It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

We have finally returned from our latest vacation adventures and I am ready to document some of the highligts and lowlights. It was one for the record books...

We endured a record number of delayed and cancelled flights on this trip thanks to American Airlines, now known as "the devil people" in our house. And a record number of hours on planes, since we got put on the runway for 4 hours in Dallas-Fort Worth ,on our way to New York, before they cancelled our flight and let us off to find another flight to NYC. Super LONG day on airplanes!

We spent WAY too much time looking at this view to even believe we didn't end up on a foreign adventure. Over ten hours total on planes going there and no passports required!

The day after our return, Yahoo! had an article about the 20 worst airports in the nation for delays and cancellations. Numbers 4 and 5 are LaGuardia and Dallas-Fort Worth. Go figure. We spent a record number of days in Texas when it was all said and done, and we have NO PLANS TO RETURN.

We had a record number of "firsts"on this trip.

First time on NYC subways. Rachel was terrified before the first ride, thinking it was a "scary ride." We may have overdone it a bit at Disneyland in March...oh, well. All's well that end's well. After the first ride all the kids walked through the train stations like they owned the place. It was concerning that they didn't have a bit more fear. We rode the subways A LOT since we stayed way out in Queens at a Sheraton that was a steal using our 'starwood points'. The time we spent on subways may have been a record for a family of five visiting for the first time.

First time to Ground Zero. The museum is worth seeing with kids. After seeing the plans for the future and seeing the progress they're making, just walking around the whole site is inspiring.

First authentic NY slice. Just kidding about the Sbarro's! There's an episode of "The Office" that has Michael going to NYC "for an authentic New York slice" where he is in front of a Sbarro's . We couldn't resist a picture when we saw one. In fact we took a series of them throughout the trip.

Times Sqaure Sbarro .....................Dallas-Fort Worth Mall Sbarro

First trip to the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center). This is another great place to go with kids. The subway lets you off right in Rockefeller Center and there is a Ben & Jerry's on the ground level to enjoy after taking in the great views. An employee at Ben & Jerry's even gave Rachel a huge glass of milk for free after she said "Water is not a drink. I need milk." Very nice and not at all what you expect in the big city. And the Coconut Seven Layer Bar ice cream is amazing.

First trip to American Natural History Museum. Probably the biggest museum my kids have ever visited. Can you tell I bought a tourist book for families? This was a great match for kids. We saw a show in the planetarium and toured every floor. It is just like the museum in Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller. We followed this up with a walk around Central Park's Bramble and then rented a row boat to cruise around The Lake. Because Dave is an "elite athlete" he was able to show us all how to row properly. This $12 1-hour rental may be some of the cheapest entertainment anywhere, especially in NYC.

First trip to Statue of Liberty and first adventures with our girl cousins. We've visited with Hailey and Kayla before but we've never been on an adventure with them. As you can see, it was so much more fun sharing our day with Grammy Lois and Aunt Carrie and our cousins!

The American Girl Cafe is where the girls all dined for lunch while the boys found a deli and the Nintendo Store. Fun for all. And I must send a huge shoutout to my sweet nephew, Trent. He was the most awesome 10-month-old you could ever ask for as a travel companion. Let's do Disneyworld in 2010!

After a busy three days, we headed to Connecticut for the weekend and lots of parties. Three parties in two days, to be exact. Which may be a record. Thanks, Mom for all the work and planning and love! The other records established in CT include: number of laughs shared with cousins, number of hours spent up in trees, number of stains incurred on new clothing(I'm pretty sure there's a correlation there) and number of days Dave was sick. He spent five full days eating almost nothing.

Ben received his first faux-hawk; like a mohawk but not so extreme. Thanks, Kurt!

We visited Papa Bob in the hospital on Father's Day. Rob's blog has all the details of the accident. Get well soon!

And after cancelled reservations, delayed flights, cancelled flights, a hotel room, several meals at the airport, a trip to the outlet mall in Texas, more delays, we finally, finally made it home. A great trip in spite of it all. Too bad it's so far and sooooo long to get there for a visit! American Airlines can go to HELL. We'll visit again in two years and we won't connect through Texas, no matter what. Thanks for the memories.

Which brings me to the last record. The kids behaved miraculously well. The amount of patient, good behavior exhibited by my kids (not by Dave and I) was unprecedented. Through all the exciting adventures and hard-pushed days of vacation, as well as airport nightmares, everyone kept it together. Rachel learned a new favorite expression through it all; she now says all the time, "Can we work it out, Mom?" Yes, Rachel, I suppose we can.

Front Door, Back Door

Here's a view of what's out my front door and back door. I added the shot of some art work next to my front door because one day I'll wish there was a little person to draw pictures where I just cleaned. Rachel LOVES to use the 'window markers' right after I wash the windows. (It must be much nicer to have a clean canvas to start with...)

