I Heart New York

I have been talking about going to New York for almost a year. So Josh, being the romantic guy he is, surprised me by booking a hotel and flights. Of course, it ended it up that he couldn't go because of work. I completely didn't mind going alone, but Josh, being the protective guy he is, insisted I couldn't go alone. So I called up my friend Kara. She had never been to New York, so I knew it would be a great experience. 

Reasons why Kara is a good travel friend: She is a picture-taking-aholic and I never take pictures, and she blogs in real time, so I am going to be lazy and just cut and paste pretty much everything from her blog. 

First Day in Kara's words straight from her blog: "Here I sit in the Marriott Marquis overlooking Time Square. So far our experience of New York has been a super scary cab ride where we literally thought 'Singh Surinder' the cab driver from India...was going to kill us after numerous close calls and lots of laying on the horn.  (pictured here) 

We finally got to the hotel where Josh had got us a corner suite...We then dined at the top of the hotel in the rotating restaurant, 'The View,' and came back to unpack our things..."

Second Day Highlights: Having a cabbie tell us with a NY accent: 'This is 2 blocks from here, you can walk. Don't waste my time.' Me: 'But we have really cute shoes and don't want to walk. I'll tip you really well.' Cabbie: 'It's only 2 blocks up and then 2 blocks over!!' Kara: 'You know what, that's okay. If you don't want to take us we can find another cab.' Cabbie: 'Yes, do. It's a waste of my time.' We decided to walk...  

We also got to practice lots of hailing taxis, see Xanadu on Broadway, 

eat at The Four Seasons Restaurant (supposedly one of the finest restaurants in the world, which I would agree with - Yummy!), 

take a death defying limo ride, 

watch Legally Blonde on Broadway, 

get room service, and let our poor feet relax.

Day Three in Kara's words: "Woke up, got ready for our date with the 'Sex and the City Tour.' (Rachel wore very special gear just for the occasion, namely a very large flower broach and a large feathery flower headband that gathered many glances, smirks and giggles. She says it was her tribute to Carrie 'circa season 4!") We grabbed some fruit and took a cab to the Pulitzer 

fountain...

We met up with our tour guide and loaded on the bus. The tour was so much fun!!! It really personalized the city. We went to several of the movie and show spots and learned lots of trivia, ate cupcakes, 

drank virgin cosmos from Aidan & Steve's bar, 

and walked through West Village, where lots of the stars live and where Carrie's "stoop" is. 

The neighborhood was amazing...The tour finished at the HBO store where I lost my battle for fabulousness giving in to aching feet, the headband that hurt, and the jacket that was too hot. I quickly changed into a Sex and the City T-shirt and some Sopranos flip-flops (hey, desperate times call for desperate measures!)...

We shopped and walked all down 5th Avenue - including Tiffany's! (So Audrey!) It was not quite the experience I had imagined because I was dressed like a complete slob and my credit card actually got denied!!!! Apparently, purchases at Tiffany's in New York looked like credit card fraud to my credit card company. It could have been horrifying, but, as Audrey said, nobody has a bad experience at Tiffany's.

Then we took a pedicab back to the hotel as our feet were now killing us. 

Once we got back to the hotel to get ready for Chicago, we both very begrudgingly (and thankfully) changed into tennis shoes. 

We very comfortably headed off to Chicago, and ended at the Olive Garden overlooking Times Square.

Unfortunately, I have the pictures from Day Four on my camera, so Kara hasn't been able to blog about it. I GUESS I will have to write it myself..... We started out with our reservations at Tavern on the Green. It is a very fantastical restaurant in Central Park that was both beautiful and fun.

The decorations were super over the top, and this picture doesn't do justice.

We followed with a carriage ride through Central Park, which was amazing and beautiful. I have been to New York five times before and had never been through the park. I am so glad we spent the day there.

We finished our vacation street shopping down 5th Avenue again (parents can never come back from a trip without gifts for the kiddies!), where Kara impressed me with her street savviness.

And lit a candle for Evan at the Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. It was a very beautiful building!

We had a super "fabulous" trip (especially once we changed to tennis shoes!) I would highly recommend everything we did and everywhere we ate.

