Spring Break in NYC part 1

It has become a tradition over the last couple of years to get together with Mandi, Christian, and their girls for Spring Break.  We went to Philly one year.  Met in DC another.  This year, they are living back in NY and we HAD to take the chance to drive up there to see them.  Andrew had his work trip to NYC back in 2010, but the kids and I had never been.  We have been planning and anticipating this for months.  It was a great week!

We took the kids out of school a little early on Thursday and headed up to DC to spend the night with Amy, Rick, and their kids.  It was a short, but fun visit.  (I think our visits with them are always short and fun.)

On Friday morning, after cooking pancakes and bacon for TWELVE of us, we left for NY. The kids are such great roadtrippers.  I love vacationing with them.  Our favorite car game this trip was Family Feud.  I found it on clearance for 29 cents right before we left.  We had a lot of fun guessing the top five answers to random questions like "Things you were afraid of as a kid that you're still afraid of."  (Dentists was #1.  Boo.)

We drove through states I'd never been through.  Like Delaware!!  I was so excited to take a picture of in front of a big "Welcome to Delaware" sign.  But they have no state pride.  I couldn't find a good sign like that. Here's the proof that we've been there:

Hi. We're in Delaware.

After paying lots and lots of tolls and getting stuck in traffic for no apparent reason on the New Jersey Turnpike, we made it to Christian and Mandi's in the early afternoon.  The adults were excited because Friday night was date night! We left all seven kids home with a cute babysitter (who was shorter than Brandon) and took off for the city.  We had such a fabulous double date. First, we stopped at La Esquina, a little taco shop with tacos that were so delicious that Andrew and I are still craving more.  And they had spicy corn on the cob that had really good flavor, but the kernels were too small.

Andrew and I kept quoting Nacho Libre, 

"Get that corn outta my face!"

We walked around the city a bit.

We could see the Empire State Building lit up in pastel colors.

Then we headed to Chinatown for Chinese massages.

Wow. We decided to go for 1/2 hour massages, but the 30 minutes went by too fast!

Loved it. After driving in the stressful traffic for the past couple of days, 

Andrew especially enjoyed his rub down.

I was glad Christian and Mandi could vouch for this place,

because I never would have gone down there on my own!

Our final stop on the amazing NYC date night:

Chocolate! (by the bald man)

You can't go wrong with chocolate.

Soooooo decadent.

This was a little further than our other stops, so we took a cab there and then back to the car.  My first experience with NY cab drivers.  Our first driver was so nice and talkative and (relatively) safe.  Our second driver was frightening.  Andrew had to close his eyes and was trying to wedge his body into the safest position if (when?) we were in an accident. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. It was crazy.  But we survived. Major props to Mandi for planning such an awesome date night.

On Saturday, we packed all the kids up into the minivans for more adventures in the city.  First, we walked right around the corner from our parking garage and found...

The Manhattan Temple!
Can you see the teeny tiny angel Moroni at the top?

Loved to see this little haven of peace in such a busy, bustling city.

Then we told the kids to channel their inner pioneer because we walked.

And walked.

And walked.

They were awesome.

First stop:  Central Park

 This ended up being the nicest weather day of our whole trip. Perfect.

The kids had such a great time.

Climbing on the rocks

Going down the slides

Spinning in the tire swing

Playing in the sand

Eating a yummy picnic lunch.

Afterward, we walked down to the Museum of Natural History.

It was just OK for us.

It was really crowded.

And the kids were exhausted from all of their playing.

We didn't stay long.

Just long enough to see a couple dino skeletons.

We wanted to make a quick stop at the Shake Shack before heading home.

But then we saw that the line went out the door and around the corner.

We sent the boys to get minivans, while we waited in line.

The four-year-olds had really had it by this time.
Poor little legs.

After resting up in the van on the drive home, everyone was ready...

to jump in the trampoline???
Crazy kids.

We also decided to do some our Easter festivities.

We read the story of the resurrection from the New Testament
and the kids made "resurrection rolls."  They were delicious.

We also sent the kids on a scavenger hunt for their Easter baskets.

And had our egg hunt in the backyard.

On Easter Sunday, we took it easy.
We went to church in the morning.
We even made it out the door in time to get some Easter pics.

More fun to come...

Guest speaker

I got tickets to Time Out for Women in Richmond two years ago to listen to Tony speak.  But his schedule changed and I got to hear Brad Wilcox instead.  Then last year I planned to go to Denver to hear him speak.  But I exceeded my time-away-from-my-family quota and had to back out.  So....I've never heard my brother-in-law speak.

