Jen Macfarlane

Hey girlies! Well, our month of July has been VERY busy--but great! I'm sure most of you would agree that July just seems to fly by! Where is this summer going? Well, our 4th of July was really fun. We went with some new friends, the Stotts, to dinner and then we watched fireworks over the Brooklyn Bridge! It was cool to see the Statue of Liberty while waiting for the fireworks to start...but Jimmy and I both agreed that Logan and the Bees Game still have some of the best fireworks around!

We have enjoyed all of our visitors this month! Jimmy's mom came out at the beginning of the month. We did so many fun activities--we got to see Wicked (which was worth every penny!) It was sooo good! We also did a double decker tour bus, rode the Staten Island Ferry, FAO Schwartz and lots of other fun things. It was so nice to have family visit! We love Janie and had a blast with her!

The next weekend we went to Palmyra and Niagara Falls! It was a fun weekend trip. We rented a car in Jersey--it was so weird to drive in a car--Jimmy hasn't driven a car in like four months! Oh! And it was so funny because they lady who rented us our car was like: "Where are you guys going?" And we told her we were going upstate for the weekend, and she was like: "Well, you two better be good because you are way too young!" :-) Ha, ha--I didn't have the guts to be like: "Lady, we've been married for three years!" :-) We must look pretty young to people out here! But, anyway...we drove up to Palmyra and it was gorgeous! We spent the day visiting the Smith Family farm, the Sacred Grove, the Four Churches, and the Hill Cumorah. We spent time taking the tours and going through the visitors centers. We watched the Pageant and it was really well done, it was also fun to visit with the actors before the show started. The next day we went to Canada and saw Niagara Falls! It was amazing...we did this thing called Journey Behind the Falls, where you get to go in these tunnels behind the falls and you can see out and see all the water--you get VERY wet, so we looked pretty cool in our ponchos! After the falls, we drove down to the cutest little town called Niagara on the Lake. It was so beautiful...it was in wine country so there were tuns of vineyards and orchards. We ate lunch and got icecream in the cafes and then went shopping. We got back to Jersey around 1:00 am and then had to take the PATH trains and the subway back to our place--so we didn't get in til about 2:00--we were exhausted but it was a fun weekend getaway!

Our friends, Shane and Elise Frazier, visited the next weekend! It was awesome to see our buddies from the good ol' USU 61st ward! We went to a fun pizza bar downtown on Friday night--on our way back to the subway a big black dude was pounding a bat and shouting weird stuff to Shane--gotta love NY! Saturday, we went out to Yankee Stadium and Rucker Park--it was awesome to see the old and new stadiums. We ate lunch at Nathans FAMOUS hot dogs and walked around in midtown...it was so much fun!

So, I started my new nanny job last week! The baby is two weeks old and he is sooo cute and little! He is just a tiny bundle and I love to lay him on my chest while he sleeps in a little ball. Too sweet! Oh! But, on my first day of work--I put my shoes outside their door and when I went to leave my shoes were gone! Yeah, someone STOLE them! They will be pretty disappointed because I wear a size 5 shoe and they were from Payless. So, I borrowed my boss's flip-flop's so I didn't have to ride the subway home barefoot! :-) But, the baby is adorable and I think this will be a perfect job for me while I'm out here, so I'm excited.

Well, we miss everyone and love to read all of your blogs and updates to see what you are up to! So, take care! Lots of love--Jimmy and Jen