New York Nelsons

2011 Baby Playdate

2012-02-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

Fourteen ladies in our ward had a baby last year. I hosted a playdate in attempt to get them all together to "play" and to take a picture. We only got 8 of the 14 babies plus we had a few others who just missed the cut off. :) It was really fun and I love the pictures. Joshua is the 3rd from the right.

View

2012-02-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest things about our new apartment is that we actually have a "view" and actual sunlight.
When we first moved into the apartment, a friend came to visit us. Upon entering the apartment Gavin quickly grabbed our friends attention and said, "You HAVE to see this". He led her back to his room and led her to the window and told her, "LOOK, LOOK out there. See that? That's the city. You can see the city in our new apartment." " In our old apartment you looked out the window and saw the Garbage."
It was true. We were on the first floor apartment and you could only see the building next to us and the back alley down below where they kept the garbage. NICE. Needless to say, we are VERY happy with our view.

Preschool Fun

2012-02-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

I love these little friends!

Snow Day

2012-02-01T18:43:00.000-08:00

We had our first real snow day of the season. It didn't come until the end of January and even then there was only 3 or 4 inches on the ground. There was just enough to go sledding. Gavin, unfortunately, missed it. But, we don't feel too bad because he was at a fun birthday party. It was nice to give Eli some time with us.

The "Boys Only" trip to Denver

2012-02-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

While I was spending some quality time with this cute little guy..

My other 3 boys were off doing a little bit of this...

Over the MLK weekend, Boyd took Gavin and Eli to Colorado to visit his brother Joel and his family. We don't get to see them much and Boyd decided it was time for a visit.

While they were there they went snowboarding. Really, Gavin ended up being the only one who did much snowboarding. Eli tried it once (with a teacher) and refused to do anything else that day. Boyd said he sat in this position the whole time whining about going home..

Gavin really enjoyed it.

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Thanks to Uncle Joel, Gavin got to try the ski lift and actually go down the mountain.

They had a great time with their cousins

They visited Great Grandma McGinnis

They played Lazer Tag

They went to a Japanese Steakhouse

I enjoyed a lot of quiet time with Joshua. I did have a "girls night" at my house while they were gone and had a great time.

Thanks again to Joel and Coryn and fam!

Gavin's Polar Express Song

2012-01-15T21:29:00.000-08:00

One night right before Christmas when Boyd was singing the boys to sleep, Gavin told Boyd he had a song he made up. He told him it was to the tune of jingle bells, so Boyd accompanied him.

St. George

2012-01-15T21:10:00.000-08:00

We went to St. George the day after Christmas to join the rest of my family who was already there. They even waited to have Christmas dinner until we got there. We had such a wonderful time. It was especially fun for the cousins. Some of the highlights for me were the talent show and gift exchange, Grandma Call meeting Joshua, the New Years party the kids through, and Snow Canyon. Oh and the fondue New Years party for the adults! It really was just so special to spend a whole week with the family. We also developed a great love for St. George.

Great Grandma Call and Joshua. She was so happy to meet him. Her joy was palpable.

Nativity!

Some guitars from the gift exchange

Snow Canyon was absolutely beautiful. We did some climbing and a little hiking

We went down into a cave. It was pretty adventurous with 8 kids under 9.

McDonalds with Dad's while the ladies went shopping

AT the park

We got to go to dinner with Julia and Nathan

We went to Snow Canyon again and spent some times in the Sand Dunes

Jereme fixed my flat tire in 2 minutes

Boyd, Anna Min, Jereme, and I went on a bike ride in the Canyon

The kids planned and threw us a New Years party. It was really special. They decorated and planned games. We provided the treats

We had an adult fondue party!

Christmas

2012-01-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve mostly at home. We listened to Christmas music, we cooked, wrapped presents, decorated, and just enjoyed some quiet time together. It was wonderful.

WE attended the Live Nativity

We made and decorated Christmas cookies

We acted out the live nativity. Eli was Joseph and I was Mary. Joshua was baby Jesus.

Gavin was a wise man.

Christmas Morning

Gavin got a guitar and a Lego plane from Santa

Eli got a Bugatti and a lego train from Santa

Gavin playing his new guitar

Unfortunately we didn't get any more pictures from Christmas Day because it was a bit hectic. We went to church, had a ward linger longer, and then went to our friends for an extremely delicious dinner. I am sad I didn't get any pictures!

West Virginia

2012-01-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

Boyd had some extra time off as we neared Christmas and the weather was looking good for traveling, so we decided to make a last minute drive down to see Grandma Miggy and Sherilyn and the McNeeley clan. We had a great time and the cousins had a great time playing.

We took a nice walk since the weather wasn't so bad.

We had a talent show. The McNeeley's are a talented bunch

Advent Calendar

2012-01-15T20:10:00.000-08:00

The advent calendar is one of our favorite traditions at Christmas. I didn't get a picture of all the daily activities, nor did I get a picture of everything. But, I didn't get a few.

Christmas Chain

Christmas Chain

Caroling at Brick Church

Wreaths

Macy's Santa Land

More Santaland

Meeting Santa

Just wanted to add this adorable picture

Thanksgiving

2012-01-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

I hosted my first Thanksgiving and cooked my first turkey. I don't think it was the best turkey ever cooked, but there was no major turkey disaster! Thankfully, I didn't cook the whole meal. Our guests all brought delicious food and it was a great meal. We also went to the parade. Boyd got there at 5 with a bunch of other guys from our ward to save spots. We joined up around 7. We had front row seats and had a blast.

The Thankful Tree

L made the cutest placemats and kids table all done in the Macy's Day Parade Theme

The adults table

this is the only picture I took of anyone at Thanksgiving. And this didn't even have all the kids.

A "Ball"

2012-01-15T19:50:00.000-08:00

Boyd and I went to the "Maple Leaf Ball" with Boyds coworkers. It was fun to get a gown and get dressed up.

Becca's Wedding and Visit with Anna Min

2012-01-15T19:46:00.000-08:00

In early November Joshua and I headed to New Mexico for Becca's wedding. Becca, Emily and I were best friends in high school. It was a really great chance for me to reflect back on our high school days and on the nearly 20 years since I moved to Gallup and met those two. We have grown and changed so much, but the bond we formed from those early experiences is still strong. And it brought me such joy to see her so happy.

One of the best parts of the trip was that my sister drove over from Amarillo to spend a couple days with me. It was so wonderful to spend some good quality time with my sister without all of our kids. I love my sister so much. I think she is such a beautiful, smart, and talented person. It made the trip so special that she was able to come.

An August for the recordbooks

2012-01-15T17:34:00.000-08:00

August 2011 was one of the craziest months I have experience to date. It all starting to be a blur in my imagination. Gavin broke his arm, I had a baby, and we moved. I will also mention there was hurricane and an earthquake here as well.

We returned from our trip out west and were lucky enough to spend a few days with my dear dear friend Julia and her family. We felt so lucky that they came to visit us.

The next week we had to say good-bye to the Brashers

Then our dear friends, the Brunson's returned to the city and we were lucky enough to spend some time with them, well a little time before

GAVIN BROKE HIS ARM and had to have surgery. Gavin was as at Camel Park with the Brunson's, Eli, and Dad. He fell off the monkey bars and started screaming. Boyd didn't realize at first what ws going on. But, as soon as he saw his arm he knew it was broken. He jumped in a cab and went to the ER. When I got home, Eli came up to me and told me not everyone came home and told me Gavin broke his arm. I am panicked and ran up to the ER. Gavin was put on Morphine right away. It was a compound fracture of his humerus bone. It was going to require surgery. But, it was a weekend and he had to wait until the next day to have surgery. Boyd spent the night at the hospital with Gavin since I was 9 months pregnant. Boyd said it was a horrible night and it was horrible to watch Gavin in so much pain. He had surgery the next day. Boyd was able to be with him while he was "put under". He had to leave after that. Both Boyd and I waited for the surgery to be done. Waiting for him to wake up was such a scary time for us.

Luckily we were able to be discharged that night. Gavin was very concerned about spending time with Jane.

It was adjustment for all of us. Gavin had to get used to using one arm. He could also not got to the park, playground, go swimming, or ride his scooter!

Luckily Grandma and Grandpa arrived about a week later.

Joshua was born a week and a half after Gavin broke his arm. I did write a nice long post of that back when it happened!

A week after Joshua was born we finally moved into our new apartment. We had been waiting for a year and unfortunatly it had to be a week after Joshua was born. We couldn't have done it with out my parents.

I failed to mentioned that there was also an Earthquake and a hurricane in New York in August. Both of are extremely rare in New York. Both were mild, I must note.

Since I am writing this post almost 5 months later, I can say that we have officially recovered. Gavin's arm is completely healed and is back on the monkey bars. Joshua is an adorable 5 month old who just rolled over this weekend and our apartment is spacious and light filled. Eli, you ask? Hopefully, he as recovered for the lack of attention he received that month.

