6 months

Here's a few shots of Shae at 6 months. She's getting so big!! My moms favorite thing to do is call me when she's babysitting and let me listen to her jabber away. Happy 6 months, Shae!!

girls camp

Last week I went to girl’s camp with the Manhattan stake young women. I went up a day late with a couple of the girls that were on vacation. We met at Grand Central and we were off to Pawling, NY. Now already it was feeling a little weird, I'd schlepped my duffle bag and camp gear all through the subways of New York and now I was taking a train to girl’s camp? Definitely not what I was use to.

After a two hour train ride we finally arrived and already it was starting to feel like home. Camp Liahona was amazing, or at least compared to the camps I use to go to. It had a lake, a mess hall and SHOWERS ... honestly who showers at camp? We arrived just in time to see the girls hit the lake, canoes and slip and slide. They had so many fun things going on I didn't know what to do. That night I got settled in, met my tent mates and enjoyed a nice night around the fire. I love camp fires and have missed them since moving to the city.

The next morning we were up bright and early for the flag ceremony and then it was on to certifications and service projects. Now I know I will continue saying this but it was such an adventure camping with these city girls, it was amazing to me that almost all of them would rather sleep with city rats then spiders. After finishing our certifications I introduced the girls to my favorite girls camp game ... Phase 10, and I'm happy to report that they all loved it! Now usually a service project of pulling weeds isn't that exciting, but to 5 girls who have never dug up dirt with a shovel, it was. It was so funny teaching the girls to dig under the weeds with the shovel so they could break the roots and pull out the weeds with ease. I felt like I was teaching a little kid to ride a bike for the first time.

After getting our hands dirty with the service project we were ready for free time. After seeing the slip and slide the day before I couldn't wait to show the girls what I was made of. There was a big hill with a tarp that we would soap up and then drench with water before each girl took a ride, and believe me, a little soap can go along ways. I had my fun at the slip and slide and showed off a little but I was definitely paying for it the next morning. I can honestly say that my body is not what it use to be and I don't think I will ever throw it down a hill again ... I literally ached from head to toe.

Actually before the fun of the slip and slide another leader and I took a few girls on a little adventure to find a haunted house the lifeguard told us about. So we thought we knew where we were going and decided to go off the trail ... bad idea, never go off the trail they are there to protect you. So we go wandering through the woods and we see a beehive, so we decide to go around it, well little did we know there were several more to come. I suddenly felt stinging and looked down to see that I was covered in bees. So me, being the responsible leader that I am, started freaking out!! I started swatting and all I could feel was more stinging. I didn't know what to do so I immediately had a flash back of "My girl" and started frantically asking the girls if they were allergic. Fortunately, none of them were but then they all started to get stung so all I could think to do was yell run!!! We finally made it to safety and after examining our bodies I discovered I had been stung 10 times, the others were luckily only stung 3 or 4 times and none of us were allergic. The funniest part is, I was the only one freaking out and I got stung the most, so if you're caught in a beehive ... just stay calm!

To wash our wounds away we decided to go for a little dip in the lake and checkout the lifeguard. This poor kid was the only boy at camp and every girl was obsessed with him and I don't think it bothered him one bit.

After all the excitement of the day it was time for dinner and testimony meeting, my favorite part of camp. We had a wonderful meeting and the girls were all so amazing. The one thing that I loved about my camp experience was how diverse all the girls were. We had girls from all ethnic groups and it was so fun to get to know all of them, they each had such sweet spirits and did so much to make everyone feel included. In our stake we have a Spanish branch and two of the girls didn't speak English so the prayers and songs were in both Spanish and English, making it so touching to listen as both were shared.

After testimonies each ward broke off for the bishopric devotional and I have to say we definitely have one of the neatest bishops. He brought his cute little family up to camp out with the girls and he and his wife shared the sweetest devotional with our girls, making each feel so special.

The next day we had breakfast, packed our bags and got back on the train ... back to civilization, as some girls called it. I always loved going to girls camp each year and was excited to go again but I didn't know quite what to expect. I'm so glad that I was able to go and meet the girls of our church here in New York, they truly are Daughters of God.

