Cousin Fun in the Texas Sun!

The Three Amigas!

Ros sent these pictures of the three cousins at the missions. There are more...but I thought I these were darling. What is up with "sultry" Kate?

We are home!

Hello Family!
We are home...we can't decided if we are happy or sad about it. But, here we are none the less.

Anyway, we got home around 7:00ish Sunday night. On the other side of Atlanta, Clair informed us she had to go poop. I asked her if she could hold it because we'd be home in about 15 minutes. She said, she could. To be honest I really didn't think she'd go. We had stopped several times on her request to go to the bathroom and then she didn't go. I think she was just wanting out of her car seat. Anyway, so we got home and she was still clean. So Stephen and I started to unload the van and the girls were playing in the yard. I was getting a bag and noticed Clair standing over to the side. She had her going poop face on and she looked up at me and said, "Auhhhhh, poop!" I about fell over laughing! I guess she did have to go! Too bad she didn't tell me so I could have taken her to the potty!

I sent out pics today to Em and to mom and dad so they could have them on their work computers. (Em, feel free to post some if you'd like.) We had lots of fun and we really loved being with Brooklyn (AKA Texas Tornado...as Em nick-named her!) She is so cute and her laugh is way too darling. I sure hope Joel and Brit have that on tape for posterity! Anyway, we miss her already. While I was looking through pics to send, Kate commented on one of all three girls together. She said, "Oh isn't that picture so cute. You know what makes it so cute?" "What", I said. She responded, "Brooklyn, because Brooklyn is in the picture it is cute!" They really liked having their little cousin around. I am glad we got to spend time together and hope to see her again when Britni's sister gets married in August.

Well, better run. I need to do a few things before Stephen gets home. Love and miss you all mega tons!

Mimi takes Manhattan!

Here are some pictures of Mom/Mimi throughout Manhattan. The first one is of her in front of the David Letterman show. Then in front of the George Washington Statue (on Wall Street). This is where President Washington took his first oath of office. The next one is in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Then she can be seen in front of Ground Zero, and lastly she and I with the Bull statue near Wall Street. It is supposed to represent the bulls and bears. These were all on Saturday, except for the first one which was taken Friday night.

Mom's NYC trip

Mom left today and it was great having her here. I had a blast with her...and I hope she had fun too. She got to my apartment late Thursday night. Friday morning we went to Serendipity for frozen hot chocolate...it was to die for like always. I think Mom will attest to that too. We got soaked-TWICE that day as it rained everytime we went outside. We also went to Columbia and to Times Square. We got very lucky, because mom won the Wicked lottery. We had first row seats for only $25 each. It was an amazing show and if it ever comes to a town near you...you have to go. Saturday we took a double-decker bus ride around the city. That is the best way to see the city and we learned alot in the process. It was great and so was the weather. We went to all the sights...Battery Park (where you can see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island...the line was too long to do that), Ground Zero, and Wall Street. We also got back on the bus and end up back in Times Square, where we started. We ate NYC pizza at Vinnie's and had ice cream at Tasty Delite (famous from being on Sex in the City and the Apprentice). That night we went to the Broadway play "The Lights in the Piazza"...not the best, but at least we were able to see the great play Wicked. We ended the night at Cafe Lalo (from the movie You've Got Mail...down the street from my apartment). It was a fun atmosphere, but mom found out that resturants in NYC squeeze as many people as they can in the space they have. Sunday we went to church in Harlem...mom's eyes were open I am sure. It was a little crazy! We also went to the Met and then to Chy's for a delicious dinner. Claire loved mom...I guess she could tell she was a grandma! We went to Chinatown today.

Texas Tornado!

While I was in Texas, (last week)...I spent some time with our "little Texas Tornado"-Brooklyn. I call her a tornado because she is everywhere...fast! She goes a mile a minute and oh is she darling. We got a Nemo sprinkler thing for the girls to run through. Brooklyn was a little hesitant, but ended up loving it. She really loved the hole in the hose, because it didn't spray nearly as much! Man do I miss her. We had lots of fun together. Give that girl an Altoid and she is your friend for life! What 15 month old do you know that wants to crunch an Altoid over having a handful of mini-M&Ms...while that's Brooklyn aka..."Little Texas Torndao"!

