After landing...

Yep, home it is. We have felt extremely comfortable in New York City already. No regrets, just lots of fun.

Jon has enjoyed learning amidst peers and professors who are both accomplished and diverse. He sometimes enjoys reading cases regarding poisoned duck feed, workers toppling out of rickety carts, projectile factory equipment, treacherous trespassing on abandoned property, or the defense of the country and constitution by a religious pacifist. But to hear all of his impressions, you'll have to ask him.

I have enjoyed scheduling doctor’s appointments (it's a little tricky right now with all of the Jewish holidays), helping neighbors with their kids, learning how to spend $3.69 on a gallon of milk with a smile on my face, setting up our apartment, reading in parks, and planning all the fun things that we’ll do over the next 3 years. We have some wonderful neighbors, by the way. We have already loved hosting and being hosted by others. Thanks! to our new found friends. :)

We have enjoyed eating packed lunches or dinners in the city the past little while so we could spend a few minutes in a Cathedral, park, museum, or (as homework required) in the beautiful Columbia Library. New York has so much to offer and to draw us out that we may soon rename our Family Home Evenings, “Family City Evenings.” If we’re together and still include have a lesson and everything else, it counts right?

That said, being home isn’t disappointing either. We love all the natural light that comes in through our floor to ceiling windows. Our beautiful KitchenAid convection oven, double dishwasher, enormous (and nifty) refrigerator, and stone countertops make cooking, baking, and cleanup pretty fun. We have a gym in the basement that we use in the mornings. The building even has a public terrace on the roof. The terrace isn’t equipped with anything that special, but is a great place to look at the night-time skyline and the reflection of sunsets (it’s eastward facing).

One other feature of our apartment that YOU might enjoy is that one of our closets holds TWO queen size air-mattresses and bedding to go with them just waiting to be used. We’ve already had our first house guests (yay for Kendra, Brianna, and Taryn!) and are expecting our next ones this weekend (yay for Sarah, Jon, and Livi!) and after that… who knows? Jump in a car, buy a plane ticket, or put on a pair of running shoes and come on over, it could just be you...

Until then, feel free to keep reading about our fun in New York :)