new york city!

I'm way behind on this little blog...I always think that heading up to Mass --  ie, the grandparents! -- will mean a life of easy living for me, time to enjoy slow mornings, quiet cups of coffee while tinkering away on the blog or reading a book and just generally relaxing.  In reality it means chasing Kyalo around the house to keep him from all the things he shouldn't touch, trying to keep him quiet while Grandma still sleeps, and to keep him entertained on rainy days.

Needless to say, that doesn't leave a lot of room for blogging.

Plus, Evelyn was in town and I was much more interested in spending time with her than writing about it!  So, I think I'm going to start at the end and work my way backwards.

After two weeks in MA she and I drove down to NJ so that she could see Dexter, our little apartment, and the area in which we live.  She and I walked in Branch Brook Park on a beautiful early summer day enjoying the slow pace and easy conversation.  She brought one of my favorite foods from Kenya, ndengu (a green lentil type thing), and so I made those while she made us chapatis - a real treat!  I'm resisting the urge to go raid the freezer for them right now! 

On Sunday we headed into New York City to meet up with Matt and Erica, who were in the Bible Study with her as well (when I was living in the UAE).  It was a fun reunion, especially since she was meeting Bo for the first time. 

We hit all the hot spots:  FAO Schwarz, Empire State Building, Times Square, Central Park.  Dexter and I took over 100 pictures! That's not excessive, right?  Here's a smattering. . .

ready for some serious site-seeing!

 on top of the Empire State Building

there's NJ in the distance! if you squint real hard, I think you can see our house. . .

Towards the end of the day, Matt thought Bo needed some sunscreen...but he may have gone a little overboard.  So, of course, sunscreen can double as hair gel. Right?

Central Park Group shots:

the boys {should've gotten a girls shot!)

 note the "heavenly glow" around Kyalo & me. naturally.

There are a few more fun shots, but I'll save them for another post.

It was truly a great day! Perfect weather, not too humid, minimal (I guess?) crowds to navigate through, easy company and conversation. Kyalo did a great job throughout the day, though he did take a little snooze through Times Square.

 

I really think he'd rather be out-and-about, exploring the world, than at home with Mama!

I hope Dexter and I will get into the city - esp Central Park - a lot while we're in the neighborhood.

The one sad piece of the day was realizing that with Matt & Erica moving down to Tennessee in June, and Evelyn returning to Kenya tonight, that we don't know when we'll next see these dear friends.  Still we have sweet memories to hold us til we meet again!