Rain, rain go away.  This is what NYCity Mama was thinking when she looked outside and saw the raindrops breaking up and drip as they hit her bedroom window.  She and her family had made plans to attend a picnic hosted by two wonderful blogging forces, Liz of Mom101/Cool Mom Picks and Emily of theMootherhood, as part of Hebrew National’s national campaign of “Picnics with a Purpose“.

She was eager not only to socialize with other bloggers, but also participate in the charity event to support and show love to the boys at Abbott House and get her own boys out in the open to run around and get nice and tired for the day.

By the time the hour rolled around where it was time for them to leave the rain had stopped, and though it was still cloudy and somewhat foggy out, the temperature was just as Mama liked it. They made their way to New Rochelle, NY. Technically only a 21 minute drive from her apartment, but in reality much, much longer courtesy of the ever present traffic on the infamous, ever-hated Cross Bronx Expressway.

They arrived to Five Islands Park, a beautiful destination overlooking the Long Island Sound.  They arrived, just before the boys lost their cool.  The little ones saw the play area right away and ran for it, while Mama, hubby, and 11 yr old made their way to greet the others. It was somewhat of a quiet group, until Mama got there.  She’ll admit, she tends to raise the volume up a notch at times, but that was fine, everyone was super nice and she started greeting people right away, the first being Elisa (Diary of an Unlikely Housewife),Liz, and Emily.

The set up was amazing.  The ladies had done such a great job making sure that there was enough of everything for everyone.  Andy, “Grilling Hubby Hero of The Day”, had already laid out some hot dogs, which looked delicious, and which Mama’s 2 yr old did not hesitate to stab with the serving fork and bite right into.

It wasn’t too long before others arrived and conversations were happening all over, while games and fun was happening around it all.  Some of the kids from Abbott House arrived and almost immediately started playing ball and chatting it up, while the kids painted pictures for them to take back to the house and hang on their walls.

After awhile, Mama and hubby decided to go for a walk and explore the sites.  The area is absolutely gorgeous, evident despite the still somewhat cloudy weather.  They found a path behind the play area and it suddenly became really quiet and peaceful.

The park is named Five Islands because of the small walkable bridges that connect it with four other islands around it, making this location not only a fun place for the family to come visit, but also a romantic and peaceful retreat. Mama can only imagine the sites on a sunnier day!

When they returned from their peaceful walk, it was time for the kids to have a (huge) cupcake treat.  They sat around the picnic table decorating them with all sorts of cookies and candies (sugar overload anyone?) and Mama’s 3.5 year old took the task very seriously as he focused on the things he wanted to put on his chocolate treat.

The boys enjoyed another hour or so of play, a few more hot dogs, and time to toss the ball around before everyone started saying their goodbyes and it was time to go.  The picnic was a success, measured as such not only by the beautiful surroundings, the day (which turned out to be sunny), the amazing food and treats, and all the fun for kids, but also by the amazing amount of effort and love put into the event, the company of those who organized it, worked it, and attended, and by the many more wonderful friends Mama made along the way.  Oh yeah, another indication: the fact that her 2.5 year old passed out only seconds after the car started to move and the 3.5 year and 11 year old not too long after.

Thank you Hebrew National, Cool Mom Picks, and theMotherhood for such a great time!  It was really a fun day and a wonderful Adventure!