The big girls played dress up. Hilarious!

Guest post by Grace

I had the opportunity to go with Dad to New York City for a week while he did a shoot. It was an amazing experience to be in one of the biggest cities in the world and I am sure that I will remember this trip for the rest of my life.

My first experience with NY style pizza.

Dad’s shoot took place in a pent house on the west side of Manhattan on the Hudson River. It had one of the most amazing views I have ever seen.

Walking by the Hudson.

We went to a restaurant called Eataly and it was amazing. Since authentic Italian gelato is my absolute favorite food, we had to try theirs. Let me say that the coconut gelato was one of the best gelato’s I have ever put in my mouth.

We went to Dominique Ansel, a bakery in Soho to try the cronut from the people who invented it. Also we tried the Kouign Amann, which is a cross between a croissant and a caramel roll.

My first experience on the Subway!

I matched the ad on the subway.

We met up with Soniya at Times Square.

All of the random scenic pics my dad took just because.

We went to Hillsong’s church on Sunday night. It was a great experience.

We ate dumplings and a very large bowl of soup, (this is not force perspective, that was the actual size of the bowl.) in Chinatown. It was so interesting that Chinatown started and ended so abruptly. All it took was one block to transform a classic block in Manhattan to an experience very similar to what I imagine China being like.

We stopped at Bouchon Bakery.

Our most instagramable breakfast by far. A gourmet granola parfait, avocado toast and ricotta and berry compote toast.

A black sesame soft serve icecream with white chocolate pearls and kouign amann bits. It was wonderful. (it sounds weird but it’s awesome, trust me.)

Tacos at a place in Chelsea market.

We went to see the statue of liberty and Ellis island. The Ellis island museum was facinating and I learned a lot.

We went to a French patisserie and got this Hazelnut Chocolate Petit Gautaux. It was divine.

We also stopped at central park.

We went to Wicked on Broadway. It was the highlight of the entire trip. Everything was so well executed. The music, choreography, and costumes were beyond fantastic. I loved both Elphaba and Galinda’s characters and both Actresses portrayed their characters in a complementary way.

We took the staton island ferry late one night, the way back was amazing because we got to see the whole city lit up.

Dad’s shoot was for a Jewelry competition and some of the pieces were fascinating.

We ended our stay by taking the subway to the airport with road cases full of gear. That was an adventure.

I enjoyed my trip to New York and I had a wonderful time.

I share life with some amazing moms. Really, I think everyone should move to St Cloud to homeschool their kids. The other moms in my life encourage me, challenge me and help point me to Jesus.

Jill, bless her soul, invited 10 boys out to their hobby farm for a 3 day adventure. The boys told me their goal was to never go into the house. They cooked over a fire for every meal, even caught their own breakfast. Titus told me the pancakes were the best he’s ever had.

After a week with Nana and Papa and then a week at Adventure camp with YFC, we are so glad to have Lydia back at home. I’ve heard lots of stories already and I’m excited to hear more.

So they will remember that sometimes I could be a fun mom.

They were subcontracted by their sister. Not a bad gig for a 5 and 6 year old.

This was a great find at a garage sale yesterday. They worked together as a team. Life schooling at its best .

When lives intersect, I love seeing how God works. Andy and Heidi are new friends even though I feel as if we have old souls together. They were back in MN visiting family and literally had to drive right past. It was a great breakfast.

We enjoyed our sabbath rest in Colorado again this year. Life is hard…really hard. It is refreshing to step back from it all and rest. Life is better together so we were grateful our friends could join us again.