. . . because I was laughing so hard!
P.S. I stole this from my sister-in-law's blog--thanks Emily!
P.P.S. I've been working on part 2 of NYC, but I've had technical difficulties. Check out Brooke's blog for her take on the trip.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
NYC. . .Part 1
Here's part 1 of our New York experience. . .pictures and part 2 to come soon!
Thursday, February 26--Saw Brooke off early in the morning--she had to be at school at 5am to get on a bus to LAX. Her flight left around 8am and she got in to Newark, NJ at about 5pm local time. She was scheduled to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center, but we haven't had a chance to talk to her about that yet. The rest of us spent all day traveling, too, just a little more round-about--Long Beach to Salt Lake to JFK. Both flights were uneventful and enjoyable. Dallin, John, and Noah experienced their first flight ever, and thought it was really cool. Our shuttle driver from the airport to the hotel was a hoot! He had us all in stitches imitating Valley Girl, southern, and Hispanic accents from people he's driven over the years. Our hotel in midtown Manhattan is even better than I imagined--we got an amazing deal and we have so much room! I should have known it would be wonderful, though--my friend who recommended it to us has impeccable taste--thanks Nicole! It took us awhile to settle down and settle in, so we slept in a little on
Friday, February 27--We walked to the Rockefeller Center and were going to ice skate, but decided to wait until Monday--it's a lot less expensive to do it in the middle of the day. (We may regret that decision, as it's supposed to be snowing and 26* tomorrow.) We found a quirky deli just around the corner from our hotel, and had lunch there. Yummy! We took the Downtown bus tour, and saw all kinds of cool places--the garment district, Times Square, Greenwich Village, Soho (which stands for South of Houston-prounounced House-ton, NOT Hyoo-ston, at least here in NYC-Street), Tribeca, Little Italy, the Financial disctict, the World Trade Center site, and bits of Chinatown. Of course, in these areas we saw famous buildings like the Empire State, Chrysler, and Flatiron. And cool bridges like the Brooklyn and Manhattan. After freshening up, we took the subway to Astor Place Theatre to see this. We all, like totally loved it (to borrow a Valley Girl phrase-thanks, Mr. Shuttle Driver). Brooke went to see this. I think we all had an unforgettable experience. We were hungry after the show, so we decided to get some pizza here. EXCELLENT NY style pizza.
Saturday, February 28--Mr. Comedy (a.k.a. the Shuttle Driver) told us that we could find a five-story Toys R Us in Times Square, which we happened to catch a glipse of on the bus tour, and which the boys begged us to return to at some point during our stay. So, since we didn't really have any plans until 3pm, we decided to head that direction. Jared and Noah were not disappointed--we found a huge area dedicated to their favorite toy--Legos. We were all wowed by the huge Statue of Liberty, Empire State (complete with King Kong) and Chrysler buildings made of Legos, as well as Star Wars characters. Very fun! In the middle of the store is a ferris wheel with various toys used for the cars--a Little Tykes car, for example. Of course, it's a little bigger than the original version. After spending a couple of hours in the store, we headed out for some lunch from a hot dog vendor. Now, from all the great things I've heard about New York hot dogs, I was expecting the best hot dog EVER. Wasn't. We chose unwisely. It was a hot dog. Period. Oh well. Anyone got any better ideas for where to get the best NYC hotdog? Next, we headed back to Rockefeller Center to do the Top of the Rock tour. Breathtaking views, and we got to see Brooke for about 10 minutes, too.
Thursday, February 26--Saw Brooke off early in the morning--she had to be at school at 5am to get on a bus to LAX. Her flight left around 8am and she got in to Newark, NJ at about 5pm local time. She was scheduled to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center, but we haven't had a chance to talk to her about that yet. The rest of us spent all day traveling, too, just a little more round-about--Long Beach to Salt Lake to JFK. Both flights were uneventful and enjoyable. Dallin, John, and Noah experienced their first flight ever, and thought it was really cool. Our shuttle driver from the airport to the hotel was a hoot! He had us all in stitches imitating Valley Girl, southern, and Hispanic accents from people he's driven over the years. Our hotel in midtown Manhattan is even better than I imagined--we got an amazing deal and we have so much room! I should have known it would be wonderful, though--my friend who recommended it to us has impeccable taste--thanks Nicole! It took us awhile to settle down and settle in, so we slept in a little on
Friday, February 27--We walked to the Rockefeller Center and were going to ice skate, but decided to wait until Monday--it's a lot less expensive to do it in the middle of the day. (We may regret that decision, as it's supposed to be snowing and 26* tomorrow.) We found a quirky deli just around the corner from our hotel, and had lunch there. Yummy! We took the Downtown bus tour, and saw all kinds of cool places--the garment district, Times Square, Greenwich Village, Soho (which stands for South of Houston-prounounced House-ton, NOT Hyoo-ston, at least here in NYC-Street), Tribeca, Little Italy, the Financial disctict, the World Trade Center site, and bits of Chinatown. Of course, in these areas we saw famous buildings like the Empire State, Chrysler, and Flatiron. And cool bridges like the Brooklyn and Manhattan. After freshening up, we took the subway to Astor Place Theatre to see this. We all, like totally loved it (to borrow a Valley Girl phrase-thanks, Mr. Shuttle Driver). Brooke went to see this. I think we all had an unforgettable experience. We were hungry after the show, so we decided to get some pizza here. EXCELLENT NY style pizza.
