New York City

For our 20th Wedding Anniversary Brad and I spent five days and four nights in Manhattan, NYC! My personal photographer, Brad, took this great picture in front of the Statue of Liberty.

Here we are on Liberty Island with a view of the mainland behind us. After taking a million pictures (we chose not to wait in a long line at the crack-of-dawn to get tickets to the museum and base), we went to Ellis Island, which I found very fascinating, and became one of my favorite places we visited during our stay.

Here, I am standing on the Staten Island Pier; behind me is the Financial District of Manhattan. One of the buildings on the left is where we stayed our fist two nights in NYC thanks to our friends' Jason and Brianna Griffiths. The building on my left is the National Museum of the American Indian.

Brad is posing (one of the few times I could get him to cooperate) by a touching statue of American Immigrants in Battery Park.

Here I am riding the "Charging Bull" statue at the New York Stock Exchange. (Brad's idea--I am glad that I am a better sport than he is when it comes to posing for pictures!). Other sites we visited in this area were "Ground Zero", City Hall Park, Woolworth Building, and Trinity Church. 

 

For this picture I got lucky, and snapped the picture just as Brad turned around. I couldn't figure out why Brad was getting so upset with me for taking pictures until after we returned home and realizing that I had taken 450 pictures over the course of our trip! We strolled along the Brooklyn Bridge, because that is what our NYC Frommer book suggested we do.

Here I am posing again on top of the Empire State Building. It really was an incredible site! We truly experienced NYC as we walked from the Financial District to the Empire State Building while passing through Greenwich Village, Washington and Union Square Parks, and Madison Square Garden.

Here we are returning from a beautiful carriage ride through Central Park. Even though it was terribly overpriced, it was something that both Brad and I have always wanted to do. We also got a hot dog, and warm honey roasted peanuts for memory sake.

At the Rose Center for Earth & Space we watched a star show in the Hayden Planetarium, and because I loved "Night at the Museum" so much, we just had to go to see all the sites at the American Museum of Natural History (I think the movie made it a little more exciting than it actually was). However, my favorite place in all of Manhattan was The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I could of stayed there for weeks, and still not experience everything I wanted to!

This is one of several billboards with Brad's name on them. They were so great, I just had to take a picture. I told Brad that the couple was a striking resemblance to us (not really)! When we finally got tired of walking we took the Subway. The highlight of the Subway: Grand Central Terminal, with its amazing architecture, marbled floors, huge chandeliers, and breathtaking sky-ceiling! And did I mention that the food there was really good too?

 Here I am at Rockefeller Plaza with a view of the Empire State Building behind me. Even though it's not as high as the Empire State Building (70-stories compared to 103 stories), the views are still amazing, with a better look of Central Park. Other sites at "30 Rock" included the famous Ice Rink, and NBC Studios. We stayed at Midtown Manhattan for our other two nights and appreciated the convenience to window shopping on Fifth Avenue and other intriguing sites such as Trump Tower, the NYC Public Library, Chrysler Building, Radio City Music Hall, and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

And of course, you couldn't go to Manhattan without experiencing Time Square. We walked through it at night and saw filming of a new TV series, as well as screaming Harry Potter fans waiting for some kind of movie-star about to walk the red carpet (we did't stick around long enough to find out who). Speaking of Harry Potter, we also had the opportunity to see a Broadway Musical--How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at the Hirschfeld Theatre. The cast included Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), John Larroquette (his Broadway debut), and Anderson Cooper's voice (he was the narrator). We loved it! Who knew that "Harry Potter" could dance and sing so well? The show quickly became Brad's favorite thing to see or do in NYC.

We had a wonderful time in NYC, and I couldn't think of a more entertaining thing to do for our Anniversary! Thank You Brad for providing such a wonderful experience--I love you, and look forward to another wonderful 20 years together!!! 

Randomness. . .

The thing that came to my mind as I viewed my pictures at the start of 2011 is the randomness (I know this is probably not a word) of the pictures and subject matter. Now, I have seen this kind of picture before a big concert or game, but never in my life have I seen people camping out for the opening of a restaurant, and a fast food restaurant at that! First of all, I say to myself, "only in Kentucky" and then I think, "what has this world come to?"

Brittney and her friend Kate might not appreciate this picture being placed here for everyone to see since this was their "secret agent disguise" when they delivered goodies undercover to several families at church. I hope I haven't blown their cover too much, it's just such a great picture to go along with such a great random act of kindness.

