New York, New York (extremely long post - Sorry!!)

Jim had to go to Long Island, New York for work and was so sweet and brought me along. We left Wednesday evening and got to New York very late. We took a taxi to Long Island and crashed for the night. He had meetings all day Thursday but I didn't worry too much about finding stuff to do 'cause my mom has an aunt and a bunch of cousins who live on Long Island. Bad thing is that they all work during the day. So, I got to enjoy a day most mom's don't get, relaxing, peace and quiet and doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. The only bad thing about it was that there wasn't much by our hotel, just a Wal-Mart and a couple of restaurants, but it was still nice to go have lunch and read a book. That night we went with Maurice and Sandy (the guys Jim went to meet with) to dinner at a sushi restaurant. Now, for those of you who know me, you know I don't like sushi and/or seafood so this was a little bit of a sacrifice for me. No, it really wasn't bad. I had some very yummy terriyaki chicken and enjoyed watching Jim eat some very interesting looking food (poor Jim loves sushi and never, ever gets it when out with me). The next day Jim had more meetings so after sleeping in, I once again tried to get a hold of my family but couldn't. I decided to once again relax. Jim called me around 3 to find out what I was doing. He felt so bad 'cause I had another day by myself at the hotel (which I really didn't mind), but he being the sweet, considerate husband that he is came and picked me up. I got to see Maurice and Sandy's offices and some of the many things they do. We then drove around Huntington and hung out at a place called Prime which is right at the harbor. It was a beautiful evening to be out on the deck.



Maurice's kids had a school dance that night so we tagged along. It was so cute to see a bunch of kids that were about 3-10 dancing dressed up as princes and princesses. Made me miss my kids. We then went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant with Maurice's family. They are such amazing people and were so sweet to entertain us and let us hang out with them while we were there.

Saturday we woke up and headed into the city.



We ate at Katz's Deli, which for those of you who have seen 'When Harry Met Sally' the famous "I'll have what she's having" scene was filmed. We sat at the table next to that famous table. Look, they even have a sign marking the table.


This place has the most amazing sandwiches. They hand cut the meat and really pile it on. I was full before I even got finished with the first half of my sandwich. After lunch we went to Citi Field to watch the Mets play the Washington Nationals. It was once again a beautiful day and thanks to Sandy, we had amazing seats.

The game was a lot of fun. And, it's not very often that you get a Cardinals fan in Mets gear. (If you can't tell, Jim is in a Mets hat and shirt)



After the game we went to Pinkberry's (which Sandy said is the big thing in New York and LA right now) and got a frozen yogurt. After that we figured we better let Sandy go so we decided to try and get Lion King tickets.



We were told they were sold out but we could wait in the 'cancel line' for tickets as they became available. There were only two girls waiting there so we decided to see what came up. We weren't in line very long and were told they had tickets for us. These tickets were amazing. We were only eight rows from the stage. The show was great! I am amazed how they did the costuming for the animals and how the actors portrayed all the animals. It was a lot of fun.



After the show we caught the train back to Long Island and went to bed since we had to get up at 2 a.m. Utah time to fly home. It was such a nice vacation for us. One that would not have been possible if it weren't for my great, amazing parents who watched the kids for us. Thanks Mom and Dad!!! We have the greatest family that is so willing to help out with our kids so Jim and I can do these things every now and then. Although, this is going to be our last one for a while with the baby coming. I'm grateful we got to have such a great vacation!!

My trip to Texas wasn't all that I was thinking it was going to be, it was much, much more! I was just glad to get to go after spending the morning at the Instacare with Ally. She fell the day before and hit her leg. She limped on it all day and kept saying ouch but seemed to be okay. I figured it was just bruised but when Jim picked her up the next morning to give her a kiss goodbye she started screaming in pain. That's just not right for Ally. Since we were going to be gone for a few days we figured we would rather be safe than sorry. After meeting with the doctor a x-rays it was determined that it was indeed a deep muscle bruise. Thank heavens!! I dropped the kids off to my sweet, sweet sister and brother-in-law and we were off. The first night was great. Dinner and chatting with my wonderful sisters until 2 a.m. After sleeping in on Friday we decided to head to lunch and do some shopping. The sky was quite black so we decided not to go too far. After Chili's we hit a couple of stores and then the rain hit. Poor Tricia ran for the car while Kelly and I waited in the store. Trish looked like she jumped in a pool in her clothes. I couldn't believe the rain. We figured it would be best to just head back to her house. This is what we saw while driving...



Yes, behind that wall of water is a truck. I couldn't believe how much water there was on the roads. We just hung out at her house the rest of the day and talked and watched Mama Mia and talked some more. The next morning it was raining so we hung out for a while waiting for it to let up. When we finally realized it was going to, we decided to brave the water (I mean come on, we weren't going to melt or anything) and head to some outlets. And, this is what we saw while driving....



Yes, that is supposed to be a road. The white van you see to the side, got swept in the water. Once again, crazy and amazing! For a little stretch of road we were afraid we would be one of those cars you see on the news that is stuck in a flood of water with its passengers on the roof. With a little luck, and Tricia's wonderful driving skills we got through it all okay. We didn't realize how truly lucky we were until we got back to her house that night and saw the news. Six people died and many, many more were stranded in their cars.

