school teacher and post them soon too.

Jacob loved playing around with the kids from the class on his last day and I loved seeing him have so much fun! Off to Kindergarten!!!

Ricky Walking

I am a terrible mother for not documenting this when it happened, but Ricky has been walking since about 10 months. Since end of April, early May. I love watching his little bum waddle around the apartment and out in the field behind our home. So fun. Here is a video of his best efforts. I just love his little monkey smile and determined spirit. He is quite agressive at anything he wants to do. I have no doubt that this kid (much like his brother) can do anything he decides to do!