September was a fun month. It was back to schedules and fall sports and activities but it was nice to be back to a routine. The first day of September we finished up our trip in New York.
The view from our hotel room.
We got up early Sunday morning and took the subway to lower Manhattan. Brandon really wanted to see the "Ghostbuster" firehouse. I thought it was a little weird and that we would be the only ones there early on a Sunday. However there were lots of other tourists there. It is still a working fire house but they have fully embraced the movies so it was fun to see. We were even able to buy a Ghostbuster patch as a keepsake. It was also nice to see this part of Manhattan again. It was much cleaner, smelled much better and was a lot less busy than the area we were staying in.
We were pretty close to the World Trade Center so we headed down there next. We hadn't seen it since 2009 so it was very cool to see everything all finished. I wished we had time for the museum but it was still very cool to see the memorials.
It was so cloudy that we couldn't even see the top of One World Trade Center.
We got to try the world famous Levain cookies. They were pretty good.
Our final event was to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. We knew the story wasn't the best but I had heard that the production was very cool. We ended up thinking it was alright but not amazing.
Our show got out at 4:30 and our flight left for home at 7:10. We knew traffic would be a gamble. We literally ran from the show back to our hotel to pick up our bags and catch a Lyft to the airport. Luckily traffic wasn't too bad. We waited in a very long security line and took a very long walk down to our gate. We only had enough time to use the restroom and we were already being boarded. We didn't even have time to grab anything to eat. We were so lucky we made it!
We arrived home after 10:00 Sunday evening so we were only in New York for two nights. It was a crazy fast trip but tons of fun.
Not pictured: Our kids were lucky enough to have Sarah, Jen and Bayley babysit them while we were gone. Sarah even slept at our house so they even got to sleep in their own beds. They had a ton of fun with them and cousins.
When we got home we finally let Brandon open his birthday presents since we were gone on his actual birthday.
Our favorite gift we got him was a Funko Pop customized to look like Brandon. The kids helped me design it. It was especially hilarious because as he opened it he was wearing the exact same outfit as his Funko. It was perfect!
He is also holding popcorn and a gaming controller.
The next day was Labor day. We were happy to lay low and recover for the day but we did go out to a very fancy birthday dinner for Brandon at JCWs. He was excited to get the soft serve but disappointed his cone wasn't very big this time.
We have also gotten back to fall sports. Alex is once again playing baseball and soccer. I have been really bad about taking pictures this year but here are a few.
After not catching for a couple of years Alex has had to get back to catching this season. He likes it but wishes he didn't have to do it every inning. He has done a great job though.
Once again Brandon is coaching Alex's soccer team. We lost a lot of players this year so we worried that it would be a rough season. However, the team has done really well and won most of their games. Alex has scored lots of goals. Sadly this is the only picture I have taken so far.
We also got to spend a Saturday night at a REAL game. It was beautiful weather and an exciting game (for soccer). They ended up in a tie but it was a fun game.
At the beginning of the month I got my second leg vein ablation done. It is nice to have to done!
Just cooking lunch...
Mia loves her fashion and loves for me to capture it!
Mia actually misses most of Alex's sporting events because of dance so it was fun to sit with her at one of them for a little bit before she had to go to dance. She always finds unique ways of entertaining herself.
I started preschool again this month. Sadly this will most likely be my last year teaching. It makes me so sad! So far this group has been awesome and I'm sure it will be a great year!
Mia got to go to lots of birthday parties this month including one for her friend Eve. They went to Classic Skating and it was Olivia Rodrigo themed so obviously Mia was in heaven.
September means a Saturday at the fair. Most of September was hot and this day was no different. We were sweating a lot! We had a great time though.
We had a great laugh over Mia's faces on this ride.
I hope they are never too old to do the little farm and get their free treat.
Mia spotted a dance friend at the Fair and was excited to ride a few rides with her.
We watched a very underwhelming magic show and it put Brandon right to sleep.
Mia has been begging for a permanent bracelet for a long time so when we saw that they had them at the fair we let her get one.
Near the end of the month Alex and I had a combined Young Men and Young Women activity where the youth had to paint each other. It turned out very hilarious. Some were better than others.
Alex and his partner, Phoebe's turned out pretty good! They definitely weren't the worst.
At the end of the month Alex and Brandon went hunting. Sadly (or gladly) they didn't shoot anything but Alex had a great time anyway.
Mia and I had a good time at home. She wasn't feeling great the first night they were gone and wanted to take a bath.
We also fulfilled her lifelong dream of going to Starbucks. We each got a fruity drink and thought they were both pretty gross. The cake pop was good though!
It was a great month!
