picnic

This Mother’s day, I was given some truly amazing gifts– including a Universal Remote (Hallelujah!!), some good ol’ fashion catholic guilt  (My girl is serious about her religion. Love.) and the 50mm fixed lens I’ve been pining for.

Unfortunately, the spring flu (Which, by the way I can’t believe is even a “thing”. Crazy weather!)  took my own mother hostage this weekend, so we did not get to see her- but the weather here was particularly beautiful, so we headed to Liberty State Park here in New Jersey for a family picnic and fresh air. I also got to test out my new lens a little bit– so this one is photo HEAVY, you guys.

I noticed that both of my kids mentioned in their Mother’s Day school projects that their Mom loved to work. My son mentioned that one of his classmates wrote the same, which on one hand is great that kids know that they can do something they love, but it also made me stop and realize that I need to manage my time better. Balance is always a struggle – mostly because it doesn’t exist. I am not perfect, but I don’t want them to remember me as working on the computer all the time. There are certainly many other things I love to do– things that I can be doing with them– and I need to get back to that a bit more. So unplugging a bit and spending time with them outside is exactly what we all needed.

The day before Mother’s day, an old friend of mine had posted on Facebook reminding us Mama’s to get IN FRONT of the camera. I’ve written about this before, but still need the occasional reminder. As much as we love to take million pictures in an attempt to bottle up some of these fleeting moments, when our babies are babies, when our kids are older, they will want to look back and see US with them.

So a few times I did hand off the camera.

An Afternoon At Liberty State Park

If you are unfamiliar with this gorgeous park, Liberty State Park  is located in Jersey City, New Jersey, directly opposite Lady Liberty, Ellis Island and has breathtaking cityscape views off the bay. From the park, you can take a ferry ride over to New York or just sit back and take in the views– which is what we did.  

If you are visiting New York or seeking a truly great picture with the New York City skyline, or with Lady Liberty in the background, the view from Liberty State Park is like no other. I highly recommend making the trip!

Liberty State Park has one of the most amazing views of the Freedom Tower I’ve ever seen and is home to a gorgeous 9-11 memorial, named Empty Sky. The memorial is made up of 2 parallel walls engraved with the names of the victims. The walls narrow at the bay area right where the Twin Towers once stood amongst the skyline. As we walked and scooted around, we stopped by the memorial and took a moment to remember the Moms and children that were being missed that day.

There is a playground for the little ones and out side of the transportation center there is a set of old retired trains that Ry was fascinated by. Lately, he is all basketball all the time – so it was refreshing to see him exploring something new.

It was such a gorgeous and peaceful afternoon. I could have stayed for hours, but eventually the kids were getting tired and hungry.

We headed back home for some dinner and marshmallow roasting.

Simple. Pure. Joy.

It’s time to unplug and bask in it a bit more.