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Today Rob and I celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss. Okay, bliss, maybe not all the time, but I wouldn't change one moment of the last 10 years for anything. When I was 19 people told me I was to young to get married and I didn't know what I was getting into. True...but would I have ever been "ready" or "known"? NO! Marriage has it's trials and tough times, but I am a better woman, wife, and mother due to all of them. Marriage also has it's AMAZING times. Intimacy, laughter (and lots of it), children, vacations, in-laws, and someone to wake up to each morning. No one in this whole world challenges me the way Rob does. No one in this whole world knows me better than Rob does. (With the exception of maybe my mom. But even Rob knows things she doesn't.) No one loves me in the whole world like Rob does. He knows my good and bad qualities and loves me anyway. He is one special man and I am truly blessed to call him mine over the last 10 years and can't wait to celebrate many more with him!

Best. Christmas. Ever.

This Christmas was so wonderful. I have been thinking over the last couple days why. And now that we have dug our way out of the Christmas throw-up I am beginning to realize why. Was it because I got this? I mean, yeah, I love it and am totally addicted to it! But that was it. It wasn't because we started some new tradition, because we didn't really do anything different than last year. I really think it was the kids. They were so excited about everything. Going to Grandpa's and church on Christmas Eve. Setting out cookies for Santa and writing him notes. Playing with Rob's new Polar Express train. Talking to Grandma and Grandpa on the web cam. Going to my mom's and grandma's. It was so fun to watch them! Christmas morning we took our time. The kids unwrapped a few gifts. Then we would take them out of the box and play with them. We had a fire, coffee, cinnamon rolls. It was such a nice morning.

So a couple days after the fun and madness, I am ready to move on with the winter. Rob is off for the rest of the week and we have some fun things planned. I am ready for New Years and 2011 to start. Oh yeah...and to celebrate our 10 year anniversary...

Merry Christmas!

I have been thinking over the last couple days about this time of year. It took me awhile to get into "the Christmas Spirit." Whatever that means. Shouldn't we be in that "spirit" all year long? Anyway, once I was there, I was really there. I have had so much fun with my family, making cookies, looking at lights, decorating, shopping. And all the things that go along with the season. Thinking that we are only 2 days away from Christmas makes me a little sad. Before I think about Christmas being over thought, I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite things about this time of year.

*Making cookies

*Listening to TSO

*Watching home videos from years past with my family

*the smell of our home (Christmas cabin from Scentsy)

*a fire burning in the fireplace all day long

*hot chocolate

*playing in the snow

*getting the kids way more than we should!!!*

*hearing the kids ask me 100 times if we can go see the dancing lights, AGAIN

*Remembering that Jesus did not have to come to this Earth, he chose too. For me. And he is going to come again. For me.

Merry Christmas!
Love,
Rob, Amy, Broderick and Carys

Life is good

You might be asking yourself, "Why doesn't Amy update her blog more?" Then again, you may not care. I care, because this is the place I journal all the things we have been doing and some of my thoughts. Broderick started wrestling a few weeks ago and with practice 2 nights a week and Saturdays, House church, cub scouts and all the other things I have going on (grocery, cleaning, subbing, Carys, etc.) it has been busy. Good, but busy. It has been weird for me to adjust to Rob and Broderick being gone 2-3 nights a week. We don't really eat dinner as a family anymore except on weekends. It is only for a season though. And we are having so much fun with wrestling and cub scouts. All that being said, I never posted about Broderick's party. (or Rob's birthday! I love you, honey!) We did his party at a very cook arcade near us. It was fabulous on my part, show up with cake and kids. The kids played the Wii on giant screens and had time to play normal arcade games. Broderick loved it!

We also had his first wrestling match this weekend. It was so fun! He had 3 matches. He won the first one and lost the second 2, but put up a great fight!

Above: Shaking hands with the kid after he beat him.
Below: I want to draw your attention to the intensity in Broderick's opponent. It is very clear that this kid has done this before. I don't think Broderick knew what was coming! This kid picked him up and slammed him to the mat. Then had him pinned face down. I could see that Broderick was crying. I looked at Rob and said, "he is hurt! He is crying!" Needless to say, Broderick did loose this fight, but I am so proud of him. He said last night before bed, "I am glad that other kid won!" How sweet is that!!! While I felt very sad that Broderick was hurt and hope I don't have to watch him cry on the mat again, he is learning so much! He did a wonderful job and I can't wait to watch him again!

