family comes to town

Finally, someone came to visit us out in the big city. Over Memorial day weekend Jason's parents and three sisters came, for the first time, to New York. In fact, it was the first time the twins had flown, so this was quite the experience for all.
They arrived early Friday morning with no time to rest. While I went to work Jason took them to Friend of a Farmer for a wonderful breakfast, where they saw a Victoria's Secret model. After a tour of NYU and Washington Square park they walked down to Magnolia Bakery for the experience of their lives. They loved the cupcakes, but the banana pudding was a definite favorite. By that time I was home from work and they were ready for the trek across the Brooklyn Bridge. This was an adventure in itself and I must say they thought the views were breathless. I think they got just about every shot of the downtown skyline they could. Once we were across we walked right into Grimaldi's, no waiting in line, where they experienced New York style pizza for the first time. After checking out the skyline one more time from the pier we were on our way home with blisters already forming.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to catch the double-decker tour bus for our adventure around the city. Now I know some of you might laugh and think it's silly that we took a tour bus, but this is one our favorite things to do in the city. Not only do you get some great shots of the city from the top but you learn all sorts of fun facts along the way. After cruising around the city all morning we hopped off for some burgers and shakes at the shake shack. After the long wait and struggle to find a seat and were finally able to prove that the shake shack was better then In-and-out burger. Then back for a little rest before heading down to check out the lights of Time Square and some family style fun at Carmines. (where everything was big including the titanic dessert)


Because this was so long ago and I can't remember every detail I will leave out the minor details. The next day we were excited to go to a Broadway and everyone was awaiting the experience. Apparently not a lot of shows were showing and our choices were quite limited at the TKS booth. After a decision to see The Spelling Bee we were ready to get our tickets, unfortunately there was on 5 tickets available so we settled for Avenue Q. All I have to say is that this was a HUGE mistake, Avenue Q is the WORST show I have ever seen, after about 45 minutes we were so embarrassed and uncomfortable that all seven of us had to get up and leave. Please tell everyone you know, there is nothing good about this show and I've never been so uncomfortable in all my life. To make up for the humiliation of the show we then went to our favorite chocolate place, Max Brenner, to end the night on a sweeter note.

We spent Memorial day enjoying Central Park, where we toured the great lawn, had a picnic below Belvadere Castle and canoed in The Lake. The next day was back to work for me and shopping for the family. First making a stop at the top of the Empire State Building, then on to some of New York's finest shops, H&M and Forever 21. With a final stop for some more banana pudding they were ready for the long flight home to relax.

All in all they had a great trip, despite the blistered feet, and we loved playing tour guides and showing them all of our favorite hot spots in the city. We can't wait for them to come and back and see us again.

lions and tigers and bears ... oh my!

So now it's time for catch up. A few weeks ... actually more like a month ago, Jason and I attended the Bronx Zoo. KPMG (the accounting firm where I work) hosts an annual firm family day, and this year it was at the zoo. We saw everything from the polar bears, to the gorilla's but I have to say my least favorite was the bat caves. I was expecting to walk in and see a few bats and walk out, but no, there were several different bats from all different parts of the world screeching and flying around. It was definitely the creepiest part of the zoo. All in all it was a great day. The weather was perfect and the animals were playful. Our favorite of course was the gorilla's playing hide-and-go-seek with each other and the polar bear when he dove into the cold water to take a swim. I would highly recommend it to all of you New Yorkers who are looking for a fun filled day in the city, and for all of you from Utah, it puts Hogle Zoo to shame.

happy father's day

I just wanted to wish a happy father's day to all the wonderful men in my life. I've always been a daddy's girl and not being their to be with my father today was very hard for me. I just want him to know how much I love and appreciate all that he does for me.
Also a happy day to my big brother who just recently became a father, my step father-in-law, and grandfather-in-law. You all mean so much, and have played an important role in shaping Jason into the wonderful man he is. We both love you all so much.

4th of July in June

I have so much to catch up on but just wanted to feel you in on the celebrity sightings we had tonight. NYU occasionally offers free tickets to television screenings and tonight we got to go to a taping for the 4th of July Spectacular with Joss Stone and the American Idol finalists; Jordin, Blake and Melinda. We were literally 10 feet away from the singers. It was crazy being so close.

Joss Stone was first and she was amazing!! Not only does she have an amazing voice but she's beautiful. They only sang one song each but they had them sing a couple of times so they could capture the best shots.

Next came the idols singing God Bless America. Because it was a taping they would have them stop between each take and while waiting the idols would joke around and Blake even did a little beep boxing for us, it was so fun to see their personalities on stage. I have to say ... Jordin is beautiful. She's tall but she wasn't the giant I thought she was on tv, she just looked that way standing next to Ryan Seacrest. Melinda was tiny and while she does look like DW, she was cute in her own way. And of course Blake was the crowd pleaser. He had a cute gray suit and pink shirt, but he is surprisingly small himself.

So be sure to tune in to the 4th of July Spectacular on NBC at 9pm to see us in all our glory. You can't miss us, we we're the tall ones right in the middle.