Yeah, I'm finally caught up on my blogs!! I've been working on getting the pictures online, which was taking forever being Jill took pictures of EVERYTHING!! Serioulsy, though thanks, Jill for all the great pictures!
It's been one thing after another since school got out. We went to Florida for 10 days, Emily and Lauren had their dance recital, I flew to NYC, we had our yearly garage sale, we are having a 24foot above ground pool installed, we had a double header softball game in which I played my heart out and I now feel like I've seriously been run over by a semi, and lastly I have an educational conference in Lansing tomorrow.
I'm looking forward to a more calm and relaxing rest of the summer. I've enjoyed all the activities, but I need to chill, now! Hope all is well with everyone! Take care! Now I have to work on getting all my pictures printed and put into frames or photo albums!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
New York City Times Three:)
Well, as most everyone knows, I flew to NYC with three girlfriends from work earlier this week, making this my third trip to the city. We flew in Monday morning and flew home Wednesday morning.
During the school year, Jill casually mentioned that if I ever found cheap tickets to NYC that she would go. As it happened, in May I found cheap tickets and rounded everyone up, getting Lupe to call me ASAP by stating it was an EMERGENCY, and someone else I had to badger into going, but I won't mention any names.
I am the last one to blog about our trip so I'm going to just highlight some of the fun and interesting things for me. Make sure you check out Dawn's and Jill's blogs for a more in dept recap of our 2 days in the city.
I HUGE shout out to Dawn for helping me manage both flights. I was a nervous wreck because I really dislike flying. My flights to and from Florida were rough, with the one coming home even dropping significantly in the air. The woman next to me yelled, "What the ****!" I was seriously dreading this trip because of the flights, but Dawn talked to me the whole time, made me laugh, gossiped, watched a movie, and didn't make me feel like a fool for having to use the bathroom so much:)
We left Detroit on time and would have arrived early in NYC but there was haze, which put us into a holding patten high in the sky. Thus, more anxiety for me, but we landed on time and found a cab no problem. Off to the city we went!!! We saw Shea Stadium on the way, which was cool!
We were a block away from our hotel when I heard Dawn say, "Oh, no!", followed by a grinding crunch and long scrap. The driver pulled over and I said, "We can get out here and walk to the hotel, no problem." I didn't want to be a part of two cabbies yelling at each other. Isn't that what we see on TV? The cab driver replied, "No, I will take you to the hotel." So, we proceeding the one block to the hotel. When he pulled up again, the other cab driver, who had hit us was there. Our cab driver asked, "You okay?, I'm okay!" and off the other driver went. They were so nice!! I guess cab drivers don't mind hitting each other?
Dawn and I went to check in while Lupe and Jill stayed outside, on my command. (I didn't know if we would get charged extra.) After much anxiety and waiting, we finally checked into our room, freshened up for the day and headed out. We met up with Amanda, Lauren, and Amanda's mother for lunch at one of the many soup, salad, and sandwich places NYC has to offer.
After lunch, we decided to do the Double Decker buses. I've been on them both of the times I've visited, but really enjoyed both trips. We took the Uptown bus and headed for Central Park. Last time I was in the city, my sister and I walked all over Central Park with out kids looking for the zoo. We didn't' see much, so it was nice to see so much this time. It was great to see the John Lennon memorial, Strawberry Fields, the Boathouse and Pond, and Cherry Hill! After walking around Central Park, we decided to get back on the bus. We got on the downtown bus and headed for the sights downtown. On the way we got caught in a rain storm, which was fun, if you like pouring rain, blowing plastic ponchos, and wind. We ended this day with a fun meal at the Brazilian restaurant, Plataforma, I found on the Internet. Four tired girls, no kids, wine, and a good time was had by all:) I think we got back to our room around 11:30 p.m.
The next day we planned to do the Today show, Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, the musical Hairspray, and Chinatown. We had to get up early to go to the Plaza for the Today show. We arrived shortly after 7 a.m. and soon after Billy Ray Cyrus was there. It was neat to see him so close up, even those he didn't sing. I had so much fun doing the whole Today Show thing. I got to shake hands with Al Roker and Meredith Viera and I also got my picture taken with Al and Piers Morgan, the most recent winner of The Apprentice. We all got on TV at one point or another, yeah!! Again, this was another thing I had wanted to do and hadn't done on previous trips. Make sure you check out Joe's blog because he has a few clips of when we were on TV. What a great time!!
