Couldn't leave out my "celebrity" photos of the Today Show gang. I got there just as they were finishing up their last outdoor segment. Ann Cury (sp?) is just as sweet and classy as she seems on t.v. as she took time to listen and talk with some of those standing in the crowd. I was impressed. The other photos are Ground Zero. Very humbling place to be. And a view of the Chrysler Building from the top of the Empire State Building.
All of that worrying for nothing. I was so stressed about leaving the kids for 4
days,(we'd never left Brooklyn before), and everything went great. Now I find myself thinking, so when's our next vacation, without the kids! We had such a great time in New York. I have to say, I learned my lesson after walking close to 10 miles the first day and used the subway a little more the next day. I can't believe how sore my feet and hips were. But that didn't keep me from my all important mission of making the most of every day there. Highlights included: seeing "Wicked" (Amazing-highly recommend),Central Park (could have easily spent an entire day there),SHOPPING, seeing Matt, Al, and Ann in person during the Today show, and just being in the city taking it all in. I was lucky my youngest sister Zoe was able to come up from D.C. to spend a day with me while Kurt was at his conference. A great time was had by all!
Don't you just love how creative kids can be? Give them an empty box and they can create a race car complete with room for a passenger. Jackson and Collin turned the house into a race track much to the delight of the riders, Lexi and Brooklyn. Lucky for them the main floor is mostly tile. I was grateful that everyone was busy and happy and that I could get a few things done.
or shall I say, camping in? The kids were so excited to sleep out on the back deck in the tent with Kurt. Someone had to sleep inside just in case Brooklyn woke up, so I made the sacrifice and said I would! We started the festivities with smores, said our goodnights, exit Mom. Then Kurt proceeded to tell stories as they fell asleep. Or at least that was the plan. Within one hour, everyone was back in the house claiming they couldn't sleep. We left the tent up for a few days and they had a great time watching movies in there and hanging out together during the day. We'll try it again next year.
We made a trek through the Ogden Nature Center this week. I felt like a pioneer pushing our double stroller through dirt sometimes mixed with gravel trails in the heat. After spending 10-15 minutes on the wrong trail we quickly made it back to where we were supposed to turn to make it to the observatory tower. Even though they were hot and had to walk a ways, the kids were troopers and did great hiking. Note to self, next time, don't wear high-heel wedged sandals and ditch the stroller for the hiking backpack for Brooklyn to sit in!
What a deal! My couponing and grocery smart savvy friends will appreciate this. I purchased all of the food pictured for just $2.37. My best yet. Items included: a
5 lb. container of strawberries, 2 cartons of lemonade, 8 boxes of cereal, 2 bags of granola, 3 boxes of popsicles, a pack of yogurt, and 2 packages of Klondike bars.
Jackson, Collin, and Alexis took swim lessons this year. I think we picked the hottest two weeks of the year which was good for them as they were in the water the whole time. Brooklyn and I however just sat and melted in the meager amount of shade we could find around the pool. But they all did super this year. They all had awesome teachers and improved a ton.