We also couldn't have done without all our dear friends who helped by sending meals, babysitting, and just being there to support.

Summer Vacation

2012-01-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

For our summer vacation this past summer we spent a full week with Grandma and Grandpa in Brigham City at my Grandma Call's house. My parents were living there and we wanted to have some fun. We got to take swimming lessons while were there and well and spend some good quality time with Grandma and Grandpa, cousins, and Grandma Call. We spend the second week of our vacation in San Diego at Grandma Nolte's 90th birthday celebration!

Perry Parade

Slip and Slide

One of favorite pictures.. Hiking with Grandma and Grandpa

Playing skip-bo with Grandma Call. We were lucky to spend some good quality time with her

We even got to meet up with Cousin Sophie at a children's museum in Ogdon

Grandma Nolte's birthday celebration

Mormon Battalion Museum

Boyd made his first attempt at surfing

Train ride!

Padres game

Go Padres!

Remember?

2012-01-15T16:46:00.000-08:00

Remember when I was going to post all my update posts about the summer back in October. Oops. Oh well. I am still do some crazy update posts. Now that we are in our post-Christmas, winter blues phase we can look at these pictures and look forward to next summer. These pictures were taken at the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer.

Gavin's Kindergarten graduation

Beach Days

Eli took a Gardening class at the botanical gardens

Grandma Miggy came for Gavin's Birthday

Strawberry Picking

Beach days

More strawberry Picking

For Gavin's birthday this year we went to Victoria Gardens with a small little group. They had a blast.

Much of the beginning of the summer was spent trying to spend quality time with Lucas, Mackenzie, and Sam. We learned that they were going to be moving to Texas. It was a huge loss for us. We tried to spend as much time together as we could before they left.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:48:00.000-07:00

At our ward Halloween carnival

Halloween was a lot of fun. We certainly didn't run out Halloween festivities and couldn't help but be happy the day was finally over.
We have always had fairly easy costumes in the past, but this year Gavin wanted to be a Wild Thing from Where the Wild Things Are. I stressed and stressed about how I was going to come up with a costume. With a LOT of help from my dear friend Lynda, I think we pulled it off. She pretty much sewed the mask/hat all by herself with out a pattern, just a picture. Gavin, however, was being very difficult. He insisted that the monster had a yellow striped shirt and not orange. We orginally sewed orange stripes. I told him he had to fix it if he wanted it different. So, he cut out the yellow stripes and taped it over the orange stripes.

Eli started out as a ghost, but ended up a bear (Gavin's costume from 2 years ago). Boyd was a Bishop chess piece (haha). I was a bat. Joshua was a dragon for our indoor events and Pooh for our outdoor events.

Our Halloween activies included carving pumpkins

Pumpkin Festival and pumpkin picking where Gavin and Eli got to play in hay

School parade and carnival

and of course, trick-or-treating!

End of the school year

2011-10-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

Gavin had a great Kindergarten year in Ms. Alicea's class and celebrated with an end of the year program.Overall, we feel Gavin had a positive first year of school.

Grandma Miggy came for Gavin's Birthday and for the end of the school year.

Brooklyn Cyclone game to end Gavin's baseball season.

Eli had a great year at Book Buddies. They had an end of the year party and put on a little performance. We love Ms. Amy

Where do I begin?

2011-09-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

If I wait til I have time to catch up, I will never start blogging again. Our life has been crazy over the last couple of months and I just haven't felt like blogging. But, this week is a week of new beginnings and it's time to update the blog. I am going to start with our most recent events and then I might have a few catch up posts because there really were some big events that can't be missed. Let's start with Joshua. Here are some pictures that my friend Lesley took and that I am excited to have of him.

He had his first bath (it took forever for his cord to fall off), he started smiling, and he is just starting to be a little more aware. His brothers absolutely adore him. They are constantly talking to him, patting him, kissing him.

He was blessed and luckily Grandma Miggy was here for that. We were happy to have her here to help!

And now onto Eli who is growing up too fast. He turned 4 September 10th. We had nice family party with Grandma Miggy as our special guest. We had a friend birthday at Gate Hill Day Camp a week later. Eli continues to amaze us. A few of his favorite things are race cars, especially an Bugatti. He loves lego duplos and building them into space ships. He plays and plays with Gavin. I love watching their little friendship grow. Often at parks now they choose to play together even if they are there with other friends. He adores Joshua. He can't kiss, touch hug, talk to him enough. He is my helper in the kitchen.

Gavin started 1st grade and his new teacher is Ms. Baldwin. His favorite part of the day is still recess even if he can't participate much because of his arm (more on that later). He also adores in little brother. He has changed more than anyone in the last little bit. I want my boys to stay babies and they just won't!

Most of my time is dedicated to the boys and to my my apartment, but I did get to go to a free Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion concert in Central Park. It was quite the experience, but glad I got to go.

Boyd continues to work and work some more. :) So, that is a quick update as to what is going on now.. I hope to do a few catch up posts, but if not, at least you know what we're up to these days!

Introducing..

2011-08-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

Joshua Boyd Nelson
Born August 17, 2011
8:30 PM
8 LBS 5 OZ and 22 1/2 inches long

Wow, what a wild 24 hours. We are so happy that Joshua is here. He has already won our hearts.

Yesterday morning at around 3:30 AM I woke up with slight contractions and continued to contract every 10 or 15 minutes. They were uncomfortable. But, because I had done something similar a week or so ago and it turned out to be false labor, I didn't think much of it.

The contractions continued to weaken and I was able to go back to sleep. I probably wouldn't have gone in except that I already had an appointment with my midwife. So, my mom (Thankfully, my mom and dad arrived the night before) and I went to my appointment to learn that I was already 5cm dilated.

Because of my history of extremely fast labors combined with the fact that I needed to be put on antibiotics because I was Strep B positive, the midwife decided to have me meet her at the hospital 3 hours later. So, my mom and I went shopping, grabbed some lunch and some pinkberry, and then went home to grab my bag. We then went back to the birthing center at the hospital.

I was put on antibiotics. They didn't want to start laboring any more if possible until I had received my medication for 4 hours. We took a nap and hung out. At 5:00 they did a few things to help further labor along. I will spare you the details. Then at 6:00, they broke my water.

I thought I would start contracting right away, but It took a about 1/2 hour and then I was contracting 5 minutes apart for about an hour. So, at about 7:30, things started to get more intense. The pain started to be pretty unbearable. I was checked at 8:00 and they told me I was at 7CM. I was pretty discouraged, but remembered that with Gavin, when I was at a 7, I went to a 10 in 5 minutes.

Sure enough as we were talking about ways we could move the labor along, I started having contractions right on top of one another. I started feeling like pushing. I don't think my midwife believed me entirely. Sure enough, while standing next to the bed pushing down, the baby came sliding out, with just enough time for the midwife to catch the baby while Boyd was calling for the nurse.

It was all over and I had the most beautiful little boy in front of me crying. It was a beautiful moment. I was so glad it was over too.

The night was a little rough. He had a hard time settling in, so we were up most of the night until about 4 when he finally settled down.

We really struggled with naming Joshua. Joshua has been on our list since Gavin. We had chosen Gavin, Eli, and Joshua when we were pregnant with Gavin. We liked all the names, but chose them based on how we felt when we saw them. We were still considering Joshua with this baby. But, it never settled with us completely. About 3 weeks ago, Oliver was added to the list after I saw it on a birth announcement at my midwives office. I really felt attached to it. We thought we might name him Oliver. At the end of the day, we just didn't feel it would be his name. We had 3 names picked out at the start of our child rearing and it turns out we had 3 boys. Plus, Oliver would be a tongue twister with Eli. As, we put the name on the birth certificate, I was still hesitating, but now that we are home with him, Joshua feels so right even if I still feel a bit attached to the name Oliver.

The boys were so excited to meet him at the hospital. Boyd went home and picked them all up, including Grandma and Grandpa, where they met Joshua for the first time. I can tell they will be extra helpful. .

Because we gave birth at the birthing center, we were discharged this morning.

Boyd made a celebratory meal of king crab legs, roasted veggies, and cous cous.

We are so happy, but I admit I am nervous about being a mother of 3. Luckily, I have help for a the next few weeks. Thank goodness because we are moving to our new apartment upstairs in a week..

Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Made my day

2011-06-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

This is currently hanging up outside Gavin's classroom.I needed this today.

The Patch and Lucas

2011-05-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

Many of you have asked why Gavin is wearing an eye patch in so many pictures. Gavin has amblyopia. A very basic explanation is he uses one eye more than the other and because of that he stopped using his slightly worse eye making it even worse. If intervention was not made, he could eventually go blind in that eye. The eye patch and glasses force him to use is bad eye, making it stronger. It is reversible up to 7-8. Gavin has been really good about wearing it and is confident when people ask him why he wears it. He gives a great response. I think he feels a little sensitive about it now, but still does ok.