Aubrey threw a surprise party for one of her friends and made these little cow cupcakes, her other friend said she would provide the pasture which, as you can see, included a wooden box covered in red construction paper representing the barn, and cotton balls taped to green page protectors representing bails of hay and grass--totally random, but so cute!

Several years ago this might have been a random sight, but not for the last few years--beautiful roses from my husband on Valentine's Day (I love my husband!!!).

O.K. Merinda getting fifth place on the Language Arts written test at the District Academic Team competition is not so random (her team came in second place), but I needed to get this picture on the blog anyway--way to go Merinda, we're proud of you!

Here, Merinda is looking at her scrap book with Grandpa's new wife, Virginia. The random (and beautiful) part: having a new Grandmother, two new Aunts, and five new Cousins, all sealed to us! (I think Grandpa needs a bigger couch to nap on!).

We all LOVE Virginia, and had a wonderful time getting to know her better!!!

The New Year

Over Christmas break we enjoyed doing some fun things as a family. We went to the movies and saw Tangled, and even got popcorn and drinks, which was a real treat since it costs over fifty dollars for our family to go to the movies, and that's before concessions! The other fun thing we did is go skiing (all of us except for Merinda). The picture above is a really far away picture of the closest ski resort to us, "Perfect North", which is in Indiana (about an hour's drive). 

 Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me, so I am posting what few pictures Aubrey took with her new camera. Since it was the first time skiing for most of us (Brad's second), I didn't want Aubrey taking her new camera on the slopes. I think that was a good idea since every time I saw Aubrey she was on the ground trying to get up (she did much better once she got on the slopes, it was just standing in place that seemed to be the most difficult for her). Here is a before picture of Brittney who is all ready to go.

Here is the after picture of Brittney. She looks a little more serious, or maybe that's the look of pure exhaustion and bone-chilling cold. Christina, the girls friend, also looks a bit worn-out.

We went skiing with several families from the ward in order to get the group discount. Skiing is almost as expensive as going to the movies! Here we all are getting into our skiing gear, or at least here are all the guys putting on their gear. Good thing Aubrey has her priorities straight when it comes to taking pictures!

Here is the whole gang enjoying an authentic Mexican feast, just outside of Cincinnati. The warmth and food never felt or tasted so good!

For New Year's Eve we had a great time bowling with friends at Cosmic Bowling alley (the lights go off in the evening and everything, including the balls, are glow-in-the-dark). Here is our friend Mark Allen getting ready to bowl a strike (incidently, Mark and Bridgette's team won our friendly competition due to their amazing bowling skills).

 

We had a fun time the rest of the night just visiting, playing games, and snacking on good food.

Brittney made two dessert pizzas for the occasion, which were almost too pretty to eat (so I had to take a picture). And they were oh so yummy! We rang in the new year with a toast of sparkling cider and a game of charades (guys against girls). Surprisingly, the guys held their own and even almost won. It was  entertainment at its finest and the perfect way to start off the new year. We want to thank everyone who came and celebrated with us - it was a lot of fun!

Christmas 2010

I Christmas began with our traditional Christmas Eve candle-light dinner, and reading/singing of the Christmas Story.

Christmas morning we took the traditional picture top of the stairs, only this year there are a few more smiles since it was 9:00 am instead of 6:00 am!

Merinda enjoyed all her gifts which she meticulously placed for the picture.

Breck was thrilled about his purple tie. . .

But definitely his favorite gift was his new I-Touch (of which he already earned  half the money for). But I guess seeing is believing.

Brittney too was pretty happy about her new I-Touch. I don't know what got into Santa this year, but I do think all the strings that are (and will be) attached to those i-touches might subdue some of the kid's giddiness, and make Santa feel a little better.

Aubrey just enjoyed taking pictures of herself and her friends with her new camera!

My favorite part of Christmas. . .not working a 12 hour shift on Christmas day (like last year). And just relaxing with nowhere to go in the cold and snow, or nothing pressing to do!

More Holiday Fun. . .

The last concert of the year was Merinda's Performing Morgan concert which almost didn't happen due to snow. All of Georgetown shuts down when it snows so the kids got an extra week of Christmas break this year!

Merinda was part of the exclusive Angel Choir (which did sound beautiful, I have to admit). The only tricky part was coming up with a halo at the last minuet. I always thought halo's were supposed to float above the head (and in Merind's case, way above the head!). At least these angels didn't require wings!