What Kate said...

The end of last week, Kate started to have some issues going to the bathroom...number 2 to be exact. (Disney World repeat!) She refers to this as "having the poop infection". (Her term not ours!) Anyway, after two days of issues, I got on the internet to look up which cereals and fruits and veggies have the most fiber. So, I am going through this list and asking her, "Do you like this?" or "Do you like that?" Anyway, she asks, "What are you doing?" I told her I was looking at a list of the foods that have lots of fiber to help her with her bathroom problem. She then says (completely serious), "What, are you on the poop web-site?" I honestly doubled over laughing, which I shouldn't have, because now she says it every time I am on the computer. However, it was funny. Anyway, just wanted to share...they both say the funniest things!

For the Love of Nancy!

Ok, not much to blog today, but I did want to blog something....

So, yesterday, we were on the phone to family and Clair goes and gets like a MILLION tissues. She had this HUGE wad as big as her head! Kate came running to me and of course had to tattle. I went around and corner and there she was with her cranium sized wad of tissue. I said, "Clair, for the love of Nancy...what are you doing?" She says (in her most calm, plain, everyday, whats the big deal voice) "I have to blow my noes." Then she proceeds to put her tiny little face into that huge wad of tissue and make her mousey little attempt at blowing her noes. I would have lost if laughing if I was so mad about the fact that she just wasted almost an entire box of tissues!

My girls are totally crazy about George Strait. I have his 50 number one hits in the van and we listen to it all the time...as requested by Kate and Clair. Kate's favs are "Baby Blue" and "Ocean Front Property". Clair loves "Baby Blue" (as well) and "All My Ex's Live in Texas". They both sing at the top of their lungs. Kate starts "Baby Blue" real quiet...."She looks so much like a lady, she looks so much like a child" and then belts out the chours! Clair just shouts it all! While we were at church for the Cinco de Mayo party we weren't allowed to call Cinco de Mayo (long story if you haven't already heard) Clair got on a piano in the room off the kitchen and started playing and singing "Baby Blue". It was cute.

Well, Bowen is growing and moving like crazy. I can't wait to go to Texas so you guys can feel him practicing his football drills while still in the womb! We are still working on the nursery and didn't get a whole lot done Saturday as Stephen finally had a nice day to do some much needed lawn work.

Well, I better go. I sure wish we were all in Texas together this week. I am sad to think of all the fun you guys are having without me, but hope you enjoy your time together and hope Em's trip is very sucessful! Love you all mucho mucho!

What do you get when you put 2 "Call Girl" cousins in NYC?

Lots of sweaty fun! Chy came into the city for a "girls night" out. Instead of painting the town red...she got stuck with me suffering with a cold. She was a good sport though! We went to dinner, grabbed a cupcake, and went to Lincoln Center to see David Blaine, the magician, in the water sphere. All in all I think we had a nice time. We woke up this morning (Saturday) bright and early. We headed to Time Square for the Revelon Walk/Run for Women's cancer! The race started at 9:15 and we finished at about 10. It was lots of fun...but I was sweaty at the end. (I guess I am just out of shape.) We walked some (mostly on the up hill parts), but we ran some too (mostly on the down hill parts)! It was fun and I am thinking about making this a yearly event...that way I can get to come back to NYC once a year. A group of girls from my ward also ran/walked with us. Susan Serandon (not a fan!), Elizabeth (from The View), the guy from Law and Order SVU, and two actors from The Sopranoes were there. Chy and I raced with about 39,998 people. It was craziness! Here are some of the pictures. The race started in Times Square and went through Central Park. We ended on the East side of Central Park. We then hoped into a Taxi and headed back to my place on the West side. I had to catch my ride to the airport to get my flight back to San Antonio. It was lots of fun. I got a lunch, a t-shirt, and some Revelon lipstick...what more could you ask for after running a race!? (Chy if you are reading this...don't stress, I am just using my time at the airport wisely...by blogging!) :)

What to do when Finals are done and life is easy...?

