NYC day THREE

We thought we would have a mostly indoor day to avoid the rain. So, we took the subway straight to the Museum of Natural History. This is the "Night at the Museum" place. But, we didn't find any miniature cowboys. The museum was huge and a little hard to navigate. We saw some monkeys and lemurs and this herd of elephants. I discovered something about myself at this museum...I am much more interested in looking at fossils and bones than taxidermied animals. I liked the dinosaurs and was disappointed that a special exhibit on dinosaurs cost extra (more than we wanted to pay).

From here we decided to hit "Bodies: the Exhibit". This was something Dave really wanted to see. There was no photography allowed, but this is the exhibit that shows real bodies...muscles, organs, etc. Many adjectives come to mind: interesting, gross, disturbing, emotional, educational...

By the time we finished the rain had died down and since we were in the area, it was a good time to walk the Brooklyn Bridge.

We found lots of these pad locks along the center of the bridge. They seemed to be a professing of love. Some were even engraved with names and dates. I don't really know details about the tradition, but it was fun to see.

Then we walked to Grimaldi's for some amazing pizza. We had heard we should get there early, there would be a line, etc. But waiting until late in the day worked out great. No line at all and the pizza was great! A yummy end to day 3. Up next: Yankees!

NYC day TWO

Day two, the morning of our 20th anniversary, I woke with hopes that we would not be taking our luggage into the city again! We ate breakfast and then hopped the Holiday Inn shuttle to our real hotel, in hopes that they would let us check in early and we could still have a full, fun day in the city. Well, the concierge at our hotel was amazing. He checked us in, told us all the best ways to get around and what was available when. So, we dumped our luggage and jumped on a bus headed to New York City. From the Port Authority Bus Terminal, we walked to the Museum of Modern Art. It was a really fun morning. I love all the bright, colorful stuff and it is fun to laugh at the crazy stuff. I loved the Picasso's. I am amazed at how much art work he produced, paintings, sculpture, pottery. They had an entire exhibit on Picasso Guitars...paintings, drawings, dimensional art work (not really sure what to call them) like guitars made of cardboard or metal.

I was surprised at the size of some of the art work that I have seen pictures of all my life. Some were tiny, some were huge and we could get so close to all of it.

Monet is another artist who painted a lot of paintings, I love his waterlilies and other well known work, but it was cool to see lesser known (at least to me) work and unusual colors.

Dave was not impressed with the wall of Campbell's soup cans but I thought it was fun.

He liked to pose with the artwork, like this statue of an "athlete".

There were alot of great Van Gogh paintings including "Starry Night". But, for some reason I really liked this one...the colors, the texture, I don't know, but I like it.

This on the other hand....art??? I guess it takes all kinds. Maybe I am not a deep enough thinker to appreciate this or blinds on the floor or a pile of candy in a corner.

Dave was amused by this painting. Again, not sure about the deeper meaning and I am not sure what makes it special.

Dave posing again in the sculpture garden. We had lunch at the museum and spent most of the day there. We went to a couple of other museums, but this was my favorite.

We had dinner at Ellen's Stardust Cafe, where the waiters sing. We sat right at the spot where they would climb up behind Dave and walk along the back of the seats. I tried to include our singing waiter, Dave, and the harmonica player, but never got any really good pictures. Dave had them sing "Sea of Love" in honor of our anniversary. We did some wandering before and after dinner. We walked through St. Patrick Cathedral and Time Square. We had treats at Magnolia Bakery and wandered through some shops like M&M World.

The highlight of the day and maybe the trip was going to see "Wicked" that night. I loved it. The songs, the story, the characters... Let's just say day two was a major success. Forecast for day 3...rain!