I love this picture because Gavin's best friend often insists on wearing a patch when Gavin has his on and it makes me happy.

Gavin loves Lucas. Many of his school projects reflect this. Here is a picture from early on in the school year. He most recent project on the board is a poem that Gavin wrote about Lucas.

Gavin and Eli's winter photo dump

2011-05-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I wish I had done a better job recording this past winter, but I didn't, so I am just going to do a little update post on Gavin and Eli and things that stand out from our winter.
GAVIN-

Piano-Gavin started piano and has loved it. He has his dad's ear for music. It comes naturally to him, which makes me glad because it didn't ever come naturally to me. Within the first weeks he figured out how to play his favorite song "Dynamite" with a little help from daddy.

Speaking of Dynamite, Gavin is picking up on some pop music from school and comes home singing his new favorite songs. His absolute favorite was Dynamite. He has it completely memorized. He has a little dance for it. He also likes Taylor Swift.

Hula Hoop- I ask him what he does at recess or gym every day and he says "hulu hoop" He has gotten pretty good at it!

He continues to love school. He has been on a few field trips. He had a Bollywood Dance performance!

He is so excited for this baby. He will rub my belly and say "I can't wait for August (my due date)."

He loves to make books. He switches types all the time. He was making cook books for a while. He made this bird a while back. He also came up with direction on how to make a push up flower. I didn't prompt him. He just came to me with it.

Both Eli and Gavin took some fun classes to help us through the winter!

ELI-

Eli is also very excited for the baby. He is surprisingly loving and gentle with babies. Hopefully, he will be just as loving with his new baby brother.

He LOVES puzzles. Sometimes with very little help he will put together 5-6 large puzzles mostly by himself all at once. For our special time alone together he often requests that we do a "tricky puzzle."

He continues to adore Ms. Amy and Book Buddies (his preschool). I know he is learning a lot each week and that more importantly he is having fun. Here is a picture of us on a "field trip" to the fire station.

I love my time with him. I am glad we will have some one on one time before the baby comes. He melts my heart a lot of the time and he makes me want to pull my hair out the rest of the time.

BOOK BUDDIES!

book buddy field trip to firehouse

A warm Saturday spent with friends


Gav's field trip to Victory Theater


Gav's class on subway for fieldtrip

One of Gav's many projects he creates by himself

class at NY sports club

Valentines Day

Transit Museum

After Gav's Bollywood perfromance

Eli's and Brandon

Eli and Lillian

Gavin at piano

A Perfect Mother's Day Weekend

2011-05-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day 2011

Mother's Day was absolutely fabulous. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. The weather was around 70 and sunny both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we went to the NY Botanical Gardens with our friends, The Blaires. The gardens were opening a new Azalea Garden and they were celebrating with an old fashioned garden party and picnic. The Azeals were so beautiful. I wish this picture could show you how beautiful they were.

Our friend Lucas joined us at the gardens. Gavin came with Boyd after baseball.

The kids and Boyd played crochet

They flew kites

We picnicked on the lawn and enjoyed great company. (why didn't I get a picture of our picnic)

On Sunday, Boyd stayed home and made breakfast and we even got to go to church together.

Our church meetings were uplifting and full of the spirit. After church we enjoyed a picnic in Central Park. Boyd finished off the evening by making crab legs, roasted vegetables, and mashed potatoes.

I loved every minute of it and I am so grateful for my boys and my role as mother!

Sisters

2011-05-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

My sister came for a visit this past weekend and it was so wonderful. She left her 4 kids with her husband in Texas (Thanks Jereme). We had some great sister time. We talked, ate, talked some more, had pedicures, talked, ate, shopped, and talked some more. We even saw The Importance of Being Earnest. I love you Anna Min. Thanks for visiting me.

Chess

2011-04-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

The boys have been playing a lot of chess these days. Gavin will wake up in the morning and ask Boyd to play first thing. They have even played in the park on the chess tables. It is fun to see him take and interest. Eli usually plays for a little bit and then abandons the game. Boyd will step in and attempt to get out of the "mess" Eli usually leaves for him. It is Boyd's challenge.

It's a....

2011-04-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

BOY! That's right, we are going to be having another BOY!

Boyd, Gavin, and I went to my 20 week anatomy scan this week. We decided to bring Gavin because he has been so excited about this baby. He has wanted to see pictures and asks every week if he can more pictures, so we decided we had better let him come.

There has been no hiding the fact that I have really been wanting a girl to add to our little family. I felt very strongly that it was going to be a girl. I even had her name all picked out. (Louisa) (I am going to still use that if we every have a 4th and she happens to be a girl, so don't steal it! ahhah)

The ultra sound technician announced within the first few minutes, "It's a GIRL!" WHAT? I teared up. I was so happy. I could hardly believe it. Then about 4-5 minutes later, she said, "umm, I am going to try and get a better look, because I think I am seeing something down there." Sure enough, she saw "something" down there. There was no mistaking that "something" determined it was not a girl, but in fact a boy.

I am not going to lie and say that I didn't break down and cry. I tried to hide it from Gavin. I didn't want him telling his future brother some day. Of course, I am writing this post and someday, he will probably read it, but by then he shouldn't have any doubts that we love him and cherish him!

The night I found out, my friends organized a little gathering of friends to announce what I was having. Everyone was supposed to wear pink if they thought I was having a girl and blue if they thought I was having a boy. I was supposed to wear what it really was. I wore a blue shirt with a pink sweatshirt over it. I figured I could trick them since that is what happened to me! It was a fun night and it was fun to be around such great friends.

I am so grateful to be pregnant and to have this little spirit growing inside me. I can honestly say that I love him so much already. I will be a mom to 3 boys! The thought overwhelms me a little bit, but I think we can handle it. The two little guys I have already are so special and adorable and I know the 3rd little boy is going to be just as special.

Guess who came for a visit?

2011-03-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

Cousin Sophie!

Loren (Boyd's Brother), Erica, and Sophie came to visit us this past weekend. They drove down from Boston during their spring break and we felt so lucky. The boys absolutely adore Sophie. Eli made sure she would be comfortable the first night by giving her his special blanket and special pillow.

At the park, Gavin and Eli fought over who would get to go down the slide and poor Sophie ended up in choke hold.

We had beautiful weather and got to enjoy time at the park and at the Central Park Zoo.

We also put our name in at Serendipity and got to eat some frozen hot chocolate and banana splits!

The adults were able to enjoy some time together to. We went out to dinner and then to a Broadway show called Memphis . We enjoyed both. We played games and watched movies!

Thanks for coming Loren, Erica, and SOPHIE!

A winter escape

2011-03-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

In February, when we didn't think we could handle the winter much longer, we escaped to the beautiful islands of The Bahamas! It was a true "vacation." We spent our days moving from the pool, to the beach, and back to the pool. We only took breaks for eating and sleeping. The first day, I kept thinking to myself, "ok, what is next.". I had to let go of my desire to always be planning the next thing.

It was beautiful. We also said we wouldn't watch any TV while there. So we would get up in the morning with the boys around 6:30 or 7:00, get swimsuits on, head down to the pool to save our spots, go to breakfast, we would be by the pool at 8:30.

We would order lunch by the pool. Then we would head to the beach for the afternoon.

Then we would back to the room to shower up. Then we would go to dinner. Then the boys would go to bed. We would go to bed by 9.

We were so rested by the ended of the week. The boys loved the pool. They got a pair of goggles the they just loved. They were both fearless of the water by the end of the week. Gavin has become quite the swimmer.

We did a lot of reading as well as a little resting.

We did do one outing and that was to Blue Lagoon Island where we went to a Dolphin Encounter. The boys loved it and we enjoyed playing with Salvador. We spend the rest of the day on that beautiful island sleeping in hammocks and playing at the beach.

We did head to the local "Fish Fry" for dinner one night

We went on a Jet Ski for 20 minutes and the boys loved it!

We had a very memorable trip and we hope to make it back there again someday or somewhere like it again soon!

The view from our balcony.

The buzz

2011-03-07T07:51:00.000-08:00

This was all Boyd could do it fix it. Every time he walks in the room I have to do a double take because I don't recognize him! I just keep telling myself it will grow back and atleast I don't have to comb it everyday. He won't have hat hair everyday!

Eli's hair cut

2011-03-07T07:47:00.000-08:00

Eli decided to cut his hair this weekend. He did quite the job. He cut all the way to the scalp in many places. I shed a tear or two. I have loved his hair, but hair grows back.

