Nathan's Garden

 A few nights ago we finally checked out Nathan's Garden in Hanover. My friend pointed it out to me a few months ago as we were walking past it and I'd been wanting to go back with my family once it warmed up. It finally warmed up and I'm so glad we checked it out because it was such a peaceful and beautiful spot to spend the evening. We walked to a pizza place in town and then took our dinner to Nathan's Garden where we ate and spent an hour relaxing.

 The story of Nathan's Garden is really neat. In 1991 Nathan Hill passed away at 20 years old and as a memorial his family turned a portion of their property into this beautiful garden sanctuary for others to enjoy. It is right in Hanover near Dartmouth and downtown, but it's really tucked away and quiet. It really is a beautiful place and such a special way to honor a deceased family member. We talked to Bryn about the history behind Nathan's Garden and she wrote Nathan a sweet note in the notebook in the gazebo, thanking him for letting her play in his pretty backyard. 

 Mya threw a royal fit when we had to leave, but we'll definitely be back soon!

Trails

 These pictures will probably be boring to anyone but me, but I need to document two of my favorite spots in my neighborhood that I am really going to miss when we move in three weeks!

First up, the Mink Brook Trail. The trail head is about a mile(?) from my doorstep on the way to Dartmouth. It's a really short trail, but it's getting so pretty as the trees are gradually getting more and more leaves. It's such a quiet, peaceful spot and it always makes me turn off my ipod and just think as I walk along the Mink Brook to where it connects with the Connecticut River. 

 This is the point where the trail overlooks the Connecticut River if you look through the trees.

Spot #2 is the trail that leads from the graduate student housing (Sachem Village) up to Boston Lot Lake. I have hiked this trail probably 40-50 times in the past two years but right now is the prettiest I've ever seen it! The trees are bursting with bright green leaves and the ground is covered in ferns. (I didn't edit the color in any of these pics, the green is unreal). 

I live in a beautiful place! 

New Hampshire winters are so long and wet, but that makes for some pretty gorgeous and green spring months! 

My Favorite Kind of Night

 Josh is officially done with all his coursework and exams for his MBA program and we are loving  all the time we've been able to spend as a family this past week or so. We've done some fun outings, but my favorite thing is just the simple nights of walking to the park or playing on the field across the street. 

 I love these three!

Mother's Day

 I am so lucky to be the mom of Bryn and Mya! On Mother's Day they woke up bright and early and helped Josh make a cinnamon coffee cake from scratch (go Josh!) and were so excited to serve me breakfast in bed that it was like Christmas morning or something. I love these two cuties!

 Our best attempt at a Mother's Day picture.

After church I was spoiled with a stack of cute Mother's Day cards and drawings from Bryn and a yummy pasta dinner from Josh. 

I am so grateful for my amazing mother who is truly the best of the best. I always wish I could be with her on Mother's Day, but lucky for me I get to see her in two weeks!!

Catherine Baby Shower

One of my very best friends Catherine is pregnant with her first baby and I had a fun time throwing her a baby shower with a few of my friends. She is going to be the best mama and we are all so excited for her!

I sewed the coral fabric runner and the coral and yellow triangle bunting - my last sewing projects before I packed up my sewing stuff for our move!

 The hostesses and the mom-to-be!

(I wish I had brought my real camera because the blurriness is these phone pics is killing me).

 We love you already baby Pyfer!

Tuck Class Photo

 I can't believe Josh's time at Tuck is almost over! Two years really goes quick.

The other day was the official photo day for the Tuck class of 2014. 

After the photos, the Tuck band performed (with Bryn and two of her friends dancing along), and then the first year Tuck students did a big skit in tribute of the T'14 class. 

 Tuck Partners and "Tiny Tuckies"

(Of course Bryn snuck down to claim the front and center position...)

 Only two and a half weeks til graduation!

Hiking in Woodstock, VT

 One of my favorite things about where we live is all the hiking trails so close by. I did a new hike with a few friends in Woodstock, VT. (Woodstock is the cutest little town, by the way!) I'm embarrassed that I can't even remember the name of the hike we did, but it was through the Rockefeller National Historic Park. Apparently, the Rockefeller family played a big part in developing Woodstock and making it into the beautiful town that it is.  

This was the first week of May when spring was just starting, so I'm sure it's more green and lush by now. 

Pregnancy News!

We are so excited to announce that Baby #3 is coming in the middle of November! 

