NYC with kids

After going twice without them, we felt the time was right to take our kids to NYC. What a great idea! They were perfect...even Claire, who I expected a little whining from with all the walking, was an angel. They loved NYC as much as we do. It was one of our best vacations to date. Here are a few of the things we did....

Central Park

F. A. Schwartz

Dylan's Candy Bar had Carter's name!! (only second time, he was very happy)

9/11 memorial

We got lucky that Carlo's Bakery didn't have a 2 hour wait when we went over....

so Jared got to try the famous cannoli and lobster tail he had been dreaming about. He found out he doesn't like Italian cream. Oh well, we ate plenty of sweets elsewhere.

Empire State Building (our hotel was a few blocks from it)

Time Square

Thanks to Yelp, we didn't miss trying all the hot spots for treats, burgers, ice cream and fries. They even have cup cake carts now! I still like Magnolia's cupcakes the best. Jared liked Butter Lane the best.

We got the subway thing down pat. We are ready to buy a place here. If only we had won that lottery.

eagle scout

Carter had his Eagle Scout Project last month. He decided he wanted to do something at his old elementary school, Tate's. They have a school garden and the planter boxes were falling apart. So, they cleared the space to make room for Carter to make 8 new boxes, a huge compost bin, a gravel walk way lined with rail road ties, and mulch for the shed. The next week we went back to fill the boxes with dirt. We had great weather and a great turn out. The school wanted him to put his name, date, troop and hand prints in some cement. Pretty cool day.

cyst

We found out the pain and loss of mobility Jared had been experiencing in his right wrist off and on for the past 6-8 months was due to a ganglion cyst. To avoid further pain and missed activities, we decided to have it removed. Friday we got to the surgery center at 5:45am for a 20 minute surgery at 7am. He was quite nervous, as were Allen and I, but it all went well.

He asked the nurse why he needed a wheelchair for a wrist surgery. She said it was for his head. He was a still a little out of it as we headed home. Allen even asked him questions in the car with the camera rolling, but no great youtube footage was produced.

Jared has enjoyed relaxing and watching a lot of TV while he recovers.

he did it

It's official. Carter is taller than me. I am sad and happy at the same time. I'm sappy.

still at it

Jared, will you....help Claire with her homework? Fix Claire some waffles? Read to Claire? Give Claire a spelling test? Tuck Claire in? Stop playing kick ball at recess to take care of Claire when she falls down, and then carry her to the office to get a band-aid?

Of course he will.

overlapping sports

I don't like when sport seasons overlap. A busy schedule becomes crazy. I am posting this schedule for posterity. And so I have proof when my kids ask me if I ever let them do anything as a child, if they were ever involved with anything, or if I loved them.
Monday: Carter's soccer practice, 5-6:30
Tuesday: Carter and Jared's soccer practice, 4:30-6, Carter and Jared's basketball game, 6 or 7
Wednesday: Scouts for the boys and Activity Days for Claire, 7-8
Thursday: Claire's dance class, 3:30-4:30, Carter's soccer practice,5-6:30, Jared's bball practice, 6:45-7:45, Carter's bball practice 8:45-9:45
Friday: Carter's bball game
Saturday: Jared's bball game
Sunday: a day of rest, thank goodness!

It is just for a few weeks. I love my kids.

horses

Over Christmas break we went horse back riding. Allen has been waiting for this day for a long time. Like ever since I met him. He has fond memories of a horseback riding camp he went to as a kid, and has been itching to get back in the saddle ever since. We tried to go twice before we had kids but something always happened, like rain, so that we had to cancel. We talked about it many times as the kids came along, but it always seemed too hot, or the kids too young. We have even looked into going on a cattle drive as a family. Well, this wasn't a cattle drive. It was just a hour trip in the mountains. We all enjoyed it, but decided against booking the cattle drive just yet. Carter was the most skittish and I was a close second.

I kept sitting forward to help my back, which caused me to bruise my "butt-bones". I guess I talked about it a little too much because this ended up on the quote board.