Hibernating

2011-02-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

Where have we been? Basically, we have been in hibernation. This winter has been a hard one. With records amounts of snow and low temperatures, we really have not been venturing out too much, nor have we been up to doing much. Mostly because I have been working on this little beauty:

I am expecting a baby in Mid-August and we are very excited! I am finally past my first trimester and am going on my 13th week.

Manhattan Takes a Snow Day After Blizzard - DNAinfo.com

2010-12-27T17:15:00.000-08:00

Gavin and Eli made the local news! Check out the article. We had a great time playing in the snow!

Manhattan Takes a Snow Day After Blizzard - DNAinfo.com

Advent Calendar

2010-12-13T22:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas is in full swing around here and it has been so much fun. Gavin is a true believer right now and you can't help, but be excited. We went and saw Santa this week and on our way to go visit, he asked " how are we were getting there?" I said, "the subway." He answered, "We are taking the subway to the North Pole?" The conversation only got more interesting when he asked, "Did Santa bring his sleigh to Bloomindale's?"

We have done advent calendar's in the past, but they have been edible! This year, following a good friend's lead, we are doing activities every day leading up to Christmas. We got a great advent calendar last year and it has 25 pockets. It has been so fun. Gavin pops out of bed every morning and heads straight to the calendar to see what we are doing for the day. I didn't have it together the first day, so I only had the first's day's paper in the calendar. He asked me why there weren't paper's in all the pockets. I told him that they appear magically each day. That has really added to the mystery and excitement. Here is a look at our first couple of weeks!

Our Advent Calendar!

Day 1 Make Ornaments with Lucas and Sam

Day 2-Make Christmas Chains

Gav's prek friend joined us!

Gav's chain

Eli is very creative, wouldn't you say?

Day 3-Watch a Christmas Movie and eat caramel popcorn .. We watched Frosty the Snowman

Day 4-Make paper snowflakes

Gavin got to go see Elizabeth Mitchell perform that day as well!

Day 5-Christmas Caroling at Brick Church

Day 6-Get Christmas Tree and decorate it!

We have bought from the same guy 3 out of the past 4 years

Day 7- Go to Library and pick out Christmas books-Charlie Brown Christmas and The Polar Express

Day 8-Go see Santa

We went to Bloomingdale's this year and the Santa was super friendly and spent atleast 5 minutes with the kids

We went to eat after!

Day 9- Do something nice for someone else..Gavin helped a friend find her boot and Eli helped Gavin do something, but I can't remember.

Day 10-Watch a Christmas Movie and eat popcorn-- The boys watched Rudolph. It was also the day of Gavin's Holiday Concert at school!

Gavin got to ring a bell!

Day 11- Go to Ward Christmas Party and see Santa!

Day 12-Make a gift (I won't say what or for whom, because they are reading) It was also our ward Christmas program.


The boys before church

Winter's Eve

2010-12-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

Winter's Eve at Lincoln Center has become a tradition in our family. It is the 4th year we have attended and it starts the holiday season for us. It is held the Monday after Thanksgiving and is a tree lighting, neighborhood party! We had a great time once again. We mostly spent our time playing by the fountain in Lincoln center while listening to the live music nearby. The kids loved it!

More than just Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we traveled to Amarillo, Texas where my sister lives with her family. My parents sold their home in New Mexico before they left on their mission to Mexico, so we all gathered at my sister home this year to celebrate their return from serving a mission in Mexico and Thanksgiving. It was a great gathering --Mom, Dad, Anna Min and her family, Ben and his family, my family, my Grandma Call, Aunt Ellen, and Uncle John, and Jereme's parents too. We really had a lot to celebrate over Thanksgiving. We celebrated my parents return, my grandma's 88th birthday, Alyvia's 8th birthday and her baptism.

We really had a memorable time. Anna Min's friend hooked us up with a large empty house to all stay at while we were there! There were no babies amongst the cousins and the pack of cousins just roamed and played. We can tell they formed some great cousin bonds. I was able to play as a substitute on Anna Min's volley ball team and I had a blast. It made me realize how much I missed it. We also got to play again with my siblings and spouses. I have to find a way to play on a regular basis. My boys love back yards. Gavin kept telling people when we got back that his cousins had a back yard!. Thanks to Anna Min for planning such a great trip. Thanks to my mom and dad for their service, and thanks to all my family to coming. It had been 2 1/2 years since we have all been together.

I should mention that we are luck to have Eli alive. He nearly strangled himself on a rope, fell in cactus, burned his hand, and fell and nearly cut his ear off. I so worry about him.

Welcome back Grandma and Grandpa!

The kids spent a lot of time on this

Grandma Call's 88th surprise birthday party


Opening gifts

Discovery Center Fun

Back yard fun

Thanksgiving at the Church! It was so great. They kids had a blast in the gym. Here are some of the cooks!

our pies

the kid's table!

After turkey slumber

after turkey church fun


Jump n' Jive

A little Texas fun.. Lazer Tag! My sister and husband own a Laser Tag company.

Alyvia's baptism!

Hike in Palo Duro Canyon

Uncle Ben leading the kids into danger!

Did I mention?

2010-12-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

Did I mention that this cute girl is no longer living with us?

Sherilyn, Boyd's little sister, came to live with us in June for the summer. She came after she graduated from highschool and before she was to start college in January. She babysat for us as well and some of our friends. She ended up staying until the end of November! It was fun to see her come into her own while she was here. It was great to really get to know her and and understand what makes her tick. There wasn't a lot of space in our apartment, but we made it work. She was supposed to have Eli's bed, but Eli ended up joining her in bed for most of the time she was here. It was fun to watch her come to love the city and to experience all that is has to offer. She made so many friends while she was here. The boys, especially Eli, are going to miss her. With the boys, she played games, made believe with remote controls, solved puzzles, played tickle monster, made envelopes, and so much more. She is a very special young woman and we are excited for all that is ahead of her.

Fall Fitness challenge

2010-11-22T21:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't been the greatest blogger as of late, but I have been focused on something else for the last couple of months. I have been part of a fitness challenge with about 36 other people. We all contributed $25 and then were awarded points for completing various challenges each week for 8 weeks. The fitness challenge is officially over as of yesterday, but it was such a great experience for me that I want to keep up many of the newly formed habits. Here is the challenge:

DAILY POINTS:
No Desserts (6 pts. + 1 bonus pt. = 7 points)
No Soda (6 pts. + 1 bonus pt. = 7 points)
No Eating after 8pm (6 pts. + 1 bonus pt. = 7 points)
Scripture Reading (6 pts. + 1 bonus pt. = 7 points) - at least 1 chapter per day
Exercise (5 pts. + 1 bonus pt. = 6 points)
Weekly Challenge (6 pts. + 1 bonus pt. = 7 points)

WEEKLY CHALLENGES:
Week 1: Keep a food journal
Week 2: 7 hours of sleep per night
Week 3: 5 servings of vegetables per day
Week 4: Drink 64 fluid ounces of water per day
Week 5: 100 sit-ups & 50 push-ups per day (doesn't necessarily have to
be done in one sitting. Try 5 sets of 20 sit-ups & 10 push-ups
throughout the day)
Week 6: 4 servings of fruit per day
Week 7: 5 small meals per day
Week 8: Run/Walk at least 1/2 marathon (this doesn't have to be
completed at one time, but can be done in small increments throughout the week to add up to 13.1 miles)

It has been a great experience for me and I am proud of myself for sticking with it and for giving it my all. I have not been very disciplined the last couple of years, so it has felt so good to actually accomplish something I started. and I really liked how it has made me feel!

I lost 9 pounds! It has been hard for me to be super happy with 9 pounds because I have so much more weight to lose, but I have realized I need to celebrate each pound and continue to patient in the process.(which is why I hope to continue most of the challenges, with a few modifications)

I am also grateful for the spiritual component of the challenge. I realized that scripture study is possible and that it is an important party of my day.

Also, it has been fun to be part of this with such a fun and supportive group. I had many opportunities to work out in different ways and with different people and it was fun. I loved that my life was focused on fitness and health and that other people were sharing that experience.

Finally, I have challenged myself mentally. I ran/walked a 15.2 miles. We started at Battery Park City and ended up near Ft. Tyron Park at the top of Manhattan. I ran more of it than I ever thought I could. I realized I am capable of more than I really thought possible.

At the start of our Half-Marathon in Battery Park City. We finished up at the top of Manhattan near Ft. Tyron Park. Here is a link to the route we took http://www.nyc.gov/html/edc/pdf/greenway_mapside.pdf

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

I am so exhausted from this Halloween weekend, but I wanted to post pics from their Halloween. We had a lot of fun.

Buzz and Woody

Yes, Gav and Lucas were twin Buzz Lightyears

Eli came up with a new costume. I love this picture

Looking so smart!