For more fun details and pictures, check out Kara's blog: www.showbows.blogspot.com

Maddie's Composition

Yeah for cousins!

We got to have all of the cousins over last weekend for a super fun swimming party in our backyard. Come visit again!

The big cousins: Hailey, Tyler, Maddie & Emma

The little ones: Jamie feeding Lucy and Grandma Linda feeding Mason.

And of course, there always has to be a cousin (Cole) that shows up without a swimsuit and swims naked. (We all argued over who would have to fish out the poopies if he decided to go while he was in the pool, and decided that was a Grandma job.)

The lessons that are learned in your childhood

Last night, Maddie said to me: "My kiki doesn't get her feelings hurt when I step on her because she doesn't have eyes."  (Her kiki is her favorite pink blanket.)

Pictures that warm my heart

Maddie insisted on wearing this outfit for the day. It was nearly impossible to get through the Fashion Show Mall because everyone kept stopping to tell me how adorable she was. I was wearing my hair in a bun that day too and one lady said we were the cutest sisters she has ever seen, and what a good sister I was to take my little sister out for a fun time. I didn't correct her.   :o)

She is quite beautiful, I have to admit. When did she start looking so old?

Josh was in charge of watching Maddie last night and took her to the baseball game. She loved it for the first five innings and then said, "I just want to go home Dad." It could be because her usual bedtime is 7:00 and Josh didn't have her home and in bed until 10:00. I guess I can't complain though, because it is sweet when Josh and Maddie go on "dates."

This picture makes my stomach sick and my heart warm. I cried when I got to T.C.'s car wash and saw how many friends of his showed up to help. I am crying now. I am always amazed at how giving and loving people can be. And of course, Maddie wanted to help wash my car too. She adores her Kelsey friend.

The following pictures are all of the same thing, but I couldn't decide which one showed what was going on well enough, so I put on all of them. (Stacey, these are for you). Maddie suddenly became interested in doing her hair. She came downstairs "ready to go" with her hair looking like this. What the freak? She also had a handful of other barrettes for me to "finish" her hair. I took this picture BEFORE I added about 20 more barrettes to her hair. Once again I debated whether people will see me as a cool mom who lets her kid express her creativity and expand her individuality, or just a neglectful crack head mother. Oh well.

Also, Kelsey, I don't know if I should let you hang out with Maddie anymore. I don't know what kind of influence you have over her. Two days ago, we were making super cool crafts. I walked out of the room for about 5 seconds, and I heard Maddie gasp loudly. I went in to see what was the matter and she looked terrified. In one hand she had scissors, and the other was a huge handful of hair.

This is the other dilemma of being a mom. When you just want to laugh, you have to pretend to be upset and "discipline." I asked her what the heck she was doing, and honest to goodness, her response was: "I just wanted to be a hair cutter when I grow up like Elsey."

The weirdest part was I couldn't really figure out where that huge amount of hair came from. Somehow she made it look like a professional hair cut.

My Perv Shoes, and other things to make Jamie laugh.

Maddie likes to "read" the papers in Chinese Fortune Cookies. She took mine from me yesterday and read, "You are a perfect mom. With a pretty little girl. And a handsome husband. The end." So true my little Maddie girl! So true.    :o)

I found these super cool summer sandals and excitedly showed them to Josh when I got home. What was his matter of fact response? "You can't ever wear those with a skirt." 

My response, "Huh?" 

His response, "You actually probably shouldn't ever wear those." 

My response, "What are you talking about? These are sexy." 

His response, "You will look like a pervert." 

The time went by: tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. And then I got it. And laughed so hard I almost fell over. I still love them though. (I wore them today with pants and stayed away from all women in skirts and dresses.)

Stucki kids, this is for you. Recognize anything in this picture? I almost didn't either. I actually might want to steal this glamorous "new" piece of furniture from mom's house? Who knew? (Mom, you are a visionary.)

My girl is so obedient. She waited until we got to my mom's house before she decided to throw up her purple medicine all over the place. Good girl. (Poor little sick thing.)

Newpeezy

Why do we love to go to Newport?

Only $2.00 to take your picture with "bird man." SO WORTH IT!

