NYC- Day 2

On Friday we got started with a little help from Starbucks and headed towards some shopping. Our plan was to make our way from our apartment to Bryant Park and hit all the shopping that looked good between the two places. We found H&M first which is not hard to do when they seem to be located on every corner. I have to mention that we seemed to draw attention where ever we went walking through NYC. I suppose they had never seen 13 Texas women at one time before;-) The next fun stop was definitely Bryant Park. There were so many little shops set up in the park along with the beautiful ice skating rink.

We found this great restaurant that had heat and a second level so we could enjoy the view of the rink and the park. Then we were refueled and ready to shop some more. If you are ever in Bryant Park you have to get the popcorn there. I got a bag of the carmel corn and it was the best popcorn I have ever eaten! There was also a beautiful carousel there to look at.

Once we were done there some of us headed back to Macy's. I had to get a few things my daughters had requested;-) Of course, I had to get an ornament as a momento of the trip for me too.

Let me just say if you go to NYC at Christmas definitely shop during the week if possible. Fridays at Macy's are insane. Let's just say I got what I needed and was done.

Next on the list was freshening up and heading to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes. On the way there we got to see the famous Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree! It was such a beautiful sight. I think for a moment it took my breath away. Too bad there seemed to be about 5,000 other people with the same idea. Once we got to Radio City I was amazed at the beauty of the theatre. It is a sight to behold! They had it decorated for the holidays from top to bottom and the show was better than I had imagined. I wish I could have one set of those long legs. How do they kick like that? Wow!

After the show we were headed over to dinner at a restaurant called Park Avenue-Winter. The restaurant changes decor and the menu with the seasons. The only bad part about this evening was the blisters my high heeled boots rubbed on my feet because the walk ended up being further than our fearless leader thought. The food made everything better though.

By the end of this day some of my friends figured up that we had walked about 13 miles, that is not including all the trips in and out of the subway station. Let's just say my feet were happy to be relaxing and done at the end of the day.

NYC- Day 1

Well all 13 of us made it home from our Girls' Getaway to NYC. I have to say that the Big Apple at Christmastime was as magical as I had imagined. We arrived in NYC on Thursday around lunch and immediately went to the apartment we rented in the Chelsea area. Let me just say if you ever need to rent a roomy apartment in the city for a reasonable price we found the perfect spot. The landlady came down to greet us and was extremely accommodating. I think we all felt a little sigh of relief when everything turned out just as pictured. We quickly dropped off our suitcases and headed out the door to Macy's which was only about 2 blocks from our apartment.

Let me just say Macy's knows how to celebrate Christmas from the window displays outside to the beautiful decor inside it was Amazing!! We were told to get in line on Thursday to see Santa so we did. You can imagine Santa's eyes when he saw 13 ladies coming his way to sit in his lap. It was pretty funny! By the time we looked around a little it was time to head out to an early dinner at Carmine's which is an Italian Family Style Restaurant that is delicious. Of course non of us had eaten since early that morning so we were not hard to please.

This picture is only half of us;-)

After dinner we went to Times Square which was lit up just like you see it on the television. I did not know which way to look first because there was so much to take in. We did not have any time to shop because we had to get to this musical...

WICKED was fantastic!! I think at the end of the show we were all pretty much speechless at the production we had just seen. Ever since that night I have had the song "popular" in my head so if you see me around and wonder what I am thinking, I am probably singing to myself.

We all were tired and so thrilled to be in NYC at the end of the day.

*Just so those of you reading this know I am going to be posting on each day so I do not forget anything, feel free to not read it all;-)

Christmas Comes Early for Me this Year!!!

Well by the time you are reading this I will be high in the sky on my way to New York City with 12 of my precious girlfriends. I am so excited since this is a trip I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember. We are all staying in a two level apartment in the Chelsea Area. Our tickets are already purchased to see this musical...

as well as this show...

granted Our shopping lists are made and reservations are booked at some amazing restaurants along with a list of other must see attractions while we are there. I cannot wait to experience this fabulous place at Christmastime!!

Happy 9th Birthday Kaylee!!

Today my firstborn turned 9!! I still cannot believe it. I know that those words are written in my blog post each year but it is still true. Kaylee has grown and changed so much over the past year. I can see each day her own personality coming out more and more. I could not be any prouder of the young lady she is turning out to be.

