Divide and Conquer

Yesterday Jerry and I decided to seperate the bunch. He took the boys and I took the girls and of course Brody. The girls and I headed off to the American Girl Store. Laynee had money in her wallet and knew exactly what she wanted. We now introduce, Julie. She is the newest member of the doll family in our home. As you can probably guess the selling factor for Julie was her loooong blond hair. Laynee has been completly happy just brushing Julie's hair for the past 24 hours. Julie has gone everywhere we have been including the American Girl Cafe. I did not know the restaurant even existed but we were lucky enough to find it and get in for lunch. When we walked through the doors it was everything a little girl dreams of, pink and flowers and dolls! Julie had a high chair that she could sit up to the table with us and they even brought her her own tea cup. The girls and I made quite a memory. We had a four course meal and drank pink lemonade while getting
to know each other better by talking about answers to questions in a cute gift box in the center of the table. Laynee enjoyed bitty baby mini hotdog & hamburger, Maycee delighted in american mac & cheese and I enjoyed a delicious roasted pepper and portabella mushroom panini. We ended with a heart shaped cookie and cake and chocolate pudding. We enjoyed our time together!

Once we were all girl'd out Maycee wanted to check out the Toys r Us "mall". That is what it feels like because it is so big! It has a full size ferris wheel inside and we had to experience that too! The seats are all made into different toys. We got to ride in the Mr. Potatoe head car. We were supposed to ride in the Barbie car but minor details of Laynee being to young to ride without an adult caused me to have buy a ticket and ride too. I have to admit it was fun!


While we were having our girl fun the boys were tackling the Empire State building, NBA Store and ESPN Zone. They enjoyed a good old fashioned piece of New York pizza for their lunch. Fun was had by all and the boys found some cool Phx Suns hats to bring home as their memory maker.


Today we packed up our clothes and then took a quick trip down to see the Statue of Liberty. She was beautiful as always but the weather was not so wonderful. It was rainy and cold. We stayed on the ferry and enjoyed seeing her from the water. At least the kids can say they have see her. It was something I did not think I would ever get to see. I hope they remember. We also made a memory of riding the subway and the Amtrak train. Again it was a full day and now we are all worn out! Tomorrow we get to sleep in a little and take it easy before the BIG day on Saturday. We are ready for a day of rest. We are so greatful to live in a country that allows us this great freedom!

Taking a bite of the Big Apple

We started our day marching with the Irish and ended it with a trip to Mars. It was a loaded day and our feet are sore! The kids were begging to come back to the hotel and we actually had about an hour of quiet time before they reloaded their energy tanks.

First thing on this mornings agenda was the St. Patrick's Day parade. Jerry and I under anticipated the crowd that would show up for the green celebration. We kept a tight hold on the kids and crept our way through the crowds. When we finally found a place the kids could see over the crowds we were lucky to hear and see a beautiful group of bagpipes and then firemen carrying american flags. Brody and I even found St.Patrick in the crowd and were able to get out picture with him.

We did not linger long because the kids were anxious to go to the zoo in Central Park. However, before we made it to the zoo we came across the ice skating rink in Central Park and that stole the show! Jerry and the kids laced up and took to the ice. They all did great. Laynee was like a little pro. Clay had a few falls but still did great. Maycee was very confident on her own and enjoyed being spun around by her Dad. Tyler was on hockey skates and practically racing around the track . I enjoyed seeing them all have fun. I would have loved to skate with them but Maycee had not worn socks to I loaned her mine and I sat out with Brody. The kids all decided skating was more fun than a zoo so we hung out there for a couple of hours.

Once all fun was had at the rink we headed off to our first toy store. FAO Schwartz had several soft places for us to rest our sore feet and several tempations for the kids to think about. The most beautiful thing happened though. We did not have to fight even one time! Each time the kids found something they liked we would tell them they could have it if they wanted to spend their money. They would thing about it and then often decide to put it back. We came out with a couple small bags of candy, one stuffed dog, two new inventions similar to a hacky sack for the boys and one small bunny for Brody. I think total less than $50.oo was spent on everyone. That doesn't even happen at the grocery store!! We did come out with several VERY cute pics of Brody. He got all the looks from all the customers. They wanted to take him home.

Once our feet were rested and we escaped the toy store with Brody we headed off to dinner at Mars 2112. It was recommended as a fun place for the kids and turned out to be great. We were worried about the wait on the green holiday but this place was not busy and we walked right in. It was perfect for the worn out Mom and Dad. They theme of the restaurant is obviously a space and alien environment. The menu was built around the theme and when you enter they take you in a simulated space ship and "rocket" you up to the restaurant. Once inside it is like a cave...very cool. Again the kids chose from the menu based on their budget and it was even more great fun. They enjoyed getting out their money and paying Dad at the end of the meal.

We are now all blasted back down to earth and Jerry is snoring. Poor Dad was really put through the ringer. The kids are all asleep and I am ready to turn off the lights. I noticed one really great thing today. Whether it be playing in the back yard on the tramp or riding quads at the river or taking a bite out of the Big Apple we have an enjoyable and wonderful time being together as a family!! And...Jerry and I do not know what life would be like without our little bitta bo....he completes our family....we are so greatful he is finally here to join in the fun!

We had a lot of other fun pics today. I am including the link to snapfish where I uploaded all the photos. I am also uploading a couple of videos of the kids ice skating. Enjoy!http://http//www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=277645670/a=57348796_57348796/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

New York City....here we come!

We are here~yeah!! The flight was a little crazy but the kids did well and Brody slept most of the way. He was an angel as always. After we checked in our first stop was dinner. We went to Hard Rock Cafe. The music was loud but the food was good considering we had not eaten since 8:00 this morning. Jerry sent a text message to the missionary that taught me the discussions that is now living in NY city. He was just getting off work so he came and had dinner with us. He is an aspiring singer with a voice that will bring tears to your eyes. He is so talented. It was fun to see him and catch up on how our lives have changed.

We walked to dinner and the kids were in awe with the tall buildings. Tyler is in snap-happy mode. He cannot snap enough pics to capture all the cool things he is taking in. It is so fun to see how each of the kids are saoking up the big city. Even little Brody's eyes are as big as silver dollars. There is soooo much to see and experience. We are sticking to the budget with the kids and it is working really well. Tonight they wanted to rent an movie and we told them they could split the cost and pay for it. They changed their minds and watched regular TV. Thanks to Steph for the heads up on giving them spending money.

We are now tucked in and shutting things down so we can recharge for tomorrow. We are so excited to get out and explore. Tomorrow will probably be a parade, zoo and ice skating. We'll see how long our legs last. Good night!