Maddie got to take the picture with the baby bird and is still talking about it.

Maddie would ride her new bike all freaking day and night if we let her. Up and down the board walk. Up and down. Up and down.

No trip to Newport is complete without a stop at the Balboa "Fun" Zone.

Where you can fear for your life at the top of the oldest, creakiest ferris wheel still in use.

And buy super fancy "name brand" sunglasses for only $5.00.

And rent a "speed" boat that goes about 3 mph around the harbor. Which is actually pretty cool. The houses and yachts are amazing!

Here is a picture of Maddie and Porter (the little boy in the above picture) the first time they went on this boat ride together about three years ago. Luckily, the life jackets fit much better now, and therefore might actually save their life if needs be. (We are planning on them using these pictures during their slideshow at their wedding in 20 years.)

And what does Maddie always want to do at beaches? Yes, that is right. MAKE SAND CASTLES!

Thanks Herreras for coming with us!

My cute family

Maddie loves her new dress. She put it on all by herself, and I didn't see her until we were out the door. I tried every trick in the book to try to get her to change her outfit, but none of them worked. Can you see why I would REALLY want her to not wear this dress in public? (You may have to blow it up.)

Josh has a little OCD in him. When he finds a new restaurant that he likes, he has to eat there pretty much every day until he completely burns out on their food a few months later. Right now, that restaurant is Roberto's. How (you might ask) could he have lived in  Las Vegas all his life and not have ever heard of Roberto's? Good question. But now he found it and I hope and pray he won't ask me out on a lunch or dinner date because I am getting really sick of enchiladas. (You may notice that all pictures of me are close up, arm length away. I wouldn't exist on film if I didn't take pictures of myself like this, although sometimes I wonder if I really want pictures of me like this to exist.)

Maddie doesn't seem to mind eating at Roberto's all the time, despite the fact that the burrito is almost bigger than her entire body. 

And for anyone who noticed my sister's comment a few posts ago and wanted a better explanation: When I painted Maddie's room purple a few weeks ago, I had to move all of the furniture out of her room. Underneath her mattress, I FOUND MY LONG LOST WEDDING RING!!! Yahoo! I looked in every nook and cranny, inside every play purse, in all of her play fridges, in all of her closet drawers, and even under her bed. I knew she took and lost it, but I couldn't find it for months. Thank heavens I decided to paint her room, or I never would have found it! (That sneaky little devil!)

Vernal, here we come!

Remember my nephew, Mason, that I put on my blog a few weeks ago? I finally was able to go up to Utah and see him!

First, we got to make a quick stop and visit Jamie, Rod & Lucy. Maddie loves being with the Smiths, and she tells everyone she is baby Lucy's big sister. Here she is practicing being a big sister. (I am a little worried!)

Then we made the long car ride east to Vernal. On the way back to the SLC airport, I came within about 2 feet of hitting a deer and drove through about 30 minutes of a snowstorm with crappy windshield wipers on my rental car. It was not my favorite part of the trip.

But it was all worth it when I got to hold my adorable little Mason boy cutie pants! He was sweet and I adored every second of getting to hold and love on this little man. Stacey was being very generous with her son. She even let me stay up with him all night for his night feedings. Stacey got to have a very deserved and needed whole night of uninterrupted sleep (if you don't count the time Emma woke up with a fever and hallucinated about ants), and I got to spend those intimate, sweet moments with Mason. It is strange how obsessed you can be about staring at a newborn's little face. I loved every moment of my sleepless night.

Of course, Maddie & Emma had an absolute blast together. There were the inevitable "I have been with you too constantly in the last 24 hour" fights between them. But they love each other more than sisters. (Can you tell which kid is more used to the Vernal weather?)

Baby Mason, I love you. Keep being a tough little man. I am thinking of you and your mommy constantly and I wish you luck with your upcoming medical treatments.

Easter Weekend

Complain about Vegas summers all you want, but spring time is gorgeous. Maddie & I spent all day Friday at the park, where she rode her little bike around in circles for hours. I am amazed at how non-shy Maddie is. She goes right up to kids and adults and talks to them and befriends everybody. I love it.

