Streets of New York

These are pictures from our trip to New York. I took lots of pictures of the city. These are some of my favorite.

I Heart New York

Our ride

 A few months ago Eric wrote some business with a company located in New York. He mentioned that he'd be needing to go there for "due diligence" and that I'd be able to go with. I never thought it would actually happen. Our last trip to New York 2 years ago started off horribly and kind of made Eric not want to go there again. To my surprise we went there again. I really love New York. I can't quite figure out if I'm a city girl (as I love the city) or if I'm a country girl (I love the small towns in Utah). I guess I'll take the both when I can get it!

We left on Sunday and flew to Newark. We were picked up there by a limo that had been arranged by the company Eric wrote business through. We travelled with one of Eric's business partners (Jason) and his wife (Angela), who we frequently travel with. When we got to the hotel, we were hungry and set off on foot to find a place to eat. Much to Eric's delight, we found a Steak 'n Shake, one of Eric's favorite restaurants we always go to when in Ohio.

Eric on Wall Street

Monday morning we woke up and headed downtown for a Wall Street tour that I had arranged. We were supposed to do this tour on our last trip but weren't able to because of travel issues. So this was one thing on our to do list. Monday was the coldest day during our time in New York. We were outside for most of it, through the snow and rain. We even had to buy gloves, umbrellas, and scarves from a vendor and I had to add 2 more pairs of socks to my already 2-socked feet. The tour was ok. The highlight of the tour was going to the Federal Reserve Bank. We were able to go in the vault (86 feet below ground) and see millions of dollars of gold stored there. We also went to the 9/11 Memorial. After the Memorial, we went to Times Square. We found a restaurant there and went to the Nederlander Theater to see Newsies. I enjoyed the show. Eric slept through the first half.

Me at the 9/11 Memorial

Eric driving a bus at the Transit Museum in Brooklyn

 Tuesday morning we headed to Brooklyn to go to the Transit Museum. I really felt out of place coming out of the subway station in Brooklyn. (The last time we were in Brooklyn I didn't feel that way, I guess we picked just the "right" place.) I love the subway and am totally fascinated by it and the incredible building feat that it is. I had hoped to learn more about the building and layout, but ended up learning a little, seeing old photographs, and vintage subway cars (kinda cool). The Museum was actually built in an old subway station, so the tracks were still live and I could hear and feel the trains. We met Jason & Angela for lunch and then headed to Magnolia Bakery for hummingbird cake, a must-do when in Manhattan. I won tickets to see Letterman, so we went to the Ed Sullivan Theater for a taping of Letterman. Unfortunately, I was really disappointed with the whole experience. We waited in line in the theater for at least 30 minutes, packed like sardines in the lobby. The first guest of the show was Sylvester Stallone, who I actually enjoyed. The second was Al Gore, ugh! Between him and Letterman's dumb political comments, Letterman has lost one fan.

After the show Eric's meetings started. We took a taxi to our new hotel, the Waldorf Astoria. Eric went to his meetings. I started eating my hummingbird cake. I was just going to eat one bite, but ended up eating most of it while watching a show on my phone. When Eric was done with his meetings, we went for a walk and I ended up getting some dinner at a convenience type market. There was a large salad bar. I paid by the pound for my salad.

Magnolia Bakery

 Wednesday morning Eric headed off to meetings while I headed uptown by myself on the subway. I stopped at a Starbucks and got some breakfast, watching the morning crowd. I then went to probably 2 of the busiest subway stations in the city, Times Square and Grand Central. My ultimate destination was the library where I met up with Aaron Olivo with Sidewalks of NY tours. I had arranged a photography tour, which ended up being a private tour. Aaron taught me about photography while walking through the city and Central Park. I enjoyed it. I only wished I had more practice time to put to use what I had learned. After the tour I jumped on the subway and headed to Times Square to see Once. This is one of the newer musicals with rave reviews. Huge disappointment. There was so much swearing that I would have walked out if I hadn't met Jason and Angela there. One redeeming point to the show was a song, "Falling Slowly." After the show Jason and Angela went their separate way and I headed back to the Waldorf. I managed the subway just fine, but when I came out of the station I was turned around and ended up walking around a block or something to get back to the hotel to meet Eric. We went to a Brazilian restaurant, which was good. I found a favorite meal, chicken stroganoff. After dinner we attempted to go back to the hotel via the subway, but after boarding and realizing we weren't going anywhere because there was a broken track in the line, we got off and walked back to the hotel through the rain.

