Mix-Up

My posts are a little out of order. See "Girls Weekend" below "Tru and Rocket's Collage". Scroll down or click here.

Tru and Rocket's Nature Collage

Tru had a school project. He had to find an item found in nature and "care for it".
A project? Love it!
I soon took over (I simply can not help myself!) and we began a two day photo session featuring Tru and Rocket (his pet rock from last year). We created a collage with these photos:

Girls Weekend In NYC

Here we are: Jody, Nikki, Melissa.
Best high school pals.

We had a plan! Never been done before. Just us. No husbands. No kids. In New York. Broadway. Tour. Shopping. Good food.
Everything was booked.

Each family began having illnesses. The rule was that all family members must be well by Sept 29th - or else! One day before the trip... along came the H1N1 Virus and Nikki had to stay behind. (Her kids are doing just fine now - thank God!)

As they say on Broadway (and yes, I will be using as many Broadway/musicals' lines as I can in this post) "The show must go on." With much guilt Melissa and I headed to New York. Nikki, we missed you dearly!! But the girls had to do what the girls had to do.

Friday morning we caught our bus to New York and arrived in the City around 10AM. Our adventures began right away...

We were going to be staying in NYC for two nights so obviously we each had luggage. We soon "heard the rumble of the subway train" as we started toward our hotel. Let me share something with you, if you do not already know this,.... the subway stalls are meant for passengers only. Not passengers AND their luggage. The two of us went up the stairs (with luggage), down the stairs (with luggage) , helped one another hoist our luggage over the narrow stalls (laughing all the way), found ourselves right in the middle of Rockefeller Center and finally managed to find our hotel.

We checked our luggage at the hotel and we were off to Times Square.

42nd Street: "In the heart of little old New York, you'll find a thoroughfare. It's the part of little old New York that runs into Times Square. A crazy quilt that "Wall Street Jack" built. If you've got a little time to spare I want to take you there."


Times Square today.

Times Square 64 years ago.

Love this photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt!





OK - I can not help myself...

Wicked: "Are people born Wicked? Or do they have Wickedness thrust upon them? After all, she had a father. She had a mother, as so many do."

Phantom of the Opera: "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Lead me, save me from my solitude. Say you want me with you. Beside you. Anywhere you go let me go too."


West Side Story: "I feel pretty, Oh, so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and bright! And I pity Any girl who isn't me tonight."

South Pacific: "I'm gonna wash that man right outa my hair. And send him on his way."

Chicago: "Mmmm, I'm a star! And the audience loves me! And I love them. And they love me for loving them. And I love them for loving me. And we love each other."


Tourists and tour buses everywhere!




I had not been to New York since they blocked some areas of Times Square for easier pedestrian traffic. There are now tables and chairs placed throughout The Square so you can sit and soak up the atmosphere. Nice!




Friday night we saw Wicked !!

Words can not fully describe this show! Excellent! Amazing!

I can not stop thinking about how incredibly wonderful it was. I love, love, love Broadway. This was the ultimate Broadway show (musical).

Everyone must go see it. And I must go see it with everyone. (So call me!)





Saturday we caught "the party bus" for our five hour tour. Our guide was excellent!





Rockefeller Center






Our tour included a ride on the Staten Island Ferry.

There's The Lady!

It was overcast all day and as we were on the ferry the clouds let loose. The remainder of the tour was quite damp!!




During lunch Melissa and I decided we would see a play that evening. We had some time on our hands before the play and took a quick stroll through Central Park.




"Shakespeare in the Park"







The play we chose offered heavily discounted tickets as it was currently in previews. Sienna Miller and Johnny Lee Miller (best known as Eli Stone) were the stars of the play.

The play was advertised as provocative. I could think of many other adjectives: boring, twisted, erratic, and just plain weird.
Melissa and I just looked at each other several times during the performance.




This is the set from the play. The entire 90 minute play took place in this kitchen.
Nice set. Good acting. Weird story!

I am definitely a musical kind of gal! (But I already knew that.) However, we expanded our New York experience with a play.

The highlights afterward were a glimpse of Hugh Jackman (as he left the theatre after his play) (he is pretty!) and a nice slice of New York cheesecake.

Ahhhh... Broadway.

The Producers: "Next stop - Broadway!"

The Producers: "Leo and Max. Up off our backs. Back on the Great White Way!"


I often see signs, fliers, etc. that drive me crazy! This sign, I spotted in a NYC pizzeria, inspired our newest blog feature:

Sign Of The Day:























P.S.

Monster Mash

We have created another dance video! This time it is for Halloween.

Auntie Gabby joins us in this one.

So here it is....

Lin-Ley's Love Of Reading

Lin-Ley has developed quite a love of reading. In an effort to encourage this new passion I try to bring home books from the library weekly. After this weekend I now know that weekly will no longer be sufficient.

I brought home six books on Friday. By Saturday evening she had read them all and directed me on which books I should bring home tomorrow.

These books (part of the Rainbow Magic series by Scholastic) are around 65 pages each. There are books about rainbow fairies, jewel fairies, animal fairies, and on and on. If you have a reader at or around the 2nd grade level check out these books. This is a link to their official website: http://www.rainbowmagiconline.com

We are so pleased with Lin-Ley's love of reading!!

