Our Trip to New York

Spencer and I just got back from a 6 day whirlwind trip to New York City and the surrounding areas. We had such a blast! I highly recommend everyone to visit the city at least once in their lifetime. It was so much fun. In all of the big cities that I have ever been to, never have I seen anything in comparison to NYC. I loved seeing all the colonial style architecture mixed in with modern day structures. Add in all the other beautiful sites such as the bridges, Lady Liberty and the Hudson River and the place is truly majestic! I also found the city to be clean, safe and family friendly. The subway was fun and quite a treat from walking all day.

Here is a breakdown of what we did each day while on our trip:

Day 1: Thursday

• Arrived at Newark Airport (New Jersey) at 5:15 p.m.
• Took shuttle to Hotel, checked in, and was on our way to Timesquare by 7:00 p.m..
• Met my brother and Dean in Timesquare, went to Daves Famous BBQ for dinner.
• Walked around Timesquare, which was amazing!
• Walked to the Manhatten LDS Temple.
• Crossed over through Central Park to 5th Avenue and saw Trump Tower, the Park Plaza Hotel and the major 'outrageously priced' shopping district. Something I imagine you'd see on Rodeo Drive.
• Walked through Rockefeller Center, then left the city at 12:30 a.m.

Day 2: Friday

• Went to Rockefeller Center and watched them film The Today Show, anyone see me? Spencer's Uncle Mike, who lives in NJ, joined us for the day and showed us around.
• Picked up something for the kids at FAO Schwartz
• Walked through Central Park. (I loved, loved Central Park! Even though you are right in the heart of a major city it's so peaceful and secluded.)
• Rode the subway to Little Italy (true Soprano territory) and had a delicious lunch.
• Did some shopping in China Town (one of the funniest moments during our trip).
• Rode the subway down to Battery Park where we saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
• Walked past Ground Zero. Was disappointed because you can't see a thing. They have started rebuilding and have fences up all around it.
• Back to Timesquare for dinner.
• Left the city and drove to my brother's house.

Day 3: Saturday

• Drove to Boston, MA
• Saw some famous historical sites such as; The Boston Commons, Faneuil Hall, and the site of the Boston Massacre.
• Enjoyed a breadbowl of Clam Chowda' from a local restaurant.
• Listened to Spencer and Cory say "Wicked Good" all day long...
• Saw the Boston LDS Temple.
• Walked through the Harvard University Campus.
• Did some shopping at the Pro Bass Store, which was right next to the New England Patriots Stadium.
• Left Boston and headed back to my brother's house

Day 4: Easter Sunday

• Drove to Palmyra, NY
• Luckily, the church Visitor Centers are open on Easter.
• Stopped first at the Hill Cumorah site and Visitors Center
• Stopped by the Palmyra LDS Temple
• Took a tour of the Joseph Smith Farm and House
• Walked through the Sacred Grove
• Took a tour of the Book of Mormon publication site and visitors center
• Walked to the Erie Canal
• Finished the day with a fabulous Easter meal at an Indian Casino. Go figure ;)

Day 5: Monday

• Drove back to the City to spend our final day there.
• Took the subway to Brooklyn for pictures of the skyline (the park in Brooklyn across from the city was awesome!).
• Back to China town for more shopping.
• Said goodbye to my brother Cory and headed to the taping of the Dave Letterman Show. Guests included; Zac Efron, ESPN's Mike & Mike and a Canadian band, A.C. Newman with Nicole Atkins. It was so much fun. We sat in the 2nd row and had perfect seats.
• After the show we went to the Empire State Building.
• Then we headed back to our hotel.

Day 6: Tuesday

• Arrived home at 12:50 p.m. after 8 hours of flying.
• It was so good to see the kids and to hear all of the fun stuff they had been doing too. Lots of hugs and kisses.
• Back to the daily grind.

It was a fantastic trip!

Happy Birthday to Cameron!

Cameron is our April Fools baby and he is now officially 4 years old. For his birthday we took him to Chuck-e-Cheese, his favorite place, and let him go wild. Belle and Nalani, a couple of his friends, came along to join in the fun too. Cameron is very much an Arts & Crafts little kid. Not only does he love to color and paint, but he is very good at it too. He loves to use his imagination in pretend play and is great at putting together puzzles. I am constantly amazed at how much he knows and how fast he learns. He has a thirst for knowledge and is one smart little kid! He brings a lot of fun and excitement into our family and definitely some roughness as well. We love him so very much. I am so proud of you Cameron!

