New York

So Trav has been going on business trips the past few years, and every once in a while he says, "you should come with, it'll be fun." Well, I'm sure it would be fun, but it never seems like a "good" time to leave (kids are in school, kids have activities, basically, just having the kids in general makes it a whole lot harder to just pick up and leave whenever a trip comes up). Well, a couple of weeks ago he tells me he has to go on another trip and he really thinks I should come with. And to make the possibility even more exciting, he gives me two options . . . Las Vegas or New York. My initial thoughts . . . Vegas, we've been there, it's relatively cheap (although his company does pick up the tab for his trip, we still have to pay for mine), and when Trav is off doing work, I'll always have a pool to sit by, and a drink in my hand - sounds pretty enticing. So we sort of decide Vegas is the place to go, then Trav does some checking in on things and realizes that the Vegas trip would have to happen over Ryan's birthday (those darn kids are ruining things again), so we decide that's not going to work. Now we are left with New York, and nothing about New York excites me. I know some people love New York . . . they love to shop, to see all the sights, and to be mixed in with millions of other people, but not me. I don't shop, sight seeing is okay (but certainly isn't relaxing), and having to walk around a city jam packed with so many other people, it just doesn't sound like a good time. So there we are, passing on another "sort of free" trip, and this time, it's not because of the kids. But, after thinking about it for a bit longer and talking to some people who have been to New York, we changed our minds and decided to give it a try (at this point, I was still a little skeptical). And wouldn't you know it, I LOVED New York!!!! Crazy it is sounds, all the things I thought I would hate about New York turned out to be most of the things I loved about New York. The sight seeing was fantastic (and there was never a shortage of things to see), the millions of people walking about provided some of the best "people watching" ever (and trust me, I spent many, many hours just sitting and watching). And the shopping, well, I still am not a big shopper, but being able to walk into so many stores/buildings that I've seen in movies or television shows was actually pretty cool (a little side note here: Trav and I went into Tiffanys on 5th Ave and he picked out a necklace for me, unfortunately the price tag was $80,000 so it was just out of our price range, otherwise I'm sure I would have it around my neck right now. I had no idea what 80k of jewelry looked like, now I know. Like I said, pretty cool). Some of the things I did while Trav was working . . . jumped on the subway and took the E train to the World Trade Center site (yes, I rode the subway by myself and manged to not get killed. In fact, I became sort of a "subway snob" by the end of the trip riding the E, the A, the 1, you name it, I rode it. A cheap and easy way to travel in New York), visited the actual "Wall Street", walked through Tribeca, Little Italy, Soho, and Greenwich Village (I had a list of celebrity houses so I walked by as many as I could find), stopped in 3 or 4 parks during my walks and caught some local musicians putting on a concert (music was everywhere in the parks, I'd sit and rest for a while, have a snack, listen to music, watch all the people, and then be on my way again), walked Times Square and made several stops at different places (also checked out GMA morning show and was amazed at how the small the actual set was - you would never guess it by watching it on tv), walked 5th Avenue and went into almost every store just so I could say I had been there (FAO Schwarz, Bergdorfs, Trump Tower, Gucci, Tiffanys being some of my favorites). Things I did with Trav . . . a boat cruise around New York where we saw the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, the new "Freedom Tower", and a bunch of other places that I can't remember right now (the cruise was an easy way to see lots of things in a small amount of time), a mini walk through of Times Square (we just hit up the "big" things the second time around for me), walked 5th Ave (again, I gave him the mini-version of the tour), hit up Rockefeller Center, saw the Today show set (again, much smaller than you would think based on what you see on tv), visited the "Top of the Rock" and saw New York at night from what felt like the top of the world (very cool), stopped in Grand Central Station (might be another one of my favorite spots - it was really neat inside), and capped of the 5 day trip with a whole day spent in Central Park on Saturday before we flew home Sunday - definitely my favorite spot in New York! I could go on and on about all the stuff that was going on in Central Park . . . vendors everywhere, people everywhere, musicians playing all over the park, "street people" putting on their various "acts", booths giving away free stuff everywhere you turned - I can't write about it and actually do it justice though so just trust me when I say it was amazing! So amazing in fact, Trav and I spent a good 6 hours just walking around and enjoying everything around us (one of my favorite "acts" was a group of boys - they weren't actually boys, probably men in their 20's - that could do all sorts of crazy jumps, flips, twists, and turns out of no where and it certainly didn't hurt that they had their shirts off and their six pack abs were glistening with sweat), but back to the story. I also loved the fact that a "mini flash mob" started dancing at one point, there was a little league game going on in the park (could you imagine bringing your kid to Central Park for Little League??), and everywhere you turned, you saw some crazy mix of people just having a great time - what's not to love!! During our time there, we also dined on some pretty good New York food - nothing too crazy and expensive, more low key places where drinks weren't more than $15 a pop (yes, I said $15 for one margarita), and hit up a couple of the local bars (we even got in on a couple of happy hours so the beers were only $5 - for NY, that's cheap!). I'm sure I forgot some highlights considering there were so many, but you get the picture, it was a blast! Not sure that I'd ever actually plan a vacation there, but certainly glad I went. Now I can say I walked in Central Park, I rode the New York subway, I saw the Statue of Liberty, I walked the grounds where the World Trade Center once stood . . . all pretty cool if you ask me. I took over 150 pictures, here are just a few.