After the Today Show, we took the subway to Battery Park for the Statue of Liberty ferry. This was another thing new for me, and fun. We took the ferry over, ran into our friends from school, ate a cold and crappy meal, took lots of pictures, ticked off a woman who wanted to have a seat and view on the ferry over:) One or the other was all you could hope for, you either satisfied your eyes or your feet! Oh, and I can't forget to tell you about the personal rubber item used to prevent pregnancy Dawn spied in the water:)hehe!!
Towards Ground Zero and St. Paul's church we headed, next! It's amazing how silent everyone becomes at these sites. I've been to both before, but was glad to revisit them and refresh my memory. We took a tour of some sites at Ground Zero and received a talk from a Ground Zero survivor, which was extremely moving. If I could have brought the man home, I would have. The most moving part for me was the American Express memorial in the World Financial Center. It was incredibly touching!!
Needing to boost our spirits, we headed into the outlandish world of Chinatown! I've done this scene before, so it was nothing new. Dawn, Lupe, and Jill couldn't get over the people, the hidden markets, and the persistance of the people. After everyone was done purchasing the goods, we rushed back to the hotel room to freshen up for the musical.
We had to walk qucikly and couldn't stop for batteries for Jill's camera because it was exteremly important that we arrive early, even though we had assigned seats:) Love you, Dawn!! The show was super, we had great seats, and again we ticked off an old man because we stopped to gawk at the stage. He was shaking his cane at me!! Finally, we got signatures from Ashely Angel Parker, Marissa Perry, and Kevin Meaney, who had lead parts in the musical. Being it was so late, we decided to eat at the diner next to the hotel. Again, four tired girls, no kids, water this time, and a good time was had by all!!
We took one last trip up to the 35th floor, pack our suitcases, and went to bed. The return flight home was uneventful, but I am glad we took the morning flight after talking to our school friend, Amanda. She took the 4 p.m. flight with her family and ended up sitting on the tarmac for 4 hours! Yuck! Everyone made it home safe and we had a fablous time! Can't wait to do this again, maybe next time we might let the guys come:)
During the school year, Jill casually mentioned that if I ever found cheap tickets to NYC that she would go. As it happened, in May I found cheap tickets and rounded everyone up, getting Lupe to call me ASAP by stating it was an EMERGENCY, and someone else I had to badger into going, but I won't mention any names.
I am the last one to blog about our trip so I'm going to just highlight some of the fun and interesting things for me. Make sure you check out Dawn's and Jill's blogs for a more in dept recap of our 2 days in the city.
I HUGE shout out to Dawn for helping me manage both flights. I was a nervous wreck because I really dislike flying. My flights to and from Florida were rough, with the one coming home even dropping significantly in the air. The woman next to me yelled, "What the ****!" I was seriously dreading this trip because of the flights, but Dawn talked to me the whole time, made me laugh, gossiped, watched a movie, and didn't make me feel like a fool for having to use the bathroom so much:)
We left Detroit on time and would have arrived early in NYC but there was haze, which put us into a holding patten high in the sky. Thus, more anxiety for me, but we landed on time and found a cab no problem. Off to the city we went!!! We saw Shea Stadium on the way, which was cool!
We were a block away from our hotel when I heard Dawn say, "Oh, no!", followed by a grinding crunch and long scrap. The driver pulled over and I said, "We can get out here and walk to the hotel, no problem." I didn't want to be a part of two cabbies yelling at each other. Isn't that what we see on TV? The cab driver replied, "No, I will take you to the hotel." So, we proceeding the one block to the hotel. When he pulled up again, the other cab driver, who had hit us was there. Our cab driver asked, "You okay?, I'm okay!" and off the other driver went. They were so nice!! I guess cab drivers don't mind hitting each other?
Dawn and I went to check in while Lupe and Jill stayed outside, on my command. (I didn't know if we would get charged extra.) After much anxiety and waiting, we finally checked into our room, freshened up for the day and headed out. We met up with Amanda, Lauren, and Amanda's mother for lunch at one of the many soup, salad, and sandwich places NYC has to offer.