{seven}

How does a baby go from this....

to this? I will tell ya how, quickly! Very quickly! I remember when Broderick was a baby, screaming his head off all the time, and I would be out with him and older people would say, "Enjoy this time, they grow up way to fast." At the moment of standing in the check out line with a crying baby, leaking boobs, and feeling completely exhausted I would think, "Not fast enough!" So here I am seven years later thinking, "Those people are right! This past seven years have gone super quick, and in just seven more he will be 14! Then what am I going to do?" I know, be looking back at pictures thinking, where did the time go? I love this boy like none other! God has used him to teach me more about being a mom, a friend, and a christian the past 7 years through this child than anything else! He pushes me, challenges me, forgives me, shows me unconditional love, and teaches me all day, everyday! So as I wipe my eyes, I wish him the best birthday ever, with many more to come!

My Favs (for right now!)

1. Grande non-fat 2 pump Toffee Mocha. Can't get enough of this drink. I think about it all day long.
2. Warm cozy blankets. I bought 2 that are full/queen size just to cover up with on the couch.
3. My new shoes. Minnetonka's Moccasins. It is like wearing slippers all the time.
4. My new scarf.
5. Unexpected warm and sunny days.
6. Brandon Heath - Your Love
7. Staying home, watching a movie with a fire in the fireplace.
8. Pumpkin bread with chocolate chips (Broderick and I are sharing this favorite!)
9. Toy Story 3 (Just saw it for the first time last night...too cute)
10. My family

Shopping Trip 2010

Every fall my mom, sister and I go on an annual shopping trip. You may remember our eventful one from last year. (Go here if you don't.) Anyway, this year I decided to take Carys along for the fun. I am so glad I did! She loved it. It was a little girls paradise. Filled with spoiling, shopping, makeup, breakfast in bed, good food, and her favorite girls around!

After 2 long days of shopping this is what our luggage carts looked like. This was before we shopped on day 3!

Doesn't every girl do this after a fun weekend!?

October

Last month was filled with so much fun! We went to an amusement park and the kids dressed up as superheros. They do a whole big Halloween fest that is so much fun!

Don't they look so cute!
We did hayrides, bonfires, a train ride, school parties and trick or treating. I love the fall.
Below you will see Broderick and Carys at Broderick's Halloween party at school. He walked her around with his arm around her telling her where things were. It was so sweet!

Trick or treat brought the Star Wars out in all of us. We have never all dressed up for trick or treating but the kids insisted. It was so much fun it might become a tradition. We also carved pumpkins this year which we have never done. I would say it was fun for the kids. (I am not much of a pumpkin carver.)

And in case you missed this lovely picture on facebook here it is again. We had a Halloween party with was AWESOME! It was so fun to get dressed up and be silly. Loved it! I laugh every time I look at the pictures. I think I might use it for our Christmas card...what do ya think? I am sure I would get a lot of questions!

This past weekend was "Girls annual shopping trip." I will post on that later this week. You might want to go here to refresh your memory of last years trip.

Boasting in the Lord

I read this article the other day and it really got me thinking, "Man, the Lord has done some amazing things in my life over the last couple months and I don't think I have given him enough glory." So this post is all about Him and the things He has done in my life!

1. When my mom thought she had a nodule on her thyroid that could be cancerous it turned out to be thyroid tissue that wasn't connected to anything and the doctor pulled it out with her hand.
2. I have watched the Lord carry my best friend through one of the toughest things in her life. The death of her mother. Carrie has grown so much in this process and taught me a lot about trusting in him even when all we want to do is curl up and sob. She has looked outside of herself and sought out every opportunity to serve others in her suffering. One of the many reasons I love her so much.
3. After finding out I had a mole that was melanoma, something I would usually panic about God gave me a calm I have never felt before. I was scared don't get me wrong, but I just felt his presence through the whole thing. (Even when I was crying because I had to stay on the couch for 3 days and not walk!)
4. Watching my sister grow in her faith and praying one of her good friends through cancer to find out today that she doesn't have anymore cancer!
5. Being in awe of his wonderful creation. We have been studying Genesis at house church, and to just finish creation during this beautiful time of year has been such a blessing.

What has God been doing in your life?

My little Boy Scout

Broderick decided this year he wanted to do cub scouts. He saw the paper at school showing the kids doing archery and he was hooked. He has had 2 meetings so far and loved it. We got his uniform Thursday...he came home from school Friday and asked if he could put it on. He looks so cute in it. I personally have loved it too! Each month they do a family outing, which is great! They also teach great things. At the informational meeting the guy said, "I want to be very clear, we teach honoring God." I think that is great. Grant it, I believe it goes much deeper than just honoring him. To hear Broderick learn the motto, promise, and law of the pack have been awesome. He is working towards his first badge and I am so proud of him!