You head to the park for little reading. It's really nice if the park is famous and has been in a movie, like You've Got Mail. That is exactly what I did Friday (yesterday). I turned my last final of the semester in on Thursday, so I found myself with a slight cold and nothing to do. It was such a beautiful day, so I headed to Riverside Park. It was so nice. This is the park at the end of You've Got Mail when Meg Ryan's character is waiting to see who her "internet" crush is...only to discover that it is her arch enemy-turned friend, Tom Hanks. She hears him yelling "Brinkly" as he is coming down the hill pictured in the second picture (which is the name of his dog). Basically as I was sitting there, I thought for a second I could hear someone in the distance yelling..."Brinkly." OK not really, but it was funny and I am sure some of you laughed! I am including pictures from the park. One of the pictures is a memorial for soldiers from NYC, that I stumbled upon. I thought it was very pretty!

Our Weekend and Weeks Start

Hello All...I figure I better add a little to this here BLOG so Em doesn't feel she is carrying all the weight around here! However, her NYC life is much more exciting than my Acworth, GA life, so I don't have much exciting to add.

This weekend was pretty dull. We mainly worked on the nursery. Saturday morning, the girls helped me take everything out of the room. I felt like I was on Trading Spaces. Then we caulked the baseboards. Then I taped under the baseboards along the carpet. (However, the girls helped me remove all that tape, because we decided to do an extra "remodeling" we hadn't planned on doing...more later). Anyway, then we patched holes in the walls from nails etc. Then Stephen said, "Let's scrape the popcorn off the ceiling!" So we did, but of course that makes a pretty good mess and so we took up all the tape I had so carefully laid down. We tried to vacuum the tape off...but Stephens new shop vac is so strong, it just sucked the tape up. So, the girls REALLY enjoyed helping me take the tape up Saturday night...and they had been feeling left out since they had not been able to help since that morning! Yesterday, Stephen patched up the ceiling and today we will sand and tape baseboards so Wednesday we can paint the walls and ceiling with primer. We might have to do two coats of primer...so it could be as late as this weekend before we actually get to put the colored paint on the walls. I will be sure to send pics when it is done!

That is about it from us. We are just hanging out and getting thing in order for the new baby. We are also going to paint the up-stairs bathroom, so I have been working during the day on removing wallpaper. I have a list of things to do each month and we are trying to get the up-stairs in order so I can have the carpets cleaned!

Well, I better go. I have lots to do since Uncle Ben and Aaron will be visiting tomorrow. Plus, I need to find a camp site for us to go camping next weekend for Mother's Day (well for Friday and Saturday...we will come home Saturday night)! We are all excited, I just hope the weather is nice!

Love you All!

Living in a fish bowl!

Well, the magician David Blaine is at it again. Known for freezing himself in a block of ice and seeing how many days he could go without eating...his latest trick is to live underwater for 7 days. Today I was near the Temple when I saw a crowd of people. I walked over to see who was there and I stumbled upon David Blaine and his water trick. I happened to have my camera, so I snapped a few pictures for your enjoyment. This is one of the great things about NYC...you never know what interesting things you will happen upon, just by walking down the street. This stunt is taking place in Lincoln Center, which is directly across from the Temple. It probably even made the news...I know it did here. This is just further proof that weirdos are all over New York City!

What do VH1 and I have in common?

On Saturday, my friend and I went to a taping of a new game show that is going to air on VH1...it is called the World Series of Pop Culture. The concept is good, but it was boring as all get out. I took pictures...before I found out that I wasn't supposed to. The pictures are of one of the hosts before the game started. It was basically the longest few hours of my life. The sad thing is that I knew almost ALL of the questions. My friend was impressed, as was the man sitting next to me. One of the contestants...was in a group of siblings...was so stupid. She alone made me want to be sick. If you hear about the show, don't bother watching it!