Princeton University Art Museum

Jordan heard me talking about taking Jaron to the farm last week while she was at school, so she decided she wanted to go too. Unfortunately, since it is the dead of winter and no living being can stay out in the harsh wind chills for very long, the farm is a little limited on the activities right now. I lucked out finding a read and explore group during the day for Jaron, but there was nothing for the weekends. So I promised her I would find us something fun to do, even if it wasn't the farm. So as you can see from the title of this post, we went to the Princeton Art Museum. We live 5 minutes from the Princeton University campus. That's right, the Ivy League school. The township of Princeton is home to several Nobel Peace Prize winners. It is a really cool little place. The streets around the university are lined with stores, restaurants and coffee shops. It's a very unique place to go. Princeton University was chartered in 1746!!! Before the Declaration of Independence was even signed! It is the fourth-oldest college in the United States. We had fun...the museum was just right for little feet to walk through. Jordan enjoyed the statues and Jaron didn't like any of it because there were no superheros. And that's exactly what he said when I asked him if he had fun! There are no pictures of the artwork, photography was prohibited of course. But we saw works by Monet, Degas, Manet and Picasso. It was very enjoyable, and the best part is that the admission is free to the public! Cha-ching!!!








All of the previous pictures were taken on our way back to the car, as our teeth were chattering and we were running to keep warm. So I have no idea what any of these buildings are! They are just really, really old and beautiful!!!!



Here are a couple of pictures of my recent craftiness. I made these pictures for Jaden and Claire to hang in their new bedrooms. I can't wait to see those little boogers and give them a huge hug and kiss!!!!!!!!!

Ode to "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats

"One winter morning Peter woke up and looked out the window. Snow had fallen during the night. It covered everything as far as he could see."
Ezra Jack Keats

Did you know Ezra Jack Keats was instrumental in introducing multiculturalism into mainstream American children's literature? Did you also know he was one of the first authors of children's books in America to use an urban setting in his stories? And he was born to Polish/Jewish parents. (Thank you, Wikipedia.) If I haven't already mentioned it before, this is one of my favorite children's books. It is one I remember vividly from my childhood, and I thoroughly enjoy passing it on to my children. I think, like most children, I love the illustrations most. That is why it won the Caldecott Medal. After four decades children still love the story of Peter!!! If you have children in any capacity, please read them this story. You can tell them it is from me :)

So on to the real reason for this post........it has been really, really cold here in Jersey. The wind chills have been down in the single digits some. But we have also had some sunny days, even though it doesn't warm up enough to melt the layer of snow on the ground. We haven't had alot of snow, but we have had enough to play in, so that's just what the kids and I did the other day, right out our back door.





Jordan's snow angel.
Jaron's snow angel.

Riding down the slope in our Tonka truck.........

Jaron only wanted to push it down............


Jaron just gave Jordan a little push, even though she told him 10 times she could do it herself!!!!

TGI a Long Weekend

Here's a little update from last Friday's post:

1. The sun did not shine last weekend. It was extremely cold AND it snowed. The average temp this week hasn't gotten out of the 20s, and the wind chills are even worse. This morning it was 2 below zero, and it is supposed to get worse over the weekend. So no playing outside, I guess!

2. My new recipes worked pretty well. The red beans and rice was good, it used brown rice. Not too bad. The pasta e fagioli soup was alright. It called for pancetta which is like bacon, just not smoked. I couldn't find any, so I substituted turkey bacon. Bad choice! The soup was good as long as I didn't eat the pieces of bacon. Just so you will know, Jennie O turkey bacon is absolutley disgusting in or out of soup!

3. I have been very crafty lately. Chris says I am going Martha Stewart on him. I made Jaden and Claire some sweet little pictures for their new rooms. Jordan and I are working on a Valentine's garland. Pics will be posted later.

4. Jaron was upset about something today (who knows what) and he was crying hysterically. He still took the time to nudge the mouse and make the screen saver go off!!!!!!!!!

5. Since Jordy is taking piano lessons from your truly, I have been trying to sightread more music for my own personal practice. I sat down this afternoon to play through a couple of songs and was teasing Chris that he never wants to hear me play. Jordan said, "Yes he does, Mommy. And he likes your meals!" Ha, ha, ha!

6. Chris and I had a little date today. Jaron went to none other than Emily's apartment, so Chris and I ran to the Olive Garden to eat. We even had time to take a little nap afterwards :)

7. There was a new episode of The Office on last night. HILARIOUS!!! We will have to watch it again because it was so, so, so funny. Michael, Dwight, Jim and Andy are just the funniest characters we have ever seen on TV.

8. I am considering reading the Twilight series.

9. There is yucky salt residue all over our car from the roads this week. And I filled up our tank for $15 the other day! It wasn't completely empty, but a few months ago that would have been like 30 bucks worth of gas.

