New York, New York!

Well we got to go to the Manhattan Temple for... drum roll please....

Devin and Katie's wedding. I think Katie is an amazing addition to our family and I'm so glad she chose my cute brother.

It was so great that all my siblings and parents were able to go (but we missed Jennifer a ton!)

The temple is right in the middle of skyscrapers and you could walk right past it and not even know it. We had to cross the street just to get a shot with the angel Moroni.

We did SO MUCH in such a short amount of time, it was crazy! We went to see Wicked on broadway. Can I say that it was amazing?

We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was amazingly huge. We took about a hundred pictures inside, but I will spare you guys from it all.

We stayed at the Millenium Hilton literally across the street from the Freedom Tower.

Each person that passed in 9/11 had their name around the pools of water. There was a small stream of water for each name. The imagery was a lot to take in because of the sheer volume of water flowing into the pools. We found my cousin's name. We remembered, and we cried. It was a really beautiful tribute.

We went on a mini cruise around lower Manhattan. The Statue of Liberty was closed because of Hurricane Sandy so we were only able to see it from afar. Luckily it was a beautiful day and not too cold.

We went to the top of the Empire State Building with a magnificent view of the city.

We walked miles and miles over those 4 days. We had an unlimited subway pass while we were there and we used it a lot, but we had so many stops nearby that it was a lot of footwork.

We had to stop and get some of the amazing New York cheesecake.

NBC Studios and 30 Rockefeller Center.

I even got to meet up with my dear friend, Bonnie who lives in Manhattan. We had a delightful dinner at a little french restaurant near her apartment.

My Uncle Bryant and Aunt Diana were amazing hosts and let us spend a night at their place as well as take us all over town too. We don't get to see them very often, so it was a real treat to spend time with them.

There are a million other pictures that I will spare you from, but we won't forget the late night chats with family, the beautiful wedding and the great company. It was an amazing trip and I am so, so, so grateful for Grandma Diana for taking care of our kids. Because of her we could actually have fun!

Birthday Bash!

Since we were going to be out of town for Sadie's 5th birthday (long story, it'll be explained in my next post), we had an early celebration. We tried to make it really fun and memorable for her, but it kind of backfired on us. The entire week before and after her birthday all she would tell people was how sad it was that her mom and dad were going to miss her birthday. She got a pity party from everyone she told. Nevertheless we DID go to the zoo and have a presents and cake. Next time I will remember that it might be easier just to pretend it is her birthday even if it isn't the actual date. Although, she might be too old for that.

I love the look of elation on her face. Priceless.

And of course, Boston did his best to ruin all the fun.

One might think we were torturing our dear fellow.

Sadie requested a rainbow cake... although others could do a more fancy version, this is pretty good for me.

And lastly, Sadie and Daddy got to go out to their traditional daddy-daughter birthday breakfast date.

Weekend Fun

We went to the Pleasant Grove Firefighter Fundraising Breakfast. It was a pretty fun event. We got to try a variety of pancakes, climb on fire trucks, and even saw the life flight helicopter land. We had to stop at the playground afterwards to top off the fun morning.

Of course our dear Boston cried much of the time.

The rest of us had a good time.

Competition Teams

For the last four years, I have been the director of a small dance studio. And when I say small, I mean really small. I only have two competing companies. I seriously love these girls and am really glad to be a part of their lives. I wish I had taken more pictures this year, but here are just a few from our competitions.

If you know me well, you will know that almost every year for Halloween, I dress up a a zombie. I love it. It sounds very morbid, but I think it's hilarious. As the director, I get to choose costumes, music, and pretty much everything. So this year for our recital, we did a "Dance Through the Year" theme and celebrated all the holidays. What better excuse could I have to do a Halloween zombie dance?

We did a military hip hop number for Independence Day.

We didn't get all the girls pictured, but we also did a lyrical number for Valentine's Day.

My junior company pictured here did a sassy jazz number "These Boots are Made for Walking".

We did a Father's Day hip hop number.

And a lyrical number for New Year's titled "Firework".

It was a fun year, even if it was interrupted when I had a baby in the middle of it. I love my ladies!

April Shenanigans

Another Home Depot visit. These kids will be more handy by the age of 12 than I was at 20. I love that Ryan is constantly doing projects with the kids and teaching them how to be resourceful and handy.

Proof that Brooklyn and I went to Home Depot too.

SUPER BABY!!!

Boston and Jessica were clearly ready for dinner before anyone else. They just sat there and chatted for ten minutes.

I had a bout of bronchitis. I was super paranoid baby B was going to get it, so I wore this bad boy for about a week. It didn't stop me from taking the kids to kangaroo zoo, gymnastics class, and other errands. Good thing the kids were unaware of how uncool Mom is.

While I was nursing this happened... Boston was scooping it up with his hands and shoveling it into his mouth as fast as he could.

Miss Fancy Nancy here asked me to take a picture.

Easter 2013

We had a great Easter. The kiddos got all dressed up for church courtesy of Grandma Diana. Thank you Grandma!

Sadie regularly asks if she can hold Brooklyn while standing. She regularly holds her while sitting, but she feels more responsibility if she is standing. Sadie is very gentle and she even rocks back and forth.

Boston is almost smiling in this one. This little boy would not sit still long enough for me to take a picture with the girls.

After church, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Anderson's house for a lovely dinner. The grandkids each got an egg with their name on it.

My cute nephew, Jack.

And of course Boston is crying while receiving something delicious and fun. :)