Team Tully: Spring Break 2018

Boy oh Boy did we need this break!! School has been going fast and furious. Academic expectations are high...third grade is NO joke! We have gone since January without a day off. It was much needed for all of us, it was much enjoyed by all of us! Hooray for Spring Break! We filled our spring break with the things we love best...travel, family, wandering, new experiences, friends, and downtime. A FANTASTIC spring break! And now we have entered the home stretch rested and recharged.

First Stop: Time with Cousins! Treehouses...

Trombones

And overstuffed carriages!

This dog is the BEST snuggler around! L catching some winks with sweet Charlie!

So much love right here!! These kids are fantastic and funny and sweet and hilarious and clever and FAMILY. LOVE!!!

Mit and L taking down an enormous tree!

Track Meet/Picnic

Followed by a trip to the dairy farm with a delicious ice cream treat included!

A highlight...Uncle Mit "reading funny"! Luke is STILL talking about it! He basically makes up his own words for the story...the kids were laughing so hard!

Easter Morning

Egg Hunt success!

We hunted for eggs and checked out the loot and then Team Tully was off to the bus station to head to NEW YORK CITY!

The weather was a thorn in our side but we knew our first day there was going to be our best weather day so we wandering around Central Park for hours! Loved it!!

How is that for a playground backdrop?!

Times Square. His face cracks me up! We had lots of good discussions during meals while in NYC. We asked Luke what were some adjectives that he would use to describe the Big Apple. He often used "Colorful, Busy, and Active"

It snowed. A lot. Multiple inches. In April. We were prepared EXCEPT for footwear. We left the hotel at 7:30am on this day and did not return until 7:30pm and Luke and I STILL had wet feet and wrinkly skin on our feet! Yuck! BUT....we made the most of it and as L says...we had grit and finished our day and enjoyed it! We had to be out and about this day because we had ferry tickets to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Talk about a cold ferry ride! It was an amazing experience though...Ellis Island in particular blew our minds!

There she is...Lady Liberty!

These tour phones are the greatest invention! We were able to listen to a guided tour, at our own pace, even while taking a much needed warm and dry break in the gift shop. We really did learn a lot this way and they even have a "family version" of the tour...all the information but in a more straightforward delivery. It was awesome!

Ellis Island. By far our favorite part of our wandering in NYC. It is an amazing place but what makes it amazing are the stories, the told and the untold. Just thinking of the millions of people that walked through these halls (including our very own ancestors) is mind boggling. We were really immersed and we spent a very long time here reading about and listening to and seeing such a huge part of our history.

So many people graced these floors.

NYC from a window at Ellis Island

Once back in Manhattan we made our way to One World Trade Center and the 9/11 memorial. It was amazing and solemn and surreal. The whole vibe of being there was very interesting. There were hundreds of other people there paying respects but it was the quietest place that we visited in the entire city. No words.

We did have a chance before we went to talk about September 11th and the Twin Towers with Luke. It was a hard discussion for L and I.

We were the most colorful people there! Ha! Can you say tourist? Love my travel partners so very very much!

We started at the Chelsea Market and walked the Highline to its northern end. It is a park that converted old rail lines into a park that runs above the streets. There are lots of places to get on and off but it was FANTASTIC...no traffic lights and much less people. Such a great way to see the city and get a different perspective!

A quick stop at the New York City Public Library. An amazing building with lots of history! Luke and L discussed Ghostbusters. Ha!

My two best guys and a T-Rex at the American Museum of Natural History

Laying under the gigantic blue whale! Talk about perspective!

After a not so textbook trip home we hung out for a day and got unpacked, reorganized, played with friends, and repacked for our trip to HH to see Ima and Sheshy for their birthdays and to pick up Jasper, who, as usual, had an awesome time being beachside!! Thank you!

An arrival walk on the beach! Luke and Ima - never at a loss for words.

LOVE this kid!

Jasper looking like he owns the place. L had to get back to work so unfortunately he couldn't make it.

Largemouth Bass! Outfit due to no seeums. The smallest nuisance on the planet.

Another bass! This kid would fish with Shesh for days on end!

Bike riding with Ima. Looks like a beautiful day, doesn't it? We should have gotten before and after photos. We took a nice ride up to the bluff and playground to play some basketball. On the way home it POURED. PPPOOOUUURRREEEDDD! We were absolutely soaked but all three of us laughed all the way home...what are you gonna do?

Still got game

Working on his skills. And let me tell you, Ima turned 68 just a few days after this photo was taken and she shot hoops with us like it was no big deal! Luke was in awe! And he commented on how he has VERY active grandparents! Ha! Love Does!

Sheshy turns 70 tomorrow and while Luke and I were there we arranged for Mit's family, Daney's family, and L to FaceTime all at the same time so that Dad could open his gift "with" everyone! He was thrilled and we were so glad to be able to celebrate him and what an incredible and influential man he is! He matters to all of us more than he will ever know! Happy 70th Birthday, Daddy/Sheshy!!