Central Park

Thursday morning I woke early and headed off on my own to take pictures. I wanted to put to use what I had learned. I started out to the subway. I entered the wrong station, it was going downtown. I needed uptown, so I wasn't able to take the subway because the machines wouldn't let me in within 18 minutes. I walked to Central Park. It was fun walking the streets and seeing all the people hustling to get to work. It made me wonder what if being a nanny right after high school would have worked out. I had dreamed of being a nanny in New York when I graduated, but it didn't work out. I walked around Central Park, taking pictures. Probably not the smartest ideas, being alone that early in the park, but I did it anyway. I got some ok shots in, I just need things to click a little more with photography. I decided to walk back to the hotel, via Magnolia Bakery. I had hoped to get another piece of cake to take on the plane, but there wasn't one ready. I think next time I'll have to order a whole cake to take home. Eric and I went to breakfast when I made it back to the hotel. We then headed to the airport and home to a very-walking baby.

Annual Awards Banquet - Salt Lake

Jordan River Temple

Early (5:45 am) Thursday morning, Eric and I flew to Salt Lake. Every year around this time the Utah office that he's signed on with for Penn Mutual has their annual awards banquet. There are meetings on Friday and the awards dinner on Friday night. Eric has clients in the Salt Lake area, so we usually go a day early for appointments. This time around, though, Eric had an appointment with the mountains on Thursday. He and a friend, Bryan, went skiing Thursday morning. While he was skiing, I went to a new temple I hadn't been to, the Jordan River Temple. I enjoyed going there and seeing another temple. I was amazed by the size of it, although it wasn't too much bigger than the Mesa one. After the temple, I went to get a massage. I found a massage school in downtown, where I booked two appointments. I had a hot stone massage Thursday afternoon.

After the massage, I headed to Bryan's house to pick up Eric. We then went to his dad's house in Lehi. Eric met with his dad, and 3 of his half brothers. Krysti had arranged all the meetings. She also put together a dinner. I enjoyed just hanging out and visiting with everyone while Eric met with everyone else. Kevin's kids taught me a new game, Play Nine, which I have now ordered for my kids.

Icicles hanging from a church in the Avenues

 Friday morning came. Eric and I went to breakfast before his meetings started. Once his meetings started, I went to Orson Gygi, one of my must-go-to-places-when-in-Utah. I found some fun things for the Cousins Valentine's party I'll be doing in February. After shopping, I went back to the massage clinic where I had one of the best massages I've ever had, a Yoga Thai Massage. It was a combination of yoga poses, stretching, and massage. It was heavenly. After my massage, I went to the hotel and joined Eric for lunch. After lunch, Eric and I met up with Jim and Krysti at City Creek, the new mall which we hadn't been to yet. It was nice to walk around the shops and visit with Jim and Krysti.

Fountain at City Creek

Eric and I got ready for the evening. We went to the ballroom where the banquet was to be held. We got our pictures taken, and then picked up our nametags. It took me a little bit, but I finally read all of Eric's ribbons on his nametag. I was expecting to see Royal Blue qualifier. However, I was incredibly surprised to see Golden Eagle below Royal Blue!! This meant Eric had qualified for BOTH the Hawaii trip AND the Sicily trip. I was so excited to find that out. I was also amazed that Eric had qualified. He had always said it's basically impossible to qualify for both trips, so I never had expected that. Woohoo!!!

The evening ended up being very nice. Saturday morning we ate breakfast and then flew back home.

A big thank you to Sharon and Dayna for babysitting the kiddos.

Frozen

Spencer and Logan walking on the ice in our front yard

We've had some freezing cold weather for the last few days. Every winter there are just a handful of days where it hits below freezing here. We knew there was a big freeze coming and that it would last longer than normal, lasting about a week. It's fun to have different weather here, so it was welcomed. However, I did feel bad for the kids when they had to wait for the bus and wait outside for school to start in weather that was in the mid-20s. We have plants that would definitely die during such cold weather, so I covered them up with random towels and blankets. It was actually pretty funny to drive around the neighborhood and see all these weird coverings on plants. The kids really enjoyed playing in the frozen ice before hopping on the bus in the mornings. When they'd come home from school, they'd also play in the ice. Spencer loved riding his bike through it, making a muddy mess. I also mentioned that if we had started at the beginning of the freeze, we could have filled up the basketball court and had an ice skating rink. Spencer tried to do that, but I wouldn't let him because we had the neighborhood basketball league playing at our house and I didn't think playing on ice would be very safe/productive/fun.

