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.

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!

Walt Disney World - Coming Home

The trip was fantastic. We were able to experience so much together as a family. It was great!

However, by the end of the week, I was missing the kids just slightly. So I was excited to get home to them. We were greeted by a clean house, worn out babysitters, and a mohawked baby.

Walt Disney World - Day 6: Epcot

We had seen and done most of everything at the parks, so Eric gave me the option of choosing which park to go to on the last day. I wanted to walk through the countries since the other time we went, we zoomed through them, trying to find some dinner. It was dark too, so I didn't get many pictures either. It was fun to just walk around the countries and see some of the different cultural things. Because we went in the daytime, there were Disney photographers everywhere. They'll take your picture with their camera (and then you can buy a print from them) and they'll also take a picture with your camera. So, we were able to get lots of pictures of us, much to Eric's annoyance. We also went on the bigger rides another time.

For dinner, we went to the Wilderness Lodge and ate at the Whispering Canyon Cafe, which we remembered for our last visit, had unlimited milkshakes for Eric. I think he actually got tired of all the milkshakes he could drink! It was a fun restaurant, and one that we would want to take the kids to when we go with them.

Walt Disney World - Day 5: 1900 Park Fare

Eric isn't too much into character dining, but he is into buffets. So, when my dad told us that he had reservations at 1900 Park Fare, a character buffet, we joined everyone else. It was a fun experience. Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Wicked Stepmother, Anastasia, and Drizella walked around the restaurant, greeting everyone. Cinderella was so tiny and nice. Anastasia and Drizella were hilarious! They made my night. They fought with each other and made big embarrassments of themselves. (It kind of reminded me of fighting with Shelly when we were growing up. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that my mom would actually call us Anastasia and Drizella.) I was even taught the correct way to smile like a princess.

Walt Disney World - Day 5: Magic Kingdom

Today was the day for Jeremy, Kelly, Rhonda, and Mark to go home. We met together for one last meal together - a yummy breakfast. All of the kids put money together to buy a Precious Moments statue for my parents. (The statue was of a boy and a girl sitting on a bench, one wearing a Mickey hat, the other holding a Mickey balloon while eating a Mickey ice cream treat. Right when I saw it, I thought of my parents.) It had been a great vacation, all of us being together. I think there might have been some minor annoyances, but overall, it was fantastic. I don't know if the opportunity will arise to do something like this again, but I would love for it to happen. I really appreciate my parents, and everything they did to make the trip happen and to bring us together.

Eric and I went to the Magic Kingdom after breakfast. We rode the rides and spent time shopping for souvenirs. The highlight of the day was when we tried to go on Space Mountain, only to be greeted by 4 employees, telling us that the ride was broken and closed. We were really smart, and headed for the PeopleMover, knowing that the PeopleMover goes through Space Mountain, and wondering if the lights were on inside the ride. Sure enough, the lights were on and we got to see the insides of the ride. The ride seems lots bigger than the track actually looks.

After we were finished at the Magic Kingdom, we got on the monorail and headed to the Grand Floridian to eat dinner there.

Walt Disney World - Day 4: Epcot

We started today at our own paces again. Eric actually had work that he needed to finish, so I tagged along with Mark and Rhonda, where we met up with the others eventually. We met up for lunch at the Coral Reef restaurant, where we were able to dine right across from the huge fish tank. All through lunch, we kept our eyes on a giant sea turtle who hung out right by our table. I think this was probably the best food that I had on the trip.

We were able to ride Soarin' all together. I love the unique concept of that ride. We went to a show at Innoventions that was sponsored by Velcro. We had walked passed it earlier in the day and it looked funny. It also looked like we could push some of the in-laws up on the stage to volunteer again. Sure enough, Mark, Ed, and Eric got coerced onto the stage, Ed willingly, the others, not so much. They "played a game" involving babies and packing for a trip which provided us with lots of laughs.

By late afternoon, we decided to part ways, with some needing to get shopping done before they left to go home tomorrow. Eric and I made our way around the countries, sampling food as we went because we were there during the Food and Wine Festival.

Walt Disney World - Day 3: Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

After a full day at Animal Kingdom, we headed to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. This is a private party (read pay extra money to go to) where we can celebrate Halloween Disney-style. The park was open until midnight. There were trick-or-treating stations throughout the park. There were spooky shows and parades. Characters were also out and about. When Eric, Lindsey, Spencer, my parents, and I went to WDW 8 years ago, we also went to the party. It is such a fun way to celebrate Halloween at Disneyworld. Not only do you get candy, but you don't have to wait longer than 5 minutes for a ride.

I loved the fall decorations throughout the park.

Mom and Dad were great sports, dressing up as doctors. They wanted us all to dress up, but we were party poopers.