And so we meet again, old friend

Here we are nearly two years later and I am finally posting something. I no longer have pressure to provide valuable content for my family that once read this, instead I am using this as a journal of sorts. 

Today we had a good 8" - 10" of snow. It was really lovely and so far untouched by the dogs and dirt that will inevitably destroy the beautiful white snow. Mathew took a call on our walk to the park and the girls sled, built snowmen and made snow angels for over an hour. We had a great time!

Also, Mathew surprised Elle today and picked her up from school and pulled her home in a sled!

week 4 in NYC

monday:
i have already forgotten what we did on this fine monday, i do however remember walking into the bedroom and finding elle rummaging through my make-up.

elle uses her carseat as her watching chair for backyardigans in the morning before her naps

as a treat for family home evening we had popsicles from trader joe's...this was mathew's popsicle, but elle ate the entire thing!

tuesday: one of the great things about this city are free activities during the day. there are free concerts all over the city during the summer for children. a group of us from church went to Madison Square Garden to see Elizabeth Mitchell for a free one hour concert. afterwards we went and had a shake shack burger. it was great to get out today, because the forecast calls for rain the entire week!

elle really enjoys playing with hair..you can't really tell in this picture, but she is stroking colette's hair.

elle, me kendra, sharla and colette

elizabeth mitchell

the girls from church

fountain in Madison Square Garden

we were in the flat iron district so had to take a picture by the famous Flat Iron Building

sharla and the girls

we met tim and mathew after work for a little get together at a restaurant inside the world financial center.

wednesday: we walked to the Central Park Reservoir today and hoped to make the walk around but were quickly kicked off the path because we were not runners...afterwards we wandered over to the Great Lawn and had a picnic, then walked back home just in time for naps.

thursday: it was pouring down rain today, which made our daily outing a little more difficult. we went to trader joe's and came back soaking wet! i can imagine how comical we looked walking down the streets and people watching me carry the stroller, my two bags and an umbrella up and down the subway stairs.

after our trip to trader joe's

friday: we went to meet mathew for lunch and on our way ran into Whole Foods. it was the first time i have been to a grocery store since i have been here that more than one person could walk down an isle. while in the produce section we came across these beauties: ostrich eggs...which could be yours for $39.99...so....does it just make one big scrambled egg?we also won tickets to Shakespeare in the Park to see Twelfth Knight. the tickets were through a lottery system and the beauty of it all was that the play was free! the cast was incredible and included people like Anne Hathaway and Audra McDonald. after the play we were able to meet some of the cast. the play was hilarious and we couldn't have picked a better night to watch it. luckily we have such great friends here so the lovell's watched elle for us while we went.

outside the Delacorte Theatre

Audra McDonald (she might look familiar, because she is on ABC's Private Practice)

anne hathaway was one of the stars of the show

sunday: it's father's day! mathew is such an excellent dad to elle....he is so sweet to elle and does such a great job showing his love for her. as soon as she hears the door unlock she starts squealing and runs to the door saying 'dad, dad, dad'. he is extremely protective, almost paranoid...which i am sure elle will appreciate as she turns 16 and can start dating.

we had tyson over for dinner, which was so fun since his family is in utah for the summer.
i too have a wonderful father who is very loving, caring and compassionate. he has been a great example of hard work and has always been an example to me, he is a great dad and a great 'pappie' to elle. i am extremely lucky to have a great step-father too...james is also a hard worker and a very caring man, his home is always a welcome home to anyone and everyone. he is also a great 'pop' for elle!

week 3 in NYC

monday: today was another good day at the park (in between naps that is). after elle's afternoon nap we met our friends the katzenstein's just a couple of blocks away while the youngest tried out for a soccer team here. we met this fantastic family right after we got married and they are moving from dallas to the city in a few weeks! after practice we went to dinner with them at Le Monde, just a block away from our house, it was fantastic.

cecilia and elle

tuesday: after taking it easy on monday, we decided to get cruising today. after elle woke up we went to Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. the cathedral rivaled many i have seen in europe and was absolutely massive. they were playing the organ and it sounded a little scary. the tune was very familiar and it wasn't until i sat there for a few minutes that i realized they were playing 'happy birthday' on the scary organ. after the cathedral we walked through Columbia University and then home for a nap. after elle woke up we made our way to the east side to attend the Museum Mile Festival. one day a year, for the past 31 years, nine of the country's finest museums, all located on Fifth Avenue, collectively open their doors from 6pm - 9pm for free to New Yorkers and visitors for a mile long block party. we only made it into the Museum of the City of New York but really enjoyed their MANNAHATTA/MANHATTAN exhibt and the DUTCH SEEN exhibit. we walked around outside for awhile and enjoyed the street musicians and general people watching that festival's tend to provide. sharla and i left early to meet erin and chloe for a girls night out. we went to Petite Abeille, a darling belgian restaurant for dinner, and is known to have the best mussels in town.

elle really likes wearing mathew's shoes...she can't quite walk in them yet, but enjoys relaxing in them.

scary version of 'happy birthday' being played in the cathedralcolumbia universitythis is why we don't got to morningside park...look at all of those stairs!

we tried the little bear back pack on elle...she wasn't exactly a fanthis is manhattan before and nowof course elle loved the pictures of the dogswednesday: seriously i think i had the swine flu (i didn't really, but goodness i was so sick!). sharla took elle for me during her naps and let me sleep (i am so grateful to have sharla here!). today is all a bit of a blur since it was spent sleeping and going to the pharmacy.

thursday: still sick, taking it easy today...not much to report.

friday: i started to feel more like a normal person today. i am totally wiped but mobile which I am sure elle appreciates. we went downtown to have lunch with mathew and made it back in time for elle to take a nap, only to turn right around after she woke up to meet the guys at Wicked to try and win lottery tickets (no go), after we found out we didn't win we met sevak and julie at Cosi for dinner. after we left julie came over for a bit and we were able to chat then it was time to hit the sack.

right outside mathew's officekendra and elle entertaining each other outside/inside of cosielle, me, mathew, sevak and julie

saturday: today we went to the Children's Day at the South Street Seaport with the lovell's. the festival was amazing and had loads of free things to do. there was a stage in the middle with children songs being performed..not to mention American Express is a huge sponsor of this event. we had a great time and were wiped when we got home. after the kids napped we ordered take out from the Thai Market. i really enjoyed my dinner as did mathew, which is a surpise because he is new to thai.





sunday: after church we had several people over for dinner. i love having people over for dinner, it is always more fun with people here. the lovell's, chloe a. and tyson w. came over and we had a big taco dinner. it is always amazing to me how fast such a small kitchen can get dirty!