Instead of a big party this year we opted to have a few friends over to spend the night. My amazingly talented friend, Lindi, offered to come over and teach a cake decorating class so of course I took her up on it. Kaylee was over the moon with excitement since she wants to open her own bakery when she grows up. Her favorite shows are Cake Boss, Ultimate Cakes, Charm City Cakes and any kind of Food Challenge that involves decorating cakes in different themes. Do you see a pattern here? It was so much fun watching the girls think of how they wanted to decorate their cakes. The decorations they chose were as different as their personalities. I loved it and so did they. Thanks again Lindi for making Kaylee's party a huge hit. (Kaylee's peace sign cake with animal print.)

After the cake decorating, eating a little cake and opening presents the girls got their party favors. Can you tell what they were? I have never seen girls so excited over a party favor of pajamas. Too funny! Once they all had their pajamas on we went to the late showing of Megamind. I figured as long as they were going to be awake I mine as well plan something. Once we returned home they were all ready for some sleep and so was I.

Nine things I want to remember about Kaylee this year...

1. She is a wonderful friend to everyone. I have never heard her say anything rude or ugly to anyone or about anyone.

2. She is an amazing student in behavior as well as academically. So far she has maintained a Straight A report card from the time they started getting real grades in first grade until now. She loves to learn and always does her best.

3. As you can tell from the above post she loves to bake. If it has to do with cooking she is ready and excited to help.

4. She loves to play the piano. Since starting lessons a year ago she has come so far and I love to hear her play.

5. She loves little children. Anytime we go somewhere with friends and there are younger children to play with she entertains them. She especially loves to play with some of our friends' triplets.

6. Softball is still her sport of choice but she did decide to take a tap class this year. I love watching her giving both of them her all!

7. She loves to do any activity that involves the whole family. Whether playing a game, bowling, going to the movies or just eating out she just likes for us to all be together having fun.

8. She will still sit down and tell me all about her day. I mean a total play by play of the day's events. I pray that this continues because I love knowing what her day is like when I am away from her.

9. She loves God and her family most of all! There is nothing that compares to her telling me all the things she has learned about God and us talking about it together. I pray that she always has a heart for Him.

Kaylee, when I think of you I truly think of pure JOY! When you were born our lives changed forever in the best way possible. You have always made us so proud with the choices you have made and the way you treat others. I know that God has amazing things in store for you life and I just feel so blessed that I have a front row seat. You are beautiful inside and out. Thanks be to our God for sending such a big gift in such a tiny package nine years ago. We love you so much and are looking forward to seeing all the wonderful things year nine has in store for you.

Halloween 2010!!

Well another Halloween came and went sooner than we expected. Kaylee decided to be a chef, more specifically a pastry chef this year. Campbell on the other hand decided to stick to a beloved movie character and dress-up as Jesse. I thought that both costumes turned out great!! We again tackled our yearly tradition of meeting at the Robinsons' Home and then trick or treating all over our neighborhood. I think we ended up walking around for about 2 1/2 hours. The girls' bags were filled with candy and other treats by the time we headed home from the fun evening. At least I got my exercise so I could consume a snickers or two later;-)

Once we got home the girls wanted to hand out some candy at our house so we greeted several cute Trick or Treaters until the crowd started dying down and we had to head to bed.

I am so glad that we got to experience such a fun tradition again this year with some of our favorite people. My daughters are already thinking about what they will be next year. I am just glad we have a year to think about it.

The Rangers are in the World Series!!

I think that the sign says it all...

This day will go down as one of the most memorable moments of Kaylee's life.

Priceless:

*On October 30, 2010 the Texas Rangers played in their first ever at home World Series Game. My husband, daughter and Dad along with some of our dear friends were there.

* According to my husband and Kaylee it was the experience of a lifetime. Just seeing Kaylee's face when she found out we had tickets was a treat in itself.

* Seeing my husband who rarely does anything for himself actually get excited and be able to be at the game.

* Hearing Kaylee give me a play by play of the whole game and the light in her eyes as she recounted everything.

* The conversation Kaylee and one of her best buds had on the way to and from the game.

*Getting to be there amongst all the excitement, the energy in the stadium was magnetic I am sure.

* Being there to witness history being made.

* Getting to see Nolan Ryan, former President George W. Bush and Kelly Clarkson. (at least Kelly Clarkson was important to Kaylee)

* Getting to see the Rangers win their first World Series game. Hello Win Column!!

