The Babymoon

This past weekend Michael and our took our last trip together as a couple with no kids, aka the "Babymoon." I can't believe that in just under 2 months our little guy will be joining us! We really are so excited to be parents, but we both agreed it would be a great idea to take one last trip together, just the two of us. This trip is something we've been wanting to do for awhile. We left Friday morning and drove to Gettysburg, PA.

Michael and I in front of the Gettysburg National Military Museum (me looking rather pregnant!)

Michael loves U.S. History, so naturally he was super excited to be at Gettysburg

Michael and an original canon

View from Little Round Top 

Michael standing in the middle of "Devil's Den"

 We toured the battlefield all day. (I had no idea that it was so huge, 25 square miles!) It was intensely sobering seeing the actual battlefields where so many soldiers lost their lives in the Civil War. The land has been beautifully preserved, and it was sometimes hard to picture the lay of the land with bodies strewn in every direction. Despite the events that occurred there, it felt quite peaceful. In the museum we read some personal accounts, one account in particular that really drove home the often quoted adage, "Brother fighting against Brother, and Father fighting against Son" told of a woman's Father who was a General in the Union Army, while her husband was a General in the Confederate Army. I can't even imagine what kind of personal turmoil she must have felt during the war, being completely torn in two, hoping on one hand the Confederates would win, and on the other that the Union would win. I'm sure she must have gotten to the point where she just wanted her family to be safe, regardless of the outcome of the war. It made me so grateful to live in a time when our country stands united, and my Father is not fighting against my husband. It also made me grateful to all of the people who sacrificed their lives, so that we can live in a free nation, and to those who are still making those sacrifices now.

The sunset at Gettysburg

After touring the battlefield all afternoon we went to dinner at The Springhouse Tavern. It's a building that stands very close to the battlefield, and was built in 1776. We ate by candlelight! The food was delicious, and we had a great experience dining in one of the oldest buildings still standing in Gettysburg. Oh if only walls could talk, the stories that tavern would tell!

 After dinner it was really late, so we drove to the Inn where we were staying for the weekend. It was a B&B called The Inn at Westwynd Farms, located just outside of Hershey, PA. It was absolutely gorgeous, and it was so refreshing to see trees, grass, horses etc after being in the city so long! It was really late when we arrived so we had no time to explore the farm etc, we literally were exhausted and went straight to bed.

Saturday dawned bright and early and Michael was SO excited because the Inn served  French Toast for breakfast, which is his absolute favorite. And it was delicious, as they made it with real French bread. After breakfast we drove into Hershey and went to Hershey's Chocolate World.

Welcome to Hershey's Chocolate World!

The whole small town of Hershey smells SO good! Definitely the perfect getaway for a chocolate lover like myself :) While at Chocolate world we took a little "ride" that explains how chocolate is made, I had no idea how labor intensive and what a process it really is! After the ride we went on a Trolley Ride around Hershey to learn the history of the town, which is technically not even called Hershey, it's called Derry Township.

We learned about Milton S. Hershey, the founder of the Hershey Chocolate Company. He was an incredible man. He failed dozens of times trying to establish a candy company, originally with taffy and caramels until he discovered chocolate and succeeded in building an empire. I was mostly amazed by Milton Hershey's philanthropic pursuits. He started an orphan boys' school, built houses for all of his factory workers and had them pay $1 for them. He believed everybody had a right to own their own home. And he was especially kind-hearted when it came to his wife, Catherine, or "Kitty" as he affectionately called her. After they moved into their newly constructed mansion (which cost him roughly $53,000)  Kitty mentioned that she wanted a garden. He then spent approximately $40,000 building her an exquisite rose garden complete with paths, waterways, trees and many other types of flowers. The garden was in their front yard, and they wanted everyone to be able to enjoy it, so it became a family park of sorts for the community. He and Kitty were never able to have children, so they created the "Hershey Trust" which still cares for the under-privileged children that attend their school. I was so impressed by this man and all of the wonderful things he did, and the legacy he has left behind.

The Hershey Kiss lamps on Chocolate Avenue

After our Trolley Tour of Hershey we drove to Lancaster, PA aka Amish country! We started out taking a "Buggy" ride and I was impressed with how smooth the ride was, even on dirt roads! We learned quite a bit about the Amish or "Plain" people as they prefer to be called. I think there is a lot we can learn from them and apply to ourselves, such as adhering more fully to the belief, "Be in the world, but not of the world."

The Amish Buggy

After our buggy ride we explored a farmer's market, where we tried the most delicious breads and apple cider. Yum! At the farmer's market I was walking around looking at all of the crafts and food made by the Amish. I looked around and I couldn't find Michael. I finally found him, in front of a man selling baseball cards. Some things never change...