Statue of Liberty

New York skyline - new Freedom Tower is tall building on left

Empire State Building

World Trade Center Memorial (pictures don't do it justice)

In Grand Central Station

Grand Central Station

Rockefeller Center (this is the skating rink in the winter)

Times Square

Good Morning America studio in Times Square

Trump Tower 

Times Square (in the other direction this time)

Naked Indian (he must have thought the Naked Cowboy needed a friend)

Rockefeller Center again

Horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park

Standing on a rock in Central Park (scene from "Friends with Benefits" was shot here)

Balto statue in Central Park (this was for Ryan)

Fountain in Central Park

"The Lake" - Central Park

Central Park

Why I love my kids . . .

First of all, I should state that there are many reasons I love my kids, but the biggest reason . . . because they love each other.  It just warms my heart to hear them talk about how they "helped" each other out, or how they decided to sit with each other rather than leave one person out.  So why am I writing about this now?  Well, in the past few weeks there have been so many "reminders" that I thought it was time to put some down in writing so I don't forget that at one point in their lives, they all truly cared for each other.  And here is the picture that started it all . . .

All three of my babes sleeping in the same room, and not because I told them to, but because they wanted to - how cute is that!  (A little side note about the picture:  it's Ellie's room, do you notice where she is sleeping?  Yes, on the floor, but that was also by choice.  In fact, they all wanted to sleep on the floor, but because it was Ellie's room, she got first dibs).  Anyway, back to the story.  So the kids slept like this every night up until we left for New York (stories about that to come in the near future), but by the time we returned, they were mostly back in their own beds.  I say mostly because the girls still decided it was best to share the same room and when I walked in the other night, this is what I found . . . 