Alas it was the only World Series win for the Rangers but my husband and daughter assure me that there will be many more World Series games for Our Team in the future. Go Rangers!!

Zoo Day

Last Monday the girls had a day off from school so we decided to have a little fun. They had been wanting to go to the zoo forever so I talked some of our besties into going with us. After packing a picnic lunch we were off.

We have not been to the zoo since all of the new exhibits have opened and let me just say that was money well spent by our tax dollars. The zoo looks amazing!! It was the perfect day to enjoy all of the animals. Our favorites were all of the babies like the lion cubs and ducks as well as the new otter.

I think we could have watched the otter swim back and forth all day. God's creatures are so amazing in their differences, well except for the snakes. (I could have done without those.) Of course the huge fish in the nearby pond are always a big hit too.

It was the perfect day to be at the zoo with great friends. I am actually looking forward to going again soon since the weather has cooled off and the animals were so fun to watch.

Campbell with Abigail

Kaylee with Matthew

He had the same expression in all three pictures I took like this. I thought it was hilarious.

Me with my two favorite girls!! I love these precious faces.

ALDS Game 3- A Family Affair

Well a few weeks ago Cary pre-purchased tickets to the ALDS game in prayer that his beloved Rangers would make it. My sweet husband has always been a Rangers fan so I was very excited for him to finally have a chance to see them play in a ADLS game since the last time the Rangers made an appearance there he was a poor college student and could not afford the ticket.

We packed up the car with all of our necessary traveling gear for the girls and were dressed in our best Rangers gear with hopes high on the day ahead. Once we arrived in Arlington we met some friends who had also traveled from Abilene for a pre-game meal at Papasitos. I do not know who was more excited about the game, Kaylee or Cary. After filling our tummies we went to the ballpark three hours ahead of game time to just take in the atmosphere. (I know we were not there to shop since the one gift shop we tried to go in was so packed you could not move so we just turned around and left.)

While walking around Cary spotted Tom Grieve and spoke to him for a little bit. We also took the opportunity to get a photo of Kaylee with him. She was so excited!

Our seats were great for viewing the game but not for viewing the big score board or the great fly over by our military. I had no complaints though because we were not in the sun and had a cool breeze.

I loved all of the pre-game activities. The unveiling of the Texas as well as the United States flag. The military fly over, the singing of the National Anthem by Charlie Pride ( I thought of my Nannie when he came out to sing because she had Charlie Pride on an 8 track in the stereo and would whistle along with his singing. What a great memory for me.) and the great energy in the air from all the fans present to cheer on their team. At this point we were all hoping to be witnessing a Rangers sweep of the Devil Rays by the end of the day. Let me just say I have never seen so many men with brooms in all of my life. It was a great sight;-)

The Ballpark had a record breaking attendance that day of 51, 746. Let me just tell you that is a lot of people to hear screaming and cheering. The Rangers were ahead most of the game but in the end the pitching just was not there. However the final score will not be the thing I choose to remember the most about that day.

I will remember:

-Our whole family enjoying the game together and being there in our Ranger attire to cheer on our team.

-All the times the food vendor went up and down our aisle with something the girls just had to have.

- The way Kaylee worried about the guys in front of us having too much to drink. (I have to agree seeing as one of the passed out in the 7th inning.) Thank you Red Ribbon Week, you definitely work on our 3rd grader.

-Waiting the whole game for the Rangers to score a home run and when they finally do I got to hear it from the bathroom because that is the moment Campbell decided she just could not wait any longer.(They did hit another one later that I did get to witness though.)

- The smile on Kaylee's face when Derek Holland came in the game to pitch. Cary took her to a previous game and Derek was on the field before the game. He took the time to take a picture with Kaylee, sign her baseball and make her night. Needless to say we are big Derek Holland fans around our house now. What a great example!

-The feel of Campbell cuddling in my lap.

- The excitement in the air when we all thought the Rangers were going to sweep the Devil Rays.

- Most of all I will remember a Dad with his daughters watching his favorite team with his favorite girls. My heart was truly full just seeing this picture which will forever be in my memory.

Despite the outcome I would say we had a very blessed day. Thank you Lord for these moments, may I always stop and appreciate them.

Kindergarten Open House

Well last Thursday was the Big Day for Campbell, it was finally Elementary Open House! She had been waiting so patiently to have her special night where she could show off all of her hard work. We all had a wonderful time looking at all of her work so far. One funny thing though; The teacher had asked the students what their family liked to do and wrote it on a big tablet in the room for us to read. Campbell's sentence was...My family likes to build bears. What?? Then as I thought about it she was talking about going to Build A Bear. That's my girl!