10. Jordan doesn't have to go to school on Monday because of Martin King Stewart day!

Overdue Christmas Videos

I know, I know. Christmas was like a month ago, and I am just now posting these videos. Welcome to my world of things always being overdue. I have $4 in fines at the library just for late movies, the dishes in the sink are always overdue a good washing, we can't seem to get out the door in the mornings when we should.......and these videos are late. I am sure I am the only who has noticed or even cares!!!! Ha, ha :) The first video was taken the night that I got to have all the kids at our apartment by myself. Nana, Papa, Uncle B and Aunt K had some last minute shopping to do (extra luggage and security at the airport don't mix). So I got to play with all the kids!! They are playing with Jaron's Little People garage. I just love the Little People toys. They are soooo cute! And so are these cousins :)





This next video is from Christmas morning. Wow! Toys galore!!!

TGIF!!

Who else is so glad that it is Friday?! I know Jordan's teacher, Miss Estremera is. She and the class do a "Friday Dance" every week :) I am glad too because it's Girls Night for me and Jordy, and I don't have to get up to get out to the bus stop tomorrow. We have had a little trouble getting out of the house in the morning this week :( Anyway, here's some things on my/our minds.

~1. I hope it is sunny tomorrow so we can go to the park or something.

~2. The kids and I are going to take ice skating lessons in February! YIPEEEE!!!!!!!

~3. I really like the books I have been reading...Two From Galilee, Three From Galilee and I just started the last book in the trilogy, The Messiah. They are novels based on the lives of Mary, Joseph and Jesus...very, very good.

~4. I am glad Chris and Jaron have Daddy's Day, the male equivalent of Girl's Night.

~5. The kids and I love going to Michael's.

~6. Chris and I love it when Jaron nudges the mouse to get the screen saver OFF the computer screen. He checks it regularly!!

~7. Chris sprinted to the bus stop yesterday afternoon to pick up Jordan.

~8. I am going to try two new recipes this week.

~9. Our sister-in-law Kelly is right.......New Jersey bagels ROCK!! And so does New Jersey pizza.

~10. Just in case you didn't know, Jordan knows everything. She will ask a question, and when we give her the answer she always responds with, "I know." We love it!!!!!!!!

What's been on your mind lately?

A Jersey Christmas.......2008!

I am sure that many of you out there in blogging land have had a busy couple or few weeks, just as we have. Not only we were all a little under the weather, but we had many other activities to enjoy that kept us super busy. However, even though we were busy, Chris and I were actually able to have our Christmas shopping done a week before Christmas. That's unprecedented, people!! We are usually out on Christmas Eve with all the crazies!!!! So here's just a sampling of the wonderful holiday season we got to share with friends and family.

JORDAN'S CHRISTMAS PARTY
DUTCH NECK SCHOOL

I love going to Jordan's classroom. I loved it last year too. Her class this year is a walk in the park compared to last year's class. Boy, they were rowdy!!!! Miss Estremera changes their seats quite a bit. I think this is the third time they have all changed to a new place. Jordan likes sitting next to this little boy, Brian. I have to say, he seems to be quite a card! Notice in this picture he is using his hot chocolate cup as an arm rest :) He cracked us all up when Miss Estremera was opening her gift from the class. As she opened the card, a check for over $100 feel out onto the floor. He picked it up and waved it over his head like he wasn't going to give it back. Then when one of the room moms said this was Miss Estremera's gift for being such a good teacher, Brian said, "You're a teacher? I thought you were a student." And last but certainly not least, as she took out her jewelry set, he said, "You can wear that to the prom, like in that picture." He was referring to a picture on her desk, which really doesn't look like it was that long ago!! (She is a first year teacher.) Anyway, he gave us a good laugh!!!

Just a little scan of Jordan's classroom.........

GRANDAD AND DEE DEE'S PACKAGES

I just had to post this picture because it really made me laugh. Grandad and Dee Dee sent us 3 packages of cool stuff for Christmas. The kids and I opened them on the webcam so GD and DD could see. This was what was left!!!!!!!

And Jaron's little life wouldn't be complete without Emily. She invited him to her pre-school Christmas program. They are hilarious!!!!!

CHRISTMAS WITH ALL THE BOHANNONS!!!!!!!!!!!

The Brandon Bohannons and the Steve Bohannons (aka Uncle B and Aunt K, and Nana and Papa) all arrived semi-safely last Monday around 5:00. I say semi-safely because Nana and Papa had trouble finding the New Jersey Turnpike from the Newark airport.....only the most used and signed highway in New Jersey, maybe even the tri-state area!!!! It was soooo nice to see everyone, including our precious little nephews, Keats and Kemper. It had been a year since we had seen them! Way, way, way, way too long!!! We had a great time making up for lost time........

