All in a New York Minute

 

Dave and I went to New York for a few days last week. He had some meetings and there were two "spouse events" so I tagged along. Here is what I did while he was busy...
*Went stand-by to Regis and Kelly. Found some nice people that helped me get in and two of them happened to be members of the Church. Saw awesome guests: Jennifer Lopez, Brooke Shields, and Cirque du Soliel

 

*Went in to see the temple.
*Got together with a great friend that I met in London who now lives in Manhattan.
*Went on an interesting tour at the UN.
*Went to the 8th floor of Saks Fifth Avenue and tried on a pair of $1,000 shoes. Really, $1,000. And they were the cheap ones!

 

*Went to the school where I taught 17 years ago and caught up with the teachers who are still there. Great to see them again after all these years

 

*Took the bus down 5th Avenue to give my poor feet a break.
Then, when Dave was free, we...
*Ate at Peter Lugers (#1 Steakhouse for the past 25 years!) to celebrate our 17th anniversary.
*Saw Blithe Spirit (Rupert Everett and Angela Lansbury)
*Went back to Saks to show him the amazing floor of shoes.
*Went to Canal Street and FINALLY found the orange bag I have been searching for.
*Went to Mon Petit Cafe for lunch...it was a our favorite French restaurant 17 years ago and it is still there!

 

*Went to Ground Zero and saw the amazing 9-11 memorial museum. I was so moved, I cried...it is a great tribute.
*Walked around Battery Park City where we lived when Andy was a baby, and again when Alaina was little.
*Had my first ever Starbucks hot chocolate!

*Went by our first apartment, only to find it is now a nice salon instead of a rat and roach infested hole.
I think that is all...
Then, we had an eventful airport experience. After waiting for one hour on the tarmac, we found ourselves back at the gate where the captain informed us that a suspicious battery had been found, along with a "threatening note to one of the passengers". So, we deplaned and waited two more hours. They finally had to get a new plane for us because they couldn't rule out any foulplay, so we boarded the second aircraft and had to wait in line for take off for another hour! We ended up getting home four hours late, but at least they gave us each 10,000 bonus miles for our inconvenience.
What a great trip!

We Survived Some Scary Fun!

I have always loved suspense. And exhilaration. So when we went to Moaning Caverns I was anticipating a little of both, but had no idea how amazing it was going to be. We walked into a little shop where they sell very expensive tickets and rocks and trinkets, then we saw the cave opening...right there in the tiny store. Andy and I rappeled down 165 feet through the center of the dark cave while the rest of the family climbed down the 16-story metal spiral staircase and met us at the bottom. Andy went first and I followed just above him. Everything was fine until we had to go bottom first through a tiny hole (I though I was going to get stuck!) and then I heard Andy call out, "What do I do here? My legs don't reach the side anymore!" Being the encouraging mother that I am (and thinking that sometimes Andy can be a bit alarmist) I called back that he'd be fine and to just keep going. Suddenly I reached the spot he must have been talking about. Yes, I was just hanging there, about 80 feet down from entrance and 80 feet up from the end of my life. And no, they don't send a guide with you or someone to ask questions to if you need a little advice, like how shall I proceed without dying.
Since Andy had already passed this point, I knew I could do it (it wasn't the first time he has helped me like this!) so I held my breath and kept pulling the rope. After a while I could see little ants (that would be my family) waiting for us to finish our descent. Such relief I have never felt as when we were back on firm ground! It was the most exhilarating feeling and I loved it.
Then, we did the 1,500 foot long zip line. Dave and Ryan watched as Andy and Alaina went solo and Becca went tandem with me because she wasn't quite big enough to go alone. After two regular zips, we were ready to go "superman style". One by one, Andy, Alaina, and I jumped head first from about 60 feet off the ground and flew down the line. It was awesome. What a fun day!


A view of the starting point from the end.

Spring Break: The Bucket List

Since Dave injured his neck, we decided to scrap our two sets of plans for Spring Break (one was to go to Tahoe, and the other was to go to our place in Deer Valley to ski and visit friends). My sister and her daughter were "ashed in" because of Mt. Redoubt in Alaska. The ash from the volcano caused the airport to close periodically and they were with us for an extra 4 days! My mom made it back to Alaska with 35 minutes to spare (before they shut the airport down) so she missed out on the extra fun, but we all had a great visit. And, since my sister and niece were stuck here, it was perfect that we ended up staying in town. We dragged them everywhere we planned to go and had a great time doing stuff we'd never have had time to do with them otherwise. We accomplished most of my California bucket list over this Spring Break, so I am feeling pretty good in case I die soon! You never know what mad cow or crazy turkey vulture is going to attack next.

 

I was trying to figure out how to make this cool collage so you wouldn't have to scroll down a billion times to see all of the pictures! Now, thanks to Jill, all you have to do is double click on the picture to see everything blown up at once! Thanks, Jill.

 

 

So, the official California bucket list included: the mystery spot, alcatraz, moaning caverns, ballooning, hike half dome, and so much more, but that is all I can think of right now!

Whirlwind Wicked Weekend

My mom, sister, and niece came to visit from Alaska and we crammed in so much fun in just a few days! On Friday I took the girls out of school and the six of us went to Discovery Kingdom. We went on Medusa, Kong, Roar, and V2 (twice!) in just 2 hours! Usually I spend that much time in line for just a few rides. It was 78 degrees and beautiful.
Becca, Paige, Alaina
Then we drove to San Francisco and took a cable car to Ghiradelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf. We took taxi's to China Town, were I found the most beautiful table in the world and a 7 foot painting that I can't live without. We took more taxi's to Sauce and had an incredible dinner. YUM! And we took yet more taxi's to the Orpheum Theater to see the awesome play, Wicked. We all loved it. I drove us all home in one piece...well, I guess in six pieces...but each of us was one exhausted piece.

Bain Girls Beadery

The girls have been working hard at coming up with new designs and are almost ready for business. This is my favorite, isn't it a beautiful set? Alaina and Becca have named it "Peacock". We'll be taking orders on this blog soon.

Just staying at home, eating bon bons and watching my stories...

Yesterday before 9:30am, I had worked out, made French Breakfast Muffins, made Muddy Buddies (with Ryan's help), taken the kids to school, taken Cabo to the groomer, and made an anti-inflammatory banana cake for Dave (he said it was mushy). Then, after a quick trip to Safeway (I went to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods the day before, when I got the mushy bananas) I made caramelitos, and panzanella. I picked up the kids and made rolls, then took Alaina to her orthodontic x-ray appointment, skipped Becca's flute lesson because she had too much homework, then picked up Cabo, picked up Alaina's friend, made chicken supreme, rice, salad, and dressing. Then Andy's friend came over and everyone ate, we took dinner to a friend, and headed to the church for YW/Scouts. Alaina made a deal with me that if we were late she could have one "floor freebie". (I charge the kids a quarter for every piece of clothing left on their bedroom and bathroom floor--I made over $4.00 a few days ago!) We were five minutes early, but fortunately for her, Alaina never leaves anything out. I finally sat down for 10 minutes to eat my cold dinner, then I went back to pick the kids up and take their friends home. And, this was actually one of our less busy days. Maybe someday I'll learn how to be more efficient and productive...

$400 Cake

I should have taken a picture of my masterpiece, but I forgot. I made a cake for our school auction and it sold for $400! I am in the wrong business. Yelling at kids pays nothing. Except in hugs. Which is actually better than money. Really, it is. Next time I make it, I'll post a picture, in case you are curious what a Triple Chocolate Fantasy Cake looks like. They said it was worth it and one of the people who bought it ate 4 pieces. I hope he went jogging the next day.