FLASHBACK FRIDAY - JACKSON HOLE, WY

Have YOU been to Jackson Hole, Wyoming?!?

In August we decided to go.  I have a good friend who told me her kids love to go, so we thought we would try it out.  I can say I did not enjoy the drive there - not that it wasn't pretty, but I get so car sick that I just put the air blowing on me and closed my eyes! 

We had heard of the Alpine slides and knew that would be something fun to do...it was a bit pricey but so fun!  The first time down, Adam rode with Harrison and I took McKenna:

.Tyler couldn't decide if he wanted to go or not!?!...decisions, decisions...

The second time down, Kenna and Harrison decided to brave it on their own! and after much deliberation, Ty decided to go down with dad...his smile shows how much fun it was!!

The ride up the mountain..

such a pretty view from the top- with a crazy cute boy as well!

Great view of the Tetons too!

After a great time at the Alpine slides, we went into town and saw the infamous shoot up at town square.  Harrison was a little nervous and kept asking, "are they using real bullets?  Are you sure they aren't real?!?"  So, they had to meet the cast of the "amazing production" afterwards...(sorry about the lack of clothing on Kenna and Ty...neither could handle the heat)

In one of the gift shops we stopped at Tyler found this necklace...I literally had to tear it off him so we could leave!  He is a little obsessed with keys and there is a key on the chain...Tyler finally agreed to take it off if I took a picture of him with the necklace...crazy kid!?!

We also went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum - which Harrison was very excited about after checking out a few of their books from the library.  Addie loved the stuffed animals....

There weren't too many amazingly weird things there, so I only took a few shots...this is a mountain lion made out of 1 million dollar bills shredded up...believe it - or not!

One of the first bicycles made for parapalegics....believe it - or not!

A couch made out of a full buffalo's skin....gross!  Believe it - or not!

We finished off the day trip with pizza from a local pizzeria and then hit the road back home.  We had a great time! 

DISNEYLAND - FALL 2009

Well, Thanksgiving break is here and we are ready for another dose of Disney! All 3 kids are on antibiotics for strepthroat and ear infections; never a better time to travel - no worries of getting sick!!

Both Kenna and Harrison say we need one of these in our backyard!!...yeah, we'll get right on that!

The Merry-Go-Round is always a favorite!!

Wasting a few moments while waiting for the Toy Story Ride -

It's a tradition to always take a picture at Pooh Bear's Honey Pots!

Cute one of the kids with Brother Bear

We had a great trip this time. The weather was perfect! The only down part of the trip was the flight back to I.F. which left at 6:30a on Thanksgiving morning...we made the plane, arrived in I.F. just in time for Thanksgiving dinner with Adam's family! We'll probably see you in a few months Disney!

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Just about two months ago, Adam and I had our 11th anniversary. We decided to go to New York to celebrate (since we were at a funeral for our 10th). We had a GREAT time - the only regret was we didn't stay longer!!

Our adventure began with our cab ride to the hotel at 1:00AM: We walked out of the airport to get a cab to our hotel. Adam's friend, Josh, had advised we only take the yellow taxis, but a man just came right up and "wisked" us away to his car...a dark black cadillac, tinted windows and all beat up - we got inside anyway! I was so nervous, I kept thinking in my head, 'maybe I'll pretend to call my mom and tell her we're on the way to the hotel and we'll see her in a minute' so this mobster would think that we would be missed if not dropped off at our destination right away!

We drove through multiple alleys, and everytime we did, I thought "this was it...I can't believe we didn't even make it to our hotel!?!" but, in the end, we did...and decided from then on, to follow Josh's advice, not just for our safety, but to keep our blood pressure down!

Our hotel was right in time square - views from our room, 22nd floor:

We woke up the next morning at...10:30a (woo hoo!) and headed down to Time Square:

Went to Roxy's deli for an early lunch. We looked at the menu and couldn't believe that a sandwich cost $26.00...until we saw the sandwich!! (and I ate the other half....)

We wanted to see a few Broadway shows while we were there - two for sure - Phantom of the Opera and Wicked. Josh had also advised we buy any Broadway tickets in New York vs. in advance...you can get them for a discounted price at the TKTS booth in Time Square, so we headed there next to buy tickets for that night...we were able to get tickets for Phantom of the Opera - and it was AMAZING!!