2010-10-06T19:30:00.000-07:00

Isn't he so adorable? We were a bit surprised that Gavin was told he needed glasses. I even went for a second opinion. It was a bit hard for me to accept. He seemed way too young, especially since he can see so well. So why the glasses? Amblyopia-lazy eye. We are trying to adjust to the idea and so is he, but he looks great and I hope we can fix this with the glasses, and not have to do the patch!

The ladies don't seem to mind

Book Buddies Preschool

2010-09-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

Eli started Preschool! He will be going to a preschool run from our super qualified and super talented friend's home on Monday and Wednesdays for 3 hours. Gavin went to Book Buddies when he was 2, and he loved it! Eli is loving every minute of it so far. There are 7 other little friends doing it with him. What is not to love?

First day, waiting at the bus stop

Welcome room

Story Time

Eli Turns 3

2010-09-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

Eli turned 3 a few weeks ago! He could hardly wait for his party. He had been asking about it since Gavin's birthday in June. We decided to to a joint party with Ava, his friend whose birthday is only a few days before his. It was a Safari animal theme held at the Safari Park and it really turned out well! Eli was so happy and we were so happy his friends could celebrate with him!

The Birthday Cake! Thanks to Louise and Heidi!

The birthday boy and girl

Gavin got to be the tiger in the Tiger Hunt Boyd led them on

The cupcakes!

The spread

I think this says it all!

Aren't these animal masks so fun? Everyone got one.

On the hunt!

Pin the nose on the Lion

Boyd entertained as usual


I think this picture is so cute because Eli is leaning over to Miles and seems like he could be saying, "Isn't this so fun?	"

We had a little family party the night before

US OPEN

2010-09-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to go to the US Open ever since I moved here 8 years ago. I FINALLY went! We attended the quarter finals for the men and women. We lucked out and got to see Roger Federer outplay Robin Soderling. We also got to watch Caroline Wozniaki outplay Cibulcova. It was really windy that night and surprisingly chilly, but we really had a great time.

1st Day of Kindergarten

2010-09-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true, my baby is in kindergarten. I have had so many emotions leading up to this first day of kindergarten.

Many of you know that getting your child into a good school in NYC is very difficult and very difficult to manage. Getting your child into a private is also very difficult, but an option we didn't even consider. So, over the past year we have pursued every options we could for Gavin.

I will spare you all the details, but let me just say, I have been very anxious about it all. IN the end, I had my heart set on the dual language Spanish program at our local school. It is great program that helps Spanish speaking children learn English and English speaking children learn Spanish. The classroom is comprised of 50% Spanish speakers, 20% bilingual, and 30% English only speakers. Each day is split between English and Spanish. For example in the morning only spanish is spoken and in the afternoon, only English is spoken. I though it would be a unique experience and I felt would be a great fit for Gavin. Because of the program's great reputation there was a lottery for the English speakers and Gavin did not get in on the first round. I was pretty upset that he didn't get in. He was fairly high up on the wait list, so I continued to follow up all summer. Luckily, one week before school, Gavin got into the program and I was so excited.

Gavin has also been very excited to learn spanish and to attend kindergarten. He was a bit nervous on the first day, but he has enjoyed it everyday and he has wanted to go back. I had a breakdown the night before school started. I felt like I was just handing him over to someone else and that scared me! Luckily, I didn't have a breakdown the morning at the school.

After a week of assesments, Gavin was assigned to Miss Alicea. We have all been happy with her so far. I know that I will miss Gavin, but I know that it will be really nice to have some one on one time with Eli. I will continue to pray that Gavin is happy in his new class!

Camping at Camp Waubeeka

2010-09-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

We have been camping for the last two years and we couldn't let the year pass without going camping!

There was so much going on prior to this trip and it just wanted planned properly. I didn't have the energy.

We didn't even have a camping spot the day before we were going. It was Labor Day Weekend and there wasn't a camping spot within 3 hours. So, a few of the families we were going with couldn't go.

We decided to go anyway. We decided to try one last place 2 hours away. At this point we didn't care where we were going. We just wanted a place to set up camp and have a fire. That is all the boys wanted. I found a website for a place called Camp Waubeeka. It did not seem like a quiet place to go camping , but we decided to go anyway. You have to check out the website and you will see why I didn't think it would be ideal. http://morganrvresorts.com/pages/waubeeka_homepage

But, it turned out to be the best place we have been camping near the city (we have only been 2 other places). The campsite was huge, the campground was secluded (it was far away from the RV Resort area) There was a great little hiking trail. IT was close to some other great hiking areas.

It was such a great trip. It brought me back to my younger years went I was camping with my mom and dad and brother and sister. Honestly, camping with my family are some of my fondest memories.

It was a great trip to spend with the boys. They enjoyed exploring. I was actually pretty proud of the food we prepared. For dinner we had homemade corn salsa and chips, fresh fire roasted corn on the cob, fruit, hotdogs roasted on the fire, and of course s'mores. For breakfast we had pancakes, sausages, and juice.

We are hoping to return to this spot in early October with friends to enjoy the fall foliage.

The hike begins

The explorers checking out the beautiful crane we spotted

Eli can't help but collect things. He is always shoving stuff into his pockets.

The quest to find the perfect roast stick was successful

Gavin tried to eat his roasted hotdog right off the stick

It is did rain a bit, but it didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves

We tried to sing around the campfire, but it proved unsuccessful.

The hike to sunset rock

The view from Sunset Rock

Cramming it in

2010-09-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

The week before school started, we went crazy trying to fit in the last few things on our to do list. I think we over did it and I was GRUMPY at certain points. Oh well, it was totally worth it!

We were able to return to a really great lake and water park (http://www.tomahawklake.com/) within that lake. They had a bunch of water toys inside the lake that the kids could bounce and climb on. They also had small water slides. Gavin even tried the big kid water slides this year.

Last soccer class and the park,

Victoria Gardens--It is the perfect little amusement park for kids under 7. The kids can go on most the rides without an adult. IT is never crowded (or has never been when we have gone), so the kids can just keep riding rides over and over. It really isn't that expensive either. We had a great time.

We had our last Capoeira class, we all went swimming and then, Inacio's dad made all of us lunch and gave the kids a music class!

We finally made it out to the Aquarium. We took the 1 1/2 hour subway ride out to Coney Island. The kids helped make the journey out there a lot of fun. The kids loved the sea life almost as much as they loved the person who was scuba diving while cleaning the sea lion tank. They love their friends. I have to admit though that this trip about put me over the edge. I went to bed at 2AM the night before. I had already over scheduled myself and the kids all week. It was super muggy and hot. I was super grumpy and frustrated. It made me realize once again that I can't try and do too much and I HAVE TO GO TO BED EARLIER! Hopefully, my kids and my friends will forgive me for being a mess on that outing.

We went camping, but I took too many pictures, so I am going to do another post to document that trip.
Labor Day was so beautiful this year and we finished off our summer with a great picnic.

Last Beach Day?

2010-09-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

We went to Long Beach last weekend via train! It was a perfect day to be at the beach with friends. Was that our last beach day for the season? I don't know.

Gavin and Eli finally got to ride the "big train" again. They ask to do it all the time.

We love Sherilyn

TOY STORY 3

2010-09-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

This was the boys first full movie in the theater. Eli loved it. Gavin got pretty scared, but said he "kinda" liked it!

Ladies only

2010-09-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

I managed to do a few things without the kids this summer. The first was way back in June. I ran the Wall Street Run for the 2nd year in a row. I promised myself I would do better than last year (which was my first 5K). I did do better by about 5minutes. My time was still not great (35 minutes aprox), but for me it was pretty good. It was about 95 degrees that evening and there was only one water station. It was pretty miserable. I am glad I could do with these lovely ladies.

Monica and I ran it together last year. It was her first 5k last year and she has done a lot more as well as a 10k since then. She totally rocked it.

I attended Lillith Fair with this lovely group of ladies. We had a great time together. The music was pretty good too. I attended in 1998 as well. The time sure does fly.

Summer here and there

2010-09-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures from the summer.

We spent a lot of time at the parks.

Eli and Brandon are the best little buds. When they are together they follow each other around and Brandon always brings the yellow truck for Eli!

What can I say about these two? I love this picture!

Imagination Playground

The summer isn't complete without ice cream

Lasker Swimming Pool. We were surprised by how much we liked it there.

Jones Beach

Ft. Tilden at the beginning of the summer!

Nicholas and Gavin at the pool by our house. Nicholas moved and we were so sad to see him go. They have known each other since they were born.

Summer fun with Gav's old prek class

Capoeira and soccer

2010-09-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

One of the little boys in Gavin's prek class has a father who teaches Capoeira in the schools. This summer he had a playgroup/class for Capoeira (and he also incorporated soccer) once a week with a few of the kids from Gav's prek class. Capoeira is a Brazilian art from that combines martial arts, dance, and music. Gavin really enjoyed it and Eli did for about 10 minutes. They both learned to be a little more aggressive and that there is "No crying in soccer."

