New York City

I think Tom must be the best husband and father in the entire world.  There are so many little things he does all the time that let the kids and I know he loves us.  In addition to the little things, Tom decided to surprise me with a big thing.  He knows how much I love and miss my sisters, so he planned a trip for us to go to New York.  He surprised me a couple of days before I left.  I met JoAnn and DawnAnn in the airport and we took a cab into the city.   We went shopping on canal street where DawnAnn, in spite  of mom and dad's very specific orders not to "Obamasize" us, did just that.  But mom and dad, you needn't despair too much, because we did get some "fair and balanced" time in later!  That night we went to "A Tale of Two Cities".  It was great play.  The next day we walked around town a bit and took a rickshaw ride through central park.   Yes, all three of us!  You should have seen the three of us squeezing into that thing.  Needless to say, our driver was very fit.   After that we met Boosh at Penn station.  That night we went to see "Spamalot", at the end of which Joey caught the bridal bouquet.  We all had a good laugh.  The next day we went back to canal street for a little more shopping (purses anyone!). 

That night, I had us all go to the MESA Grille for dinner as I am a bit of a Food Network junkie.   It was delicious!  We saw another play that night called "Avenue Q" (another good laugh).  The next day went to the MoMA.  There was a special Van Gogh exhibit that was amazing to see.  It is a very cool museum.  After that, we walked around 5th ave. and then we went to lunch at Serendipity.  It was another delicious meal with fabulous desserts.  After lunch we decided to walk off some of the calories on the Brooklyn Bridge, which ended up being a highlight.   

We took the subway over to Brooklyn and walked back to the city.  The weather was perfect and it was so fun to see the New York skyline.  That night we saw "Wicked" to the delight of us all.   It was a great musical and I would highly recommend it to anyone.  Lots of fun. 

Thank you to DawnAnn, Katherine, JoAnn, and to Tom for making it happen.  The only thing that would have made it better is if Mary could have joined us!  We missed you Mares.  We also missed Diana and Amalia.  Thanks also to Mom, Tom, Matt, Steve, and Chad who took care of the kids and everything else that has to get done at home.  You are truly the very best!!!  

Princess Buttercup

So we did the Halloween costume thing this weekend. The best costumes the kids have ever had were ones Carol made. She made them last year (witch and cat) and a few years ago (Cinderella and Snow White). They are amazing.

Carol was actually away for a bit this weekend, so my solution to the costume thing was to drive past the fabric store on my way to Walmart. Our choices up here are basically Old Navy (only had costumes for really young kids), Fred Meyer and Walmart. Walmart had the best selection, so Sam Walton got our dollar (he definitely needs a few more). The girls had both initially decided on High School Musical costumes, but they were a little flimsy. I showed them a few other outfits and Beth finally decided on Cleopatra and Isabel decided to be a bride. Owen wanted to be a knight complete with sword and battle axe.

The day after the costume adventure, the kids wanted to put on a play. I had a Prince Charming outfit I got for Christmas a couple of years ago and Beth somehow talked me in to putting it on. It's actually pretty fun to dress up with them and for those of you with daughters, I do recommend a prince outfit of some kind...very useful on many occasions.

Anyway, the play was a success and Beth somehow talked me in to videoing it and so I thought I'd post it here for your entertainment. Look out Broadway!

In The Tub

I like this picture. I have fond memories of long, playful baths with my siblings.

Time for a Brother?

Owen does not like to be left out.  Since he has two sisters, that means dressing up!  His current favorite is  the Ariel costume.  I hope he won't need too much therapy when he is older.