Before the show, we went to Rockefeller Center to Top of the Rock - that was an amazing view!

New York's skyline is something!

We walked past some huge cathedrals and had to take a peek inside one - St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue:

The next day we took the subway to Central Park to see the museums...turns out our feet only allowed us to see one (and we were there for 4 hours) We had to pick the Museum of Natural History (we had to see the characters from Night at the Museum)

Here's "Dum Dum...bring me sum Gum Gum..." and the whale (and a really huge tree)..we were too tired to make all the way up to the last floor to see the infamous T-Rex...oh well...

That night, we decided to go see Mary Poppins on Broadway (since you can't get Wicked tickets through TKTS) . What a FUN, Family friendly show!! It had some great new songs, a revamped "supercalifragelistic" song and some great special effects! After the show and dinner, we were walking back to our hotel and came across a crowd of people - we peeped in and saw this amazing artist! Watch this:




I was thinking, "why is everyone watching this abstract artist so closely and why are people standing in line to buy on of these?" (b/c I'm not an abstract art kind of a person) - and then he continued...

wait, here's a little more of the progression...

And one more to finish off the painting that people were waiting in line for (inlcuding us after we had seen the finished painting)...it's amazing what this man could do with spray paint, a few random plastic lids, and a razor blade!

For our last day in New York we decided we had to 1. go see the Statue of Liberty and 2. Try to get tickets to Wicked!

She is an amazing work of art and sculpture!

On our way back from touring the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, we met a nice lady from Texas who was going to walk to "Ground Zero" when she got off the ferry; We decided to do the same...we ate at a deli just right across the street from the site and it was a little eerie. The deli had been used as a water station for firefighters. They had pictures and signs from 9/11 and the days after. The site was all fenced off - which I was a little disappointed in that because I wanted to SEE the actual place - it seemed the whole block surrounding ground zero had a somber mood about it...everything was a little bit quieter there than anywhere else we had been. They had a little make shift memorial/museum right there as well, but just looking inside, I knew I would cry if I went in, so we chose not to go and see anymore.


It still amazes me that it all happened -

Now, for the finale of our trip comes the best story!! As mentioned before, we really wanted to see Wicked, but found the shows were all sold out for a week (except for the $250.00/ ticket seats). We were going to see a show called Rock of Ages that night, but I just wanted to go and see if, possibly, someone had cancelled their Wicked tickets. We walked all the way to the theater and were told the tickets were still all sold out, but we could stand in the cancellation line and might possibly get tickets (for full asking price).

Adam and I did not want to waste our whole day waiting in a line where we MIGHT get tickets, so we decided to leave...however, while we were walking out of the theater we noticed a Lottery sign and asked the ticketman how that worked. He told us , 1 1/2 hours before the show, you could stand in line to put your name in a lotter drawing for two tickets and then, if your name was drawn, you would get two tickets to the show. We thought it was worth a try (are you guessing where this is going since it's such a long drawn out story?!?) We stood in line, put our names in the lottery and waited...there were about 300 other people signing up for the lottery as well...

After 1/2 hour of people signing up for the lottery, they came out to announce the names (they gave away 6 sets of tickets). I told Adam if I won I would scream and go running up there like they do on the Price is Right... and wouldn't you know it...MY NAME WAS THE FIRST ONE CALLED!! And I kept my promise by throwing my hands up in the air, screaming and running up to get my WICKED TICKETS!!

Now, the tickets were still not free, we had to be able to show our I.D. and pay cash for the tickets (thank heavens Adam is a "cash man"...I only do debit) We had to pay a WHOPPING $26.25 per ticket for FRONT ROW seats!! It was awesome!!

This picture is of the stage curtain, from our seats, without zoom..!!

Needless to say, our trip ended with a BANG! We had a great time together - I love that, even after 11 years of being married, having to deal with childrenand the stress of day to day life - that Adam and I can still just go and have fun together and still enjoy each other's company so much!! I love him a ton and plan on taking many more trips, including another to NY someday, with him!!