Davis Park, Fire Island

2010-09-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we were able to join my dear friend Monica, her family, and her friends out on on Fire Island where they had rented a house for a week. We joined them for a couple of nights. It is an island off of Long Island that you have to get to by ferry and there are no cars. There are only a few small stores, several vacation homes and boardwalks (like above), and the beach. We had a blast.

The kids started a lemonade stand and made over $12.

The boys had a great time with all their friends. We were all able to spend some much needed time with Boyd, and we were able to spend some great quality time with good friends.

One of my favorite parts is that I was able to play in the ocean quite a bit. The ocean was pretty rough while we were there and the waves were quite big, thus the boogie boarding was quite fun. I have loved all my time at the beach this summer. I am like a child again when I get to the beach. Most of the time I am managing the kids at the beach, but on this trip, I was able to do my own playing at the beach.

Soccer and Swim

2010-08-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

This summer both Gavin and Eli took soccer classes and both improved. Gavin has learned that you don't always have to score. He still isn't super aggressive with the ball. He will run super fast to get the ball, but then stop and let the other kid chasing the ball get it.

Eli has enjoyed it as well, but only for about 15 minutes and then all he wanted to do was pick up sticks and rocks.

Gavin also was able to take swim this year. He has LOVED it. He has even learned to swim. Of course, he still has a lot to learn, but he has loved it.

Future Paleontologist

2010-08-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

During Gavin's last couple of month's of school, he would come home reciting random facts about dinosaurs. He started naming all different kinds of dinosaurs. I was surprised at all he learned. He later disclosed that he learned it from a book on tape that he listened to during listening center at school. His teacher gave him the book on his last day of school He has been asking to go see the dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History ever since that time. We finally went this past weekend. We would see a dinosaur and I would ask Gavin to name the dinosaur and could name almost everyone I pointed to. He could even tell me why. For example because the Tyrannosaurus Rex has 2 nail claws and the allosaurus has 3. He is our little paleontologist.

This is my brother

2010-08-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we were eating at our favorite burger place, Shake Shack. Boyd was the preferred parent all weekend because the boys hadn't seen him all week, so while eating, Boyd was sandwiched between the 2 boys on one bench and I was across the table on a bench all by myself. Eventually, Boyd broke free and came to my side. The boys asked Boyd why he went over to the other side. Boyd kissed me and said, "Because this is my sweetheart." Eli stared at us for a few seconds and then put his arms around Gavin, gave him a big kiss, looked directly at us, and said, "This is my brother."

It was such a sweet moment. Gavin even told the story in his class today when he was asked to share a story about someone who loved him.

Jersey Shore Part 2

2010-08-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly, most of Boyd's family is now on the Eastern half of the country. So, it made sense to organize a reunion somewhere out here. We decided on Ocean City, New Jersey (along the Jersey Shore). The beach was great and the cousins all got to spend some great time together. We are glad that nearly everyone made it!

Jersey Shore Part 1

2010-08-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

This year for our vacation we rented a house in Ocean City, NJ. The first half our trip we split the house with friends and the second half we spent it with Boyd's family.

Here are some pics from the first half of our trip!

We were there over the 4th of July and we were able enjoy beautiful fireworks right on the beach. We had been told that day that we had to secure a spot early. So, being the New Yorkers that we were we got our spot early in the day and enjoy the whole day at the beach. We made people stay, so that we didn't have to lose our spot. By the time the fireworks started there were very few people near our spot on the beach. I guess we we are just used to New York city crowds!

We had a blast. It was so wonderful to be with such good friends. We ate great food, played hard, tried to play games, and laughed into the late hours. We will have some fun, lasting memories from our trip.

A Birthday Surprise

2010-08-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

On Gavin's actual birthday, June 28th, Gavin got a great surprise -- Jane, and the whole Brunson gang!

They stayed with us on and off for the next 2 weeks and we had so much fun catching up, playing, venturing out on outings, and just laughing. We have missed them so much over the last year. We are glad that we got to spend so much time with them.

They have been gone almost a month and we miss them!

feeling so grateful

2010-07-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

I am going to take a break in my catch up posts (I am still a month behind) and share my current feelings. This week has been a wonderful week and tonight I was filled a strong feeling of gratitude and I want to remember this moment because I so quickly forget all the blessings in my life.

I am thankful for 7 happy years with Boyd. We celebrated our anniversary this week. Boyd was traveling on our actual day, so we really didn't get to celebrate and we really didn't expect to this week. Then as a nice surprise we were able to get away one night this week after Boyd returned. It was especially fun because I surprised Boyd.

I am thankful for thoughtful friends.. This week 2 of my friends cleaned my room for me. That's right, cleaned my horrible messy room while I was away. I came home expecting to spend my day cleaning it, and it was clean. I felt like I was in a dream!

I am thankful for my sweet boys. Tonight we had a mommy and sons party. We had a picnic in our living room, we watched a show, and we made, decorated, and ate sugar cookies! As I sang songs to them tonight, I was filled with so much joy that they are in my life.

I am thankful that I get to live in New York. There are so many fun things going on this summer. I got to attend Shakespeare in the Park (amazing free theater in central park, ) again this week. The first time, I was lucky enough to get tickets to Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino, from some friends after we just missed getting some. This week I got to attend with Sherilyn after she camped out with some friends to get tickets to A Winter's Tale. It was so beautifully done.. Earlier this summer, Sherilyn and I attended the NY Philharmonic free concert in Central Park. It was such an incredible concert, it was free, and we got to enjoy it under the stars surrounded by friends.

I am thankful for summer days with friends. It has been so horribly hot in New York this summer. It has been the hottest July in the history books. So, I am grateful for the beach escape we had on Monday and I am grateful for them public pool that we discovered that we love that is only one block away and is perfect for the kids. We had a lot of fun there this week with friends. The boys are so happy. Gavin is doing swim lessons and both Eli and Gav are taking soccer classes..

I am thankful for Sherilyn, who has made my life so much easier. She has been very helpful and she is so good with the boys. I am grateful that we are getting to know each other better.

I am thankful that I know that I can be a better person. I often reflect too much on my faults, but today, I feel grateful for the person that I am, but know that with God's help and with hard work, I can be better.

Gavin's Toy Story and Nicholas' Bug 5th Birthday Party

2010-07-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

Gavin and Nicholas have been friends since they were born. Nicholas' parents met Boyd and I in Lamaze class and we have been friends ever since. This year they were lucky enough to be in Prek together, so this year for their birthdays, we decided to do a joint birthday party. We had two themes since they both wanted different ones. It was fun for everyone!

The spread..

Rocket Balloons

A bug hunt

A buzz lightyear rescue mission to save the aliens

Millworm bug races

And of course the pinata. And with the pinata came lots of tears.

The birthday cake or cupcake tower

I think the birthday boy was pretty happy!

Welcome Sherilyn!

2010-07-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

Sherilyn, Boyd's little sister moved in with us for the summer ! She is babysitting for us and for a another family friend and also has picked up some other babysitting jobs. The boys sure love her! -

One thing that has been very nice about having some extra help is that now, when I come home, I am often the hero. Let me explain. Boyd comes home from work and gets a hero's welcome every time! Normally, I elicit no response when I return from somewhere without the boys. I came home one day after running errands and when I walked in the door the kids were playing games with Sherilyn (they were having a great time) and they stopped everything they were doing and ran to me and screamed "MOMMY!" They jumped all over me and hugged me. It was a hero's welcome. I loved it. Now, I don't tell this story because they don't like being with Sherilyn, because they love it and have so much fun. I just think that they have spent a little more time away from me to realize that they miss me! On this particular occasion they asked where I was and I said, "picking up vegetables." They screamed "VEGETABLES!" They insisted on eating something, so I gave them a piece of swiss chard (see picture below) I thought it was quite funny.

PreK Graduation

2010-07-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of our little graduate. He made it through preK! They had a sweet little ceremony for the kids and both Boyd and I could attend.

We have had an interesting experience in PReK to say the least. There have been many times that I questioned my decision to do the public PREK. I almost pulled him on several occasions. But, I do think Gavin grew up quite a bit from the experience. I realized more of how to be a parent of a child attending school and that I need to be a more assertive parent.

Here is the graduate with his medal and diploma! Ms. Mota is behind him and she was his assistant teacher.

Ms. Santiago was his teacher.

Gavin met a lot of great friends and so did I. Many times after school we would go to park and play at the Cave Park. Several of his classmates also went. I am grateful for the friendships formed.

You have to check out this video. I love watching Gavin dance and the little boy in his class is hilarious!

On to June

2010-07-18T07:52:00.000-07:00

June was a busy month...

Father and Son's campout 2010. It was extremely hot!

Strawberry picking! I even made homemade strawberry Jam.