Others tell me he's really good.  Our stake president, in particular, thinks he is AMAZING.  So, he has been working on having Tony come out to speak to the members of our church in this part of NC for the last two and a half years.  Well, it finally worked out.  And Tony got to stay with us and we got to hear him speak.  And now I can agree with others--he is a fabulous speaker!

It was a quick visit.  He got in late on a Fri night and left early Mon morning.  Saturday he worked basically all day--a meeting with seminary and institute teachers, then a four hour seminar on Gospel Teaching for all adults, and a fireside in the evening for the youth (and 11-year-old nephews). Andrew and I attended the entire gospel teaching seminar.  It was awesome.  Tony is great at being funny, teaching doctrine, and inviting the Spirit. 

For dinner, Andrew wanted to give Tony a taste of NC, so they went out to Carter Brother's BBQ.  They loved it, especially the big pig signs with "Jesus is Lord" printed at the bottom.  Gotta love the South.

The boys after the youth fireside.

It was amazing how many people said, "You two look SO much alike!" They're both tall and have dark hair, but I don't think their faces look very similar.  The other question they were asked several times:  "Who's older?" Andrew was especially flattered by one woman who was thoroughly convinced that Andrew MUST be younger.  (When you're in your late 30's and just a year apart, it's a toss up.)

On Sunday, Andrew had a speaking assignment for church in another town, so Tony went with him.  It was a cold and rainy day, so we just hung out, played games, and visited after church. 

We loved having Tony here and hope that he brings his family with him next time he comes out.

March Happenings

Good news.  I finally finished my Sports Psychology class!  (It only took three months longer than expected.) So, the past two weeks have involved a lot more studying than usual as I prepped for my final exam.  And in my life, more studying = less blogging.  Now I'm at the point where I just need to throw a whole bunch of pics into one post and call it good.

Here we go.

Soccer

B's spring soccer has started up.  He's on the same team as his fall season and most of the players have returned.  They're off to a great start, winning their first three games. B prefers to play defender.  But his coach has been playing him as forward. He's finding his way.

 Some of the action shots from the first part of the season.

Game Night

We invited a bunch of friends over to play games.  Lots of fun.  

Andrew and Steve were co-champions of the night, with three wins each.

St. Patrick's Day

We don't have a whole lot of green in our wardrobes.  If you look really closely, you can see a green stripe in Whit's dress, some olive green in Care Bear's skirt, and I think B-train put a green sticker on his hand.  Enough to avoid pinching.   

 I also got to help out in C's classroom for their St Patrick's Day party. I love her cute little classmates.  Since most of them remembered me from my dental pep talk last month, they were all excited to show me their teeth and tell me how well they're brushing.  Cuties.

Our green and gold snack

Ready to go outside and play "Supergirls and Bad Boys"

 Camping

The first weekend of the month, the boys went on a campout with the scouts.  Bless. their. hearts.  It was FREEZING.  Man.  I was so glad to be home with my bed and blankets and furnace.  I'm grateful for Andrew and his willingness to take Brandon out for things like this.

Other than the cold, the boys loved it.

Girls' Night I

While the boys were camping, I stayed home with the girls.  They invited friends over to play, have pizza and watch a movie.

We taught them how to skol. (Danish "cheers")

Super fun.

Girls' Night II

Shelley and I got to cash in on our Christmas presents--tickets to Wicked in Charlotte.  Yippee!  We had a great time chatting in the car and eating at Cheesecake Factory. But we were both SO excited for the show itself.

The stage--with a dragon and a sparkling Emerald City.

Anxiously waiting.

LOVED the show

I already want to go back.

I had a hard time believing *this* was the best photo op

in the theater...but it was.  No big posters around.  Boo.

 But, some sweet older ladies let us borrow their green boas

to add to the ambiance.  Fun!

Easter concert

Brandon and I got to attend a free Easter concert by Bel Canto Company.  It was in a gorgeous church.

Loved the stained glass.

  The doors reminded me of Denmark.

The singing was heavenly.  Amazing.  Inspiring.  And also in German.  Thankfully, the program had the English translation, so we followed the story of the Savior's last week just fine.  Alas, the concert was a bit long for an 11-year-old boy's taste, so we left at intermission.  But I was glad to have a little date with B and for the small taste of feeling cultured.