Michael and the baseball cards

That afternoon we were driving around (somewhat lost....so I'm not very good with directions) and we came upon the Strasburg Railroad. Michael got so excited and kept saying, "This is where I used to come as a kid!!" Unfortunately we got there after everything had closed up for the night, but we were still able to walk around and look at the old train cars. Michael remembers many times going there with his dad as a kid, he loved looking at the trains and riding the "kiddie" train. He got so excited at the prospect of someday taking our little guy to see the trains cars and to take a ride on the "kiddie" train. Sidenote, it makes me so happy to see how excited Michael is to be a dad. He can't wait for baby to make his appearance. And he's going to be such a great dad too! I can just tell :)

Old Pennsylvania Railroad car on display at Strasburg Railroad

After our little mishap with directions (hehe) we eventually found our way to where we were having dinner, "Miller's" an authentic Amish Smorgasbord. Basically it was a fancy way of saying "expensive buffet" but the food was pretty good. We drove back to the Inn after dinner and I fell asleep while Michael had to send some emails...what can I say, I'm tired ALL the time.

Sunday morning we slept in (which was SO nice, because we literally never sleep in). We started for home and stopped at a church in Allentown to attend Sacrament Meeting. It was a great meeting.

We had a fantastic vacation. It was so fun to be able spend that much time together, just the two of us, it'll be awhile before that happens again! We're so excited for Baby to join us in June!

When I'm here...I'm home

We've been living in New York City for about a year and 1/2 now. And let me just tell you, I seriously love living here. I love the neighborhood we live in with the countless row-homes, family friendly vibe, great restaurants, people honking at all hours of the night, beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline, motorcycles that drag race right outside our house at 3AM, corner bodegas where you can buy a $5 gallon of milk-and pretty much anything else your heart desires, these same bodegas sporting names like "Exective Deli", yes you read that right not "Executive", but "Exective", oh and my very favorite two restuarant signs, "Meal is Deal" (who knows what kind of food exists in that place) and "New Chinese Good One" - things like this just make me smile. I love the pace of the city, there's always something going on, so if you're bored, or hungry, it's your own fault. I love how each neighborhood is so different, you can walk 3 blocks and suddenly everything that used to be in Chinese, is now written in Italian, or Greek, or Spanish. And I especially love the many, many, many old Greek people in Astoria, one whom we know named Hercules, I'm not kidding. (Side-note-Michael really wants to name baby Hercules, I told him no-haha) I love taking the train, and seeing so many different kinds of people crowded together in one place. And oh my goodness I love love LOVE the food in New York, regardless of what you're in the mood for you can find it, and it's always delicious--ok maybe not always, but generally. :) I LOVE the museums, theaters, broadway, shopping, Central Park, really the list could go on forever. I even love the crazy drivers and the traffic.

 What I love most though, is that when I'm here, I feel like I'm home. It's a great feeling when you finally start feeling at home in a new place. I think the biggest reason for this feeling comes from the fact that we have met so many wonderful people, and we've made so many great friends. It's been an incredible place for Michael and I to "grow up" and more importantly grow together. And I tend to agree with Dorothy,

 "There's no place like home."

Spring in the Air

And the flowers are blooming in NYC. It was gorgeous weather in the city today! 

Coming Soon...

       Newsies on Broadway!

Newsies will only be on Broadway for 12 short weeks beginning March 16, so excited to see the show! Just got our tickets for April!

Sprinkles

It's GORGEOUS weather in NYC today. High of 75! :) Some friends and I ventured into the city for a sweet cupcake adventure. I've tried many cupcakes in the city including the famous Crumbs and Magnolia bakeries. Today I was introduced to Sprinkles Cupcakes and, dare I say it, I've found a new favorite! Not too sweet, just the right size and the perfect frosting to cupcake ratio. 

I had the red velvet cupcake and it was not only beautiful, as you can see by the pictures, it was delicious! I love living in NYC, so many fun things to see, and especially EAT! 

Texas

Michael and I just returned from a great vacation to Texas to see his family. We had a GREAT time! We went to Brazos Bend State Park where we saw alligators up close and personal...some of them made me rather nervous!! I'm sure you'll see why...

These gators were literally no more than 8 feet from us, just sunbathing...with their mouths open. Needless to say I was scared! But luckily the gators didn't suddenly decide they were hungry, so we were safe :) 

Michael decided he needed to be King of the stump haha

Later in the week we were able to go to the Houston Rodeo, it was so fun!

Me with my great cowboy hat! I felt like such a cowgirl :)

A REAL Texas Longhorn!! He was HUGE!!!

And of course we had to get something for baby :) I loved this onesie!

And just in case you were wondering...I'm definitely pregnant, as you can see....

Thanks to the Alemany's for a great time in Texas and as always I wish I took more pictures! 

A Look at our Apartment :)

Some of you have been asking about where we live in New York. Here's a short tour of our apartment in Queens :) Enjoy!