New Jersey

Where to begin. New Jersey was so much fun! We fit in a lot and loved it! I loved being with my Sister and her family. 

Avery and I went a few days before Ben. I was a little worried about the flight since Avery can't sit still through church, how would she do on a plane?! The first flight was a little over an hour and she did pretty well. We had a layover in Denver that was suppose to only be an hour, but got delayed...... She was pretty tired and fell asleep in her stroller for a little bit. Then she was able to walk around a little.

On the flight to New Jersey she only had one little melt down when she was tired and only lasted for about ten minutes then fell asleep for about an hour. When we landed there was another plane in our terminal so we had to wait for an hour! That was a pretty rough sitting on a hot humid plane with Avery wanting to move around. Then I got my luggage and found that it had gotten a huge tear on the front! I was pretty glad to get out of the airport and let the vacation begin!!

When I got to their house the kids were so excited to catch fireflies. It was fun to watch them. 

The next day Melanie and I took the kiddos to Bradley Beach. I was excited to take Avery. She loved it. She could probably play for hours in the sand. She had it all over her and didn't care. She didn't like the ocean though. I would try putting her down for a wave to get her and she would scream and arch her back. It was pretty funny.

Graham Cracker anyone?

On Friday their library was having a carnival with a petting zoo and Avery loved it. It was funny to watch her with some of the animals. When I put her next to the sheep she was patting it and the sheep would try to get away, but Avery would keep going after it. I tried putting her by a cow and she was not into it. Then she loved the llama.

On Saturday we went to one of the local farms and picked cherries. That was fun. Avery loved it and wanted to eat them all while picking. We came out of there with a lot more cherries than we thought we would, but we finished them off. Melanie made the yummiest cherry lime slush for dinner a couple of times, and they made a great snack as well.

That night Ben got in. Avery was pretty excited to see him.

Sunday morning Ben and Jake took Avery and Kate for a 10 mile bike ride around the Princeton Campus. Avery loved it and it put her to sleep after mile 8 :)

Here Ben is on Einstein Dr. Where Einstein studied at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Here is a little video of them on campus:

Just hanging around their house.
Avery loved hanging with her cousins!

Kate is so cute! She would say in her cute little voice "a curtsey" and do it. I loved it. She would also shake her head and go "aaaaah". She would also try to help carry Avery. It was cute. There was one day her and Avery were on a bed playing it was fun to watch them. Miss her and all the cute things she does!

On Monday Ben and I went to New York. Thanks Mel for watching Avery for us!

We took the train in to Penn Station and then from there took the subway. The subway was a little confusing for us. Let's just say it was a fun adventure :)

We first went to the Museum of Natural History. When we got there Ben was talking to the security guard and saying we weren't going to be there very long. So they told us to go to will call and just donate some money to get in. So we donated $10 and got in. That saved us about $30.

 My favorite part was looking at all the dinosaur bones. It is amazing how big they were. It was crazy to see some of the water ones too.

It blows my mind that these creatures once roamed the earth. Uh oh, is that water in my glass I see shaking...

Looking through the Mexico area:

Ancient Olmec Head and Mayan Calendar

Next we headed over to Times Square. 

It was a little rainy, but not bad at all. It was nice to not have the sun on us.

We first got some lunch at Steak 'n' Shake then headed over to the Gershwin Theater to put our names in for the Wicked lottery. We had a half hour until they would pick the winners, so we walked around Times Square.

Then we went back to the theater. There were over 100 people there and I was not feeling very lucky. Online it said they give out about 26 front row tickets each show. The guy went inside and drew the names. He came out and started calling names. The third name he called "Ben Trujillo". Ben yells "That's what I'm talking about" and everyone laughs. I couldn't believe we won front row tickets for $30 each to a Broadway. I was excited!

Sitting front row was awesome. We were right behind the Orchestra. It was cool to peek in on them. During the show it was fun to be so close to see their facial expressions. The cast did an amazing job! I love Wicked.

Tuesday we went to their pool and just had a relaxing day. 

Avery finally started to enjoy the pool! She loved splashing, swimming, and getting tossed.

Some fun videos at the pool using Ben's GoPro:
The second video includes a pretty good belly/face flop by Avers.

Wednesday since we were going to be gone all day for the 4th we decided to do a BBQ and have some cotton candy for dessert. The cotton candy machine said you could use hard candy to make it, so we tried some blue and red jolly ranchers Melanie bought. The flavor was so strong! Ben liked it, but I like traditional cotton candy. Avery of course loved it :) Melanie also made a blueberry crisp that was amazing! It is now one of my favorite desserts!

The 4th of July!

Getting ready to head out:

We drove to Hoboken New "Josey" to get parking for fireworks that night, then took a train over to New York.