May catch up

2010-07-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

I know.. May was 2 months ago, but I am behind. I wanted to post a few pictures..

Gavin took a gardening class at the New York Botanical Gardens again and he loved it. He was lucky his friend Lilly was able to take the class too!

For Memorial Day we went to Jone's Beach for their air show. It was so amazing. It was great to be able to play on the beach as well as enjoy and air show. The boys loved it, although Eli did get a little scared of the fighter jets!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

I was blessed with an amazing father. I always hoped that my own children would have a father just as loving, patient, and fun. I feel so lucky that they do. I am so glad he makes those 2 boys a priority and that he realizes how important it is for them to know that they are loved. To top it all off, he is a lot of fun. He knows how to make them laugh, he dances with them, he throws them in the air, he makes up songs with them, and just keeps thems smiling.
Boyd is gifted at many things, but being an amaizng father is the one I treaure the most. We love you!

A few snips

2010-05-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we cut off Eli's signature hair cut. It was a hard thing for us to do since we loved that hair on Eli and we knew that once we cut it, he would look so much older. We still wanted to stay "true to the nature of Eli's hair" as Boyd put it. So, we just snipped a bit.

Somehow Eli changed with that haircut. He not only physically looked older, but he acted older. He has grown up so much in the last few months. Mainly he started talking much more. He started by echoing everything Gavin said. Now, he is finally forming more of his own sentences and communicating so much more. He loves puzzles, airplanes, sandboxes, and games. It has also been fun to see the relationship between Gavin and Eli develop. They still fight quite a bit, but they play, laugh, joke, and compete together and I love to watch it.

School Bus

2010-05-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

Gavin went on his first school field trip and he rode his first school bus. It was a very exciting day for all of us. His class went and saw Seussical Musical and they had a great time.

Seeing his little face in the window of the school bus made me a little sad. He is growing up so fast.

Spoiled Mama

2010-05-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

Today I was spoiled from the moment I woke up to the moment the kids went to bed, which was a huge contrast to last year's Mother's Day near disaster.

The only thing that kept it from being a total disaster were dear friends. Last year Boyd woke up on Mother's Day morning extremely sick. Then during church, when Gavin went up to sing to the congregation with the other primary children, he had a total break down. This led to me carrying him off the stand screaming, Then I followed with my own breakdown. Luckily, I had some very dear friends jump in to save the day, by bring me flowers and taking my children to the park. Then my dear friend's husband came down and made the dinner Boyd could not prepare. It is funny to look back on now, but I could not even post about it last year because I was so upset about it.

Today was so wonderful. Boyd and the kids made a delicious breakfast and Boyd made Chilean sea bass with wild rice and roasted vegetables for dinner. It was so delicious. I also enjoyed some beautiful flowers.

I love my boys, all three. I hope and pray that I can be the mother they deserve. I am grateful I have that opportunity. My mother was such an amazing mom and I am constantly thinking about what I think she would do when I don't know what to do with my own children. Lately, I feel I have been getting upset with my children too much. I don't ever remember my mother yelling at me when I was young. Did you ever yell at me mom? I hope my kids remember how much I love them, always. They are so precious. I am happy to be their mom. Thank you to my own mom for her unconditional love and to my mother-in-law for raising my sweet husband.

Happy Mother's Day!

Where do I begin?

2010-05-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have neglected this blog for long enough. There have been a lot of changes of around here. The biggest being that Boyd started a NEW JOB!

Boyd has been at the same company for our entire marriage. Many people questioned Boyd's decision to quit his job 2 weeks before our wedding nearly 7 years ago, but we had never felt more certain that we were making the right decision. The weekend before our wedding Boyd received a job offer. We felt so blessed and we were happy with his new company. But, Boyd has been there for nearly 7 years and for many reasons, it was time to move on.
We are thrilled with this new job and the opportunities that lie ahead. We feel so blessed.

Between jobs, we were able to take a mini vacation. We drove about 1 1/2 hours upstate to Mohonk Mountain House and stayed one night. It is located in the Shawangunk Mountains on a preserve. There are tons of hiking trails and activites and the hotel is nestled between the Shawagunk Ridge and a lake. We hiked, we rowed a boat, we played golf, we played croquet, we swam, and we ate.

El Tajin and Costa Esmeralda

2010-02-27T16:12:00.000-08:00

what great tourist hats!

The second part of our trip involved a 5 1/2 hour road trip to El Tajin, a pre-columbian archeological site and was the site of one of the largest and most important cities of the classic era of mesoamerica. It took forever because of Tope's (large speed bumps) and just the biggest most abundant potholes I have ever seen! But, it was well worth it. I had never seen anything like it.

Then we drove another long hour to the Costa Esmeralda, where we stayed at a quaint little hotel on the beach.

UNO!

Welcome to Tampico

2010-02-27T16:03:00.000-08:00

My mom and dad are serving a mission for the church and we are so proud of them. We were grateful that we were able to go see them as missionaries in Mexico and see the joy they are bringing to the people there. It was also so great to just be with them. I think the best part of the trip was seeing them with the boys and the great bond that they have. It is amazing to me that they only see them a couple times a year, but they are so close.

I have to see we were a bit disapointed by the weather when we first got there. It was in the low 50's and it rained quite a bit. They were having one of the coldest February's on record there. A couple of weeks earlier they had been in the low 40's! I know this was better than NYC, but we were in Mexico!But, we still enjoyed ourselves.

My parent's neighbor have a doug, Toby and Grandpa and boys spent a lot of time with that dog, Toby. Eli loved Toby. He still asks about him.

We spent a lot of time playing games and doing puzzles. Uno was the new game of choice! Grandma and her puzzles were a big hit!

We also went to a Lagoon where you can take a boat ride and see crocodiles. Apparently, they used to have a zoo in that area. It closed, but they decided to leave the two crocodiles there in that lagoon. There are now 30 of them. The best part of the ride was the iguanas! there were tons of them. They were close to 3 feet long. Some were bigger and some were smaller. But, they just hung out in the trees!

We also got to go to dinner that night while the boys stayed with some friends of my parents.

The next day, we went to my parent's institute. We met all the the people they work with. Mom, Boyd and I went to an outdoor market. That night we did a presentation in their English class on "living in New York." I don't know how much they understood. It was so fun to meet my parent's students. They are warm, loving group of people. I can tell my parents are loved and that they love them.
The institute building
I wish we got more pictures of their class, but we were too worried about our presentation!
I have more pics coming!

On our way

2010-02-27T15:59:00.000-08:00

On our way to see my parents in Mexico, we had a very long layover in Houston. We decided to meet up with my Cousin Mark and his family at the Houston Zoo. It was a fun way to break up our trip and It was great seeing my cousin and his family. The kids loved the orangutans. They were hillarious. Thanks Mark and Emily! It was fun seeing you and your cute f amily!

Signs of a good snow day

2010-02-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

A snowman

A sled

A snow angel

BIG smiles

We didn't plan on playing the snow, but Gavin and Eli pretty much demanded it and I am glad I let them have their way! We had a great day. The one thing missing was Boyd.

Week Long Celebrating

2010-02-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

I love it when I can extend my birthday all week! Last Tuesday I woke up to a delightful breakfast of french toast and fresh fruit. My favorite part, was sitting down and seeing my birthday cards from Gavin and Eli.

The best present I received was Boyd taking the day off work. I spent the first part of the day out with friends. I got some free tickets to The View and we saw Ashton Kutcher, a guy from Modern Family, and Melissa Rivers. We had a lot of fun.

I was treated to an amazing lunch at Esca. Later that day Boyd spoiled me even more by making a dinner of Artichokes and King Crab Legs. We topped the day off with a birthday cake and presents with the family. ( I wish I could insert a picture here, but we didn't take any at dinner and the rest of the pictures from that night were not so flattering)

My birthday was extended the whole week by a lunch celebration with friends the next day!

and Boyd took me to see West Side Story later that week. I love birthdays. Thanks for all who made it such a special week.

and FOUND

2010-01-28T17:59:00.000-08:00

My wallet has found its way home via the US postal service. Someone put my wallet in the mail box and my mailman delivered it to me today. Of course, I had to pay $2.25 in postage. The money was gone, as was the bag it was in. But, it did make it back and I take comfort in knowing that my ID isn't being used by someone. I looked at my wallet and wanted to know the story behind where it had been and who sent it back! I will never know!

Lost

2010-01-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

Has anyone seen my wallet? It is gone. Yesterday, when walking to Gavin's school for a teacher meeting, I lost it. I think it fell out of my stroller, or blew away. I was caught in a huge storm, the rain was pounding down on me, and the wind was blowing hard and it nearly knocked me down. All I know is I pulled out a snack for Eli at some point along my journey and the bag has not been seen since. I am still holding onto hope that someone will mail it to me. It is possible, right? I hope the $100 is helping someone in need.