3 years

On Tuesday Jason and I celebrated our 3 year Anniversary!! We celebrated last week with Michael Buble and then had a wonderful dinner at Union Square Cafe to top it off. The food was amazing and we were so full at the end of it that we couldn't even have dessert but our waiter surprised us with a little treat to wish us a Happy Anniversary.

I can't believe how the years have flown by, it seems like just yesterday was our wedding and we were surrounded with all our loved ones. We have had so many exciting adventures over the past 3 years. I was a little nervous moving to NY but I wouldn't trade it for the world. We've experienced so much this past year and I can't wait to see what the future holds. I'm so lucky to have Jason in my life, he is my everything, he works so hard in school and wants to do his best so that he can provide for me and I want him to know just how much I love him.

greg comes to town!!

On Sunday Jason's Friend Greg came into town for a quick visit. That night we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge so he could see the skyline and then we stood in line for an hour just to get some pizza at Grimaldi's. It was worth the wait and Greg agreed that New York style pizza is the best.

Monday he spent the day with Jason, that included a tour of the city from the top of a double-decker bus and an amazing burger at the Shake Shack (once again ... the best burger he's ever had). Unfortunately we weren't able to get Broadway tickets, I guess the preforms think they deserve a night off and Monday just happens to be the day they all take off. So we took him for some Thai food and some sightseeing in Times Square instead. Even though his visit was short we sure enjoyed having him come and see us. Now they rest of you need to come and try all the good food New York has to offer ... we promise it will be the BEST you've ever had.

michael buble

Okay, so I know I said Josh Groban was amazing but he is nothing compared to Michael Buble. Our anniversary is next week so Jason gave me an early present to see Michael Buble at Radio City Music Hall last night. I honestly don't know how to describe it, it was by far the BEST concert I have ever been to!! The music was amazing, every song he sang was my favorite and it just kept getting better with each song. It wasn't just the songs but his personality, he was such a fun entertainer that really got the crowd going. Now I know what your thinking ... how could he possibly get the crowd going with songs like "Fever"? But he did!!



The best part was that Jason enjoyed it too. He even said it was an amazing concert, now I won't go as far as to say he enjoyed it more then 311, but he enjoyed it none the less. The one thing we enjoyed the most was his laid back personality. He's just a cool Canadian that likes to have a good time. Some of the concerts we've been to it seems like the preforms have to add a little something about there political views, but he was just there to make us laugh. My favorite was it seemed like everyone around us was with someone they loved. It was just a bunch of couples holding hands, something you don't see very often here in NY.



I know I may sound a little obsessed and Jason was getting a little annoyed when I kept saying how sexy his voice was but what can I say ... it was!! I highly recommend seeing his concert if you ever get the chance.

Besides the concert, Jason's highlight of the night was seeing Glen Beck. Just as we were walking out of Radio City he was walking in, Jason spotted him and from across the crowd said hi to him and he waved back and then we said we were fans from Utah and he gave us a thumbs up. If you don't know he's a political commentator with one of the top radio shows in the country and he's a convert to the church, so we thought it was fun seeing him after watching his show so many times on CNN.



Here's a little Buble for you all to enjoy!!!

Mom's weekend

Because Jason had a little break before school starts he decided to take advantage of his free time and go home and see his family. So as soon as my mom heard she jumped at the chance to come out and spend some alone time with Sheena.

She arrived early Thursday morning so we decided to take it easy and relax before hitting it hard. The problem with my mom is when she goes somewhere she spends most of her time trying to find presents for everyone back at home, so of course the first on her list was purses. After her first subway ride and a successful stop at Canal Street we decided to see one tourist site while she was here.

Neither of us had been to the Statue of Liberty and my mom had heard a lot about Ellis Island so we went down to Battery Park to catch the ferry. Of course we had to take the audio tour so we knew what we were looking at but we definitely looked like tourists with our headphones on. The Statue of Liberty was amazing to see up close, and it made it even more amazing to learn about the stories while standing in front of it. Next we were back on the ferry to Ellis Island. Again we had our audio tour to lead the way so we began walking through each room and listening to what took place there, but my mom was going so fast that she was way ahead of the guide and I couldn't figure out way she was skipping everything when it was her idea to come in the first place. Well it turns out that she was so tired from the flight that she just wanted to sit down, I felt bad for dragging her everywhere so we decided to go before she fell asleep. That night we walked down to little Italy and had lobster and some rice pudding from Rice to Riches to top of the evening.



