Halloween is coming and Ross is getting fat.......ter.....
Hello one and all and its lovely to talk to you all again. Its been some time since my last post but its been pretty hectic as of late, some wanted (family visits, yay!) some not so (too much work at the mo, boo :-().
So lets take it from the top.
All happy campers
Mum and Dad McCaughrain have been over visiting and it was wonderful to see them. You don't realise how much you miss people until you see them again. It was a fairly relaxed week for us all (and more so for them following on from 2 sunny weeks in Florida lucky gits) and definitely less eventful/mental than the Dyers crazy visit a few weeks earlier.
Ben was kind enough to share his room with his Granny and Granda and both Ben and Katie upon seeing them on the Saturday morning took to them instantly, much to Grannys relief! In fact so much so that Ben wouldn't leave their side for the duration of the week even following the most navigationally challenged woman every into the hay bale maze which thankfully for Mum wasn't taller than 5 ft or she wouldn't have been able to see over it either! The maze was part of yet another free event for the kids where they had bouncy castles, the maze, music and free pumpkin painting all while overlooking the NY skyline. Lovely!
Bens pumpkin......is that blood???
Lost!
Hay boy!
Cuddling up to Granda
then stealing his glasses!
Dancing again and again and AGAIN!
Making sure Granny doesnt get lost on the path
Unfortunately the weather wasn't the best over the week but we didnt let that dampen our spirits with a trip to Woodbury Common (which dampened my spirit and destroyed what little credit history i have here) where my first driving experience since we got here went relatively uneventfully, thankfully! For those that dont know Woodbury Common is like a minature styled Hell on earth with 220 outlet shops all built in the shape of a nice little village to lure you into a false sense of security and only then do you find this "little village" doesnt even have a bar! Kill me now! Needless to say Mum and Leigh had a great time, Citi banks shares rose and i now have an extra job delivering pizzas to make up the excess!
On the way to Woodbury Common aka Hell
In the Captains seat
Downing a btl
Rest of the week was fairly relaxed in and about Hoboken and my folks were good enough to look after the kids on 2 nights! Freedom! One night we went to go see Gone Girl.....still not sure if i liked it or what the hell it was about and the other we went to a lovely little restaurant on Clinton Street for a feed and followed by a few drinks at the bar which was really nice so we may have a new local or should i say have added another local to our list ;-)
Thursday we headed over to Downtown Manhattan and had a dander about WTC and headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge for a few tourist moments and photos
The Brooklyn bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
Unfortunately though as all good things come to an end the week was up all too soon and it was time to say goodbye. We took the train over few Queens and said our tearful goodbyes at the JFK Air Train. :-(
On the train on the way home :(
These days its pretty hard not to stay in touch, what with Skype, Whatsapp, Viber, Facebook etc. etc. yet nothing beats the actual physical contact of telling your Mum and Dad to their face that you love them and getting a big hug. If your like me and dont tell your folks often enough that you do Love them then your homework from this blog is to call round to their house, tell them you love them and give them a big hug because trust me you'll miss it when you cant! :(
For anyone that has been to the States over Halloween you will know that here its a BIG deal. Having experienced it for the first time here its definately something that they do better here than at home. Theres none of this kids arriving at your door weeks in advance singing Halloween is coming and demanding money or they'll egg your house. There isnt as much of the slutty out fits (ok thats not a good point). Its all about the kids.
A flower and 2 monkeys!
Us being us of course left it to the last minute in ordet to get costumes so it was a bit of a bargain basement job but fair play to Leigh who managed to find Ben a monkey outfit and as hes very into Curious George at the minute he was well chuffed and Katie was a pretty flower. Both very befitting of their personalities at the minute! I managed to duck out of work early and we headed over to the annual Hoboken Halloween Ragamuffin Parade.
The parade starts at 12th Street and heads down Washington Street to 4th where in the little league park they have a fancy dress competition for the kids. The parade has a marching band and a couple of trucks with the Rocky Horror Show and an Elvis impersonator. Then a clown car and more marching bands and again all for free. Washington Street is the main street in Hoboken and is where all the shops are and boy do they get raided! Theres queues of kids outside every shop where either the shopkeepers are outside waiting or inside waiting with BUCKETS of sweets! The steady stream of "Trick or Treat".....*sweet in the box*....Thank you is both crazy and endearing. It must cost the shops a fortune and by the time we reached 4th Street Ben had filled and emptied his pumpkin box 3 times! He was in his element....and i was making sure he didnt miss any opportunities wink wink!
By the time we made it down to 4th street Ben wanted to go to a park so we skipped the competition and after a quick visit to the local park headed back up Garden Street where it all happens again! This time its the residents who, have decorated the outside of their houses to the last detail, sit on their steps, dressed up (some with a beer or wine) and more buckets of sweets and it all happens again! Another 3 bucket fills! Woohoo!
At this point im thinking i could get Ben to work the streets all night and stock up for the year but Leigh is having none of it so we try to find somewhere to eat but everywhere is full to the brim so we head home and order a pizza and open a bottle of wine.
Hoboken is a city but at times like this it really does feel like a small village community. I always said i knew more people in Ballyeaston after only living there 1 year than my 7 years in Sharonmore or time in Greenacres but you think when you live in a City there will be no community but this has proved me wrong.
We also had the priviledge of meeting up with Ruby and Diane who were over for a few days from Newcastle (England, not County Down). I hadn't met Diane before so was lovely to finally meet her and as always was lovely to see Ruby. Ben became chaperone and we walked down to Bryant Park where we had a we drinkie and then onto the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square for a feed and a few more drinkies. Ruby and Diane were then heading down to the Empire State bulding so w eleft them with big hugs and headed back home.
Anyway best sign off now as its getting late and Ben and Katie are coming to work with me tomorrow (to day care) so Leigh can go out on the tear with Michelle in Manhattan. Early start then and Im expecting a wife full of cocktails home so best get my sleep.
Random bit of info - I played Hurling for the first time a few weeks ago! We went up to play football on the pitch used by the GAA club but there was only 3 of us so Sean volunteered us to train with the Hurling guys. Thankfully it was a beginners session (although i was the only person there who had never held a bat before) but it was good craic. Not sure id ever fancy my chances in a match though as its bloody hard!
Anyway i hope everything is well with you and yours and as is customary ill leave you with some photies. Bye!
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