Last year before Jillian was born, Lindsey didn't take the garbage can to the curb. It was during a short freeze period. The overspray from the sprinklers that had sprayed on the pavers had frozen. I thought nothing of it and started to take the garbage out. I ended up slipping on the ice, falling on my pregnant side, scraping my forehead, and scuffing up my glasses. It really scared me. I spent that morning at the doctor's office doing a non-stress test to check on the baby. Everything was fine, but it was very scary.

One of the plants after the sprinklers had watered the grass

Rocks under a sheet of ice

Cute Kids

Jillian giving kisses

Jillian and Eric

Jillian, making an "ooo" face that she does when she's interested in something



Colton wearing Lindsey's boots - he declared, "yeehaw!"



Woodbadge & a Court of Honor

Eric receiving his new Woodbadge neckerchief and slide

Eric went to Woodbadge training a few months ago. He spent two 3-day weekends away, being trained. He came back with an increase in knowledge. (He also came back singing all kinds of catchy scouting songs too! - Logan loved them.) He also had a "ticket" that he needed to work. This meant that he had goals that he needed to work on and complete. Once those were complete, then he would be considered to have completed Woodbadge. Eric, of course, completed his ticket. He could have received his award and beads at Roundtable, but chose to have it presented at our troop's Court of Honor so that the boys could see his example. I am proud of him for completing Woodbadge, learning more, and working hard to complete his goals.

Members from Woodbadge with Eric



Eric presenting an award to Spencer

Eric has been the Scoutmaster in our ward since August. Prior to that he was assistant scoutmaster. This has been a different experience from what it was in Kingsborough Park Ward. It was a challenge for me before in many ways. This time around, it is hard, but only because I miss the time that he's away. He has done such an amazing job with his calling. The boys love him. There haven't been any accidents, search and rescues, or any injuries, so that has been a huge relief. I am amazed at how Eric does it all - work, calling, and family.

What's neat about Eric being Scoutmaster now, is that Spencer is now old enough to be with him. I think that they have enjoyed being together. It is also neat to see Eric present Spencer with awards at a Court of Honor. Spencer is doing really good with Scouting. He is a Life Scout and is working on his Eagle. He is in the beginning stages of his Eagle project. If he has any merit badges to complete, it is just one or two.

Our New Sunbeam

Colton turned 3 in July. With the coming of a new year, that meant that he is now old enough for Primary. On New Year's Eve, one of his teachers came by with a goodie bag and introduced herself to him. He was shy when he met her. We talked about going to Primary a couple times throughout the week. I thought I'd be met with hesitation from him and that he'd want to stay in nursery. There weren't any signs of it. He easily went into Primary when Sunday came. Colton was all smiles after church and said that he loved Primary. He even started to sing one of the songs, "I Am a Child of God." I think he's going to love Primary. It's just hard to believe that he's too old for nursery now!

A Christmas/Anniversary Gift

On Christmas Day, I received three presents from Eric. One was an iTunes gift card. One was a gift certificate to Etc., where I would like to re-start quilting classes. The third gift was what I had been asking for, gone to the extreme. All month long when Eric asked me what I want for Christmas, I told him "you." Life just gets so busy, that I miss spending quality time with him. I told him that I'd love to have a day with him. Well, he went to the extreme and planned a getaway for us. The details were on a need-to-know basis, and I often found out while Eric was talking with someone, such as telling the airport shuttle where to take us.

Prior to the flight with our little plane

We had a quick flight to Las Vegas. We checked into a suite at Paris. Eric knows that Paris is my dream vacation spot, so Paris it was. We purchased a "Buffet of Buffets" pass entitling us to access at 8 different buffets for 24 hours. We ate dinner at the Spice Market buffet at Planet Hollywood. After dinner, we went to the V Theater at Planet Hollywood and saw V The Ultimate Variety Show. The show was great. We had second row seats that were incredibly close to the stage, making some of the acts scary to watch, with roller skaters twirling literally above our heads or shirtless men swinging from ropes above our heads. I was crunched down in my seat some times, afraid I'd get knocked in the head, all the while Eric laughing at me. After dinner we stopped for dessert at the buffet at the Paris hotel.