Saturday, February 28--Mr. Comedy (a.k.a. the Shuttle Driver) told us that we could find a five-story Toys R Us in Times Square, which we happened to catch a glipse of on the bus tour, and which the boys begged us to return to at some point during our stay. So, since we didn't really have any plans until 3pm, we decided to head that direction. Jared and Noah were not disappointed--we found a huge area dedicated to their favorite toy--Legos. We were all wowed by the huge Statue of Liberty, Empire State (complete with King Kong) and Chrysler buildings made of Legos, as well as Star Wars characters. Very fun! In the middle of the store is a ferris wheel with various toys used for the cars--a Little Tykes car, for example. Of course, it's a little bigger than the original version. After spending a couple of hours in the store, we headed out for some lunch from a hot dog vendor. Now, from all the great things I've heard about New York hot dogs, I was expecting the best hot dog EVER. Wasn't. We chose unwisely. It was a hot dog. Period. Oh well. Anyone got any better ideas for where to get the best NYC hotdog? Next, we headed back to Rockefeller Center to do the Top of the Rock tour. Breathtaking views, and we got to see Brooke for about 10 minutes, too.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Big Apple, Anyone?
So I was talking to my mom the other day, and I started talking about the trip we're taking to New York, and I realized I hadn't even told her ANYTHING about the trip. If I haven't told my own mother, then I haven't said anything to most of you, either. Brooke, along with other members of Upland High School Chorale and Madrigals, has a fabulous opportunity to sing with the Masterworks Festival Chorus at Carnegie Hall. We decided we couldn't pass up the chance to actually have a family vacation (well, sort of--Dallin has to come back early, but that's another story.) and so we're taking everyone. Did I mention it will still be freezing cold, as we're going at the end of February? We're staying here at the recommendation of fantastic friends of ours who've taken their kids to NYC at least twice. Of course, we're going to do as much as we can in the 4 days we have, but if anyone has recommendations for us, please comment! And seriously, if anyone wants to come. . .
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
December Happenings and Happy 2009
December was a memorable month! Birthdays, the Nativity art and music festival, Elizabethan dinner, a car accident, illness, and of course, Christmas.
Noah and I are one year older and wiser. (I think I'm just older, but Noah's definitely wiser.)
Brooke experienced her 4th and final Elizabethan dinner as part of the Upland High School choir program. Brooke was happy to be a quadrant leader for the servants for the 3rd year. Her friend Gigi was the queen this year--you can see her in the picture below.
The show always ends with the Madrigals dressed in royal garb singing Silent Night with candles they light as they sing, and then blow out all together at the end. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of the Savior.
Then there's the 16th Annual Christmas Art and Music Nativity Festival that is sponsored by our stake--it's a sight to behold. Thousands of nativity scenes, hundreds of performers, and a really fun children's activity room. Another great way to celebrate and remember the real meaning of the Christmas season!
Chris was in a minor car accident, which injured his lip. This was really bad timing, as he was supposed to play his trumpet with a couple of guys the very next day, and also the day before Christmas Eve. He's fine now, but his lip was pretty grusome for awhile. The picture shows his lip before stitches. He got slammed from behind by a drunk driver, which pushed him into the car in front of him and set the air bags off. The bag beat him up! Fortunately, no one else was hurt, even though the guy took off and hit another car going the other direction. (The only other thing that marred our month a little was this awful virus that gave us all searing sore throats, stuffy, then runny noses, a nasty, phlegm-y cough, and NO energy. I wish I could blame that on not sending out Christmas cards, but alas, I can't.)
And last, but certainly not least, we enjoyed Christmas! My camera was set wrong, so none of our pictures of the kids opening anything came out, so all you get is the tree. It was pretty nice having everyone home from school and Chris around a little more than usual. We had a kick-back morning just enjoying our gifts, and then we headed to Chris's parents house in the afternoon for more laid-back fun. The kids always enjoy running around and playing with all of their cousins, and wii, and being outside. Ahh, if only Christmas break could have lasted for one more week! Oh well, on to 2009!
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