Keeping One Foot in the Door

There are certain doors that I like to remain open for me. One of them is my welcome at the District Attorneys Office. As far as work goes, I LOVE working there, and it feels nice when they call and ask me to fill in. I hope to always be able to keep one foot in that door. I also like having the flexibility of working at the grocery store. It's nice being able to work as little or as much as I want, week to week. I don't want to let that opportunity pass me by. Another recent door opened up for me helping my brother in law, Jeff, at the Home Show promoting his business. With his new calling he realized he can't be everywhere all at once, and I am happy he accepted my offer to help him out.

During the week of Spring Break I was able to get my feet into a few different doors. This is not a schedule I would like to have week to week, but it was kind of fun mixing things up. On Monday and Tuesday I worked at the grocery store; On Thursday and Friday I worked at the DA's Office; and on Saturday and Sunday I worked a few hours a day at the Home Show filling in for Jeff. It made for a busy week, but it was a great opportunity to work. I feel lucky that so many doors open up for me, and when I get my foot inside I don't want to pull it out!

A Memorable Stake Conference

Today was Stake Conference. It was bitter sweet though because we knew that our Stake Presidency, who we all love, was going to be released today. They are such faithful, fun-loving, wonderful men, who will dearly be missed! But change happens and change is good. Spencer and I were really excited to find out who the calling was going to be extended to. Even on the car ride over to the chapel this morning, Spencer said that with his calling of serving in the Stake Young Men’s he has gotten to know a lot of the members in the Stake, and having built these relationships he felt like he would already have a good relationship formed with who ever was called. Little did we know he has a very personal relationship with him. When Elder Perry, of the Seventy, announced Jeff’s name (Spencer’s brother) as the new Stake President, my jaw dropped to the floor! My Father-in-law was sitting right beside me and I glanced over at him, shock written all over my face, my mouth literally wide open, and his eyes were filled with tears. What a proud moment for a Father! It was a neat moment. I am so excited about our new Stake Presidency. I am excited about the counselors Jeff has chosen to serve with. They are going to be wonderful, and I know they will serve whole-heartedly. I am so grateful to have the gospel in my life! I know my Savior lives. I can feel his love in my life, and I will forever feel indebted to him for giving me the family that he has!

Indoor Roasting

This past weekend Spencer and the boys came home from the store with marshmallow peeps. Our family learned long ago from the Brown's how good roasted peeps can be, so right away Austin started asking when we could roast them. He couldn't understand why we wouldn't just whip out our fire pit, despite the rain, and start a fire for him. We're such mean parents! We did however come up with the idea to call Spencer's parents and see if they had a fire going in their fireplace. They did and we were off. We all got a kick out of watching the boys roast baby chicks on a wooden skewer sticks!

Hard Work and Dedication Pays Off

Cameron was given the assignment in Primary to read a scripture and say the prayer. The scripture he was asked to read is D&C 88:119 and it says;

"Organize yourselves; and prepare every needful thing; establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.

Cameron had one week to practice the scripture and he did everyday. I didn't expect him to memorize the whole thing, I just wanted to review some of the harder words so he could pronounce them correctly. He on the other hand was very excited about practicing his scripture. He had the beginning part down and then I would just say a key word to help him with the rest. When it was time for him to get up in front of everyone, he was so scared. The whole time he looked like he was on the verge of tears and just shook like a leaf, but he did it, he said the whole thing and I am so proud of him!! That's quite an accomplishment for a 3 year old! When we came home from church, he started to recite the entire scripture all by himself. I have included a video of his hard work.

Cameron wasn't the only one who had an obligation to fulfill at church yesterday. Spencer and I were also asked to speak in Sacrament meeting. My talk was on Obedience and Spencer spoke on Following the Prophet. I can honestly say that I actually enjoyed speaking in church this time. I didn't feel overwhelmed with nerves like I normally do. I normally rush through my talk, reading the whole thing, but I surprised Spencer this time when I took a full 20 minutes. Even though I enjoyed speaking I am looking forward to another 2 years off :)

How well do you know your husband?

How well do I know my husband? I answerd the following questions, then had Spencer review my answers. He made 3 corrections, so out of 20, that isn't bad!

