Tribe Lock-In

I am way behind on posting!  This event actually happened in October......

One of the things I do at my church is I am a Tribe Leader.  Tribe is our junior high ministry.  We have tons of fun in Tribe...lots of fun activities....Sundays, Wednesday nights and other times too.  This particular weekend we had the Lock In.  We had kids dropped off at 5 or 6 and there were bounce houses and bounce obstacle courses, last year there was even a velcro wall!  There was also a fight/bounce ring....Yes...I beat Cam...and I even beat some other boy that thought he could outsmart me!  Here is a picture of all of them....

Here is a picture of Cam.  Around 11 or so we went to Tranquility Ice Rink.  This is him at the rink....starting to lose steam...

The girls STILl had no problems though...here is Madeline!

After ice skating we went bowling....we got there around 1 or so......here is Chalupa...barely awake.

Around 3am we were about to leave...here is Payton giving me the look....

And Cannan barely hanging on....

We went back to the church around 4 or so.....we were there until 7 when the parents started picking up.  Cam and I were there until about 9 or so because we helped clean up.  We both crashed for a lot of Saturday!!!  It was a GREAT time though!!!!

Wednesday, Day Four in NEW YORK CITY, 10-25-2011

Final day in New York!

I just realized that I never posted my final day in New York...so here it is......

Today I slept a little later. I wasn't going into the city today because we had to leave for the airport around noon. I accidentally slept until ten! I had gotten up by alarm at nine.....but I turned it off instead of hit the snooze. WOOPS! It was 10:30 am before I got out the door. There was a mall down the street that I wanted to go to because the concierge had said they have a lot of souvenirs. So it was about 10:45 by the time I got to the mall. I searched both the floors for the store that the concierge was talking about....I finally found it....but it had gone out of business. Ugh.....I looked briefly as I walked by other stores and no other stores had souvenirs. It was about 11:15 by this time...I remembered there was a grocery store behind the hotel. I rushed over there. Nothing. So I grabbed a mountain dew and a couple magazines for the flight. I got back to the hotel just as Jeff was getting there. We got our stuff together just as Pete was calling to tell us he was in the lobby. Perfect timing. We had a nice drive to the airport. I told Pete all about my time in the city. We got to the airport, got checked in and found some lunch. After lunch I FINALLY got to go find some souvenirs! Not the best place, financially speaking to buy souvenirs...but by then I was out of choices. By the time I was done with that it was time to board. The flight was another puddle jumper. This time though, I was on the correct side of the plane, so I got to see the skyline as we flew away. It was another long flight. I read, Jeff slept. We landed in Omaha and reached home. He dropped me off at Malissa's so I coule get Major and the van, while he went to Scott and Melissa's to pick up Jake and MaKenna. Cam had just walked home after school. It was around five pm when we got home. We had a wonderful reunion with the kids! It was great to be home! But I had a wonderful and unforgettable time!

New York, Tuesday,Day Three, 10/25/2011

Today was tons of fun!  I slept a little later because I wanted to miss rush hour on the train.  I headed over at about 9:30.  I took the PATH train to the World Trade Center because the Smithsonian was a few blocks from there.  The actual Smithsonian is in Washington D.C., but this was a branch of it, with a focus on Native Americans.  Having grown up in Arizona though, I learned a lot about Native Americans so I didn't spend much time there.  As with everything else we had to put our things through the x-ray machine and we had to go through the metal detectors.  It was a really beautiful building.  I had to go down Wall Street again to get there, so I saw the "bull" again.  After the Smithsonian I walked a few more blocks to Battery Park, where the Staten Island Ferry is.  One of the trains there took me to Central Park to go to the Museum of Natural History where one of the Night at the Museum movies was filmed.  GREAT MOVIE!  Anyway, The Museum of Natural History is right on the edge of Central Park, another beautiful building in the middle of beautiful landscape.  Again, I had to go through metal detectors and send my things through an x-ray machine.  this museum was so huge!  it cost me $19 to get in, but for the size of this place, it was well worth it.  They had four huge sprawling floors of just about everything imaginable.  Each floor even had it's own gift shop!  on the top floor there was also a restaurant and a snack bar on the second floor.  I got to see Dum Dum, the Dino, and a bunch of other things from the movie.  The museum was packed with very neat things.  LOVED IT!!  I could have easily spent all day there, but I had too much to do!  After the museum, I was starved, it was almost 2pm.  I found a street vendor and ate a hotdog.  As I was walking through Cental Park with my Subway map, I saw the Central Park Zoo and a nice gentleman asked me what I was looking for.  I told him wanted to go to Rockefellar Center.  He told me what train to get on.  I headed there and checked out NBC studios, the went to the Lego Store.  I bought a couple things there also.  