In addition to playing instruments and singing, the Performing Morgans also danced. All of this occurred over a period of about twenty minuets - it was the perfect kind of performance!

There is a house down the road from our church building that is plastered with Christmas lights. 

This year I made Brad stop so the kids could get a better look, and I could take some cool pictures. Little did I know that the lights were also synchronized to Christmas music which played continuously. 

Brad thought it was all a bit too much and it stressed him out to think about the power bill, or to imagine he was one of the neighbors who had to listen to the music 24/7 and witness the steady stream of spectators.

 I just enjoyed taking it all in, and appreciated the fact that the kids had just as much fun looking at the lights of this one house as they would have viewing the Horse Park light show (which has about the same number of lights but costs a ton of money). So thank you overdone Christmas lights house for the free light show!

We topped off our Christmas celebrations with a plate full of homemade goodies the kids baked and delivered to friends and neighbors. The treat that didn't make the picture were the kid's hand-dipped white and chocolate pretzels, about a million of them! 

December Happenings

There is one thing I really enjoy about December, and that is going to all of the kid's Christmas concerts and recitals. Here is Brittney's chorus concert which is so big they hold it in a large concert hall (where the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra performs) in downtown Lexington. The down side to this location--there is no parking, and you never know when you are going to be ticketed!

This is the best picture I could get of Brittney (the only one with glasses). I think her eyes are open, but that's o.k. because it seems that half of the girl's eyes are closed.

Aubrey's Christmas band concert was held at the High School, but the band is so large they have two separate concerts. The conductor, Mr. Bronner,  threatens to retire every year. It is increasingly difficult for him to get around due to bad knees (thus the handrail on his stand). For the first time in fifty years or so, the Concert band was chosen as an elite band to represent Kentucky in Chicago, at the Midwestern band competition and symposium. I have to admit that the band did sound pretty amazing! And just maybe, this will be Mr. Bronner's ticket to retirement. 

Here is Aubrey as first chair flute. Obviously I was sitting on the wrong side of the auditorium!

Finally she turned around, quickly (notice how fuzzy), only after I called out her name several times (she rarely claims me as her mother any more). Breck also had a Christmas concert, but parents are allowed to take pictures only before the  start of the concert. Since he is in 8th grade, and too cool for pictures, I decided to save him the embarrassment this year.

Another highlight of December--Brad's birthday. This pictures is history in the making--not only did I have the right candle number, I actually was able to find two of that number. So 44 is on the cake, and 44 is Brad's true age this year!

I make Brad's favorite birthday cake every year (German Chocolate with coconut pecan icing). Only this time Brad commented on the fact that his cake tasted better, and was more moist than it had ever been (I guess I should have Merinda make it every year!). Merinda also wanted to take our picture with my camera.That is not the only thing Merinda enjoys using. I get a little suspicious when I start receiving text messages from her friends!

We were all a little silly that night, I don't know if it was the really good cake, or the candy cane ice cream!

Novmber Happenings

Brad recently went to Japan, and was able to show his boss the sites on the weekend. He was hoping that it would be a nice day, and that they would have a clear view of Mt. Fuji, but this is the best picture he got--maybe next time!

I frequently say to my kids, "once in a blue moon." Well, it just so happens that last month there was a blue moon. Breck didn't believe me when I said that the moon doesn't really turn blue, so he took this picture out his bedroom window. Unfortunately, there were too many clouds to see if I was right or not.

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving this year with our traditional nontraditional feast. At first glance you see all the appropriate foods, but look closer at our meat...

It's BBQ Beef Brisket (and boy was it good!!!). We bid, and won a smoked meat of choice from our ward auction. We had our pick of smoked turkey or beef brisket. After much contemplation, we decided not to break tradition, and go with the beef brisket (we were not disappointed!). Claude Christensen, painstakingly smoked this the day before Thanksgiving, and gave us the meat, drippings, and his own secret BBQ sauce with a page worth of instructions (this was his baby that he had smoked to perfection). Needless to say, Brad's next investment--a smoker!

The other highlight of Thanksgiving was the girls' and my homemade apple crisp, pumpkin, coconut cream, and pecan (Brad's favorite) pies! And we cannot forget, luscious pumpkin cheesecake, compliments of the Allens!!!

The Thanksgiving holiday was truly complete with a rare visit from family. My little brother Matt was doing business  in Louisville so we kidnapped him for an evening. It was so good to visit and catch up with him, hopefully next time he can stay a little longer!