Show us what's out your front and back door.

Guess the Restaurant...

These were taken at a family-favorite restaurant. Can you tell where? (Ben was at a birthday party, so he missed out.)

Dave's First Bike Race

Most of you know that Dave is a mountain bike enthusiast but that his real addiction is with skateboarding. He has so many commitments throughout his week amongst the three kids (soccer, football, scouts, math homework, general fun-dad duty, ect.), the dog, the demanding wife (a to-do list that never seems to end), work, church, a difficult yard with a major plan, that I don't know how he manages to find much time at all for sports. But, this weekend he rode in an insane 24-hour 4-man team bike race. He trained pretty hard considering the aforementioned responsibilities and of course made us proud!



Dave's team chose not to finish out the full 24 hours because of lightning and exhaustion but they finished 5th (out of 22 teams in their category) after 23 1/2 hours of racing and over 330 miles.



There were eighty teams in total who competed. Are you KIDDING me?! When we showed up and saw this mass of humanity there for the race I thought I'd entered a different reality. Who wants to bike over 80 miles in the course of 24 hours without getting sleep or decent food besides my crazy husband and a couple of his buddies? NUTS.



Needless to say, Dave is exhausted. He doesn't want to get on his bike again for a while and he currently hates his bike. The exact quote is: "My bike is a suckfest." We hope he recovers soon and keeps finding ways to surprise and amuse us. Way to go, Dave!

Movin' On

I hate change. I try to tell myself that EVERYONE hates change but that doesn't seem to make it any easier to move on.

Some of our good friends are leaving for South Korea in couple of days. Our friends are lucky enough to be returning here, a place they love, in two years. We're so glad!...and it makes the good-byes easier because we will be anxiously awaiting their return.





At the same time, this change reminds me of the summer we left Kaysville behind. I'm still a bit sad that we will never return to the beloved blue house and our dear friends and family there. After three years you would think I would be over it...but the truth is I still fondly recall my Utah hairdresser every time I need a cut and color. I long for bike parades around the block and popsicles shared on the front porch. I miss swim parties at Layton Surf-N-Swim, despite the overly chlorinated water. I miss flowering plum trees and building snowmen with the Egans.

The Egan's visit in October 2005


Just as it was a difficult transition from college life to post-college life, so it is with the transition to Colorado Springs--a necessary but painful move. I'll never forget the blue house and my dear friends. We miss being close to the "Newton Farm" and all the wonderful things that go with it...

I'm really terrible at moving on but maybe, just maybe, I'm ready to look back with fond memories and not have any regrets about where I am now. All without feeling like I am betraying the memory of the blue house.

Maybe.

Godspeed to the Earnests. We look forward to making many more great memories with you when you return. Thanks for helping this feel like home when we were so homesick. We'll miss you terribly.

A Book Worthy of a Post

This is the book I just finished and it is awe-inspiring and beautiful and compelling and engaging. I really loved it, if you couldn't tell! It is nearly 1000 pages long, so it is a bit of a commitment, but well worth it if you like to be taken to another time and place, all the while empathizing and agonizing with some amazing characters.

Nike Ad or Ben Stiller Wanna Be?

Please leave your vote in the comments below. Is he posing for a NIKE ad or is he trying to win a Ben Stiller look alike contest(from the movie Dodgeball)?

Dave is wearing absolutely ALL Nike in these photos. Would they accept him as a walking adverisement or do they not consider dodgeball a sport?

Dave headed up the Elder's Quorum "all-men activity" on Friday night. They played dodgeball and ate "manly food"(like chili dogs-I'm told that's manly...???). He wore this outfit without a dare or anything.

He truly would be a tough person to blackmail...What could you really hold over him that would shame him?

One of a kind....

Butterfly Pavillion

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Guess Where....Durango, CO!

Dave and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, May 7th. Dave planned a trip to Durango and it was spectacular. What a beautiful place! We rode the train to Silverton, went to a movie, ate in fancy restaurants, and then spent a day in Mesa Verde National Park.

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Jim and Sharon watched the kids and did some serious chauffeuring while we were gone for three days. Thank you so much! The kids, of course, did not miss us a bit and had a great time being spoiled--for instance, Grandma made chicken noodle soup AND chicken and rice soup one night to accommodate everyone. That would NEVER happen with Mom cooking!

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To quote the sentiments of a friend, "fifteen down, eternity to go..."

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I wouldn't want to try this with anyone but Dave. (See future posts to see what makes him so unique, if you don't already know.)

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I love you forever.

Rock On!

Will Ben ever stop cracking us up? He asked if he could wear his hair to school like this...I don't think so!