NYC day ONE

When we heard that Dave might have the opportunity to take a class in New Jersey the first week of May, I started scheming to see if there was anyway we could make an anniversary trip to New York out of it. The week before the class was spring break. So, I didn't have to worry about school, just someone to look after the kids. With some kids here and some kids there, kids at home and kids at friends, some complicated packing for a band trip and some of the best friends ever we made it work!
So, on a very stormy morning Dave and I headed to the airport where the power was out. With generators in security we finally got on our way. We arrived at Newark airport at about 4:45. Our hotel was one way and the city the other. We decided to drag along our luggage and head to the city. With out a real plan we headed to the Empire State Building. We tripped over our bags as we inched through the line and finally made it to the 86th floor. It was a little cold and very windy, but the view was amazing. Before we left home I some how got Dave to believe it was his idea that an iphone would be really useful on such a trip. So, with the aid of the Internet we hopped a train in search of our hotel. We were staying at the hotel where Dave had reservations for his class, so it was in New Jersey. We were assured that there was public transportation near by and that it would not be a problem. Google transit told us just which trains and buses would take us to our hotel. We arrived at the train stations to a traffic jam of taxis and car services, but headed on to our bus stop. It was after 8:00 and we were a little uncomfortable with the area where the bus stop was. Lots of shady characters milling around, a crazy man on the bench at the bus stop. When another check on Google transit let us know there would not be a bus for over an hour, we headed back to the train station for a taxi, only to find everyone of them gone! Shortly there after we did find one, with a driver who wasn't sure where he was going and apparently neither did we, because when we got to the address...no hotel. We had the driver drop us at a nearby Holiday Inn and paid him his exorbitant fee. Our hotel was part of the Holiday Inn franchise and when it became obvious there would be no shuttle available till morning we were able to transfer our reservation for one night.

When we reached our room, I broke down. I was seriously thinking that I had made a horrible mistake. I was not adventurous, brave or smart enough to make this work. This was not going to be the great 20th anniversary trip I was expecting. Hopefully, a good night sleep and a shuttle to the right hotel the next morning would begin to turn things around!

Brett quote of the day

Isn't it true that Pluto is so small that when people tried to land on it their spaceship tipped over?

To the Parents of Paige

I just opened a letter addressed "To the Parents of Paige A." It says:
As part of our school-wide positive behavior initiative, we wanted to take the time out to recognize your student for displaying conduct worthy of a Bronco! Your child has been nominated by a teacher/staff member for demonstrating manners and a productive attitude that is beneficial to other students, teachers, and our school as a whole. Paige was nominated by her French teacher for being such a good student. The teacher said Paige always listens, never complains, and always does what she is asked. Please encourage your child to keep up the good work so that others may follow the example!
(signed by the assistant principal)
This makes me laugh a little because I can't imagine Paige complaining at school or not listening or doing what she was asked. She has told me that lots of kids in her french class are really bad. So, at least her good behavior is noticed amongst the bad.

Brett quote of the day

"Brett is your room clean?"
"Well, what would be your definition of clean?"

Brett's been busy

Basketball
Brett really wanted to play basketball this year. We were sure he would end up frustrated like his brothers did at the same age, but we were wrong. He loved it!
He did not score in a game, but he was awesome on defense and Dave says that his blocked shot is the first "stat" for any of our kids. He had fun at every game and every practice and was so sorry when the season came to an end. But, he has been dragging the other kids out to the drive way to shoot some hoops.

Birthday
Brett turned eight this week on the birthday he shares with his aunt and uncle. He was so excited to attend his first cub scout meeting on his birthday. Unlike at Christmas, he was also very happy with his birthday gifts. One of which was a big excercise ball, he "accidentally" popped the last one we had. He loves to bounce around the house with it.
A few days later he had some friends over for a Harry Potter party. Most of the games were a flop, but "potions" was a big hit! There was a rainbow of Kool-aid colors, homemade root beer bubbling away, pop rocks and gummy bugs. They had a great time mixing and drinking their potions.

Baptism
The next morning topped off an awesome birthday week with the baptism of Brett and his friend Christopher. They were so sweet and happy. They were both baptised and confirmed by their dads. We wish we had family close enough to attend our special occasions, but are so grateful for the wonderful friends we have here and their love and support.

So, I feel like there are no more "little" kids in the house. Which is kind of sad. But, they are growing into good people, which out weighs the sadness. Brett is a great kid and I am so happy with his choices and the example he sets for us and his friends.