 First Ben, Avery and I got reservations to go in to see the World Trade Center Memorial. Luckily we did that because there was a huge line to get in and we were able to pass that all up. The memorial is so pretty. My heart goes to all those whose family and friends were involved. It still blows my mind that it happened.

The new World Trade Center is so tall! It is about double the size of all the other tall buildings.

After we met up with the Herway's at a Splash Park and saw where they use to live. It looked like a fun place to live with lots for the kids to do.

Avery enjoying a little snack:

 

Then we went to Shake Shack. I was excited. The food was yummy. The shake was the best part. For Holidays they do a special concrete and do it for that one day only. I am glad we were there for the 4th. They had a blueberry pie concrete and it was delicious, but Melanie's blueberry crisp still beats it :)

We then took the Staten Island Ferry to pass the Statue of Liberty.

Avery was worn out and took a nap most of the time on the ferry.

After we headed back over to Hoboken. That is where Carlo's bakery from Cake Boss is. I had to go! Sadly it looked like they had just barely closed. Workers were still inside cleaning up. It was still fun to see it and the amazing cakes in the windows.

We then headed to get a spot to watch the fireworks. 

Avery is now loving to climb. She was pretty proud of herself getting up in the chair. She is growing up too fast!

The backdrop of the New York City skyline was amazing.

Ben and Jake went and got some groceries for dinner and we just hung out waiting for the fireworks. While waiting I also painted Rachel's nails and then she painted Melanie's. I wish I got a picture.

The fireworks were amazing! It was even better having the skyline behind it. They had the Empire State Building all lit up Red, White, and Blue. I wondered how Avery was going to do with it being super late and loud, but she loved it. She would watch then would get sleepy and cuddle in to my arms, but then would hear another loud firework and jump up and would watch again. She did that a few times. I loved it, she is so cute!

Friday we went to Spring Lake Beach. It was beautiful and a great day. The only downer was the water was freezing.

 Avery enjoyed being in the sand again.

Ben found a spot with shallow water. Avery liked walking in it until a wave would get her. She also found a seashell and loved holding it.

Tommy and Rachel having some fun on their new boogie boards.

Kate loving the sand as well.

Avery helping cover Rachie.

We had a great time at the beach! I wish we lived closer to one.

On the way home we dropped off Ben and Jake at the train station. They headed to a Yankee Game against the Orioles. They had a good time and the Yankees won.

After they stopped by the New York Temple.

Saturday we had another pool day. It is so fun now that Avery loves it.

That night we did cotton candy again with Sugar. Yummy!

First one looked like a giant Q-tip.

Avery loved it...

...until daddy took it away :(

We also played some badminton.

Then caught some fireflies when they came out. It was Kate's first time! It was a lot of fun to watch her chase after them. Miss that girl!

Sunday we went to church and relaxed.

Ben fried up some doughnuts with the kiddos.

Love those three!

And we all enjoyed them!

Monday we went to the canal that goes behind their house and rented canoes. It was fun and Avery enjoyed it. There were some geese that she loved seeing and we also spotted some turtles. It was fun to watch the little baby turtles jump in and swim when we got too close.

The kids used lily pads as hats.

That night we went to Panera for dinner. One of my favorites! Then headed next door to Chuck E Cheese. It was fun to watch the kids play some of the games and get their tickets.

I can't figure out how to turn the video, but I thought it was too cute to not put on:

Avery loved the little merry-go-round. She would just sit there and didn't even try to get off. She could have probably sat there the whole time we were there. Love her!

Playing some games:

When we got there we each got a little card to peel off a tab to see what we won. Most of us got free tickets. There was one that said ticket blaster. They allow two kids to go in, so Rachel and Tommy went in and they had a blast. It was fun to see them trying to catch all the tickets in the air.

Tuesday was our travel back home. The first flight to Denver went well. Avery slept for a good part of it. The layover was about three hours so we let Avery push the stroller to our next terminal. She did great and loved walking around and enjoyed some ice cream. The flight back to Utah was great. Right as we took off Avery fell asleep and slept for pretty much the whole thing. She didn't make a fuss. Then when we went to baggage claim Ben's luggage was missing as well as Avery's car seat. I wasn't to happy with having bad luck both ways with luggage. Luckily they got it and brought it to our house the next day.

When we got home we tried putting Avery down. She was acting pretty tired, but was screaming. Usually she will fall asleep after a few minutes, but didn't. Ben and I then heard a thud. We looked at each other then rushed to her room. We open the door and there she was crawling to the door. We were in complete shock! We couldn't believe she got out. We have quite the climber!

Well even for being gone for two weeks the trip went way too fast!  I am missing my sister and her family, and wishing I was still there hanging out with them. Avery sure misses the kids and hanging out with them. It is pretty quiet around her with just me and her during the day.

Thanks again Melanie and Jake for letting us stay with you for two weeks! We had a blast and hope it is not too long until we can come visit you again!