After that, I headed to Grand Central Station.  It was a long walk, but it was nice.  On my way there I got to see some Brookstone homes that Mary was wanting me to see.  They really are beautiful.  They are the ones wih the big stone staircases in front.  Very pretty!  Grand Central Station was beautiful too!  My Pictures all came out terrible, but it was so neat in there.  On the way out I noticed a market area.  I have never seen one of these markets anywhere but the Dominican Republic.  It is one of those markets that have fresh cheese, fresh fish, fresh meat, etc.  It smelled bad in there, and it was so busy, I could hardly make it through.  Once I was back on the street, I took a look at my GPS on the Android.  I decided to do some shopping.  I heard someone mention the American Girl store.  MaKenna doesn't have an American Girl, but she does have a Journey doll, which is just a generic American Girl, so I looked it up on GPS, and I headed toward fifth avenue.  I decided to walk to save money on my PATH and train card.  It was a long walk but so nice to see.  I was looking for famous people, but I kept focusing on the buildings more.  Did I mention that last night I saw former mayor Rudy Giuliani?  I didn't say anything to him though.  I did see some paparazzi but I didn't recognize anybody that they were photographing.  I finally made it to the American Girl store.  It was four HUGE floors of just dolls and accessories.  Cam, who is scare of dolls, would have never survived this store.  I took tons of pictures for MaKenna.  I called Deana to see if she wanted me to get anything for Hannah.  We talked for awhile, then I picked a nice outfit out for Hannahs bitty baby for her birthday.  Then I got some accessories for MaKenna for Christmas and some really cute outfits.  Then I was in the shopping mood.  So I decided to go to FAO Scwartz.  Neat store, but I didn't find anything there that I couldn't live without.  I took a few pictures though, like the giant piano that Tom Hanks played on in the movie "Big", etc.  


After that I walked to Central Park again, a different part of Central Park...it was right across the street.  I had to sit for awhile, my feet and legs were hurting pretty bad.  Every night of our trip so far, I've had to take a bath to soak my feet and legs.  Anyway, I sat there for awhile and just watched people.  Then I called Jeff.  He said he'd be working late.  I thought maybe I would go to Little Italy or Chinatown to eat dinner. I wasn't sure though.  It had started getting dark, and I can remember Mary saying that New York City is safe as long as you're not out alone after dark and aware of your surroundings....which I most certainly was not.  So I started walking towards Times Square.  I had to stop at Walgreens to get some....womanly needs.  I went to the Walgreens in the middle of Times Square.  It was an itty bitty box of a store, but it was five floors!  It was crazy!  Then I took more pictures of Times Square.  At one point I was even walking faster than a fire truck and ambulance trying to get through with their sirens on.  I would not want to have a heart attack in New York City....or at least Manhattan. I saw lots of limos and black SUVs.  By now it was dark, so I knew I had to head back....but I saw the Bubba Gump restaurant and I had to stop and get some souvenirs for everyone.  It was then that I decided to have a Bubba Gump 4th birthday party for Major!  I've called him Bubba Gump since day one of his life, I felt it was appropriate.  So I went and bought a shirt for everyone.  Including Major that said, "my mama says I'm special." I also got a pen, a bag and a stuffed shrimp for Maj.  Then I thought I should head to the PATH train.  It took awhile to get back to Jersey.  The train was packed. I sat next to a pregnant woman and her three year old son.  We talked a little bit, it made me miss Major. Once I hit Jesey soil, I ran to our room and grabbed Jeff.  We decided to go to Azucar, the Cuban restaurant down the street.  We got there and got seated right away.  The food was INCREDIBLE!!  Azucar was featured on the Food Network. And rightfully so.  It was AWESOME!  After dinner, I had to buy a cigar for my dad.  He loved that Dominican cigar I brought him, so I thought we would try this one!  Then we went back to the room and I took my nightly soak.  What a wonderful end, to a wonderful three days!