After lunch, we decided to do the Double Decker buses. I've been on them both of the times I've visited, but really enjoyed both trips. We took the Uptown bus and headed for Central Park. Last time I was in the city, my sister and I walked all over Central Park with out kids looking for the zoo. We didn't' see much, so it was nice to see so much this time. It was great to see the John Lennon memorial, Strawberry Fields, the Boathouse and Pond, and Cherry Hill! After walking around Central Park, we decided to get back on the bus. We got on the downtown bus and headed for the sights downtown. On the way we got caught in a rain storm, which was fun, if you like pouring rain, blowing plastic ponchos, and wind. We ended this day with a fun meal at the Brazilian restaurant, Plataforma, I found on the Internet. Four tired girls, no kids, wine, and a good time was had by all:) I think we got back to our room around 11:30 p.m.
The next day we planned to do the Today show, Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, the musical Hairspray, and Chinatown. We had to get up early to go to the Plaza for the Today show. We arrived shortly after 7 a.m. and soon after Billy Ray Cyrus was there. It was neat to see him so close up, even those he didn't sing. I had so much fun doing the whole Today Show thing. I got to shake hands with Al Roker and Meredith Viera and I also got my picture taken with Al and Piers Morgan, the most recent winner of The Apprentice. We all got on TV at one point or another, yeah!! Again, this was another thing I had wanted to do and hadn't done on previous trips. Make sure you check out Joe's blog because he has a few clips of when we were on TV. What a great time!!
After the Today Show, we took the subway to Battery Park for the Statue of Liberty ferry. This was another thing new for me, and fun. We took the ferry over, ran into our friends from school, ate a cold and crappy meal, took lots of pictures, ticked off a woman who wanted to have a seat and view on the ferry over:) One or the other was all you could hope for, you either satisfied your eyes or your feet! Oh, and I can't forget to tell you about the personal rubber item used to prevent pregnancy Dawn spied in the water:)hehe!!
Towards Ground Zero and St. Paul's church we headed, next! It's amazing how silent everyone becomes at these sites. I've been to both before, but was glad to revisit them and refresh my memory. We took a tour of some sites at Ground Zero and received a talk from a Ground Zero survivor, which was extremely moving. If I could have brought the man home, I would have. The most moving part for me was the American Express memorial in the World Financial Center. It was incredibly touching!!
Needing to boost our spirits, we headed into the outlandish world of Chinatown! I've done this scene before, so it was nothing new. Dawn, Lupe, and Jill couldn't get over the people, the hidden markets, and the persistance of the people. After everyone was done purchasing the goods, we rushed back to the hotel room to freshen up for the musical.
We had to walk qucikly and couldn't stop for batteries for Jill's camera because it was exteremly important that we arrive early, even though we had assigned seats:) Love you, Dawn!! The show was super, we had great seats, and again we ticked off an old man because we stopped to gawk at the stage. He was shaking his cane at me!! Finally, we got signatures from Ashely Angel Parker, Marissa Perry, and Kevin Meaney, who had lead parts in the musical. Being it was so late, we decided to eat at the diner next to the hotel. Again, four tired girls, no kids, water this time, and a good time was had by all!!
We took one last trip up to the 35th floor, pack our suitcases, and went to bed. The return flight home was uneventful, but I am glad we took the morning flight after talking to our school friend, Amanda. She took the 4 p.m. flight with her family and ended up sitting on the tarmac for 4 hours! Yuck! Everyone made it home safe and we had a fablous time! Can't wait to do this again, maybe next time we might let the guys come:)
Dance Around the World
Two Saturdays ago, (Yes, I know I'm behind), Lauren and Emily had their dance recital. We got lucky and were home in time from Florida to make the dance rehearsal and recital. I booked our trip to Floirda more than a year in advance. We got back from Florida on Wednesday and had the dress rehearsal on Thursday for 5 hours and then the dance recital was Saturday from 4-7 p.m.
Both girls did an amazing job! Now for the funnies - Lauren had a breakdown at the rehearsal because her teacher changed her hip hop dance while we were in Florida and her friends gave her grieve about showing her the new moves. Girls can be so mean. She cried and told me that she wasn't going to do that dance, and I told her to buck up and she was going to do it. Eventually, her teacher showed her the new moves and her new "spot", which made her feel alittle better. She ended up doing the best at this dance during the recital.