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? Outdoor Life Network for some Hunting & Fishing.
2. You're out to eat- what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Italian
3. What's one food he doesn't like? Tuna Noodle Casserole (he loves tuna fish, but not cooked).
4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order? Depends on where we go. At Red Robin he would order a Raspberry Lemonade. Any other restaurant would most likely be a Diet Pepsi or Coke, and for road trips, it’s a toss up, Mt. Dew or Rockstar.
5. Where did he go to high school? The current city in which we live is where he went to school. The same one his Dad graduated from.
6. What size shoe does he wear? Size 12
7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Guns, maybe stuffed dead animals he could display someday
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Tuna Fish with pickles
9. What would this person eat every day if he could? Crab
10. What is his favorite cereal? Fruity Pebbles
11. What would he never wear? A wrestling uniform
12. What is his favorite sports team? College Basketball would be Gonzaga University
13. Who did he vote for President? John McCain
14. Who is his best friend? Me! Best Man would be his cousin David (He also included his brother Dan)
15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Complain (He said have a better attitude :()
16. What is his heritage? Irish
17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? Chocolate cake with real whipped cream and cherries poured on top
18. Did he play sports in high school? Soccer, baseball, and basketball. He’s awesome at football, but didn’t like the coach or players. (Correction: He did one year of track too)
19. What could he spend hours doing? Fishing & any kind of hunting.
20. What is one unique talent he has? He is very artistic & creative (He said he fixes things) but this one doesn't count because he's talented at both.

For Real???

Often times when I log in online I like to peruse the MSN page for top stories and fun articles. The article that caught my attention this morning is entitled, "America's 10 Saddest Cities. Which spots rank highest for depression, crime & divorce?" I was curious to see if my area made the ranking, and was surprised to see that it was Number 1!!! Holy cow that's depressing! To be quite honest I thought top cities like NYC, Seattle & LA would make the list, but they aren't even on it. This isn't good.

Here are our statistics:

1. Portland, Ore.
Overall rank: 1
Depression rank: 1
Suicide rank: 12
Crime (property and violent) rank: 24
Divorce rate rank: 4
Cloudy days: 222
Unemployment rate (December 2008): 7.8%

A Domino Effect

For the past few weeks my little town has been inundated with viruses. The virus in particular that I have heard of and seen the most involves a deep cough with accompanied fever. I'd like to say our household has been the exception, but I'd be lying. Spencer was the first to catch this lovely virus. He got the fever, body ache, and bad congestion. Cameron and Andrew were the next to get the congestion, no fever at that point, and I thought I was livin' the high life because I hadn't caught it yet. My day came last Saturday during Stake Women's Conference when I got the body ache, chills, and fever. I too developed the phlegmy cough that practically every member of my family, except Austin, had as well. Austin has been the only one lucky enough to have dodged the virus so far.

This week both Cameron and Andrew manifested a fever and Cameron complained about his ear hurting. Tuesday Spencer took Cameron in to visit the doctor who confirmed that he did in fact have an ear infection. The following day I was reading the after visit summary they give us and was surprised to see information on there about pneumonia in children. I called Spencer and asked him why the doctor would put that information on there. He said that the doctor thought Cameron had some congestion/fluid in his lungs. "And you didn't think this was important to tell me?" I said to him. MEN! I went ahead and emailed the doctor and she was able to explain to me that she could hear fluid in his right lung and that he needed to be on antibiotics.

Since I needed to make another trip into the medical facility to pick up Cameron's antibiotics, I decided to have Andrew looked at while I was there. It's a good thing because he too has an ear infection. I ended up leaving the clinic with two large bottles of antibiotics that they both have to take 2-3 times a day for the next 10 days. I'm just crossing my fingers that Austin can continue to avoid the gunk that is around him!

I'm not having this conversation!

The other day Cameron was in my bathroom and found one of my Tampax feminine products in the drawer.

"Mom, what is that"?
"It's for Mom, Cameron".
"But what is it for, Mom"?
"Don't worry about it Cameron, it's for Mommies".
[Arms outstretched, real serious] "Come on Mom ... tell me the truth!"

I've never heard Cameron use that phrase before, "tell me the truth" and so at that point I just walked him out of the room, fighting back the laughter! I told him we needed to go downstairs. That was not a conversation I was willing to have with a 3 year old!