4th of July in Nauvoo

Just when I was getting in a good swing of blogging…I got out of it again. Ah well, here’s to trying again!

We spent the 4th of July in Nauvoo at Kevin’s grandparent’s house with them, his aunt, his parents and two of his siblings. It was so much fun! Kevin’s brother Chris recently returned from his mission to Brazil so it was the first time we had seen him in 2 years! We spent most of the weekend relaxing on his grandparents amazing patio, eating amazing food and just talking and catching up. We also did a session in the Nauvoo temple (it was the only temple in the country open on the 4th!) and took a carriage ride around Nauvoo. Aunt Ariane got to feel baby boy moving and hiccupping and thought that was pretty cool!

It was such a fun, relaxing weekend and it’s always such a treat to spend time with our family. Kevin and I are both blessed with amazing families and we feel so lucky!

New York 2015 Mon.

Our last real day in New York also happened to be my dad’s birthday! We finished off our New York trip by taking one of those bus tours around the city. It was super fun! We stopped at FAO Schwartz and had a blast checking out the big piano, getting our hair chalked and wishing we could buy all the expensive toys and baby things (or maybe that was just me…).

And then we spent some time in China town where we had some super yummy and expensive Chinese food and bought cheap souvenirs.

It poured rain on us the whole afternoon on the bus but honestly it was such a relief from the heat that we didn’t even care! We really just had a great time being together as a family. The trip was such a blast but I’m very home to be home!

New York 2015 Sat.-Sun.

My favorite days of our trip were definitely Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we got to do a session in the Manhattan temple (Janna did baptisms). It was so so great. It was a wonderful break from the hustle of the city, and it was extra special because Cammie just received her endowment so we were really excited to get to do a session together.

Even though the temple was very restful, I was pretty tired afterward so I rested at the hotel while the others checked out Grand Central Station and the New York public Library. I really do enjoy pregnancy for the most part, but it’s amazing to me how little energy I have sometimes!

Not pictured: on Saturday night we saw Lion King! Which was such a blast.

On Sunday we went to church at the Stake Center which shares the building with the temple. It was super nice to be in such a familiar environment! After church, Dad ate a really spicy hot dog and we all met up in Central Park for a little bit of relaxation.

27 week baby bump! I can’t believe how big my belly is getting. I think it’s the most adorable thing in the whole world.

After eating dinner at Johnny Rockets (a kind of family “tradition”/memory from several years ago on a cruise), I headed back to the hotel for some FaceTime with my hubby while the rest of the gang went to the Brooklyn Bridge.

It was definitely a great weekend!

New York 2015 Thurs.-Fri.

We started off the day on Thursday by going to the 9/11 Memorial. The two fountains where the World Trade Centers used to be are pretty amazing. Also, the selfie stick was our best friend the entire trip.

My prego belly made standing and walking for long stretches of time really hard. Thankfully a lot of people were willing to give up their seats on the subway when they saw my belly.

After the memorial we headed to Battery Park and caught the Staten Island Ferry so we could get a (free) good view of the Statue of Liberty.

We finished off our Thursday by seeing Mamma Mia which was SUPER fun! For the record, we got our Phantom and Mamma Mia tickets from the TKTS stand on Times Square the day of the performance which saved a lot of money.

Friday we started out by checking out the Highline park which is really cool but unfortunately my body was feeling very rebellious and wiped out. I ended up spending the rest of the day relaxing at the hotel (which was much needed!).

That night though we all felt good enough to head to the observation deck at the “Top of the Rock” which is essentially just like the top of the Empire State Building but better because you have a view of the Empire State Building to admire!