This week Jack returned to school and had his first day of 8th grade! Middle school has absolutely flown by and I can’t believe he’s already had his LAST first day at the middle school before he moves onto high school next year.
I had such a wonderful summer with him – with trips to Ocean City, North Naples, and NYC. We also had Cooper join our family this summer and we all love his ridiculous fuzzy face, especially Jack who has taken the title of Cooper’s Best Friend. Oh and at a recent doctor’s appointment, we found that Jack had gained almost 10 pounds and grew 1 1/2 inches over the last three months!
So, back to school we go. Last year was a really tough year for Jack when it comes to friends, so I’m very much hoping that this year he finds *his people*. In fact, I checked in with his guidance teacher a couple days before the first day of school and she assured me that 7th grade is typically the most challenging for all students, but especially boys. So, fingers crossed for an easier year!
{As previously noted here on the blog, all photos and/or posts about Jack are run by him first for approval. Jack has approved this message.}
You know how sometimes you promise your kid a prize for something, and then later have to figure out how to deliver on it? Yeah, that was us. Jack crushed it in 6th grade, landing on the honor roll all four semesters. As a little reward, we came up with the idea of an end-of-year prize. Then came 7th grade. Jack worked his butt off again and made the honor roll another three semesters in a row. By spring, things were looking a little shaky, so we sweetened the deal: if he could pull his grades back up to all A’s and B’s for an eighth straight semester, he’d earn something big… an overnight trip to NYC.
Which he earned! YAY for Jack!
The only problem? Summer got busy, and the thought of wandering around the city in hot, sticky, swampy weather wasn’t exactly appealing. So, we kept pushing it off. And pushing it off. Until… well, basically the very last minute. Jack and I finally squeezed in our NYC adventure over the weekend, just in time for him to roll straight into his first day of school the very next morning.
Where We Stayed: Motto by Hilton New York City Chelsea
This is our third time back at the Motto by Hilton New York City Chelsea hotel. As always, the check-in was easy, the rooms were clean, and the price was good by NYC standards. It is also about a 10-minute walk from the train station, and within easy access to lots of shops and restaurants.
What We Packed
When we do an overnight in NYC, we keep the packing to a minimum with just a backpack for each of us. This was Jack’s first time in the city in the summer, so it was so nice not to have to be bundled up in coats, hats and gloves! We each pack a change of clothes, electronics (Kindle for me, Nintendo Switch for him), and toothbrushes.
What We Did: Chelsea, Midtown, Chinatown & Little Italy
We arrived in the city around 2pm and walked over to the hotel. Our room wasn’t quite ready yet, so we ventured out to grab some food at Crompton Ale House (YUM!), then back to the hotel to drop off our backpacks and charge our devices.
We took an Uber to Midtown, to spend some time in Jack’s favorite stores – the Nintendo store and the Lego store. He was absolutely thrilled to pick out a couple new Lego sets to add to his collection.
Lots of streets were shut down for little street festivals, so we decided that instead of Ubering back, we’d just walk the 20+ streets back to Chelsea since it was a beautiful day. We poked around looking at stores on our way and had an energy-boost stop of some FroYo about halfway through our walk. By time we got back to Chelsea, we were ready to be lazy, so we grabbed some food at the nearby Whole Foods, had a bed picnic and enjoyed the sunset from our room.
The next morning, we made a quick run to a nearby Starbucks for coffee and breakfast sandwiches and headed back to the room to relax for a bit. Our check-out time was noon, so we packed up our backpacks and left them with the front desk for the day.
We took an Uber to Chinatown and checked out lots of stores in the Mott Street area, making our way from Chinatown to Little Italy. One of our favorites was Yunhong Chopsticks — because they have so many sets of beautiful chopsticks to choose from. We each picked out our favorite set, as well as a set to bring home for Travis for our next sushi or ramen night. I also enjoyed Senti Senti, which is a shop devoted to k-beauty products. With the help of a super helpful salesperson, I bought a couple items I can’t wait to try out!
Oh and we had some absolutely delicious crepes while walking around Chinatown as well. Jack had one with bananas and Nutella and I got a mini GF version which included strawberries, bananas, custard cream, whipped yogurt, chocolate pearls and crushed pistachio. So good! Absolutely would eat them again, but Jack recommends sticking with the mini version because his was HUGE.
We hopped an Uber back to our hotel, picked up our backpacks and then walked over to Eatly for lunch/dinner. I’m obsessed with their pesto gnocchi, so I will take any chance I can to get some in my belly. We didn’t have much time to spare, so we packed up our leftovers and power-walked to the train station, thankfully getting there with the perfect amount of time to use the restrooms and line up for our train.
And just like that our whirlwind trip to NYC was over. It was one of those last-minute plans that came together and a really fun end to our summer!
One of the perks of my new job (okay, not that new, I’ve been there since October 2024) is that I get to work remotely most days. This summer, we decided to take full advantage of that flexibility and head back to a VRBO we previously enjoyed in North Naples, Florida.
We flew down on a Wednesday evening, right after I wrapped up my workday. My plan was simple: log in from the house for two days, enjoy the Florida sunshine from my laptop, and then roll straight into a vacation. The house has its own pool and hot tub, complete with a lanai, so I could set up my workspace in the kitchen overlooking the pool. While I worked, Travis and Jack lived their best pool life, hopping in and out of the water all day long.
By knocking out two full workdays remotely, I only had to take two additional days off to stretch a long weekend into a full week of Florida sun. We flew home early the next Wednesday, and I was logged back in that morning. So yeah, I’m loving the work/life balance!
What We Did:
When I say we had the laziest vacation ever, I mean it. Most days we alternated between reading on the couch (me and Travis), playing video games from a bed nest (Jack), checking out the local thrift stores, eating all the food, going in and out of the pool, and walking along the nearby beach. One night, we enjoyed both a rainbow AND a sunset at the Delnor-Wiggins beach.
Where We Ate:
We revisited: Turco Tacos, Michaelbobs BBQ and Kilwins for ice cream. New places we enjoyed: Steamers Seafood, Mystic Lobster Roll Company, and Naples Brunch Restaurant.
Where We Shopped:
Most of our thrifting luck was had at the nearby Goodwill locations. However, I also found a couple fabulous scores at the St. John’s Shoppe consignment store.
I barely changed out of my swimsuit all week and it was PERFECT. I actually ended the week feeling rested and refreshed!
