Mini-Peace Corps Reunion

Two of our very good friends from Peace Corps Tonga came for a visit over Memorial Day. It was great to see them and just be with people from our group who experienced life in Tonga with us.

Jeff & Jamie came in on a red-eye Saturday morning...after a little breakfast, they were ready to hit the pavement and do some sight-seeing.

The City Hall Park ...



















Brooklyn Bridge and the Staten Island Ferry ...

























City sunset :)














After church on Sunday, we waited for over an hour in line at the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park for our lunch ... well worth the wait!!





















It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Central Park!

Monday morning along the Hudson River, just two blocks from our apartment.

I heart peonies

I noticed the flower stand that I was pass everyday on my way to my subway station had these and on Monday couldn't resist the temptation of picking up a bunch. With the buds only the size of a small ping pong ball, it has been such a delight to watch them unfurl into these blooms that are larger than my hand during the past 3 days!

There is something that I just completely LOVE about this flower...it has such an outrageous and wild beauty to it. Perhaps it is the wildness that I love? I suppose a girl will most likely always love the flowers used in her bridal bouquet, but I know too that this is beautiful snapshot of the creative artist we have in our God's and that just takes my breath away!!

Celebrating One Year of Marriage ... in Montauk

Today is our one year anniversary ... it's hard to believe that it has already been a year! Since we are always happy to have an excuse to explore a new place, we took the opportunity to spend the weekend in the East Hampton village of Montauk. The weatherman had predicted temps in the low 50's with clouds and rain, so we were ecstatic to awaken in our little beach condo on Saturday morning to the view of clouds rolling away and the beautiful sunshine pouring in.

The balcony at the condo we rented, had a wonderful ocean view.

At the beach our first morning...enjoying the SUN! ... And, Jason finds a new friend...

We rented a couple bikes and rode the 6 miles out to the Montauk lighthouse ... I hadn't ridden a bike since I was in Tonga!

51 days ...

We have 51 days left in our New York City adventure ... it is weird to know that it will be coming to an end soon, but the reality is starting to set in and we are doing our best to make the most of our last few weeks here.


We still do not know where we will land next and are eager to see what God will surprise us with. We have started looking a little more seriously into northwest Montana and have a few leads there, but nothing is for sure yet.


In the meantime, we catch an early morning flight on July 7th, heading to Spokane where we will visit with Jason's family. We will all take a road trip to North Dakota for the "turtle days" festival and somewhat of a Schlafmann family reunion. After a bit more time in Spokane, we will head down to California (borrowing the awesome orange Datsun again - thanks Melody!) and spend time in Atascadero and L.A. visiting with my family and friends...


After that....we'll see!

This...I will definitely miss!

For nearly the past 8 months, I have had the most incredible view of Central Park to greet me each day that I come into work...

I watched the park turn yellow, red and orange...and then I watched the entire park fade into the death of winter. For four months it was a great desolate square in the middle of all that surrounds it, then a few weeks ago, a few trees showed a bit of green and now ...

Mother's Day at Heritage Baptist

We had so many mother's this week at church - pastor had all of them come up to the front to honor them and it was such a precious sight to see all of them and imagine the incredible lives that they have led.

Jason & I got pulled at the last minute to help with children's church...we were pretty disappointed to miss the sermon, but it was a tangible way to honor the mother's so that none of them had to assist.

A Long Ways from Atascadero

My parents arrived last Thursday and left yesterday ... their first trip to New York City was a great success! We did a lot of sightseeing, but also had some relaxing time too. New York is pretty different than rural Atascadero, but they got right into the city life...racing to catch subways and all!

We have a somewhat "standard" tour that we take first-timers on to get a look at the must-see items. It begins with a ride on the free Staten Island Ferry!

Battery Park & lunch at a street fair - YUM!

Wall Street area - love my parents getting into the bull action!

Yankee's game - of course!

Train to Cold Springs - our favorite getaway spot from the city. Quaint little town with antique shops and you have no idea you're an hour away from Manhattan!

Cupcakes at Make My Cake - our first cupcake shop!














Strolling through northwest Central Park.

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Jason getting back to his wagon train roots - and the famous Brooklyn Ice cream Factory - worth the wait in line!

Dinner in Little Italy and a stroll through China Town.

Ferry to Liberty & Ellis Island.

Empire State Building...

A final stroll through Central Park, along the large reservoir.