During our super cool park visit, I realized that Maddie outgrew her old bike. So I was going to tell the Easter Bunny to get one for her for Easter. But then I realized I would enjoy it oh-so-much more if I had Maddie ask her Daddy to build it with her. There is nothing, NOTHING, I enjoy more than to watch Josh miserably fumble around with tools, because there is nothing, NOTHING, he hates more. It makes me laugh everytime.

Then I brought Josh to a salon down the street for his Annual Mandatory Pre-Summer Pedicure. Of course, Maddie sweet-talked her way into getting her nails painted sparkly purple while Dad's feet soaked.

I now know that if I ever want Maddie to hold still for a period of time, I just need to paint her nails. She barely moved for almost an hour after because she didn't want to mess them up.

We had a family breakfast/egg hunt in our backyard. Luckily, we all have very late church so we got to spend all morning together. Cole loved to suck on his one green egg, and that was all he needed.

Cayden was working furiously to fill his basket, and Grandpa Stan was trying to keep up.

Maddie was so happy that Uncle Kyle came down for Easter, she actually jumped and clapped and cheered. Kyle's gifts were the only ones I REALLY hid, and he couldn't even find all of them. It cracks me up. Why, oh why do I get so much joy out of picking on the men in my life?

Josh & Brian were awesome cooks for us. They made pancakes, eggs & bacon, and we had a beautiful picnic in the backyard. It was so much fun, and a BEAUTIFUL day. (And Josh loved his spring apron that I made him wear.)   :o)

Then we went to Grandma Karen's to dye the Easter eggs and eat traditional scones. Yum.

Of course, Maddie took control of the egg dying process and made sure everyone knew how to make them properly. Once you put them in, you have to count to ten in English, and then ten in Spanish, and THEN you can get them back out. She is charmingly bossy, and I have NO idea where she gets it from.

I took this picture of my overly tired baby girl. She was very sleepy from a long day, but didn't want to take off her pretty dress and go to bed. The funny thing is, she looks absolutely stunning and beautiful here.

I couldn't let her get away with going to sleep sad and not smiling for a picture. So I tickle tortured her until she was exhausted, and I got this hilarious picture. All in all, we had a wonderful Easter weekend.

New Calling!!!

I got a new calling in the ward, and I am so darn stinking excited about it! 2nd Counselor of the Relief Society presidency. I LOVE Relief Society, so I actually cheered when I was told. And the Relief Society president is awesome and I can't wait to work with her. This is me ------>   :o)

Being productive again

I can't believe how productive I can be when I feel good. I will NEVER take advantage of my health again. The last few days I felt so good that I finally got around to painting Maddie's room. Unfortunately she insists that her favorite color is purple (which I hate). But it is her room, so I allowed her to make that decision. I am still waiting for her bunk beds to be delivered (I ordered them last August, Rrrrrrr.....), but here are the walls. She is so excited about her purple walls she screams and jumps every-time she walks in.

I can't believe how much better a room looks with the walls painted. My favorite room in the house is Maddie's old nursery, but my goal is to make her new "big girl room" even prettier.

Yes, I know I look like crap.

This beautiful picture was taken during our three hour visit to the emergency room at UMC. I was diagnosed with the flu, a severe ear infection, and bronchitis. Maddie had a cold. I was so miserable this last week I was barely able to get out of bed and thought that surely, death would be better than this misery. Luckily the last few days I have felt much better, but my head is congested with a never ending supply of phlegm. Somehow, Josh's "superior immune system" was able to completely bypass the plague that I was cursed with.

Please join our fasting and prayers.....

My sister, Stacey, just gave birth to an adorable little boy, Mason, on February 28th. A few days ago, Stacey brought him back to the hospital. He has pneumonia and ecoli - and is being tested for meningitis and other infections. He will be in the hospital for the next 21 days (at least) and is receiving antibiotics every 6-8 hours. These are very serious in a newborn, and I ask that everyone PLEASE remember little Mason, my sister, and her family, in your prayers.

I am recovering from bronchitis and an ear infection and a flu, and as soon as I am no longer a walking contagious mess, I will be going up there to help with her other kids and will have a better update for everyone.