She was off on her lyrical dance because she kept messing with her undergarment. Explanation - The night before her recital, she was told by her teacher that she couldn't go bra less, she would need a brown bra or a strapless bra. So, off to Wal-Mart we headed. She tried on many bras and found two that would work. She had a regular brown bra and a strapless one. I told her to wear the brown one during the recital. Which one do you thing she wore, being that she always does the opposite of what I say? She wore the strapless one, and ended up holding herself the entire dance.
Now for Emily - In September when dance started, Emily was 7 years old, so I put her in the 5-7 years old class. Her teacher said she was too good for that class and moved her up to the 8-10 years old class. Emily came home from the first class bawling and saying it was way too hard. I like things to be challenging for my children, so I explained to her that because it was hard, she would learn more.
Fast forward to the night of the recital - Now it was my turn to be nervous for Emily, wondering how she would do compared to all the older girls in her class. Would you be able to tell she was the youngest? Would she screw up? Would she be hidden in the back? She did great!! I shouldn't have expected any less from my perfectionist daughter! She was perfect, knew both dances to a tee and she was front and center for most of both dances! All WAS well, until?
The finalie - All the students are on stage together, with all the students 7 and under receiving a dollar store baton to shake. I knew watching the finalie, that Emily was going to be upset that she didn't receive one. I wasn't prepared for how upset she was going to be!! She had a total meltdown and acted like a spoiled brat!! I was stunned and embarassed! She wouldn't smile for the pictures, nothing!! Needless to say, we have very few pictures, I was stressed, Emily was crying, she will never get a baton, the night ended badly, I eventually calmed down, Emily apologized.
Both girls did an amazing job! Now for the funnies - Lauren had a breakdown at the rehearsal because her teacher changed her hip hop dance while we were in Florida and her friends gave her grieve about showing her the new moves. Girls can be so mean. She cried and told me that she wasn't going to do that dance, and I told her to buck up and she was going to do it. Eventually, her teacher showed her the new moves and her new "spot", which made her feel alittle better. She ended up doing the best at this dance during the recital.
She was off on her lyrical dance because she kept messing with her undergarment. Explanation - The night before her recital, she was told by her teacher that she couldn't go bra less, she would need a brown bra or a strapless bra. So, off to Wal-Mart we headed. She tried on many bras and found two that would work. She had a regular brown bra and a strapless one. I told her to wear the brown one during the recital. Which one do you thing she wore, being that she always does the opposite of what I say? She wore the strapless one, and ended up holding herself the entire dance.
Now for Emily - In September when dance started, Emily was 7 years old, so I put her in the 5-7 years old class. Her teacher said she was too good for that class and moved her up to the 8-10 years old class. Emily came home from the first class bawling and saying it was way too hard. I like things to be challenging for my children, so I explained to her that because it was hard, she would learn more.
Fast forward to the night of the recital - Now it was my turn to be nervous for Emily, wondering how she would do compared to all the older girls in her class. Would you be able to tell she was the youngest? Would she screw up? Would she be hidden in the back? She did great!! I shouldn't have expected any less from my perfectionist daughter! She was perfect, knew both dances to a tee and she was front and center for most of both dances! All WAS well, until?
The finalie - All the students are on stage together, with all the students 7 and under receiving a dollar store baton to shake. I knew watching the finalie, that Emily was going to be upset that she didn't receive one. I wasn't prepared for how upset she was going to be!! She had a total meltdown and acted like a spoiled brat!! I was stunned and embarassed! She wouldn't smile for the pictures, nothing!! Needless to say, we have very few pictures, I was stressed, Emily was crying, she will never get a baton, the night ended badly, I eventually calmed down, Emily apologized.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Busch Gardens
It's been a few days since my last post, but we haven't done too much. On Saturday Dennis and the girls went fishing, while Debbie and I ran some errands. Sunday we attended Debbie & Bill's new church. It was interesting, the first half hour was songs and the next hour was baptism and testimonials, finally it ended with a sermon from a missionary from Chile, who spoke no English. He had an interpreter, who had a heavy accent, as well. Needless to say, I didn't catch a word of what he said:) After church, we went to eat at Sonny's Restaurant, it is the one restaurant that I have to eat at when we come down here. They have the BEST smoked pork. On Monday, we swam in the pool at Dennis' grandpa's mobile home park and then had a picnic there. It was a nice pool and fun!!