18 month old Kemper is finger painting with cheese at Cheeburger Cheeburger.
Look at all those silly little cousins!!!
Jordan was such a good helper with Kemper. In fact, he warmed up to her first. They played peek-a-boo for the longest time.
Jaron and his Papa all snuggled up. Jaron fell asleep like this. He still went to the hotel with Nana and Papa to spend the night with them.
I cannot begin to tell you how quirky these little boogers are! This was our Christmas Eve meal. Notice Jordan is wearing a Halloween shirt...it has a pumpkin on it! And Keats and Jaron were pretty inseparable the whole time. They had some serious superhero business to do. Tuesday night they spent the majority of the evening dressed up as Superman and Batman. Capes, masks and all. At one point Jaron (who was Batman) got reprimanded for something and Keats said, "Bad choice Batman." Oh my goodness!!! They were so funny!
Christmas morning began with more quirkiness. Jordan crawled in bed with us around 7:30, then around 9:00 Chris and I were surprised Jaron hadn't come in our room yet. Just then we heard a big rip from the living room. Jaron was tearing into his presents, whether we were there or not! Santa brought them each three gifts, just like when the wise men visted Baby Jesus and brought him three gifts. (We stole that idea from Uncle B and Aunt K.) Santa also left a note and wanted us to read that story from the Bible. I guess Jordan and Jaron felt like since they had heard the story before, they could just keep opening gifts!
Jordan fainted over her "Camp Rock" T-shirt with the picture of Joe Jonas on it :)
You just can't beat Christmas morning!
Then the rest of the crew arrived, bearing yet more gifts.
I told you Keats and Jaron had superhero business to attend to...check them out in the background!
And again, Spiderman and Venom!!!
Let's get ready to party!! We had a birthday party for Baby Jesus. Complete with construction paper decorations! What's not to love about construction paper? You can do just about anything with it.
Jordan and I made the Christmas tree centerpiece a few weeks ago. We actually made it into an advent calendar, adding a colored ornament for each day. Jordan also helped me cut out the stars for the placemats.
And she was chompin' at the bit to help with the cake. "We love you, Baby Jesus!"
Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus!! Kemper is not in this picture because he and Uncle B had the longest parent-child stand-off I have ever witnessed........we were so glad when Kemper finally told Keats he was sorry for biting him!
Papa, Daddy and Uncle B
And the whole gang :)
Keats and Jaron did not want to cooperate during this picture. I think they were sending superhero vibes!
On Friday Uncle B, Aunt K, Keats and Kemper had to get on the road. We were not ready to see them go. But we did get to share breakfast with them at the hotel. It was really nice to have one more meal with them. Oh, we missed them the minute they walked away!!!!!!


One of the funniest thing Keats said during their visit took place on Tuesday evening. Papa, Nana, Uncle B and Aunt K had to get some last minute gifts, so I took all the kids to our apartment to play. Jordan desperately needed a bath, so I got the bright idea to bathe them all. Jaron was up for it, he likes his bath time. Keats, on the other hand, wasn't so crazy about it. I asked him if he wanted to take a bath after he ate supper. He said, "No, I am going to take a bath on Sunday at my home." I asked him several more times, with the answer remaining the same. When I told him he could take a bath with Jaron he proceeded to tell me that he had skunks in his hair. Skunks!!! I guess that was his way of telling me that his hair was stinky! Oh boy...he was so funny. Between he and Jaron we could have a brand new language for the planet!!!! I can't even begin to document all of the silly things that happened while our family was here to visit. From Keats and Jaron playing under the table at the Americana Diner to a rousing game of Taboo with all of the adults, we had a great time talking, laughing, cuddling and hugging. It was the highest quality time we could have had............We love you Nana, Papa, Uncle B, Aunt K, Keats and Kemper!!!!!!

Christmas in Rockefeller Center

We started a new tradition this year. We went to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center today! I wanted to go last year, but we just didn't make it due to all of the CRAZY crowds. (FYI, taking two kids into the city on a crowded train is NOT fun.) So several weeks ago I told Chris that the one thing I wanted us to be able to do this year was go to Rockefeller Center and see the tree. And here's an interesting bit of trivia...they got the tree from the township right next to ours, Hamilton Township. Cool, huh? It is amazing how big it is. I will give you a heads up, the pictures don't do it any justice. It is an experience that you have to witness in real life. Very, very beautiful...see for yourself :)


Our first view of the tree. The walkway is lined with beautiful angels holding trumpets.




I wonder if the people who put up these angels thought about the fact that they are heralding the birth of Jesus?


Jordan wanted to go ice skating so bad, I told her we would take lessons and come back next year since none of us have ever ice skated! She didn't like that idea!!
The golden statue of Prometheus...he was was a Greek god who brought new life to man by giving him fire...hmmmmm. I can think of another gift imparting new life, can you?
You can see one of the cables holding up the tree. While we were watching the ice rink, a couple had the rink to themselves. The man took his girlfriend over to the statue and was very obviously proposing to her! She gave him a big hug and kiss, so we figured she said yes. We all clapped for them! What was also very cool was Pachabel's Canon in D was playing while they were out on the ice. It made for a very blissful moment :)This in one of six figures surrounding the rink. They were all holding a different instrument.

It was a wonderful experience we had this afternoon. I am so thankful we were able to go and see the Christmas tree and all of the beauty surrounding it. They call New York City the concrete jungle, but it sure can be spectacular!!!!