pumpkin art project.

The whole gang

     In celebration of fall, we took a trip to Yorktown Heights to a cider mill. We went with our friends Kim and Ryan and another couple, Mark and Kaitlyn. It was such a beautiful day – the sun was shining, the leaves were changing colors, and the bees were buzzing. Actually, the bees were taking a swim in our apple cider.

Ripe and ready to have fun

Our bee friend takin a sip dip

     One of my favorite things to do in the fall is to get cider and doughnuts. And if you try to give them to me any other time during the year, it’s simply not the same. We, of course, had to buy some apple cider to take home with us.

Cider and donuts

     After roaming around a little, we walked to the pumpkin patch. The pumpkins were a little picked over and those that were left were mostly squished, rotting, completely broken, or all of the above. We ended up just getting two smaller pumpkins to use to decorate our house.

Choosing pumpkins

The girls

The smaller pumpkins won 

     We had a lot of fun hanging out with Ryan and Kim again and getting to know Mark and Kaitlyn. Now, Jason and I are looking forward to decorating our pumpkins. . .

      Jason and I tried something different this year with our pumpkins inspired by Pinterest. Using a lighter, we melted a pack of crayons all over our pumpkins. After taking off the crayon wrappers and breaking each crayon in half, Jason and I used two different methods. While Jason laid his crayons on top and melted the ends so the colors would crawl down the sides of the pumpkin, I held the melting crayons over the pumpkin and let the colors drip. Two hours and three lighters later, we finished and were very happy with the results. We both enjoyed straying from the traditional carving of the jack-o-lantern, even if it looks like a child did it.

He takes his work very seriously

Success!

falling for connecticut.

Kent Falls State Park

     One of the benefits of living in Westchester, New York is that we have easy access to the city, but we live far enough away to live a fairly normal suburban life. Last Saturday, instead of going to New York City we decided to drive up to Connecticut and see some of the country. The drive was beautiful: leaves of different colors falling all around us on winding roads and every few miles we’d pass another pumpkin patch. It definitely put us in the Halloween mood.

Jason doesn't get these colors in California

Covered bridge collage

Hart Bridge

     Our destination was the small town of Cornwall. What made this town significant from the others in the Northwestern corner of Connecticut was the Hart Bridge, which spans across the Housatonic River. Jason and I had never seen a covered bridge and it is something that is sure to become associated with Connecticut even though they do exist elsewhere. We had fun viewing the bridge from different perspectives, even risking the narrow walk through it to the other side searching for the best photo op. We also walked around the town, which had fun little shops and a farmer’s market.

1/4 mile alongside the waterfall

We hiked all 5 tiers

     We then drove to Kent Falls State Park and hiked alongside a five-tier waterfall. The end of the hike gave us a beautiful view of the valley and the actual beginning of the waterfall. We lingered a little longer and Jason tried to get as close to the edge as possible. Shocker! It was a very tranquil kind of day that Jason and I were able to spend some quality time away from the fast paced lifestyle we’ve been living in New York.

The one on the bottom right was my favorite tier

He just can't stand still

crossing the brooklyn bridge.

On the Brooklyn Bridge

      Life has been hectic around here and I thought I’d give you a quick update on what Jason and I have been up to in New York. I’ve been busy completing my student teaching for in a 4th grade classroom at Bronxville Elementary. The circumstances of actually getting my student teaching assignment were quite difficult and I thought that I might have to wait for the winter semester to completely finish school. I was very blessed to have the support of my church get me in contact with the right people that made it happen this semester. I absolutely adore these children and it makes me more excited for the prospect of having my own classroom someday. 

      Likewise, Jason has also been busy with his coursework at NYU. He takes the train to Grand Central Station and a 20-minute subway to the Woolworth Building, in downtown New York City, twice a week. He’s already made friends with some of his classmates and he’s taking advantage of all that NYU has to offer: getting involved as much as he can and applying for internships through the government for this coming summer. He’s excited to come home and share with me all the new things he’s learning in  international relations, but so much of it is way over my head. We’re just starting to get the hang of our new schedules and luckily, we have still been doing fun things on the weekends. 

Just starting our walk

       Last week, we went to Brooklyn for our first time. Instead of taking the subway there (once we were at Grand Central), Jason and I thought it would be fun to walk the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan. The bridge is about a 20-minute walk that is crowded by tourists, vendors, runners, and bikes. The views from the bridge are incredible and they’re constantly evolving with every step. The views include: the skyline with the Freedom Tower that is under construction, a squinting view of the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan Bridge, a distant view of the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building, and of piers and parks below at Brooklyn Park and DUMBO (down under the Brooklyn Bridge overpass)

Incredible views

      After our walk, we immediately went down Old Fulton Street to get some food at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria. There was a line of at least a hundred people out the door, but we took it as a good sign that their pizza was really good. An hour and a half later we were seated and the pizza tasted delicious. Grimaldi’s pizza is only found in Brooklyn because it uses a coal-fired brick oven, which is illegal in Manhattan. What made their pizza distinct was the crust, the mix of basil and tomato sauce, and the goat cheese. This pizza was worth the wait and we will definitely be back.

I can still taste the magnificence

      After lunch, we strolled on the pier and took in the views of the skyline and the East River. It was a beautiful day and Jason and I at least saw 10 different brides and grooms taking pictures. It still seems so surreal that we live in New York and we’re just a train ride away from the city. We were use to looking for adventure in a small town in Idaho, but here, adventure finds us and there’s no limit to the places to visit or experiences to be had.

No big deal, we walked across the BB