More about NJ Beaches

This year was the first year that we joined some friends on the Sandy Hook Beach every Wednesday night.  Every night there is a concert there at 5 pm and until sundown.  I do consider us to be very lucky to be able to do that every week.  It is beautiful.  We stay off to the side, a bit away from the concert crowd.  The kids get to play with their friends and enjoy some fresh ocean air.  We watch the sunset, and a few times even the moon rise, and make more friends along the way.  (Good friends make everything more fun!!!) It is like a small vacation.  Now that the weather is getting colder I cannot wait to start going to the beach often again.

Here are some pictures for me to drool over while winter goes by.

Sunflower Maze

We had an A-Maze-Ing time at the Sussex County Sunflower Maze in Augusta NJ.  They are open only for a short little while in the late summer and fall.  I can not tell you how happy I was that we made it!  It is so beautiful that there aren't enough words to describe it.  The kids enjoyed it as well.  I loved all the beautiful flowers and the photographs that I took and can paint later!  When my kids get older I am going there with a canvas and some paints and painting on the spot!!!  It was one of the best trips that we took this year. 

The maze itself isn't very difficult, and is more of a pleasant walk through a sunflower field.  The admission price isn't too bad, and I felt was worth it.  The bakery that they have on the premises has many options that are healthy for adults and for kids.  My boys enjoyed a nice grilled cheese with bacon and a fruit smoothie.  Followed by a beautiful walk.

Everyone was happy on the way home.  We are definitely coming back.

Here is their website: http://www.sussexcountysunflowermaze.com/  Where you can look up when they are open for the next go round. 

Here are some of the beautiful photos from that day:

 

Below is a building we drove by, I think it was an elderly care facility, that I thought was especially pretty.  Worth to be stopped by and photographed. 

 

In fact, from this angle it reminded of a Van Gogh Painting (just a note, the image of the painting is from ttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Van_Gogh).  Really though, look at them side by side. 

 

 

Between the sunflowers and this building it was a Van Gogh kind of day. :)

The Adventures of Petunia

After much hard work, collaborative efforts with the author and a lot of time, I am proud to say that 'The Adventures of Petunia' are finally printed and ready for sale. Written by Judy England-McCarthy and illustrated by me, Mariya Kovalyov, it is a wonderful story about one cute, brave, determined pink pig.
Below are a few pictures from the book, in a non specific order, so as not to give any spoilers and, ofcourse, no text.

 

If you would like to see more of them, please visit my website here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Petunia-Illustrations.html

Land Of Make Believe and Pirate's Cove.

This summer one of the trips my kids and husband really wanted to do is to the Land Of Make Believe and Pirate's Cove.  It is a water park and rides rolled into one package.  Both aren't enormously large, and can easily be explored by youngsters in one day without being exhausted or missing out. It is such a nice place to visit on a hot summer day.  We enjoyed everything with the water: the pool, the lazy river, every single slide about ten times each.  It was a glorious summer day.  After all the water activities we got dressed and went on a few rides.  They are geared more toward younger crowd, so my six year old enjoyed those tremendously. 

The park is on a pricy side, for four people it's about a $100.00 to get in.  Also, keep in mind that no outside food is allowed, and that on the pool side, you can't really carry anything and have to wear swimming suits.  We come light.  Just wearing shorts and swimsuits, not carrying anything but plastic bottles of water and camera.  The lunch stays in the car and we eat it later in the parking lot. 
It is a great place to visit with kids in the summertime.  We are definately going back there again!

They have a great website with prices, hours, directions and much more: http://lomb.com/

Green Meadows Farm

This spring we went to Green Meadows Farm with my kids.  They love animals, so a place where you could touch, feed and play with all kinds of animals was right up their alley.  With Green Meadows you have to know the time they are open, as it is only a short while in the spring/ beginning of summer and another short while in the fall.  Also, if you decide to go, beleive it or not, weekends are better then weekdays.  On the weekdays it gets pretty crazy with school trips.  We went on a Sunday, and it was not too bad.  Here is their website for all the info: http://www.greenmeadowsfarmnj.com/

My boys got to pet little duckies, bunnies, puppies, kittens, piggies, goats and so much more.  My older one braved up and milked a cow, my hubby and younger one chickened out.  We met an amazingly big horse, some cranky alpacas, donkeys, an angry turkey.  They got to feed some adorable goats, one of which kept escaping and running away and made all the kids laugh. 

Overall it was a wonderful day for them, at the end of which they were tired and happy.  What else can you ask for?

Here are a few pictures, as always:

 

Valentin Kovalyov's Mosaics

Today I spent a few hours working on photos of Valentin Kovalyov's (my father-in-law) mosaics.  He works on them all the time.  In fact, this year he made so many of them that I think I will have to make a new page on our website for just the ones for 2013. 
He made a few sets of seven Chakras as well.  They look absolutely beautiful!  Take a look below:

 

To see many more of his amazing works, please visit our website: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Mosaics-by-Valentin-Kovalyov.html

Empire State Building

I have lived around NYC for more then half my life now, and I am embarrassed to say that I have never been to the top of the Empire State Bulding.  On our son's birthday we decided to make it up there. 
We parked our car in Weehawken NJ, and took the ferry accross.  There we walked quite a bit up 34th street to Empire State building.  The kids did great, hardly complained about all the walking on a hot day in the city.  They enjoyed the walk in the city, it is very different from our usual habitat in NJ, and I think it is rather important to be able to navigate the city you live right next to.

 

When we got to the Empire State we got our tickets, for both the observation deck and the skyride.  I have to say that even though I thought it would be silly, we all enjoyed the skyride very much.  The kids were tired and fussy by the time we got in, but the skyride made them laugh, and they came out much happier then they went in.

The wait wasn't too bad at all.  It helps a lot that we were there on a weekday in the morning.  After the skyride we went up to the observation deck.  We only went to the 86th floor, which was enough.  Of course the view was stunning.  We hung out on the deck for a while and took some photos.  Despite it being a weekday, it was still pretty crowded.

 

After we came down we went to get a few souvenirs of course. Then the kids were pretty hungry and we went to the beer brewery right below the Empire State to get lunch.

 

It was an expensive day, but once in a lifetime definately worth it!