I also got the best compliments from her amazing teacher. When I asked if she could tell Campbell was one of the younger ones in the class, she replied with "Not at all, I had forgotten she was." Yeah!! Since Campbell has a June birthday I have always been a little concerned being a former teacher and all. I have always felt she was definitely ready but it was nice to get another unbiased opinion. Then Mrs. P said that Campbell was precious and she really enjoyed having her in class. Just what every Mom wants to hear.

Here she is showing off her journal.

I had to take this picture of her leaf to show Daddy. Campbell forgot to show it to us the first time we were in her class and Daddy had to get Kaylee to a softball game so she was satisfied with us going back to her class and taking a picture for Daddy.

Safety City

Today was the day that all third graders in the Abilene area look forward to for all of their elementary years...Safety City Day! Our town has an amazing program where the children get to practice pedestrian rules, along with rules of the road and even fire safety. I still remember taking this field trip with the class I was student teaching in several years ago and how excited they were to be there. Well let's just say that Mrs. Jones class was just as excited as I remember if not more. When the buses arrived at Safety City you could feel the excitement in the air as each child exited the bus. There is a little town set up with buildings, highways and road signs of all kinds. I was placed at one of the cross roads and told to make sure the children stopped and looked both ways before proceeding across the road. I only got my foot run over once which I thought was pretty good.

After completing the City part it was time for the Firehouse. Let me just say it was pretty cool how all of the technology was used for the firehouse. We first went into a room that looked like your typical bedroom. Once the fireman gave his talk the room started to fill with smoke and you could see flames in one of the windows. The children had to practice crawling to the door, feeling the door knob and then proceeding out the window that did not have flames coming out of it. What a great teaching tool! There were several other fun activities but that will be the one that sticks out in my mind.

It was so fun to be able to spend the day with Kaylee and get to know several of the other children in her class. Yeah Safety City!!

Intermediate Open House

A little over a week ago we got to attend Kaylee's Open House at school. It was so fun to see the work she has been doing and have a chance to chat with her teachers. She has two great teachers this year. The Lord has continued to place Kaylee in just the right classes for her each year and we are so thankful. Kaylee loves school so much and you can definitely tell by the big smile on her face. I hope it remains that way forever.

Funny story about this art project: A sweet friend of mine got the job of cutting out the heads of the students after they had been laminated. She said that she almost cut Kaylee's bow off because it was kind of a pain to cut out. I laughed and tole her that she did a great job keeping the bow intact. Too funny.

Football, Birthday and Family Time

A few weeks ago we went to Waco to watch Wylie football and celebrate Papa's Birthday. We were all so excited to get a little time with three of our favorite people. I managed to get a little shopping in with Nana and Kaylee which is always a good thing. Then we celebrated Papa's Birthday with him. As you can see from the picture Papa had plenty of help celebrating. The girls also managed to get in a little baking with Nana. We had a quick but fun weekend.

Blowing out the candles.

The Halloween cookies Kaylee and Campbell made with Nana.

The girls with Great Papaw before church on Sunday.

Fall Ball

During the past few weeks Kaylee has been a busy girl. Cary decided she needed to play a little Fall Ball this year since she needs extra practice while making the transition to 10U this year. So far her team is going through some growing pains while learning how to pitch and hit from a teammate instead of a coach. I am very proud of Kaylee though because she always has a great attitude and does her best eventhough so far their closest win was a tied score the other night. The only bad part for me is that the games they play start around 7:45pm which means they are not over till around 9:00pm which is too late for Campbell and Cary is coaching so I have not gotten to attend very many. Of course I always get a play-by-play from Kaylee when she gets home. All I know is that she loves the game whether playing it or watching it on television. I am so glad that she has found something that she dearly loves.

Kaylee ready to catch!

A Sock Hop Birthday Party

Several weeks ago the girls went to a friend's Sock Hop Birthday Party. They had a blast and I had a great time watching them learn the hand jive, hula hoop, and play with all their friends. My friend Ann went all out with the decorations and fun as you can see from the pictures below.

Kaylee and Campbell posing by the 57' Chevy.

Kaylee and her friend Matthew dancing away.

Campbell trying to balance her hula hoop.