Goodbye New York!

ANNUAL CAMPING TRIP

McKenna is now 6 and Harrison 4 years old...I guess it's time we adopt the whole "camping in the summer" activity...both Kenna and Harrison had been asking to go, so we researched and tried to find the easiest camping experience we could (the kids wouldn't go for my tent in the backyard camping trip). We decided to go to Downata Hot Springs and rented a teepee - which was great! It had 4 cots inside and an electrical outlet for light...which beat the heck out of pitching a tent, sleeping on the ground, and then all the clean up as well:

Tyler volunteered to be in charge of the fire:

Had a great sunset to watch (through the haze of mosquitos!!!)

Even thought to buy smores stuff for the fire that night (the camp even supplied us with campfire!)

Next morning, got up for breakfast...

bacon and eggs cooked over the campfire, with hot cakes cooking on a grill?!?...naah, that's not how I camp - how about some donuts and juice:

Did some swimming at the pool before we drove home. The pool and water slides were great - they were probably 90 degrees, so it was like having a water slide in your bathtub!!

We had a fun time, and, if pursuaded enough, would go again next summer!! However, here is a list of pros and cons for anyone ready to book their next camping vacation:

PROS:

-not too far of a drive

-not busy at all!!

-water was great temperature, the first night we swam until dark with no complaints

-didn't have to take any camping "stuff" (like lantern, TENT, blow up mattress)

-had bathroom facilities

-wasn't in the woods (I'm very afraid of bears!!)

CONS:

-mosquitos were EVERYWHERE!!

-although the donuts weren't the healthiest of breakfast choices, it was a good thing I had them because there was NO place to eat, no stores near by, and Downata didn't open til noon!

-Did I mention, Downata doesn't open until noon...our kids were up and ready by 8:00am and we were packed ready to go by 9:30...so, we turned on an ipod movie in the car for the kids while we caught up on sleep!

FAMILY TRIP - APRIL 2009

Around the end of April, we decided to go on vacation and try to get away from all the wind and rain....we decided to make our way to California, again, but try a few different amusement parks this time. Here was our original itinerary: Legoland, Knotts Berry Farm, Beach, Sea World - and a couple extra days to spare. First off.....

LEGOLAND

Here is our "family" getting ready to go....Kenna's lego tower....Harrison making amends with his archenemy, Darth Vader...

I was amazed at all the lego creations...and these are only a few

Family picture moment - Legoland 2009

Next day, just as planned...

KNOTTS BERRY FARM

McKenna and Harrison loved Knotts Berry Farm - Kenna especially loved a rollercoaster called the "Side Winder" she and Adam went on it atleast a dozen time - no kidding! And Harrison's favorite ride had to be the "Snoopy's Air Mail". He would go on that ride everytime Kenna went on the rollercoaster - they were conveniently right next to each other!

Family picture time - Knotts Berry Farm 2009

That evening, Adam took the kids to the beach which was right across the street! When they got back ,they had decided that the beach was not that great - they didn't have any sea shells to collect at the beach! Later that night, as I watched the news, I saw all the reports on the dreaded Swine Flu making its way into California!...so, we decided we needed to revamp our itinerary...we no longer were going to the beach for a day, and I wasn't going any farther South in California ...hhmmm..where could we go?!? Disneyland!! Even though we had planned on venturing out past DL this trip, we all smiled when we came to the decision to go back! Adam went down to the hotel computer and bought 3 day hopper passes - even after going every year since McKenna was born, we still love it!

DISNEYLAND

We usually don't take too many character shots; this is the only one from this trip...

Here is Adam with the kids on the "Thunder Mountain Railroad" - one of their favorites

Toontown - McKenna and Harrison

We stood in line the longest at the new Toy Story ride, but decided to entertain ourselves with the 3-D glasses

The unfortunate part of our trip was the fact that McKenna was sick the whole time! She is usually so excited and energetic, but she had a fever and just wanted to sleep the whole trip; so we missed to fireworks this go round, but still enjoyed spending time together. Harrison was a trooper by walking the whole day, everyday while Kenna and Tyler shared the stroller. All in all, another successful and fun trip together!