Below....the Smithsonian.

 Brownstone Homes.

 The Dino in the Museum of Natural History.

 Dum Dum.

 The Lego Store.

 Grand Central Station.

 Grand Central Station Market.

 American Girl Store.

 FAO Swartz.

 Doing his job....

 Where I sat to relax....

 Just thought this was cool.

 I had to go to the NHL store for the men in my life....I even got to see a broadcast for the NHL Network.

 Bubba Gump....

 Right outside the PATH Train.

Funnies

Here are some funnies to start the New Year out with!!!

Major said to me the other day when he saw a cloud of smoke coming out of a factory, "Mommy...there is a cloud close enough to go to heaven on and see your mommy!"


Jake asked if he could have cheese and crackers for the advertiser.....HA! Of course...he MEANT Appetizer!

Major has been lovin' playing Lego Indiana Jones on Wii lately.  Today he asked me while I was getting lunch ready, "Mommy...can I play Indian and Jones?  SO CUTE!

When Major says he needs to "Pause" something, he says, "Clause".

After a snow Storm on Saturday, we were halfway to church on Sunday when he says,"(gasp) MOMMY...it snowed EVERYWHERE!". Once we got to church he says,"MOM....it snowed at church too!!!!"

Everytime Major sees a nativity scene he says, "Mom.....look, it's baby Moses!"

The rest of October

Hallowen was a lot of fun this year!  We decided to go with a Wizard of Oz theme....only three of us cooperated.  Major was Darth Vader, I am not really sure what Jake was, and Cam never made it because he had the start of a nasty pneumonia that would eventually put both of us in bed for over a week.  Anyway...here are some of those pictures.

 Did I ever show you MaKenna's birthday cake that Ms. Deana made?  She had a kitty themed party!

 MaKenna after losing ONE of her front teeth...she has since lost both....I have that picture somewhere...I'll get to it!

 In the leaves...we had over 100 bags of leaves this season...and we didn't even bag ALL of them!

 Jake in blue..

Major, Caden, Nehemiah and Jada at Pooleys Pumpkin patch.

New York, Monday, Day 2, 10/24/2011

Jeff had to wake up at 7 AM this morning.  Poor guy.  I slept until about 8:30.   Iwas due to meet my dads cousin Mary at 10AM.  I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get where I needed to be.  I knew that I needed to take the PATH train to 33rd and then meet Mary in front of JCPenneys across from the PATH.  It seemed easy enough.  But with all the people that were there yesterday, I thought I should give myself plenty of time.  I left at 10:15 and made it to the 33rd st. station at 10:45.  I got out and walked over to the JCPenneys sign.  It was only a sign though, there wasn't actaully a JCPenneys there, so I started to panic.  Thank goodnes Jeff had given me his Android, so I could call her if I needed to.  I walked around the buidling though, just to be sure...but I ended up back at the JCPenny sign.  I didn't have to wait long at all before I heard "Tonya?"  It was Mary!  We sat down and talked a little bit first.  I had only met her one time when I was 10...I didn't really remember her.  We made a game plan of the day then we headed to the subway to head down to the Southern tip of Manhattan to ride the Staten Island Ferry.  It is a free ferry.  We all boarded and we headed over to Staten Island.  We got a fantastic view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.  GREAT pictures.  Once we got to Staten Island we had to get off then get in line again.  The whole process probably only took 30-45 minutes or so. 

