New York City

I really wanted to try New York style pizza. This one was delicious. We went to the South Seaport where they used to have a fish market. We ate on the third floor of this huge building and overlooked the seaport. It was beautiful outside and on the way out, we even got to see a big group of break-dancers!Eric planning out our day.On the double-decker tour bus. Both times we rode, our tour guides made us laugh with their cynicism. Another "after" picture. I have tried three times to make my hair this silky-smooth, but have failed in every attempt. Sigh. If only I had a big head-dryer and 45 minutes to sit under it.Abe Vigoda in the NBC store.The hallway in our very quaint hotel.Before every Wicked show, they draw a lottery for 30 tickets. This is us waiting with a ton of other people (we didn't win). We did, however, see Spring Awakenings (pretty needlessly sexual, but excellent acting and singing) and Curtains (we both loved it).Crazy Times Square.At the top of the Empire State Building. Every picture taken outside turned out awful. This one, on the other hand, is awesome. It shows all that I was feeling. Notice how I'm sitting by the trash can.Central Park. I had no idea how huge it is. It's miles wide and long. There is a zoo, a carnival area, tons of playgrounds, coffee shops... what else? We didn't walk around here too much.
And Little Italy. We ate bruschetta and ravioli and manicotti. It was very good.

While We Were Gone

Grandma Sally and Grandpa Stache came up to watch the boys while we went to New York. Looks like they had lots of fun...

ZOO


PARK

GRAND OLE CREAMERY

More about Curly Hair

I went to a salon today specializing in curly hair. The owner wrote a book called "Curly Girl" that I've been advocating to people. Here's what they did with my not-so-small mane.

Before:

After: (a little windy...)

Top Ten Weird Things About NYC

10. Street vendors. They sell everything- from produce to roasted nuts to flowers to neck-ties (we got 5 for $20!).
9. Bicycle taxis. These young men ride you around in a carriage. It's like we hired a litter or something. We actually haven't done this, but I'd like to, just for the experience.
8. The Stupid Empire State Building. We waited in a line for almost two hours, got to the top with about 400 other people trying to get to an open edge to look down. It was so windy, we left after about 15 minutes (and $40). Oh, and they try to sell you stuff at every turn. Stupid tourists.
7. The leggings. Maybe this isn't just NYC and I'm out of the loop. But every New Yorker has tight 80's leggings on (some even have... (gasp) stirrups!).
6. The prices. I paid $6 for a 12 oz. strawberry smoothie. And a three-bedroom apt cost $5,300/month.
5. The diversity. We have heard several different languages being spoken on the street. There are several neighborhoods with signs in different languages (like Chinatown, of course).
4. The crowdedness. How does anyone live here? It's insane. There are so many tourist attractions, I heart NY t-shirt vendors, people stopping traffic to take pictures...
3. Conan O'brien. Yes, we were in the NBC store and he came running through (with a camera crew behind him) giving souveniers to people.
2. Although it still smells like sewer (like Chicago), we've only seen 2 homeless people and only had one scam artist approach us. Cool.
1. Curly hair love. I fit right in. Almost all these women are sporting the curly hair fro.

Sweet-A Park

We went to an amazing park today about 20 minutes away. I've never seen anything like it. The boys had a blast, but I was really worn out from chasing Isaac around. Laura sent me these pictures that she took of the boys. What a nice friend.

This picture here only shows about 1/4 of what was there.

Cal and Hannah

Today was the last day of preschool party. Since I still do not have my camera, I will have to wait and see what kind of pictures Jess took. Afterward, Jess, Lisa and I all went to the park. On the way back to the car, Cal and Hannah got distracted and we found them quietly singing to eachother as they picked dandelions. Cal's song was something like, "Hannah is my friend, I love Hannah... etc." Cal was singing falsetto, so they were hitting the same notes.

Today was

Sweet and Sunny

I was buckling the boys into the car yesterday when Cal said, "Mom, you are the most sweetest mom ever." I said, "Thank you, Cal! Why do you say that?" He answered, "Because you look so pretty in the sun."

Just For Fun

Seriously! Look at this beefcake! Were you guys so worried that I was over-feeding this meatwad?

Camera and Singing

I can't find my camera. However, it's very likely that it's in the pit of our house that we call the office.

Tonight, I was tucking Cal into bed.
Me: Do you want me to sing two songs?
Cal: [nods]
Me: [Singing very lovely the old 80's worship song] Oh how He loves you and me. Oh how He loves you and me. He gave His life. What more could he give? Oh how He loves you. Oh how He loves me. Oh how He loves you and me.

I got about six words into it and Cal covers his ears. I stopped and asked, "Why are you covering your ears?" Cal, not wanting to hurt my feelings, replied, "Ummmm.... I don't know."

Try again- Fun Without Me

Laura took Isaac for a little while today while I went to a coffee shop. She brought out buckets of water that quickly turned into mud. Isaac loved it. You wouldn't know it, since the kid doesn't smile much.


Look at those chubby arms.

Here he is drinking the dark brown water.
I'm not sure about his new fascination with making his lips big. There's Mado.


Elias looks sorta dorky here, huh, Laura? Ha! He's really quite cute. Thanks, Laura!