GAMES

2010-01-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

Gavin and Eli have discovered games. It has been a fun afternoon winter activity almost everyday. His favorite right now is Zingo, but he plays chess with his dad, Jenga, Go Fish, and Old Maid. Eli is surprisingly pretty good at most of them. I have always loved games, so I am excited that my boys love it too!

Toy Monster

2010-01-15T17:37:00.000-08:00

When I was a young girl in the middle of a older brother and younger sister, my mom created the toy monster to help control the mess around the house. She would give us warnings to pick up our stuff. If we didn't pick it up, she would come around as the toy monster and put all the toys that weren't put away into a bin. We wouldn't see those toys for a week.

In an attempt to control the messes around the house, I brought the toy monster to our house. I have changed things up quite a bit. I first mentioned it to Gavin when I warned him several times to pick up his toys. I told him the toy monster would come if he didn't pick things up. I explained that the toy monster comes around and takes toys we leave out. He took it very seriously. He asked me several questions, like "What does he look like?" and "Where does he live?" I wasn't quite sure how to handle these new questions. I didn't want him to be scared. I told him that the monster lived in the closet in the living room. He went and looked in the closet immediately. Great. I came up with the idea that I would go into the closet and come back out as the toy monster. They loved it. So, now every evening, I set a timer. The boys have that amount of time to pick up before the toy monster appears. The alarm goes off and the boys go crazy. I go into the closet and come back out as the toy monster. I go from room to room as a monster. They do a really great job picking up, so the monster only eats a few things. Eli even gives it a few toys because he loves to see it eat the toy.

It has been a fun game for the boys and and has really motivated them to clean up when I ask. I usually help and work on my own messes. We have had a pretty clean home as a result. We'll see how long it lasts.

Not as bad as you would think

2010-01-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

We have been in need of a new computer for a while. But, we have been putting it off because we weren't sure what what to replace it with. Boyd was going back and forth between a pre-built HP and just putting one together himself. I have to say that I was hesitant when Boyd suggested the latter. I had visions of parts all over our apartment for months and all kinds of troubleshooting. Needless to say, Boyd decided he wanted to put together his own system. He hinted that I needed to be part of the process, so I can know what to do in case he got hit by a bus. So, last Friday we received all the parts and our date night was putting it all together.

Here are pictures of the tower before we started

Proof that I helped.

My hero

Finished product (well, before we put the cover back on)

Can you believe the computer started up perfectly on the first attempt?

The whole process wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. It was even kinda romantic, in a way.

Putting a banker to work

2010-01-05T18:34:00.001-08:00

Every New Years we gather up all the change we have been collecting and take the family to the penny machines at the bank to count it all up and cash in. We then buy something fun for the family with it. We haven't decided what we are going to get. It has proven to be a good little savings program. This year Boyd decided to take all the quarters out and find 2 sets of all the 50 state coins. I think he was at it for about 2 1/2 hours!

You're never too old for a sleepover

2010-01-03T18:44:00.000-08:00

Boyd has been off for a week and half and it is has been so fun. We have had 3 sleepovers in the last week, and believe me, we are still not too old for a sleepover.

Sleep over 1: West Virginia

Boyd's sister and her family have moved to West Virginia. We are very excited to have more family (Boyd's brother and his family are in Boston) here in the East. We decided to take a little road trip down to see them. It only took us 6 hours. Our kids never got out of their car seats.

We were there for one night, but we had a great time playing music and games!

Sleep over 2: Columbus, OH

The second part of our road trip was to Columbus, Ohio. Why Columbus, you ask? We decided to meet our dear friends who left NYC 6 months ago half way to have some fun. We found an affordable indoor water park, called Ft. Rapids and made it our meeting point. Jane and Gavin were so happy to see each other. During our first dinner together we would find them deep in silly conversation. Our rooms were connected and we put the kids down in one room and we played games, caught up, and ate in the other room for a good portion of the night. It was fun to catch up with the Brunson's. The water park was perfect for all. Gavin was finally tall enough and brave enough to go on some of the bigger slides. The ride home was difficult and it included throw up and a detour in Newark, but it was still well worth it. We had a blast.

Sleep over 3: New York City, NY

Our New Years this year was very low key, but was so fun. We went over to our friend's apartment. They had the most delicious spread of cheese, meat, and chocolate. I can't claim any credit, since it was so last minute, so Thanks Lynda! It was the best fondue I have ever had and decided it would be a fun New Years tradition. The kids had a great time playing together. We decided we would try and put our kids down there, so we could play games and celebrate the New Years with them. We ended up playing games and the wii and talking until 4 AM, so we decided to just stay the night. It was a bit rough the next day, but it was still worth it!

Christmas

2009-12-26T22:20:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! The day before Christmas Eve I was not feeling the Christmas spirit. Luckily, Christmas Eve morning I woke up feeling excited. I even kept that mood after I went to Fairway (a fabulous grocery store, but can also get extremely crowded and Christmas Eve morning was the worst I had seen it). I came home and made a brunch with Cranberry Cream French toast being the star of the menu. We watched Christmas movies with the kids. Gavin was very disturbed by "The Muppet's Christmas Carol." He kept asking when it was going to be like it was at the beginning (happy.) We had to turn it off to eat and he started balling. He said, "when is Scrooge going to be nice and when is everyone going to be happy." He was very sad all through breakfast and said he wouldn't be OK until everything was happy on the movie. I guess that movie was a bit much for my sensitive and loving boy.

That afternoon we went a live Nativity at the Church of Heavenly Rest. It was such a neat experience and it really brought the real meaning of Christmas back. The kids loved the live animals too. Gavin was very concerned about seeing baby Jesus the whole time and asked about 100 questions during the performance. As a side note we sat behind Tom Brokaw and Eli kicked him a couple of times. Sorry Tom.

That evening we went to some friends for soup and treats and carolling. I have to say our pianist rocked and therefore carolling was a rocking good time!

We came home and had a Christmas Eve family night where we talked about why we celebrate Christmas and told the story of Jesus. The boys then got to open one present. We are starting to give Christmas books for that gift they open.Boyd and I stayed up way too late playing Santa's helper and making my triple peppermint trifle. Boyd requested that I make it again.

Christmas morning was glorious for all involved and the boys were so excited for the gifts. It took forever to open them all because the kids played with their toys in between.

We had monkey bread and yogurt for breakfast!

I spent the rest of the day cooking and sleeping. They boys played and slept and ate, and played some more. We were also able to skype with Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Miggy and the gang! We even had a conference call with my siblings!

That night we went to our friends' home and celebrated together with a large feast! We had such a wonderful dinner. It was a great end to a wonderful Christmas!

Snowed in

2009-12-26T20:48:00.000-08:00

Can you find our Van?

Last Thursday Gavin, Eli, and Eli all traveled to Long Island to spend the weekend at the Rich's home. In return for watching our kids while Boyd and I escaped to Block Island in October, we were coming out to watch their 3 kids and their 7 chickens (I was a bit more nervous about the chickens) while they came into the city to stay at our place for a weekend escape. The boys and I came out early so that Monica and I could make our peppermint bark and Christmas candy that we make every year. We spent a good portion of the day in the kitchen. However, we didn't get to our peppermint bark because Monica had a little tripping incident and ended up in the ER (thank goodness she didn't break anything.) It all happened right before bed time. I attempted to put all of the kids down that night and it was quite comical. The kids played musical beds. I couldn't find sheets for a couple of the beds. Miles (monica's youngest) would let me come near him. They were all a bit excited and were bouncing of the walls! Luckily, after about an hour and multiple bed changes, the kids were settled!

Mon and Adam left the next day for the city. Boyd joined me that night. We definitely had some crazy moments with all 5 of the kids, but for the most part it went pretty smoothly. I am not ready to have 5 kids however. We even decorated cookies with all of the kids. The biggest excitement of the weekend was the SNOW.

Monica and Adam made it back late Saturday night after trekking home in a blizzard. Picture taken (by Monica) around midnight before the bulk of the storm hit

By the time Sunday morning rolled around there was about 24-27 inches of snow. (It seemed more like 20 inches to me, but according to the news the town we were in received the highest totals at 27 inches.

Boyd was supposed to be back for a talk, but as you can see from above (first picture) our car was completely buried!

and the snow was still falling Sunday morning. The trains were all delayed, so he had to let them know he wasn't going to make it. Their church was cancelled, so we spent the day there! Boyd and Adam spent the day shoveling

Monica and I spent the day making peppermint bark and chocolate covered Joe joes. The kids spent the day playing in the snow.
We even lucked out and saw the Santa Engine pass through the neighborhood!

Santa Visit from Monica Rich on Vimeo.

We had a fun time playing games that night!
It was a great place to be snowed in. I hope they didn't mind too much!