weekend away

We r-u-n-n-o-f-t to New Jersey on Friday for a much needed getaway from the city. Uncle Joel and Aunt Colleen were as hospitable as ever, and we had a lot of fun spending the weekend with them. Our time there was filled with activity, but we found plenty of time to relax as well.

On Friday evening we hired the help of a local babysitter to watch the boys while the four adults headed to the Papermill Playhouse to see the new stage version of Newsies. While the show was a lot of fun, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed, it just didn't compare to the awesomeness of the movie. The actors didn't dance together as fluidly as they could have, Davey's character was a little weird, and the story felt too rushed in the second act. Also, there wasn't nearly enough of Spot Conlon and his Brooklyn gang. But I loved their rendition of "King of New York," and the girl who played Katharine (whose character was the result of a combining of Denton the reporter and Sarah the love interest from the film), as well as the songs she sang, were great. Overall it was a really fun evening.


The first part of Saturday was spent helping Joel and Colleen with a bit of yard work. The boys were particularly helpful in gathering rocks and sticks. They even took on a few extra, self-appointed tasks: Caleb worked to fill the wheelbarrow with whatever he could get in there, and Garrett collected bits of brick.


After finishing in the yard, we headed over to Ochs Orchard in Warwick, NY to go apple picking. We went there last year with Colleen and had such a good time we wanted to do it again. It was a beautiful, albeit very windy day, and so lovely up on that hillside orchard. Garrett and Caleb had a blast picking red, ripe Cortland apples from the heavy, lower branches; it only took us about 10 minutes to fill up our bag.



And then of course we had to try them. They were perfectly crisp and absolutely delicious -- just ask Caleb. The apple cider and cider donuts that accompanied them certainly hit the spot.


Two more stops before we headed back to the homestead: the petting zoo and wooden train at a neighboring orchard, as well as a charming little quilt store (where I picked up more fabric scraps for the crazy quilt I'm still working on).


We both arranged our Sunday schedules so that we could attend church in New Jersey, and that was nice. It was nice getting to sit with Blake during Sacrament Meeting, and it was nice not having to rush back to Brooklyn like we usually do. The only downside to the weekend was that I came down with a cough and felt kind of yucky, but that is easy enough to overlook in comparison to the fun we had. It was hard, as it usually is, to get back on that bus en route to the city to head back home. It's a good thing we can always go back.