Two Years Ago...

These have been the best two years of my life. I am overwhelmed with love and gratitude for David and to know I have eternity with him. So much has happened in these two years of marriage; it's fun to reflect on the challenges we've met, the happiness we've shared, and the growth we've made as individuals and as a couple!

Life is so wonderful.

Just For Fun

Edy's ice cream brand (which is Dreyer's in the West) gave us something to smile about today. Their new flavor "Red, White & No More Blues!" is a yummy blend of strawberries and blueberries in vanilla ice cream and is meant to cheer us all through the recession. We found out that Edy's/Dreyer's also created the aptly named Rocky Road ice cream during the Great Depression "to give folks something to smile about." I definitely appreciate their effort to bring some fun to these more serious economic times plus the flavor is great to boot!

Summer Days and Nights

I am so enjoying not being a student or studying for the NCLEX anymore! Yesterday was just the best Saturday with no tests, papers, or clinical to worry about. I'm definitely going to get used to this!

In the morning Dave and I rode our bikes downtown to the farmer's market near Wooster Street, it was our first time to go and we discovered we've been missing out on a lot of fun there. There were tons of vendors with beautiful produce, baked goods, cheese, salsa, jam, and even delicious lemonade! You also could get soap, yarn, and even vegan ice cream there. We bought some yellow squash, zucchini, and blueberries. Tonight we had a yummy squash and zucchini saute with dinner and a blueberry milkshake for dessert!

In the evening we packed a picnic and had dinner near a river at Devil's Hopyard State Park in East Haddam.

We had Southwestern Chicken Wraps, Chex mix, and Birch Beer! Have you ever had Birch Beer? We love that stuff but think it is a pretty local thing. If you're ever in New England you need to try it!

We had rented Prince Caspian this week and thought it would be fun to read the whole Narnia series together. We started reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe together by the river there. So fun!

Afterwards, we went for ice cream before seeing Camelot at the Goodspeed Opera House. I loved Camelot, the performance was wonderful but the ending is really heartbreaking and made me cry.

Family Vacation

We've been spoiled with a visit from all of my family this last week and a half. We've done so much together and had so much fun! We started our vacation in Boston for the 4th of July. It was a gorgeous day!

The flag at the U.S.S Constitution and beautiful Boston in the background

Dave making his way down to the lower levels of the U.S.S. Constitution

With our nephew Drew

This is the view from where we watched fireworks over the Charles River. My nephew Connor said it was the "second best" fireworks show he had ever seen! I think it might have been the best he's ever seen or ever will see but he's entitled to his opinion! :)

Visiting the Boston temple after church on Sunday.

On Monday we had family pictures taken by the Old Manse and North Bridge at Minute Man National Park. I love this picture of Dave and our nephew Cade. All of our nephews just love their Uncle Dave!

Mark and Rachel's twin boys Russell and Ryan listening to the park ranger at Minute Man National Historical Park. This was our first time to meet them and we just fell in love, they are so adorable!

We then went for a walk around Walden Pond. I'm modeling a necklace that Connor made for me from a shell he found during a recent trip to the beach!

In deep thought at the site of Henry David Thoreau's cabin.

We went to a park at the Air Force Base near Concord (where Matt is a civilian employee) and had a delicious barbecue. All of the nephews loved playing together on the playground.

Carrie with the cute Mike Wazowski (from Monster's, Inc.) pinata that she and Charles made for the occasion...

...and Drew taking a whack at him with his bat. Everyone loved the pinata but especially when it broke and poured out tons of candy!

Dave and I headed back home to New Haven after the pinata activity Monday night. Dave had work teaching summer school Tuesday morning and I needed to prepare and rest up for the NCLEX (nursing boards) that I was scheduled to take on Wednesday! Thursday night my family picked me up and we drove down to New York for the remainder of our trip...

Friday we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I was enjoying myself but kept feeling sick to my stomach when I thought about the NCLEX. I wanted to know if I had passed or not and I knew that my results would be posted in a matter of hours.

Dave (who was still in New Haven for work) had been checking online all day for my results to be posted and they finally appeared around 4:00 PM...and I PASSED! Here's how we celebrated when we were reunited in NYC! I'm finally a REGISTERED NURSE! I was able to enjoy the rest of our evening in the city visiting the Plaza Hotel, FAO Schwartz, and Times Square.

Saturday we went to Ground Zero. The poster shows the pictures of all the firemen who lost their lives that day. We all felt a reverence as we visited the site.

We then went up to the observatory on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, it was awesome!

My dad went on his mission out here and this was his mission home, right across the street from Central Park on 5th Avenue! What a beautiful building and in an incredible location!

Dad, Trey, Spencer, and Connor on the front porch of the mission home. After visiting the mission home we walked through Central Park to the American Museum of Natural History. After a visit there we made our way back home to New Haven.

This pretty much sums up how we all were feeling after such a busy couple of days! It was so wonderful to be with everyone. I love my family so much!

Dinner and a Show

We spent a fun night in East Haddam last night. We started with a wonderful dinner at the Gelston House. Since we ate there last summer with my mom and dad I've been wanting to go back for more! It was definitely as good as I remembered it being and I just love the view from the dining room of the Connecticut River.

We then saw 42nd Street at the Goodspeed Opera House. It was such a fun show, I was smiling the entire time. The dancing was incredible and the whole performance was spectacular!

In the late-1800s, actors and guests arrived at this dock as they came by steamboat to the Goodspeed. We love the Connecticut River Valley, it is one of our favorite places to visit!