Friday, July 22, 2011

New York City

Over Fourth of July weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend 4 days in New York City with a few of my friends from here in North Carolina. We had a blast and packed in a bunch of site over the four days. A friend is doing a rotation in Connecticut so we stayed with her each night and traveled into the city via the train. I meant to take a picture of my luggage - a backpack. I think that may the be lightest I have ever packed for a trip. We got to attend a Mets Baseball game, walk around Central Park, see Ground Zero, ride the Staten Island Ferry, walk around Little Italy and China Town, see NYU and Columbia, Times Square, watch a fireworks show over the Hudson River on the 4th of July, see some art at the Metropolitan Museum, and visit several different national monuments/parks in the city.
I recently purchased a book that tells you about all the national parks/monuments across the United States. There happens to be 11 in Manhattan and we got to visit 6 of them - African Burial Ground National Monument (an estimated 15,000 African Americans are buried in a 6 acre area in Manhattan), Castle Clinton National Monument (originally a fort to protect the southern tip of the island), Federal Hall National Memorial (the location of George Washington's inaugural speech) , General Grant National Memorial (largest mausoleum in the United States), Hamilton Grange National Memorial, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site. The sites were all very interesting. It was tons of fun and I look forward to my next NYC trip!! =)

Theodore Roosevelt's Birthplace
Lacee and I standing with an estimated 3 million people waiting for the fireworks show to begin!
Enjoying our deli sandwich at Carnegie Deli
Cannoli in Little Italy - so so so good!
I decided to be a little daring and wade out into a public fountain - I know, I am so rebellious!
James, Lacee and me riding the metro - my hair is out of control.
Our view of the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry - I liked the red tug boat.
Ground Zero under construction.
View of the Mets/Yankee's game. The Yankees won.
Central Park - I really enjoyed walking around the grounds. It is huge!
James, Tom, and me in Times Square. So Fun!Hopefully you can get a small idea of the fireworks show from the video. It lasted about 30 minutes and was a great way to celebrate the day. We then made our trek back to Grand Central Station with millions of other people. This was probably the largest crowd I have ever been in!

The BEACH!

This summer my mom and Elizabeth came down to go to the beach with me and the kids. We had alot of fun. The weather was perfect that day and the beach was not too crowded. The kids had a great time playing in the sand, building a sand castle with my mom, looking for sea shells, and spending hours jumping over the waves. We look forward to our next beach trip.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Going West!!

This summer I had a chance to go out west with my family to deliver my little brother to BYU to start his freshman year. The trip was alot of fun. We got to see some sights on the way out and on the way back plus we turned it into a family reunion. Everyone, except Steve and the kids, were able to meet up at Jamie's house in Utah. I enjoyed my first real steak dinner, visited Arches National Park, Canyonland National Park, saw my first MLS soccer game, moved Christopher into his dorm, visited Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Badlands National Park, saw some LDS Church history sites in Nauvoo, and enjoyed the company of my mom, dad, and little sister. It was a great trip and we had lots of fun. Enjoy a picture tour of our trip.
The back seat sitters on the drive out: me, Elizabeth, Mama
The Norrod's in Cheyenne, WY. This is who took good care of me while I lived there.
Ruth's Chris Steak House: the anticipation was almost to much

Marianne and I enjoyed the "Windows" in Arches
Finishing our hike out to Landscape Arch
Jamie and I accidently wore the same shirt
Sitting in front of Delicate Arch.
The whole family!!
This view is in Canyonlands National Park. It was really windy, a storm was moving in.


You can't go to Provo, UT and not get some Cafe Rio!
This is the day we ALL moved Christopher into his dorm room.
Christopher is all grown up. This is right before we left him to start his own new adventure!!
MLS Soccer Game: it ended in a tie.
Father's Day Breakfast in bed.
This is the beginning of our trip home. First stop, Yellowstone and Old Faithful
I got to see my friend Marisa while we were in the park. So fun!
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
Up close and personal with the bison.

On our rafting trip down the river - we saw 5 bald eagles!
Part of the Grand Teton Mountain range
Mt. Rushmore

A cave we happened upon while driving to Mt. Rushmore.

Nauvoo Temple

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Pleasant View Cemetary

We had a chance this summer to spend a peaceful Saturday afternoon at the cemetary where Catie is buried. It has been about a year and half since she passed away and we continue to miss her as much as ever. When life throws you curve balls, such as the loss of a loved one, it makes you rethink about lifes priorities and what is really important. I love my family very much and am so grateful for them each and every day. We miss and love you Catie.

Mary's Six

It is hard to believe that Mary is already another year older. She had a great birthday party at Bounce U with alot of her friends from school, church, and the neighborhood. Upon Mary's request, I attempted to make a flower cake. She had lots of different kinds of flowers to share with her friends!!