Saturday morning came, sleeping in and relaxing in the room. We went to the Garden buffet at the Flamingo. We walked around the strip a little. I wanted to go to the Bellagio and see the Conservatory decorated. It was still decorated from Christmas, which was pretty cool to see, with different winter scenes made from flowers and a Christmas village made from chocolate and mini wheat cereal. We walked back to the hotel and waited for David to pick us up.

Right when David got out of his black Audi, I saw his pilot shirt on. Eric said that was the best reaction, me declaring, "Eric, he's a pilot!" Eric had planned this VIP trip to the Grand Canyon. We flew in this little plane, which I was afraid of at first, to the Grand Canyon West airport.

 

David got us tickets for lunch, horseback riding, and the Skywalk. We went on a 30-minute horseback ride to the edge of the canyon. Eric's horse (Tiny) was monstrous. I was terrified that either my horse (Renegade) or his horse would stumble and I would plummet into the canyon. Eric and the cowboy guide thought it was pretty funny. We ate at a restaurant at the ranch. We took a shuttle bus to the Skywalk. I never thought I would go on the Skywalk because of location and because of the simple fact that I'd be hanging over the edge of the canyon. It ended up not being scary and a pretty neat experience.

At the edge of the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon Skywalk

As our plane took off into the sunset to fly us back to Vegas, I was relaxed and pondered about what a good man Eric is. We did this little adventure on our 17th anniversary. Never had I thought that I'd have been so fortunate to have so many wonderful experiences with my wonderful husband. What a great way to celebrate!

New Year's Day

New Year's Day morning, we decided to go see a movie. We woke the kids up, giving them 10 minutes to get ready to go, and headed to the theater. Their breakfast consisted of the last 2 cereal bars we snuck in, popcorn, and soda pop. We saw Parental Guidance. It was fun to take everyone to the movies.

Colton wanted to do the Dive for Dough the night before but fell asleep, so after we got home from the movie, I threw a dollar in on the step of the pool. He laid down on his stomach and got the dollar. He quickly brought out his freezing hands, and demanded that it was very cold. He took the rubber bands off, found the pennies that were wrapped in the dollar (to sink the dollar), and threw the dollar on the ground, keeping the pennies.

Kaylen with a sparkler

On New Year's Eve, sleeping Colton and Eric's grandparents (Grandma was sick) missed out on the fireworks festivities, so we had a New Year's Eve Part 2 on New Year's Day. After going out to dinner, we came back to our house and did fireworks again. The kids loved it. I wasn't able to get pictures of Logan and Spencer, they were too busy running around lighting fireworks. We finally talked Colton into doing a sparkler, which he was very hesitant to do.

Colton, very cautious, with a sparkler



Lindsey with a sparkler

The kids with Eric's grandparents

New Year's Eve 2012

New Years.
Dive for Dough.

We had our annual New Year's Eve Party this year. We invited friends over and were also able to have Eric's grandparents in town from Ohio with us too. The party started at 10:30. We had yummy munchies and visited, waiting for midnight to come. Prior to the start of the party, Eric coordinated our 2nd annual Dive for Dough. He, along with many others, contributed money for this much-anticipated event. Eric folded, with pennies and rubber bands, about $400 and threw it into the pool.

Rebecca and Lindsey

Eric with the folded money

After midnight hit, the fireworks set off, the kids were all very ready to jump in and become rich. There actually wasn't much interest in the fireworks, as the kids were excited about the money. There were 20-25 kids from the neighborhood who participated in Dive for Dough. Spencer was our only child to do it. The youngest to participate was 11. There were 3 girls who also participated, a new thing this year. I really don't know how the kids braved the freezing cold water. There were kids who were in and out so quick, and done. Then there were kids who were in for 15+ minutes. All of the kids got into the spa to warm up after, but I actually admire them for braving the water. I joked with Eric, and said that at least there are some kids who actually know how to work for money. Spencer ended up finding $4. The most money that was found by one person was $50.

Colton slept through it all

The kids all lined up and ready to go

Kaylen getting money she threw in