Finally, Busch Gardens!! We got to the park right as it opened, and hightailed it to the Rhino Rally ride. Debbie and Bill said it was one of the best rides. It is a fun safari ride through the safari where you are on land and float in the water. After this ride we went to the various other rides, Lauren's favorite ride was the kite zip-line ride in Jungala, Dennis' favorite was the Critter Castaway show, Emily's favorite ride was the Cheetah Chase, which is like the Mouse Trap ride at Michigan Adventure, and my favorite ride was the the Cheetah Chase, as well. We had a great time, it was still scorching hot, but we survived.
We left to go home one hour before the park closed, and went to eat at Olive Gardens. After we got back to the hotel, we went for a walk on the beach, with our glow sticks:) Everyone had glow sticks so they could be easily spotted.
Today, Dennis and Bill are deep sea fishing. Emily and Debbie are down at the beach, with Emily picking shells and building sand castles. Lauren was laying out at the pool. I've got to go, Emily just informed me that she built an AWESOME sand castle and wants me to come see it. I'll post a slide show later today or tonight of Busch Gardens. Tomorrow we come home, I miss my home:)
Finally, Busch Gardens!! We got to the park right as it opened, and hightailed it to the Rhino Rally ride. Debbie and Bill said it was one of the best rides. It is a fun safari ride through the safari where you are on land and float in the water. After this ride we went to the various other rides, Lauren's favorite ride was the kite zip-line ride in Jungala, Dennis' favorite was the Critter Castaway show, Emily's favorite ride was the Cheetah Chase, which is like the Mouse Trap ride at Michigan Adventure, and my favorite ride was the the Cheetah Chase, as well. We had a great time, it was still scorching hot, but we survived.
We left to go home one hour before the park closed, and went to eat at Olive Gardens. After we got back to the hotel, we went for a walk on the beach, with our glow sticks:) Everyone had glow sticks so they could be easily spotted.
Today, Dennis and Bill are deep sea fishing. Emily and Debbie are down at the beach, with Emily picking shells and building sand castles. Lauren was laying out at the pool. I've got to go, Emily just informed me that she built an AWESOME sand castle and wants me to come see it. I'll post a slide show later today or tonight of Busch Gardens. Tomorrow we come home, I miss my home:)
Friday, June 6, 2008
OMG, It Is Sooo Hot!!
Wow, the heat is scorching! I've forgotten how hot it gets down here! We spent the day at the pool yesterday at the Nickelodeon Hotel in Orlando. For anyone visiting Orlando, I would recommend this hotel and the experience.
The hotel has two main pools with various slides and water gadgets. Lauren and Emily both enjoyed themselves, with Emily even going outside her comfort zone and going on the water slides. It is the first time she has ever done that, believe me I've begged, threatened, and pleaded. She said it was because the slides were open on the top:) The hotel staff even played games with the kids and adults by the pool. Many of these games involved ICE water, SLIME, or other various gross liquids. Speaking of gross liquids, the hotel has a mass slime event everyday, which both girls enjoyed, as well.
After swimming for most of the day, we washed and fixed ourselves up to have dinner, which was delicious. Next, the girls played in the game room and we also watched several Nick movies that were 4D. The attendent girl explained that 4D was the bubbles, smells, water, and various other elements. It was alot of fun!! Finally, we ended our day at "Club Slime". This was one big club event, with: slime pretzels, drinks, pudding, hair, pictures, and dancing. We all got to learn to do the "slime slide" and put together a "slime puzzle". It was a great way to end the day!!
Tomorrow the girls are planning on going fishing with Dennis and his dad. I bowed out of this, too hot!! Debbie and I will hang out at home. We might run by my old house because my parents always like to know if anything has changed.
Monday we are heading for the beach for 4 days. We will leave for the airport from there. I'll post more pictures soon! Miss everyone!!