After, we went through Battery Park and then ate at UNO on the pier.  It was yummy.  We then walked up to the World Trade Center to catch the train to Central Park.  I was snapping pictures the whole time.  We got to this church across the street from the Trade Centers.  It was OLD!  It had a cemetary in it and the headstones were SO old you couldn't even read half of them.  The ones you could read though they had death dates of like 1786 or some time like that.  One had a mother and two of her children buried together.  It was incredible.  Inside they had a little memorial museum for 9/11.  Since it was effected also by the fall of the trade ceneters.  Inside was also the pew that George Washington used while he was in New York.  He was innaugerated near this church and it is where he attended church for the 2 years that NYC was the nations capital.  The church is called St. Pauls Chapel.  BEAUTIFUL!  We saw where they were building the new trade centers and then we caught the B train to Central Park.  Central Park is huge and really pretty.  There was hot dog vendors everywhere and not only in Central Park  We sat by the pond with a really pretty bridge and took lots of pictures.  There were horses and carriages, and here the people seemed much nicer, not near as rude.  When in the concrete city it is dog eat dog.  Everyone seemed to look out for only themselves.  They push and shove, its terrible.  But in Central Park, suddenly everyone was super nice.  It was weird to be in such a beatiful, wooded area with hills, etc, and then look above the trees and see skyrises!  After central park we walked down 5th ave. where all the ritzy shops are.  This is also where the richest of the rich live.  We saw Prada, Versace, you name it.  LOADS of rich people and quite a few gay men holding hands and kissing...VERY wrong and VERY gross!  We saw a few more beautiful, old churches that had been there since the 1700's and 1800's and churches that people like Jackie Onasis went to. We saw some paparazzi, but I didn't recognize anyone.  They'd have to be in my face and tell me who they are for my to open my eyes.  If I'm not looking for them, I won't notice them.  I wasn't looking at faces much either, just the beautiful buildings.  After 5th ave., we headed to Rockefellar Plaza.  We saw the famous ice rink.  It is a lot smaller then the movies make it seem.  We saw NBC and where the Today Show tapes.  I would LOVE to go to a Today Show taping...but I don't want to get up that early!  :-)  After Rockefellar Plaza we caught the train to 33rd st., so I could get back to New Jersey.  It was about 4:45 by this time.  Mary helped me from the subway station to the PATH train.

I made it back to the hotel by 5:30.  The subway was packed.  Jeff was already there.  We had free tickets to see the 9/11 Memorial at 7.  We headed BACK over to the city.  The PATH train also takes you to the World Trade Center.  There are 2 different NYC stops....33rd st and WTC.  Anyway, we thought we'd go early and eat afterward, but they wouldn't let anyone in early.  We had no idea where to eat, so I asked a couple policemen that were there.  They gave us a couple of suggestions.  They were super nice and total New Yorkers.  We kinda wanted New York pizza, but they said we needed to go to Brooklyn for authentic New York Pizza which they say is better than Chicago pizza.  We ended up walking down Wall St. and stoping at a little store to get some sode pops.  By the time we made our way back to the Memorial it was almost 7.  We got in line and they took us through metal detectors (Just like the Empire State Building and the Airport), we had to put our things through an X-RAY machine, there were tons of cops and security around.  Once we finally got in, it was absolutely beautiful.  There are two square pools that are roughly the same size as the 2 towers were.  They are pools that go down deep and there is a waterfall going all the way around to the the pool some 50 ft below and then a smaller square where the water drains.  I am sure my description does no justice at all.  It is all sparkly and just absolutely beautiful.  Along the sides there are names of everyone who died and/or are missing from the attacks.  The names are etched in the metal, then under the metal there are lights so their names shine. They kept the names together in relaion to where they died.  Both pools are enormous and just beautiful.  They also have some of the original metal from the original towers behind glass.  They are currently building more towers.  One of them is already super tall and shaped like it is beginning to twist.  It's really neat.  Once we were done there, we got back on the PATH.  We decided to eat at Azucar, the Cuban restaurant next to the hotel, but it was closed so we just ate at the hotel restaurant.  Its been nice because Jeff has been able to put everything on his TDAmeritrade credit card, well, when we're together anyway.  I actually haven't been spending much money, of course I plan on shoppping tomorrow!  After a wonderful dinner, we retired upstairs.  My feet and legs hurt so bad from walking around all day, so I took a bath.  Another big day tomorrow!

 The above picture is the new World Trade Center going up.

 Above is the Brooklyn Bridge.

 George Washingtons Pew!