The rest of the trip was spent shopping, eating and shows. We went to Mary Poppins and it was very cute, but the highlight of the trip was seeing Wicked. I have been waiting so long to see it and I LOVED it. I love the story, the songs, the humor but of course my favorite was the ending. I won't spoil it, but it exceeded all my expectations. I loved it so much that I will go to it again if anyone else wants to come out and go with me.

I had such a nice time with my mom and I'm so glad she finally came out to visit. Everything we saw and did was so much fun but my favorite was just the visits we had each morning just catching up on all the news and talking about nothing. Every night we would say we were going to wake up early and hit the streets but it was always noon before we left the house. My brother and his wife made a DVD of my niece and sent it out with my mom for me to watch and it was so fun to see how much she's grown and her cute little personality. Thanks for coming out to visit, mom. Maybe next time you can convince the rest of the family to come!!

Boston

It always takes me a little while to post but eventually I get around to it. So a couple of weekends ago we went to Boston with our friends Bryan & Kelli Granum. We found cheap rates a couple of months ago on Jetblue and decided to make a weekend of it. So that Friday Jason and I made the trek through Time Square to meet the Granum's at their apartment. When we got there I walked up to tell the doorman what apartment we were going to, and while I was just standing there minding my own business waiting for the guy to give us the go ahead and this women standing next to me was talking on her cellphone really loud, she had huge white sunglasses but I really didn't get a good look at her. Then Jason nudges me to look at the girl, and it was Fantasia from American Idol. I must have had a surprised look on my face because the security guard started laughing when I realized who I was standing next to.


After a late arrival in Boston we checked into our room and decided to get some sleep so we could be ready for the big day ahead of us, but Jason was so impressed with the big bathtub that he had to take a bath before he could go to sleep (the first of many). The next morning Jason had to take another bath, and then we were off to meet up with the Granum's. We went to breakfast at a cute little hotel in Beacon Hill (the same neighborhood where John Kerry & Teresa Hines live) and had some amazing french toast. After breakfast we got on the subway and headed to Harvard.

It was such a beautiful campus and just as I imagined it. We started walking around but decided it would be better if we knew what we were looking at so we decided to take the "HAHVAHD" walking tour where we learned all about the famous students who attended and saw where their dorms were. After our brief history tour we were off to Fenway Park. Unfortunately we didn't find tickets so Bryan and Kelli went to the game, so we decided to walk around the harbour and check out the sites.

The harbour was beautiful as well as the Boston skyline. It was interesting to see just how different Boston is from New York. I was expecting it to have all the large skyscrapers but there wasn't that many. Boston is more of a quaint little city then a large metropolis, and we loved everything about it.

We met back up with the Granum's for dinner and afterwards Bryan wanted to take us to a dueling piano bar. While we were figuring out where to go we saw some secret security guards in the lobby of the Granum's hotel, so Jason being the little celebrity stalker he is wanted to see who they were waiting for. So we are sitting there waiting for Jason to get out of the bathroom so we could see who this famous person was and out walks Bob Saget!! He walked out and looked for someone and then got back on the elevator, it was so funny and random ... but there was still someone else because the security guards hadden't moved. Well, the important people finally came and it wasn't anyone we knew, we just figured they were royalty from another country so it really wasn't that exciting. In the mean time Jason was stuck in the bathroom with a bloody nose and was missing all the action. But then out walks Bob again so Bryan asked if Kelli and I could get a picture with him and he was a little annoyed but agreed. Finally Jason was out and we went to the piano bar. It was pretty wild and Bryan got the DJ to try and get Jason on the stage with the wild Bacholorette's but Jason wasn't a fan.


The next day was full of tours, we started with our self guided tour of the freedom trail and ended with the duck tour. It was this cute little truck/boat they call a duck that takes you around the city on land and then ends with you riding around in the boat on the Charles river. After our crazy tours, a wonderful lunch and Jason's hunt to find a cool Boston shirt we were on our way home. All that was missing was a third celebrity sighting. We loved Boston and it was so fun to go with Kelli and Bryan and see the sites, we highly recommend it to all who have never been. But you must come and see us in NY first!!!