Because she has enjoyed these books so much I thought I would pass on these great and entertaining books for your reader.

Happy Reading! We will see you at the library!!

Quote Of The Day:

I've traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,
Old stars and hopeful beginners,
I've been where no one's been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks,
All with one library ticket
To the wonderful world of books.
~Anonymous~

Our 2nd Grader and Our BIG Boy

Lin-Ley began 2nd grade last week! We took the annual photo outside at her bus stop.






Lin-Ley and Tru pose with "the twins".














Our Big Boy news is... Tru wore big boy underwear to school AND stayed dry all day! Hallelujah! I know I can not expect perfection from this point forward but what a great start (finally).
Tru is still in preschool and will finally be old enough for Pre-K next year. He has a November birthday so he missed the cut-off for Pre-K this year by two months.


Our 2nd Grader and our Big Boy have been getting along remarkably well lately. We can usually find them in Lin-Ley's room playing dress up. Lin-Ley loves the fact that Tru follows (almost) all of her directions during play.
Tru seems to love it too.

Dallas has handled Tru's fondness for Princess dresses rather well. I did hear him, however, tell Lin-Ley that Tru could no longer wear the Cinderella ballet slippers.








P.S. Baby Groundhog is back. Well, actually, the baby is now full grown. I would have to describe it now as Mr. Groundhog because it looks like it has a large, black mustache. He can be found on, around, and under our front porch. The last time I spotted him he was walking along the sidewalk with a mouth full of pine straw and then took it under the porch to fluff up his bed.



Flower of Choice: Hibiscus.


He was kind enough to leave us one bloom.














If groundhogs could read this would be the note on our front porch right now:

Dear Mr. Groundhog,
We have left a nice, juicy apple for you. Just walk into the shiny silver box (trap) and enjoy your treat. Then Dallas and Lin-Ley will be happy to escort you to your new home (far away from ours).

Love,
Us (and our flowers)

Lady Liberty (Finally!)

New York City has always been a favorite destination for Dallas and me. We love the energy, sites and especially visiting the Statue of Liberty. The first time I saw her, as we rode across the water on the ferry much like all of the immigrants did so many years ago, she brought tears to my eyes. She is one of the true symbols of America and everything this country stands for.

When Lin-Ley came along we decided to name her after Lady Liberty. Therefore Lin-Ley became Lin-Ley Liberty.

Then here came Tru. He too was named after Lady Liberty. Tru's middle name is Zi-You. Zi you means liberty in Chinese.

However, until this past weekend, our children had never laid eyes on their namesake. (Bad parents!) I had a wild idea during the middle of last week that we should just go and take the kids to New York already! Why wait any longer? The thought was there but we had taken no real action to plan the trip.

Thursday rolled around and I decided to play around on Priceline.com to see if I could find a cheap hotel on the New Jersey side of Liberty Island. Of course, on Priceline if they find the hotel at the price you have agreed to pay you just bought yourself a hotel room. Without any expectations I agreed to pay the ridiculously low price of $80/night for a 4-star hotel. Price accepted! And with the click of my computer mouse we were on our way!

We left Friday after Lin-Ley was done at school, spent the night in a brand new, luxurious hotel that night and Saturday morning is was all about Lady Liberty! Finally!



We were on the first ferry of the morning.

This is the old train station (now the ferry station) where the immigrants, after their time at Ellis Island, were able to board trains to their ultimate destination in their new country.




The ferry's first stop was at Ellis Island.

Another view of Ellis Island.













There she was! Lin-Ley's first view of The Lady.

It was a wee bit sunny!












Lin-Ley strikes a pose with Lady Liberty.

(Every time we went to take her photo she would stick her arm up in the air to imitate the statue.)













Tru's turn. Not sure what he is doing here....















Dallas and the kids against the New York skyline.











Tru is still fascinated with pipes. He explained to us that water came out of this pipe.

Then he pretended the pipe was his camera. He kept yelling at us to smile at his camera.











Our little monkey.
Correction: One of our little monkeys.










Our cousin, Becky, just moved to NYC about three weeks earlier. She was able to meet us at Liberty Island.














We had to call it a day around 3PM.



One last look at Lady Liberty as we ride the Ferry back to the train station.


Inside the restored train station.





The abandoned train tracks.












If you are planning to visit the Statue of Liberty here are some tips:

1. You must buy a ticket to enter the Statue now. Last time we were there this was not necessary. It is suggested to buy your tickets ahead of time online. Here is the website:

http://www.statueoflibertytickets.com/

2. Backpacks and large purses are not allowed inside the Statue. There are lockers available but they go fast. You can take your cameras with you.

3. Be prepared for at least two security scans. You will go through security at the ferry station. Once on Liberty Island you can walk around the Statue freely. If you have a ticket to enter the Statue you will have a wait because security is quite extensive. We have never seen anything quite like that! Tru was scared to death.

4. Go early. The lines get long fast!

5. Warning - lunch on the island is expensive. But surprisingly good!


Quote of the Day:

By: Lin-Ley (before boarding the ferry)

"Why do they call it a ferry if there are no fairies on it?"