Keep Smiling: Spring Break & Easter

I headed back home to NY for my spring break. I hadn't been home since Christmas and figured it'd be the last time I'd be home before our big move to Hawaii.

Anticipating our move in early June, I planned to spend as much time with family and friends as possible throughout the week. Unfortunately, Dan didn't have as much time off as I did, so he and Sydney stayed in Erie. It was a different visit home for several reasons. For the first time, I was the only "kid" staying at the house with my parents. My sister, who was also on spring break, took a road trip to Tennessee with some friends for the week. And my brother still lives in NY, but he lives with our cousin Jeremy. It was bittersweet at times, but I am so thankful for the quality time I got to spend with loved ones.

One of the first stops of the week was to Jumpin' Jacks, a favorite outdoor summer spot. It had recently opened for the season, and although it was a chilly afternoon, the clam fry was worth it...Jon was able to meet us on his lunch break from work, too.

After lunch, Jon headed back to work and we stopped by my grandparents' house. Yiayia enjoyed seeing pictures from my phone, and Papou had some words of wisdom to share.

On Tuesday, Mom and I had hair appointments at Namia Dasa. For the 2.5 years I lived in Erie, I never found a hair salon. I love my salon in NY, so I would just plan to get my hair cut when I'd visit home. I haven't decided what I'm going to do for the year in Hawaii yet...

A huge highlight of the trip home was meeting these little beauties for the FIRST TIME! If you don't know Cair and Jordan's story already, please take the time to read it here. Their beautiful twins, Eden and Henley, were born in December (2 months before their due date). God was so faithful in sparing the lives of these little miracles throughout a very complicated pregnancy. I was so excited to see them in person, meet them, and hold them. I spent the good part of the day with Cair, just hanging out with her and the girls. My cousin Steph stopped by, too!

Later in the week, we took a trip to NYC to visit more family and friends. Aunt Jackie (my mom's good friend from college), Uncle Nicky (my dad's good friend from high-school), and their daughter Natalie live in Long Island, and they planned to meet us in Manhattan for the day. We traveled on Good Friday and met them at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Of course, we had to get a hot dog from the street on our way.

We did a little shopping until we met Uncle James (my dad's brother) for lunch. He had taken some time off work to spend the rest of the afternoon with us.

The details of the day are a little blurry now, but basically we were meeting at a place for lunch that had two locations in town (although we did not know this at the time). Uncle James planned to get out of work and meet us at the location closer to where we already were in town. He mentioned the address to my dad, but dad wanted me to double-check the address on my phone. One restaurant location was newer, so when I looked up the address, only one of them came up. My uncle called saying he was almost at the restaurant. We were running late, and realized we had to go all the way downtown. Uncle Nicky decided to drive us in his car so we didn't have to split up in cabs. So...7 adults fit in a 5-passanger vehicle. Natalie and I sat in the trunk and thought we were going to die several times. It takes a very special and skilled driver to navigate through the streets of Manhattan.

We made it to the place in less than 20 minutes...super impressive considering where we had to be. We got to the restaurant and looked all around, but Uncle James was nowhere to be found. Yep...come to find out, he was at the other location! He graciously took a cab back down to where he had come from, since it'd be easier to transport one of him instead of 7 adults again. It was frustrating in the moment, but hysterical to talk about after. You can imagine how the discussion went:

To add to the transportation/lunch mishap, Kate was on her way, too. She decided she wanted to come home for Easter, so she flew from Tennessee to NYC to meet us.

We filled her in on the story. We were so relieved once we were all together! It was a very fun lunch.

Aunt Jackie, Uncle Nicky, and Natalie gave us a sweet card and gift for our upcoming move. It was incredibly thoughtful.

After lunch, we enjoyed walking around the less-touristy parts of town and checking out cool shops.

We walked around until dinner, where we met up with Aunt Lianne, cousin Meg, and her boyfriend Craig. The food and company were fabulous.

Saturday morning, just the 5 of us walked around town a bit before heading to Aunt Lianne and Uncle James' house in Jersey City.

Uncle James and Aunt Lianne have the best house. I love their style and the view from their terrace is breath-taking. We enjoyed a wonderful Cospito BBQ that afternoon.

Gonzo

Trixxie

Back home in Glenville, Mom and I were up late dying Easter eggs for Easter. Mom also bought pounds of candy...pounds...and I filled Easter eggs with every last piece of candy for our annual Easter egg hunt.

Note: My sister is the youngest child in our family. She's 20. All the "kids" still do the Easter egg hunt. I love how my mom loves tradition.