We had a wet but great day of shopping, talking and laughing. That night Trish and I stayed up until 3 a.m. talking. Kelly isn't the night owl we are and crashed around 1. It was so much fun and really made me miss having my 'big' sister close by. I am so glad I got to do this little get away for my sisters. I am especially grateful that I have such great sisters and that we are close enough to want to be together for a trip like that. It always goes way too fast!!! I am also very grateful for a wonderful, wonderful sister and brother-in-law who were more than willing to watch my kids for four days. And, not only watch them, but spoil them with attention and enjoy them. Dorothy and Cameron are the BEST!!!



(This picture was taken the last day so if we look a little tired, it's because we are. That's what four hours of sleep the night before will do to ya. Yes, I have the very round pregnant face and this picture made me realize that I really need some sun!)

Thanksgiving Point

Yesterday was the first day of Spring Break and since it was going to be the only nice day this week while I will be here, I decided to take advantage and take the kids to Thanksgiving Point to see the animals. It started out rough (we were all hungry) but it turned out to be a really nice time. The kids enjoyed seeing and feeding the animals. Neither were afraid of the animals and were willing to feed all of them. We went through a lot of corn. Ally loved riding the ponies and Andrew had fun on the hay ride with Grandma.

Easter Egg Hunts

The Easter bunny visited our house but since the weather was so crappy on Saturday and Saturday night, he had to hide the eggs inside. We have 9 a.m. church so he hid the eggs downstairs so the kids had to wait until after church to have our hunt. Ally told a few people at church that the Easter bunny hadn't come to our house, even though they had gotten their clothes and presents from him. I felt bad but knew if we did the hunt before church there would be no way we would be on time, oh wait, we are never on time for church. The kids had fun finding the eggs even if it was a small, quick hunt.



One of the reasons I did ours so small is because I knew we were going to my parents for dinner and another Easter egg hunt. For those of you who know my mom, you know that she doesn't do anything small. She has four grandkids ranging from almost 7 to 9 months. We also had Tricia's sister-in-law Lindsay (who we've adopted as a sister) come with her husband Dan and their daughter Bailey who is two. My mom put out over 100 eggs. Needless to say, my kids got plenty of eggs and candy. (Thankfully my mom only put a couple of jelly beans or one large piece of candy in each egg, but it is still a lot of candy) And, what would be an Easter egg hunt without a casualty. Andrew and Ally collided. Andrew immediately started crying and grabbed his cheek. Ally started crying but she was more upset because she fell on her basket and her eggs opened and candy spilled. She wanted every little piece of candy picked up and put back in her eggs. Once she realized nobody was going to steal her candy she calmed down. Andrew kept crying and wouldn't move his hand for any of us to see what happened. He finally quit crying and during dinner I noticed a large purplish mark showing up on his face. Later at Jim's mom's I noticed it was quite swollen too. Poor kid. I think it's safe to say that Ally has a tougher head than Andrew. Even with the injuries, the kids still had a blast. It's so nice to live close to family so we can spend these holidays together.

Easter Sunday

Just like at Christmas, I get my kids new outfits for Easter. Last year Jim's sisters started a new tradition of going Easter dress shopping. All the sisters who live here, Jim's mom and granddaughters who live here, which happens to only be Ally go shopping for dresses and out to lunch. It's a fun time to spend together and shop and eat. It takes all day, but at least this year we all left with something. Ally even gets to pick out her own dress and next year she will be even more excited 'cause she'll get to pick one for her baby sister. I love to see my kids all dressed up, especially Andrew who would live in shorts and t-shirts all the time if he could. He got his first tie this year and has not fought me to wear it. I think he is starting to turn into a young man, which makes me happy and sad at the same time. It's amazing how quickly they grow up.

Ultrasound

This last Thursday was the official ultrasound day. We decided to take the kids with us. They were both really excited to see the baby but Ally didn't quite understand. She thought the baby was coming that day. Even after a long explanation during the drive to Provo, she told the ultrasound technician the baby was coming that day. She laughed and said it was a common occurrence with younger children. It was great to see the baby and that it has all the necessary fingers, toes, etc. Then the time came. What is the gender?? It's a (drumroll) girl!!! Ally was ecstatic! She is so excited for a new sister. Friday while we were out running errands she told everybody she could talk to that her mom was having a baby girl. Andrew and Jim on the other hand, they need a little time to adjust. They were both hoping for a boy. Andrew because he wanted a brother, Jim because he wanted less drama. He even told our next door neighbor this girl is going to be named Amard (drama backwards) Hopefully this girl will be a little more mellow like Andrew. We are excited and hope she continues to grow healthy like she has so far.

Egg Decorating

Last Wednesday we had Jim's sister Dorothy over for our annual Easter egg decorating. The kids were so excited to decorate eggs and to have Aunt Dorothy over to help.


Jim even helped us with the decorating this year.

Ally and I had gone to the store and couldn't decide on the 'glitter eggs' or the stickers and foam kit so we got both. After decorating the eggs, I wish we hadn't gone with the glitter, it didn't stick to the eggs very well, but the kids enjoyed it.





Ally loved the sparkly eggs. Ally couldn't wait long enough for the color to stick on the eggs, she kept grabbing new eggs and putting it in a different color. She also enjoyed putting as much on each egg as possible. It was a really fun night. And, we got some fun, creative eggs.