The interesting thing about this picture . . . Ellie was sleeping on the bottom bed when they first went to sleep.    So the next morning I asked Lauren how they ended up in the same bed and she said, "Ellie wanted to sleep with me so I got her pillow and let her come up.  I put her by the wall so she wouldn't fall off."  This is what I'm talking about - Lauren really cares about her little sister, so much so, she is willing to risk her own life (a 6 inch fall from one bed to another could be dramatic) for the safety of her sister.  Cue up another "proud Mom" smile from me.  In addition to this little bedtime things, there have also been a few other things that have just made me happy the past couple of weeks.  First up, Lauren (and Ryan as well), started soccer last week.  And Ryan being the good big brother he is, took it upon himself to share his knowledge of soccer and how things work while at soccer (this is his 3rd year) with Lauren so she would be prepared.  And then when we actually got to soccer, he hardly took his eyes off her.  He cheered for her, he did some more "helping" for her, and when soccer was done, he carried her water bottle and told her she, "did a nice job."  **Proud Mom smile***   And finally, Ryan and Lauren both started bible camp this week.  Ryan went last year in Gaylord, but this would be the first time in Shakopee, and the first time ever for Lauren.  I knew Ryan would do alright, but I was a bit concerned how Lauren would do especially considering that there would be kids ranging from the age of 4-11 at the camp (Lauren tends to do great with kids her own age, but she sometimes can get a little shy when around older kids).  So the first day we walk in, put the kids' things away, and walk into the designated area for the kids to gather.  And it is Lauren who is eager to join the crew, and Ryan who is standing back and telling me he is, "a little nervous because he doesn't know all the kids."  After a brief reminder that he also didn't know all the kids when he started 1st grade, and that turned out all right, he was off (and by off, I mean he went and sat right next to Lauren).  When I left, I was feeling pretty good about the whole situation, Ellie on the other hand was screaming her head off because she wanted to stay with Ryan and Lauren - sorry little lady, you've got a couple more years to wait!  Anyway, I was very excited to get them that afternoon when camp ended and to hear all about it.  And most of the conversation was good, but then came the sad part . . . when I asked how lunch was, they both looked at each other and said, "we sat all by ourselves, nobody wanted to sit with us" - insert knife into my heart right now.  How is it possible that no one wanted to sit with them?  Were they mean, were they just quiet, what was going on?  So I delved into the situation a little more and Ryan told me that there were two tables, one for boys, and one for girls and he said, "if I sat with the boys, Lauren would be all by herself, and if Lauren sat with the girls, I would be all by myself, so we just decided to sit together."  You can now remove that knife from my heart.  Turns out, it wasn't that nobody wanted to sit with them, they just decided it was better to sit together - love those kids.  Later that day in his own discrete way, Ryan went on to tell me that he did have a spot saved at the table with one of his friends, but because there was only one spot, he decided it was best to sit with Lauren instead so she wouldn't be all by herself.  I told him that was very nice of him, but that if he wanted to sit by his friends the next day, he sure could.  His reply, "yeah, I'll see how Lauren is doing and then decide.  I just want to make sure she's okay."  I don't know how he got this way, but I certainly love him for it!  And I'll enjoy every minute of it now and pray that when Ryan is 15 and Lauren is 12 that he still takes care of her little sister just like he did when he was 7 (a mom can dream can't she).

So there you have it, I love my kids for loving each other.  And one day when Trav and I are long gone, I hope that they'll all still have each other's backs, and if that happens, I'll still be one happy mama!