We had to work with the high risk pregnancy doctors for a few months to get things going, but this pregnancy has been so much smoother than my complicated pregnancy with Mya. I haven't had issues at all and I know what a blessing that is!

We will find out the baby's gender in 26 days (but who's counting?), the day before we move to New Jersey. Will it be our first baby boy or will we have a house full of girls!? Either way, we couldn't be more thrilled to be adding another little babe to our family!

Josh's New Job

 Well, it's official: Josh will be working for PIMCO in NYC starting in July. This is a picture from Time Square during our last trip to NYC, but when we took this picture we had no idea Josh would be working here six months later! His office will be on Broadway just up from Time Square.

The job hunt was actually quite a stressful time. It was a huge weight on our shoulders for several months, so it's such a blessing to have a good job and know where we'll be headed. Many of Josh's classmates knew where they were headed way back in September, so it was really hard waiting and waiting and waiting. Josh was pretty selective in where he wanted to work, so he just applied to two companies and both companies didn't do their hiring til March/April. Long story short, after several really stressful, difficult months Josh ended up getting offers from both companies, so then we had the tricky decision of deciding between a great job in Scottsdale, AZ or a great job in NYC. We had planned on moving back out west somewhere, but when it came down to it we felt really good about this job in NYC. And we are getting more and more excited about it as it gets closer! We'll be living in New Jersey in the same area as Josh's brother Jake and his family and my cousin Cara and her family, so we are so thrilled about it! I can't wait to be so close to family and to live in such a cool area. Mostly, I am just so grateful that prayers were answered and that Josh ended up with an awesome job. Things always work out in the end...I'm learning that lesson again and again!

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One of the cutest parts of the job hunt was all of Bryn's sweet prayers and the countless notes of encouragement she wrote to Josh. The note above is one that she wrote when Josh was down in NYC for one of the rounds of interviews. "Dear Dad, good luck. I love you more than ever. I hope that your interview went well. Love, Bryn" And the picture is of Bryn thinking about Josh :)

April

 April was a great month! We had a bit of snow, but it warmed up and finally started feeling like spring. We spent lots of time reading on the porch, riding bikes, drawing with chalk, and finding excuses to be outside. Here are a few random highlights from the month...

We discovered a new way to keep Mya busy - using her chubby little fingers to thread bead onto pipe cleaner.

 I went to a fun Great Gatsby themed ball at the Hanover Inn with a few of my wonderful friends. Fun night!

One one particularly chilly day Bryn had had enough and (literally) packed her bags for California, changed into a swimsuit, and made herself a one way ticket to California.

(It says "Jet Blue. From NH To Calidornia. At 15 am. Brynlee Hawkins")

 Mya spent a lot of time in buckets this month.

 Josh spent a lot lot lot of time interviewing and going back and forth to NYC in April, so that meant I had a lot of quiet nights to paint. I've been having a fun time painting over old painting and turning them into landscapes mostly. None of the paintings are finished and I don't know what I'm going to do with them but it's been fun playing around.

 Bryn finished reading all the books in the A-Z Mysteries series. The books are about 85 pages each and she would knock them out in two hours. It was awesome to find her reading all over the house, in the strangest places. She even got in trouble for sneaking out of her bed multiple times and secretly reading her A-Z Mysteries books in the bathroom late at night or in the wee hours of the morning. Josh and I scolded her but got such a kick out of it! Now she's trying to find a new chapter book series to read- any suggestions are welcome!

 Bryn made this cow costume all on her own and then tried to convince me to take her to Chick Fil A. (She remembered dressing up as a cow in California for a Chick Fil A day a long time ago). Unfortunately, we live out in the boonies and the nearest Chick Fil A is probably 2 hours away so her plan got vetoed. But not until I snapped a picture of her moo-ing :) 

 Hooray for park days!

 The first caterpillar catch of the season. Unfortunately, it snowed the day after we caught this little fella and he froze solid in his cage on the porch. Oops!

S'mores night with some of our neighbors. We may or may not have burnt up half of our neighbor's lawn, but the yummy s'mores were worth it!

 Mya's new favorite "trick" is to peek around any pole or tree she finds, then she announces "Look Mom. Mya peek." It's so cute.

 Breakfast at Lou's with some of our very favorite people! It was so fun to see the Laytons after nearly a year of missing them!

Date night to the Boston Temple. We've been doing a monthly babysitting swap with our friends and it's been so wonderful to get a fun date night each month to do dinner and a temple session in Boston. 

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And that concludes April with the Hawkins family!