[365/365] NYC

It's no joke -- I was in New York City on April 1st to celebrate my friend's birthday. We were there for less than 24 hours and stayed mainly in the Rockefeller Center / Times Square area. We arrived late on Monday night, got a few hours of rest in the hotel, then ventured out early the next morning to catch the Today show taping. We then went up to the Top of the Rock to catch some breathtaking views of the city. We did some shopping, eating, drinking, and then went to see a taping of the Tonight Show! Jimmy Fallon was great, and we got to see guests Samuel L. Jackson, Minnie Driver, Pitbull, and a special appearance by Billy Dee Williams (who danced with Chewbacca -- classic!). It was definitely an awesome time, and I am pretty sure my friend had a blast for her birthday. Everything went so smoothly and we had the perfect weather, too. If you know me and my friends, you know that never happens. I'm so glad everything fell into place for the perfect day -- a much needed escape!

This is also the end of my 365 Project -- a photo (or in most cases, more) a day for a year. Seeing as April is going to be a very hectic month, I think the break came at just the right time. I am sure I'll still be posting photos and stories here and there, but it may be scarce for the next month or so. In the meantime, you can find me on Instagram, and maybe even Twitter, if you're interested. See you around!

[364/365] The Big Apple

Upon arrival in the big city. Times Square at night.

[363/365] Flooding

Normally, it's "over the river and through the woods" to Grandma's house, but we actually had to go through the river to get there today. We have a bit of excess water in the Ocean State.

[362/365] Wanna Build a Snowman?

My son is currently obsessed with the movie Frozen, which I think I have mentioned before. After watching the movie for the first time, he had asked me if we could find a stuffed Olaf (the snowman). We found one at Walmart on Saturday night, the last one on the shelf. (And man, were those Frozen shelves cleared out.) Someone was extremely happy. We also found some books at Barnes and Noble, so I think he's set for a while. Although now he wants me to look for a pair of "Hans' boots" (we saw some ones like Anna's online). Oh brother, this could get out of hand. ;)

[361/365] Peter Cottontail

There's something about bunnies that creep me out. I don't know why. Maybe the Monty Python killer rabbits just ruined them for me.

[360/365] Evening Commute

I can't complain about my ride home from work. It's rather beautiful. I'm glad I get to ride home in the daylight at this time of year, too.

There was even enough light to do a little sledding with Joshua when I got home. I think it might be gone after this weekend, so we enjoyed it while we could. The snow was rock solid and slippery as ice, and we not only slid down with the sled, but without it, as well. Too fun, channeling our inner penguins. Joshua was singing the ice harvesters' song from Frozen while we played, and pretended to climb our ice/snow "mountain" while telling me that "ice is my life." My little Kristoff and I even enjoyed just laying on the snow, looking up to watch the planes and the trees. The cold never bothered us, that's for sure.

[359/365] Golden

Linking up with Ruchira from Abracabadra for Wordless Wednesday

[358/365] Bunch of Turkeys

Wild turkeys everywhere. There goes the neighborhood.

[357/365] Iced

It will be gone soon enough. For now, I'll just capture its beauty.

[356/365] Trophies for Everyone

Joshua had his last two hockey practices this weekend, which included a game today. Everyone gets a trophy for participating and my little guy was very excited. I feel like he deserves it, too. He went from pushing around a milk crate to playing games in about five months. He had such a blast today and has been enjoying it, so I hope he'll want to do it again next year. I don't like to push anything on him (we're not doing soccer this Spring because that wasn't a good fit), but he did well with hockey and it's also something that I enjoy. I hope he'll continue to enjoy it, as well. It was a great feeling to see that big smile on his face today.

[355/365] Where Winter Meets Spring

Saturday was one of those days where Winter meets Spring, and we were able to enjoy the good things they both have to offer. The temps were near 60F, but we still have snow in the yard. That meant we could go from bike riding to sledding, and without having to bundle up (I think Josh was trying to make a fashion statement, though). We were also able to stay outside (with light) past 7pm, which gave us ample time for a snowball fight, as well.

[354/365] Flare Friday

A slightly different view than the one from back in January.

[353/365] Handsome

Joshua was blessed (cursed?) with thick hair like mine. Although his is straight, it can be as unruly as my curly hair at times, particularly in the morning. Bed heads in da house. To combat the monster cowlicks, Joshua asked for a spray bottle filled with water and a comb, and he fixes his hair in the morning. He insists on doing this himself, which is fine because I can get mine done at the same time.

This morning, he admired himself in the mirror and commented, "I need to be handsome today."

"Oh yeah?" I asked. "Why is that?"

"I have to be handsome for Show and Tell!"

Why, of course. ;)

And here are some bonus photos from today. That sunset was amazing. I wish I could have captured it better. I'm going to have to start carrying around my good camera!

[352/365] Tip-a-Bruin

We went out to dinner at the local IHOP this evening, to eat with some friends and meet a few members of the Providence Bruins. They were having a "Tip-a-Bruin" night, which is basically a charity fundraiser for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Joshua had a blast making friends with everyone (and I mean everyone) and entertaining the masses, as usual. His highlights included hugging random women (they were too nice about it), playing ambidextrous Tic Tac Toe (he was writing two Xs at the same time, no wonder he kept winning), telling the Bruins about how he played hockey and would play any position except goalie (thanks a lot), winning an autographed hat (OK, he wasn't overly excited about that), and enjoying some delicious pancakes. All in all, it was a very fun night!

Linking up with Ruchira from Abracabadra for Wordless Wednesday

(even though it wasn't so wordless!)

[351/365] The Thaw

Things are starting to thaw out around here -- slowly in the woods, but surely. It looks like Spring may be on its way. (And please don't hurt me if I've jinxed it.)

[350/365] Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We Irish Americans just love to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Often, it's all about the drinking, but the dressing up is fun, too. Joshua got all dressed up in his garb today and marched with his class in their parade. There were headbands, hats, shakers, flags... it was like a kids' Mardi Gras.

It was a nice, sunny day. Perfect for a parade! And it would have been even better if the temps were above 20F.

He insisted that his shirt have a clover on it. Then he added a few more.

We decided to have a little crazy fun to celebrate in the evening. We broke out the sleds and went down the hill in the side yard, which is just a huge sheet of hard snow and ice (and pretty thick, too -- it should be around for a while). It was fast. And the great part is, it was still light when we were outside at 7:00pm. This Daylight Savings time is alright after all.

After all that running around and once Joshua was in bed, it was time for corned beef and cabbage -- boiled dinner with vegetables. And don't forget the side of soda bread. So good. Erin Go Bragh!

[349/365] Game Time

After months of learning to skate and practicing some hockey skills, Josh had his first game today. He was one of the few kids that had recently gotten off of crates to be out there, and he held his own pretty well. He had been nervous about it, and being one of the smaller and slower kids, he never got to touch the puck. But he had fun and got off of the ice with a big smile on his face. That's what really matters!

[348/365] My Little Friend

Saturday was warm (near 60F) and sunny, a perfect day to get outside and run some errands. At the grocery store, we had to stop and say hi to the lobsters (I think Josh could use a trip to the aquarium soon) and one of them crawled right up and was looking at us. I told Josh that the lobster must know I am allergic and can't eat him. "Save me!"

We had to pose with this tie, of course.

And on the way home, there was an awesome sunset that this photo does no justice.

[347/365] Rivals

Another Friday night at the hockey game! Providence lost to Worcester in overtime, which meant we had to hear it from the Sharks fans sitting behind us. Sigh. But we had fun, anyway. ;)