Chuck E. Cheese

Yes, we finally did it . . . we let Ryan have a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, or as I like to call it, a "parent's hell", a "child's paradise."  I am glad we decided to do a Friday afternoon party because the place wasn't packed at all, but the shear number of games and activities, and room to run all over meant a little bit of stress for Trav and I.  But once we figured out how to keep our eyes on everyone, things got easier.  The kids seemed to really enjoy it, and what's not to love . . . free tokens, tons to do, Chuck E. Cheese doing a little song and dance - like I said, a "child's paradise."  Now, why is it a "parent's hell?"  Well, for starters, the staff isn't exactly what I would call "prompt."  And I get it, they are dealing with kids and kids don't really care about time, but their parents (who are paying for the party) do care.  Granted we were a little late arriving, but it took more than a few suggestions from me to keep the party moving along.  And because I'm a "super party planner", I did my reservation in a way that got us more free tokens then I thought was really necessary (I think we had close to 300 tokens and considering most games only take one token, that means lots and lots and lots of games to play because god forbid we walk out of that place with unused tokens).  The party was originally scheduled for 12:30-3:30pm (the Chuck E. Cheese part was from 1-3:00pm, the extra time was drive time).  Well, at 2:30pm, we were just finishing up our food and still had to wait for cake/ice cream, the Chuck E. Cheese show, Ryan's chance at the "ticket blaster", and our last set of 100 free tokens (like I said, they just kept coming).  It's at that point that I got on the phone and called all the parents and asked to push back the pick up time to 4:00pm - and just as I would do, none of them objected (an extra half hour down one kid - no one turns that down).  After that I was feeling good about our schedule and when we wrapped up the cake, present opening, Chuck E. Cheese show, and the ticket blaster, we set the kids off with their final 13 tokens and gave them a 15-20 minute window to use them up.  And to our surprise, most of them did a good job using the tokens up, what I didn't plan on was the amount of time it would take to turn in our tokens and pick out prizes (I mean, how much thought has to go into picking a piece of junk plastic toy over the other - apparently a lot!).  I "helped" speed up the process by picking a kid and telling them to choose right now, or I'd pick for them (somehow that helped them decide a lot faster).  When everyone finally walked out with their prized possessions, we got loaded up and headed for home (it was about 3:35pm which meant we would pull into the driveway right at 4:00pm).  About half way into the ride home, things got interesting.  We were on 494 heading west in pretty heavy traffic (which already had me on high alert because I was driving other people's children) when we came to a pretty sudden stop.  Trav was in front of me in his car (with 3 children who were also not ours), and it seemed to e the SUV in front of him that was causing the slowdown.  One minute the SUV is on the side of the road, the next, it is veering back onto the highway in a slow, jerky movement.  My first thought was that the person was having car trouble and that they should get off the road so they didn't cause a huge back-up.  And for a second, it seemed like that was going to happen, but then, the SUV pulled back onto the highway again.  This time, I opted to pull way over to the shoulder and go around this person because I was scared of being rear-ended.  At the same time, Trav pulled over in the other direction to avoid hitting the SUV.  It was when I had pulled around and got in front of the vehicle that I looked back and saw some lights on the front grill (just two little ones, one red, one blue), and a man angrily flagging Travis off the road (remember, this is still on 494 - a very BUSY road).  I debated about what to do . .  stop, or keep going, but in the end kept driving because there really wasn't a safe place to pull over (we were by then in a construction area).  Nervous as hell, I kept driving and hoped Trav would call me soon, and then he did.  He said he got pulled over by an off-duty police officer for honking and flicking him off (Trav doesn't remember flicking him off, but considering he does do that a lot, I wouldn't put it past him).  Then he had to go because the guy was coming back to the car.  When he called back again about a minute later, Trav said the "police officer" (I use that term lightly because I'm still not convinced he was an actual police officer - he had no badge, just a name tag with the word "police" on it around his neck, the vehicle did not look like any police vehicle I have ever seen, and he almost caused an accident on a busy highway to pull a guy over for honking at him - it just doesn't make sense) let him go just saying, "you don't honk at police officers!"  Apparently the guy was a real jerk.  Anyway, by this time, I was just about home and literally shitting my pants because now I would have to explain to the parents that some of their kids were in the car when Trav got pulled over - super, just the way to wrap up a fun already stressful day.  Luckily, when I told the first mom, she smiled and walked over to Trav and said, "were you ready to fight this guy?" - I think, and I'd like to believe she was okay with it because she is a pretty easy going lady who has four boys under the age of 9 so not much fazes her.  The other mom of one of the boys seemed fine, but it was the mother of the girl in the car I was worried about.  This was the first time her daughter had been to our place, and now she was going home with a story of getting pulled over on 494 by some crazed maybe/maybe not police officer- please God, don't let this ruin Ryan's chances of having her as a continued friend especially because she is a real sweet kid and I would love for Ryan to spend more time with her - I guess we'll have to wait and see on that one.  When everyone left, I was still a little shaken by the whole event especially considering I had told Trav before the kids arrived to make sure he was on his best behavior - no bad language, treat all the kids extra nice, the basics - apparently I forgot to tell him, no honking and flicking people off when driving - my bad.  But, in his defense, the SUV was doing crazy things on the road, and he was just trying to protect the kids in his car (granted, he did add in a "few extras").  This might mean the end of birthday parties where we have to drive kids around for a while, until then, we'll stick to good old fashioned home parties where the kids entertain themselves instead of having to pay someone else to do it for them - nothing wrong with that!  Here are some pictures from the party.  Ryan said he loved it so in the end, all of it was worth it!

Ryan is 7!!!!

Hard to believe our first born is 7 today!  Where did the time go?  Lately when I look at Ryan I feel like I'm looking at some big kid who couldn't possibly be our little "Ry Guy."  School (and 1st grade) has certainly helped transform this kid.  He went in a pretty innocent little boy and came out a "tougher" (not sure "tough" is the best word), more edgy kid.  He knows stuff about things I had to idea he knew about, he talks like a big kid and tells me his thoughts on certain subjects - it's just weird sometimes, but I guess it's all part of growing up.  Even though he is growing up, he stills loves (okay, that is a stretch), he still "allows" me to give him some lovin' (just not in public so much anymore), he is still a sweet kid, a great brother, and the best son we could ever want!  Thanks for 7 great years Ryan, looking forward to many, many more!  Happy Birthday !!!

