St. Patrick's Cathedral

I was doubtful that I would have the opportunity to visit St. Patrick's Cathedral because, well, there's just something about saying, "OK, kids, let's go visit that church so Mom can take pictures" that elicits much eye rolling and sarcastic remarks like, "Wow, Mom, that sounds like a lot of fun." But...when I saw that the Lego store was but a half a block from this beautiful cathedral, I seized the opportunity. I sent Mark in to the loud, crowded Lego store with four children while I spent several quiet, remarkable moments in a stunningly gorgeous place.

St. Patrick's Cathedral opened its doors in 1879.






(from St. Patrick's Cathedral New York website): "As Brendan Gill wrote in his introduction to St. Patrick’s Cathedral: A Centennial History, 'In the Old World, for well over a thousand years the center of a city was thought to be wherever its Cathedral stood…



We are a city that, even within its comparatively narrow confines, has always tended to spin apart. To speak only of Manhattan (the original New York City of Hughes’ day), we have Wall Street and Greenwich Village and Chinatown and Chelsea and Times Square and the Upper East Side and Riverside Drive and Harlem and Washington Heights and scores of other districts and neighborhoods; yet we have few places that convey an authentic sense of being at the very heart of things. St. Patrick’s is such a place.



Aided by the graceful presence of its neighbor, Rockefeller Center …, the Cathedral dominates Fifth Avenue as easily today as it has ever done…






Thanks to the program of preservation carried out under the watchful eye…, the building has never looked more beautiful.



There it stands for our delight and, if necessary, for our consolation.



Its front steps are a parvis, if not a Paradise, and young and old take the sun upon their faces there as a sort of benediction, while the scattered benedictions of a thousand rosy candles wink and twinkle within.'"

A Spring Tease

(Linking up with Sweet Shot, You Capture (theme - Youth), Black & White Wednesdays, Communal Global, and Live Every Moment (theme - Spring).)

It's a very gloomy Monday. Two inches of snow accumulated on the ground throughout the morning hours, and it continues to fall. You would never know that just 3 days ago, the mercury was flirting with the 72 degree mark.




The day was just too beautiful. We took a break from school and from co-op and spent the day with friends at the park.


We enjoyed the beauty of the waterfalls.






We hiked




all the way to the top where a tower with few railings stood, inviting the children to climb...and giving the mamas a few heart attacks in the process.


And along the way we climbed lots of rocks




and some trees,


one of which was covered by the initials of other hikers-by.


Oh, and we saw enough bear poop to cause those of us with middle-aged legs much angst over trying to keep up with the energetic, youthful legs that insisted on carrying the children seemingly miles ahead on the path.


But the boys assured us in true Lord of the Flies fashion that, with their walking sticks, they could easily take on any bear...even a famished one just waking up from a long winter's nap.






It was a long hike--about 2 hours--and at the end, the children were delighted to become spectators on the sidelines of another visitor's remote-controlled car fun.


A lovely sunny day, a good long hike, a fun time with friends...it was definitely a spring tease, but we'll certainly take what we can get!

Hershey

Linking up with You Capture (Black & White Expressions).

While the highlight of our Pennsylvania trip for me was our visit to Amish Country, the kids' favorite was definitely Chocolate World in Hershey. I think I already mentioned we visited Chocolate World two days in a row!


The great thing about Chocolate World is that admission is free. And, really, unless you get sucked in by any of the extras, you can have a great time without dropping much cash. In fact, there is even a ride that is free. The ride takes you through a tunnel of various animated displays that tell the story of chocolate.


Of course, there is also an obnoxious song that plays and gets seared into your brain forever after much like It's a Small World at Disney World. And the fact that the kids want to ride the ride over and over and over doesn't make clearing your head of the song any easier.






We did take advantage of some of the "extras" as well. We took part in a chocolate tasting event. And we saw a 3D movie, which was actually 4D with delightful smells filling the theater, splashing water, and creepy things tickling our feet.



I think perhaps our favorite activity was the creating our own treats.


Alex and Michael each whipped up a wicked cup of chocolatey, creamy, marshmallow-y hot chocolate, which they stirred with a chocolate-covered spoon.



Audrey decorated a giant basketball cookie, and Jacob created a deluxe S'More.




We had an extra fun trip because some friends of ours from Connecticut came along. Matthew also tried his hand at the S'Mores. Here he bit off a bit more marshmallow than his little mouth could chew, but his expression is priceless.



Overall, it was a very fun outing. And, although, we were a little bit weary of chocolate by the time we left, that weariness does not last forever!


Because, really, who could live without chocolate?

Dancing Shoes

Audrey is taking a dance class at homeschool co-op. Apparently, Audrey's mommy is not as hip as some of the other moms because some of the other little girls are decked out in proper dance attire, while my sweetie just dances in whatever clothes she happens to be wearing. Nonetheless, she has had fun. I posted this picture the other day on my weekly homeschool wrap-up, but I like it in black and white also.





These sweet little ballet feet belong to a cutie patootie named Ella.