Day at the Zoo (WARNING: some photos may be gross or offensive)

As I mentioned in my last post things have been a little off here due to the removing of multiply moles from my back and leg. (I just had 2 more removed Thursday which means another 4 weeks of no lifting.) However, the Broderick didn't have school Friday so Rob took the day off and we headed to the zoo. It was a perfect day to be outside. And the animals were up and at em...literally. We got to see some feedings, including this snake eating a rabbit. Broderick of course was all about watching it and Carys and I hung in the background. She didn't want to look at all.

Then we got to see this lovely sight at the rhino exhibit. Of course Rob and I thought is was hilarious. Zoo keepers take this matter very seriously...you must be very quit so you don't disturb the love makers. We told the kids they were "wrestling." Broderick wanted to stay and watch the one on top know the other one over. I thought that was very funny. After a brief time the lady lost interest (surprise) and took off running. The male went running after her (surprise)!

Like I said it was a great day and we all enjoyed it! We are loving this fall weather so much!

Plans Derailed

If you were to ask me if I was a planner at first I would say no. The reason is because I don't plan long term things. My calender, and brain, can only go one month out...max! I do however like to have a routine for the day, aka plans. I like structure and consistency in my home. I like to know what I am making for dinner the day before it comes. So when summer was coming to an end and I was making plans for the coming school year I got very excited. I found fun lunch and snack ideas for Broderick, morning routine including healthy breakfast, making beds, brushing teeth and Bible time with the kids, after school routine including relaxing, chores, homework, and playing, what days I would clean, grocery shop, and hang out with friends. I could not wait to get these things started. I knew that the first couple of weeks I would need to be super patient with Broderick due to him adjusting to all day school so I didn't have to high expectations for the after school part and knew we would ease into that! You might be thinking one of two things: That sounds great, how is it working out or You are crazy why do you like routine? I don't have an answer to the 2nd question. But to the first question...it hasn't been happening. It all sounds good and looks good on paper, but this whole situation with my leg has kinked things. We heard a message at church a couple of weeks ago on planning. You can go here and listen to it. It was really good, but I left and didn't really feel like a was a planner. Boy was I wrong. Just because I plan day by day doesn't make me any less of a planner. I have been learning that I need to take each day at a time. And while it is good for me to have some sort of structure in place I need to learn that it is okay to be flexible also. I still try to do all the things mentioned above but realize it is not the end of the world if my kids eat cereal every morning for breakfast or watch 2 shows instead of one after school it is okay. We are muddling through this life and trusting the Lord with each day.

This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad.
Psalm 118:24

The sun is NOT my friend!

Last week I had 2 moles removed. One on my back and one on my lower leg. I unfortunately found out yesterday that the one on my leg was melanoma. Today I am going back to the doctor for them to remove more skin off my leg to make sure it is all gone and does not come back. You might be asking yourself, what is melanoma? How serious is it? Do I need to be checked? Thanks to the nice dermatologist I got sent home with a book called, "If you are concerned about melanoma." So I have all the answers for you.
First: What is melanoma? Melanoma is a type of skin cancer. (There are 3 types - basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma. Basil cell is the most common in fair skinned persons, squamous cell is the second most common in fair skinned people, melanoma is more serious type of cancer than the other two. There are all different types of melanoma. I have superficial spreading melanoma, the most common type. This type travels along the top layer of the skin for quite some time before it spreads to deeper layers. (I knew a year ago I needed to have my mole checked out.) It usually looks like a flat or slightly raised discolored patch with irregular borders. It's colors can be black, blue, brown, tan, red or white. (Mine was flat, dark and very irregular, but small.) In women, they are most often located on the legs. But are also common on your upper back. (Where both of mine were.)
Second: How serious is it? Due to mine being in the upper layers of my epidermis it is not that serious. If I would have let it go, it could have spread to my lymphatic system. That is why the first thing the doctor said to me was, "Removing those moles could have saved your life."
Third: Should you be checked out? ABSOLUTELY!!! I know we all love to be tan, because fat looks better tanned. But this is the only skin you are going to get. Go to the dermatologist, if you need a recommendation I can give you one, be checked and wear sun screen!
All that to say, I go back today and get more removed off my leg - which I am NOT looking forward to! I have to go be checked every 4 months and get more moles removed. I am not going to lie, I was very scared yesterday. After talking to the doctor and reading my book I feel a little better. I just know that now I need to be extra careful!