Soccer kids

Monday started our "soccer season" for the next 6-7 weeks.  Ryan has soccer every Mon and Wed morning  while Lauren has it every Tues and Thurs morning.  Yes, that means this lady who knows very little about soccer gets to watch the sport four days a week.  So far both kids seem to enjoy it (this is Ryan's third season and Lauren's first).  And the best part about both of them playing, Lauren gets to use all of Ryan's old (or in the case of his shin guards, current) gear - what a good deal for me!  Anyway, no pictures of Ryan yet because he doesn't have his new soccer cleats yet, but here are a few of Lauren on her first day - she looks so stinking cute!

It is really fun to watch both of them play , but it is super fun to watch Ryan watch Lauren play.  He is certainly her biggest fan and is constantly giving her "pointers" on how to improve on things - pretty good big brother Lauren has!

Last day of school

Here he is, our brand new 2nd grader . . . .

He wasn't this happy when he got off the bus today, and when I asked what was bothering him, his answer was, "I'm just really going to miss Mrs. Burlager" - and then the tears started.  Who knew he liked his teacher that much!  Anyway, after talking about how he'll still be able to see her the next couple of years since he'll still be in the same building, he was feeling much better, and the realization that he was now a 2nd grader took over and the smiles came out - yay for that!  Now the summer fun (and craziness) starts - well, it actually starts next Monday which is the first day of all summer activities through the community ed, after that, it is run, run, run, all summer long!

And to kick off summer a little early for Lauren and the little ones, we hit up the splash pad at the Y on Tuesday and had a "splashing" good time!  Lauren loved, loved, loved it, Ellie could take it or leave it, and Colt warmed up nicely.  By the time we left, Lauren and Colt were drenched, and Ellie had her bottom half dripping wet - a promising start to a summer full of water (I hope).

A little side note about these pictures . . . Colt didn't have a swimsuit so he had to wear just the swim diaper, Ellie, on the other hand had a nice swimsuit, but the minute she saw what Colt had (or didn't have) on, she insisted on stripping down to match him.  So yes, we got a few strange looks, but the kids were happy so that's all that matters!

Weekend update

I see it has been a while since my last post so this will be a "weekend update" plus whatever else I remember. Let's start with the weekend . . . it was a busy, yet relaxing weekend. The best part . . . we didn't have to go any further than the end of our street to have some fun! Friday night brought a unplanned neighborhood get together - the kids ran around, the adults sipped drinks by the bonfire. On Saturday, our neighbor girl had her graduation party so it was another night of the kids running and playing and the adults having some fun of their own - not a shabby weekend. In between all the fun we were able to get some errands done, do some major house cleaning (and by we, I mean "me" on this one), and even squeeze in some child labor (the kids "helped" wash both vehicles).

As you can tell by the pictures, Ryan and Lauren actually did some work.  Ellie helped initially but the minute she saw my popsicle she dropped her rag and her work was done - typical Ellie.

And here are some random pictures of the past few weeks.  Apparently I take a lot of pictures and then forget all about them on my camera - better late than never I guess.  First up, Lauren's preschool field trip/end of the year party.  I assumed that I would be the one taking Lauren on this little adventure, but when I asked her if she wanted mom or dad to go with her, she responded with, "Dad, because he's never seen my school and I can show him all my friends."  The girl loves her Dad and any chance she has to include him in her "everyday" life, she'll take it.  Here's a picture of Lauren as a "farm girl" and Trav as the "field trip Dad" - they both had a blast that day and Trav did get to meet some of Lauren's friends and teachers - lucky guy!

Here is a random picture I took one night when all the kids decided to use Trav as a horse.  I wonder how many more years he'll be able to do this?

Here is a picture of "hat reversal."  Colt brought his trucker hat over for the day and Ellie had her pink hat out but when it was time to put on their hats and go outside, they both opted to wear the other person's hat. It's cute now, but Colt in pink and Ellie in a trucker hat might be kind of strange later in life.

And finally . . . the "pisser" (aka Scrappy) turned 4 on May 22nd.  I'm hoping 4 is the year the dumb dog stops peeing all over the place, if not, he might not live to see 5.  You can see below how excited he was about the big day.  God, I love to hate that dog!