New York City

June 14-21 My parents and little brother came for a visit. We loved having them here! Our week was pretty full of little adventures. We spent Friday and Saturday in New York City. That city is crazy, and although it was a lot of fun and I loved what I saw, we will probably never do it again with a toddler!

Here is a picture of the city taken from the car window while sitting in traffic.

Friday, after Shawn had been called an "ignorant cracker" by a NY local while trying to find Tylenol for his headache, we climbed on a tour bus and took a 6 hour tour of the city. I was pretty impressed with what we saw and heard...

My little brother Newt and Mom being tourists across the street from where John Lennon was shot and killed. Our tour guide held up this yellow sword so we could find him.

 

 John Lennon Memorial in Central Park. And this guy decorates it everyday with different things. He's used apples, flowers, roses, pine cones, pumpkins, even marijuana. 

 

The buildings were really amazing

 

 

Tons of Yellow taxis of course. We probably saw at least a dozen people come inches of getting hit by one of these guys while crossing the street.

Shawn and Victoria enjoying NYC.

Part of our tour included a boat ride on the Zephyr out past the Statue of Liberty. Victoria loved it, while I was sick to my stomach every time she got close to the railing (It would have been pretty hard for her to fall over, but still you get a little nervous).

 

Liberty. It's a beautiful thing.

 

I LOVE this man!

Grandpa and Grandma "Dub", Uncle Newt, Mama, and Victoria on the Zephyr. It was really windy. Victoria loved Uncle Newt, even though she was a little shy around him. She still talks about watching Nemo with "Uncle Newt". Every time she see's a skateboard she mentions "Uncle Newt!" and she still thanks Heavenly Father for Uncle Newt in her prayers at night.

Giant New York Pretzel! ( I like the mall pretzels better..ya know, the ones soaked and baked in butter.)

Ground Zero...where the twin towers once stood. This is what I had been waiting all day to see, a favorite part of our tour.

This is the construction of the Freedom Tower next to Ground Zero.

Standing across from where the twin towers once stood, and remembering, made me wonder of things to come. I worried about how safe the world will be for my sweet Victoria and my other babies. My heart ached for what had happened and why it happened. In all my worrying and heartache I looked over to Shawn  who was chasing Victoria around the grass and they both were laughing, playing, and happy. And I noticed the tears in my Father's eyes as he thanked our guide for the words that he spoke. My thoughts then turned to hope, faith, strength, memories, family, and love. A few of the good things that came from the terrorist attack. I felt a reverence, a happiness, and that everything would be okay. I felt more gratitude for the people in my life and blessed that I am able to take part in raising a strong and faithful generation.

Playing in Central Park.

Soaking wet...and loving it.

Newt had to skate Central Park, and because my parents didn't want him alone, they bought him a new long board so that Shawn could borrow it and skate along with him.

Along with the tour of the city we devoured some local New York pizza, stood in Times Square, took Victoria to the 4 story Toy's R Us, went to M&M'S World (Victoria loves m&m's), stayed at the Belvedere Hotel, spent a lot of money (thanks mom and dad) and walked a lot (my ankles turned into cankles by the end of the day). 

We left these two boys in NYC to catch a late bus back home so they could see Band of Horses play at Grand Central Station. They were playing a free, secret location show (they announced the location the day before). Shawn was so excited and I was a little bummed I couldn't go...but happy that he and Newt were there! It was a Happy Father's Day weekend for Shawn!

We spent the rest of our time celebrating Father's Day, relaxing...it's a lot of work being tourists...eating Maryland Crabs and watching Newt sleep.

Saying goodbyes to the Grands and Uncle Newt. 

Thanks for the good time and making memories with us! 

Ocean City

June 11th-14th.

We rented a condo in Ocean City, MD with our good friends Eric and Hilary, their little girl Sierra, and Ryan and Alyssa. We had a really good time and just love these guys! Late nights, laughing, blizzards, girl talk while the guys did some grocery shopping, relaxing on the beach, and senior week pretty much sums up our vacation! Although we could have done without all the high school senior grads walking around liked they owned the place. Victoria still talks about the beach, board walk, and playing with Sierra!

Victoria would either LOVE or hate the water and waves...depending on the day and if it was nap time. She took a few spills too.

The water was freezing cold by the way.

Victoria and Sierra playing with the sand toys.

 

All of us girls...Pregnant! Alyssa (pregnant with twins, due sept. 1), Hilary (12 weeks prego, due Christmas Eve), and myself (due Aug. 18).

Victoria and Sierra were SO cute playing together and causing trouble. They would hide in this pantry together. Behind the closed door we heard a lot of cute giggles!

Digging for sand crabs. When our whole group was out there in the water we dug for some sand crabs...or I dug for them. Even the husbands were a little nervous to touch them. Growing up close to a beach I would collect these little crabs all the time as a kid. A few times I would find them in my bathing suit when I got home.

Beach Bums. I could have stayed out on the beach all day. It felt so good to be out there with good friends and our little family. Brought back memories of spending long days on the beach at home eating sandy ding-dongs and homemade sandwiches. 

Daddy boy.

It was so cute to watch Victoria and her Daddy play in the water and build sand castles. Shawn asked me if he was doing it right because he said he had never built a sand castle before ha ha.

We bought the girls "Best Friends" necklaces to remember their OC trip.

Sierra's says "Best" and Victoria's says "Friends".
 

The whole gang... from left to right: The Stephensons (Sierra, Hilary, Eric), Us (Victoria, Shawn, Krystal), and the other Stephensons (Ryan and Alyssa).

The "silly" group shot.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun...And That's Just What We'll Do!

Thank Heaven for little girls! I love having one, and Shawn loves to spoil us! A week or two ago Shawn had a business class down in DC again...of course I hate it when he leaves...but I love having a car around to go out and play during the day. We were a one car family...until Monday. Anyway, to make the week without Shawn bearable, Victoria and I did lots of shopping, had little lunch dates, shared ice cream sundays, danced, sang, laughed, painted our nails, and covered our lips (and face) with lip balm! Whenever we passed a jewelry counter or stand Victoria had to spend 15 minutes trying on every bracelet and necklace pointing out how "cute" or "pretty" they were. When she tried on new sandals she definitely voiced her opinion by either saying "no way" or "oh, cute!" and told me she wanted red or pink sandals to match her freshly painted pink toes! She's too cute! We had way too much fun, but missed Daddy terribly!

As of last Monday (Memorial Day) we don't have to wait for Shawn to go on trips to have the car around! YES! Finally, we bought a second car....and it's freedom! Victoria calls it "Mommy's white car"! We love our brand spankin new 2011 Hyundai Sonata! I kind of feel like a "Barbie Mom" in it...and I kind of like it. Shawn spoiled his girls once again! ...but we really needed another car that was safer for the kids...and safety, to me, doesn't have a price (but of course car dealer ships put a price on it anyway).

Girlie Girl!

The new car!

Here are our two cars together...The "White Pearl" and "Black Current" (complete with hail dents from Texarkana and Shawn's "quick fix" black duct tape on the back window that keeps it from falling down inside the door.)

Just out for a little stroll...