The hotel has two main pools with various slides and water gadgets. Lauren and Emily both enjoyed themselves, with Emily even going outside her comfort zone and going on the water slides. It is the first time she has ever done that, believe me I've begged, threatened, and pleaded. She said it was because the slides were open on the top:) The hotel staff even played games with the kids and adults by the pool. Many of these games involved ICE water, SLIME, or other various gross liquids. Speaking of gross liquids, the hotel has a mass slime event everyday, which both girls enjoyed, as well.
After swimming for most of the day, we washed and fixed ourselves up to have dinner, which was delicious. Next, the girls played in the game room and we also watched several Nick movies that were 4D. The attendent girl explained that 4D was the bubbles, smells, water, and various other elements. It was alot of fun!! Finally, we ended our day at "Club Slime". This was one big club event, with: slime pretzels, drinks, pudding, hair, pictures, and dancing. We all got to learn to do the "slime slide" and put together a "slime puzzle". It was a great way to end the day!!
Tomorrow the girls are planning on going fishing with Dennis and his dad. I bowed out of this, too hot!! Debbie and I will hang out at home. We might run by my old house because my parents always like to know if anything has changed.
Monday we are heading for the beach for 4 days. We will leave for the airport from there. I'll post more pictures soon! Miss everyone!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
We're Here:)
Well, I'm still alive:) It was a rough flight!! Sooo bumpy!! Anyways, we made it safely and the girls had fun on the plane! Below is a picture of them waiting to board the plane.
Today we just visited with Dennis' parents and grandma. It's been over 2 years since we've seen some of Dennis' family. Tonight we played LCR. Lauren and Emily both won a game, with a big winnings of $2.10.
Dennis' mom has a bird, whose name is Princess!! Lauren and Emily love her and are afraid of her at the same time. She flies into them and scares the daylight out of them. I'm enclosing a picture of Emily with the bird.
Tomorrow we are heading to the Millennium Mall in Orlando with lunch at Sweet Tomato, which is a restaurant that I've been waiting to eat at. We've been to the Millennium Mall before, but it is soo huge and I'm always up for the mall!!
Today we just visited with Dennis' parents and grandma. It's been over 2 years since we've seen some of Dennis' family. Tonight we played LCR. Lauren and Emily both won a game, with a big winnings of $2.10.
Dennis' mom has a bird, whose name is Princess!! Lauren and Emily love her and are afraid of her at the same time. She flies into them and scares the daylight out of them. I'm enclosing a picture of Emily with the bird.
Tomorrow we are heading to the Millennium Mall in Orlando with lunch at Sweet Tomato, which is a restaurant that I've been waiting to eat at. We've been to the Millennium Mall before, but it is soo huge and I'm always up for the mall!!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Florida or Bust!!
Hello Everyone!!
It's been awhile since I've posted again, blame it on the last few weeks of school. Yep, I am done with school for the summer, 3 whole months off from work!!! Yeah!
Lauren has spent the last week taking exams and Emily has finished school today. Lauren is now a sophomore!! We met Emily's teacher at McDonalds yesterday so she could say goodbye to Emily. (She had professional development today and wanted to say goodbye).
Well, our summer vacation officially begins tomorrow!!! We are flying off to Florida to stay with Dennis' parents for 10 days. Dennis' mom has a lot of fun things planned, so I will post pictures while we are down there. We will go to Busch Gardens, spend 3 days at Clearwater Beach, etc. The girls are extremely excited, they love Florida. So, I'll try and keep everyone up-to-date on what fun we are having!! Looks like we will be having warm weather here in Michigan while we are gone, so I won't feel so bad:)
It's been awhile since I've posted again, blame it on the last few weeks of school. Yep, I am done with school for the summer, 3 whole months off from work!!! Yeah!
Lauren has spent the last week taking exams and Emily has finished school today. Lauren is now a sophomore!! We met Emily's teacher at McDonalds yesterday so she could say goodbye to Emily. (She had professional development today and wanted to say goodbye).
Well, our summer vacation officially begins tomorrow!!! We are flying off to Florida to stay with Dennis' parents for 10 days. Dennis' mom has a lot of fun things planned, so I will post pictures while we are down there. We will go to Busch Gardens, spend 3 days at Clearwater Beach, etc. The girls are extremely excited, they love Florida. So, I'll try and keep everyone up-to-date on what fun we are having!! Looks like we will be having warm weather here in Michigan while we are gone, so I won't feel so bad:)
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