The Great Outdoors

Camping is something Rob and I both grew up doing and still love to do. Grant it, we don't go often at all, but we do love to do it and are excited to make it a regular part of our family. I think back to my childhood and I have great memories of camping. This weekend we went camping with my mom and step dad. Now what they do I don't know if I would call it camping or not. They have a camper. Either way...we had a great time! Rob and I slept in the tent and the kids of course thought it was great fun to sleep in the camper. We had such beautiful weather! It was nice and cool during the day and chilly at night! Great weather to put on some comfy clothes and cozy up by a campfire.

A little family time around the fire!

We went out on the boat Saturday which was a little chilly, if you can't tell.

And of course we ate s'mores, mountain pies, and a ton of junk food. My mom got these marshmallows as big as your head! Broderick could barely get it into his mouth. Too funny!

My favorite things about camping:
S'mores
Feeling like time just slows down
Playing board games
Being outside
Going on walks
Looking at the stars
Sitting by the fire with just my hubby and talking
Watching my kids entertain themselves with sticks
Eating...A LOT
Sleeping outside
Bug spray
No TV, video games, computer
(We kind of cheated this weekend. My mom and step dad have a TV which we did not really watch. I told you, I don't know if what they do you can classify as camping. And we do have cell phones with Internet.)

We had a wonderful time and I really can not wait to go again!

Preschool, oh, Preschool

This little darling of mine LOVES school. I think she asked me everyday over the summer when school started again. Well, on Monday her wish came true. If you can't tell my the picture she was super excited! We picked out her clothes the night before...her choosing of course. I tried to take her shopping last week for a new outfit to wear which went a little something like this:
"Carys, I am going to pick out a few choices in the store for you and you can pick from those."
"Okay mommy."
I picked out about 3 outfits and showed them to her.
"I don't like any of those."
"Ok...let's try a different store."
We walk in another store and she sees an outfit, that is long sleeved and pants, and her eyes and big and she gets a huge smile on her face! All the while I am thinking that is the ugliest outfit in this store and it is way more than I want to spend.
"Carys, that is a winter outfit and it will be warm the first day of school. We are not getting that one. "
"Fine. I am not getting anything you pick out then."
Really!? I mean, really!? How old are you again, because if I wasn't looking at you I would think you were 13! Needless to say we left with nothing after that sweet comment and she had to pick something out of her closet!

Don't let that sweet face fool you...she has lots of sass! Anyway, she has the same teacher Broderick had when he was in 4 yr old preschool. She is amazing and I can't wait for the year to get underway. Carys had a great first day and was so excited to go back again today! I pray God blesses her with a great year of growing in him and learning lots of new things.

Wow...what a weekend

So my best friend and I had the most amazing weekend away together. We have been talking about doing this forever and with the passing of her mom we thought what better time. It was full of laughs, tears, quiet and of course relaxation! One of our favorite things to do is go thrift store shopping so we started the weekend off that way.

Then we headed to a spa/retreat place in the area. Two days of pampering! This place was amazing to say the least. They have a hot tub and pool that are inside a cave. Does it get much better than this you ask, uh...yeah!

Then we had massages. I mean what really is better than an hour of someone rubbing you with excessive amounts of oil and lotion. When we were done we looked and felt like we had been sleeping for days. This is us after the messages...do we look relaxed?

A funny moment of the trip was the labyrinth. Carrie and I were more or less doing what we do best and being silly during this part. Hey Carrie, do you need to go back to nature!? It was very cool and fun!

They also have this pond with a paddle boat. Why not we thought. We were enjoying our ride in the paddle boat and then we started to get attacked by birds that were catching fish or bugs or something. At first we thought they were bats, but thankfully they weren't. This all made for a very short paddle boat ride. Carrie, are you laughing yet?
(I just deleted my picture of the paddle boat ride...I am such a moron!)

