Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Living in New Jersey provides us proximity to the hustle and bustle of the City and also to landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island. This summer we hopped on a ferry and got to witness the majesty of the Statue of Liberty and the rich history of Ellis Island. Both places offered great amusement and valuable history insights on the immigrant origins of the US.

Chris taking a shot of Statue of Liberty

Why summer is the best time to cook

Chris loves to cook. Nate loves to eat. We always say it's a match made in heaven.

And Chris' favorite time of the year to cook is the summer and fall — when fresh vegetables are available from the farmer's market, and when the basil we grow on our fire escape is in full bloom.

Our uncle gave us this cucuzza squash that he grew in his garden.
Cooked with some olive oil and garlic, it was delicious!

There have been a lot of peaches at the farmers' market this year, and so Chris decided to make a pie.

Tucker in action

One of our favorite things to do is to take our dog Tucker to the park near our house, where he  chases squirrels and runs to his heart's content. Here's him at the park, running in slo-motion:

Tucker also loves to play with other dogs. Here are some of our favorite pictures of him:

Is summer really over?

Seems like just yesterday we were complaining about how cold it was in the Northeast, and wondering if summer would ever arrive. And now it's almost September 21, and we're wondering how the last three months could have gone by so quickly.

We had a great summer, though, and got to do a lot of traveling.

Nate in Albania, where we spent a week exploring the beaches and ancient ruins

In June, we spent a long weekend in Vermont and Massachusetts, enjoying the beautiful scenery. 

In July, we travelled to Europe. We spent our first week in France, visiting Paris and then the northern part of the country. Then we spent our second week on the coast Albania, swimming in the sea and eating fresh caught fish.

In August, Chris travelled to Washington D.C. for a work event.

And then we finished the summer with friends on the beach in Connecticut.

Our hotel room in Paris had an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower

Here are some pictures we took along the way:

Chris in front of the Palace of Versailles in France

America's newest citizen

Earlier this month, after sixteen years living in the United States, Nate became a naturalized American citizen. It was an amazing day for him. He stood beside nearly 100 other people, from 35 different countries, all of whom were becoming citizens that day. What an amazing sight to see, all of these people – many of whom left war-torn countries — getting to become citizens and experience the liberty and freedom that the United States promises. We were both filled with pride and patriotism.