The day we let we had facials, which again was so relaxing and wonderful. Did we head home after that...uh NO! We grabbed some lunch and hit a few more stores.
Let me just tell you all what an amazing friend this girl is. Not many people are as blessed as I am to share something so special with someone. The first time we ever talked was over the phone, never met face to face. We talked for about 2 hours. When I hung up Rob said, "Who was that?" I replied, "I think my new best friend." That was over 6 years ago. And boy was I right! We are so much alike it is kind of scary. We can talk about the stupidest things and the most important things. We have have had to talk about some hard stuff, confess and confront on occasions. These things have only made our friendship better. We do things and say things to each other many people couldn't imagine doing with a friend. Our husbands and kids have all also grown very close. This is a friendship that will last a lifetime no matter what life brings us. I told Carrie's dad after her mom passed away that I would do anything for her, even give her a kidney. That is no lie, I would do anything for her! I am so thankful to the Lord for blessing my life with a friend that loves, encourages, forgives, cares, and really makes my life and me a better person! I love you girl!!!

1st day of 1st grade

Yup...that's what I said, 1st day of 1st grade! Crazy I know! I can't hardly believe it myself. We packed lunch, picked out clothes and packed his school bag the night before. When he woke up we had a healthy breakfast, (He didn't eat much because he said his belly hurt, I am not so sure it wasn't nerves. Poor buddy.), did our morning devotion, prayed and sent him off on the bus. Yup...that's what I said, 1st day on the bus too! This was a very exciting moment for him and and very scary moment for me.

Of course, on the first day of school the bus was running late because all of us moms have to take a bazillion pictures. Below you will see how the patience is wearing off. Do ya think he was a little excited? I knew he was because he woke up at 4:00am and said he couldn't sleep. Thankfully he did go back to sleep.

And there he goes...

He came home, gave me the world's biggest, longest hug and then said, "It was a rough day mom." Of course I asked why and he said, "I had to move my arms and legs so much." He was pooped out! When went out to a celebratory dinner and gave him a back to school gift and then sent him to bed. Did he sleep in you ask yourself...NO! He was awake at 6:30am. It was a rough morning. He was super tired, and his tooth is very loose but he doesn't want to pull it out so it just kept bleeding. After much prayer again this morning, and much begging on his part to have a day off school, I sent him off for another day of school. This is going to be a huge adjustment and I am going to need much patience and grace. We will get there though. I told him today he can come home and watch a movie and have chores. He is looking forward to that.

The ways God works

So I could post all kinds of pictures and stories about vacation, which I am sure I will do. But, this day was truly amazing. I woke up early...very early, to watch the sunrise. Thankfully it was not super cloudy this morning. To watch the sunrise is so peaceful. It is such a good reminder that the Lord's mercies are new each day. So after I took a ton of pictures and basked in this glorious morning. I did my morning devotion. I have been using this book Jesus Calling, which is wonderful. It has the dates already on the pages so I simply open the book to the correct date and read. This day, August 16, read like this:
Meet Me in the early morning splendor. I eagerly await you here. In the stillness of this holy time with Me, I renew your strength and saturate you with Peace.
I could not believe this! I stopped after the first sentence and thought, "Are you kidding me? There isn't much more splendor in the Lord than his light and what better reminder than the sun." It was such a wonderful blessing and start to my day. I may not be able to see the sunrise every morning, but I can meet Him in the early morning splendor no matter where I am.

VACATION

We made it back safely from vacation today. It is always great to go on vacation, be on vacation and sometimes good to come home. I always come home feeling refreshed. With school starting in 3 days I need to be refreshed and ready for a new routine. Which I am looking forward too!
Like I said, vacation was great! I always enjoy spending time with my family especially when we are at the beach. We, again, for the fourth year, went to Myrtle Beach. The first year we went we thought it would be the only year. Well that didn't turn out to be true. We have our favorite places to eat, stay and play. The kids even have places they love to go. Each year we try to incorporate something new. Magiquest was the favorite hot spot this year. This was the first year we had an oceanfront room which was great! I woke up one morning and watched the sunrise. What a great reminder of how amazing the Lord is! (I will share more about this later.)
Unfortunately my computer is very messed up so I don't have any pictures at this time for you, but I will as soon as I can.

Hiatus over

So it hasn't been too long, right? I don't think so. The Bible does say ask and you shall receive. And guess what happened when I asked...you guessed it. He answered! I am not saying I have it all figured out, but the Lord used 2 events over the last couple of weeks to put things in perspective for me.
The first was very minor but spoke hugely to me. I was in the library by myself, which is a rarity, and there was a mom their with 3 small children. She was trying to check out and one of them was screaming and running away from her. Now, I could tell this mom was very frazzled. I left thinking, it happens to us all. I mean really, if you are reading this and your child has never misbehaved in a store or public place I would love to hear from you. My point is, I go to these places and think the workers have never seen kids misbehave before and it makes me feel terrible. The truth is, when they are misbehaving, I just need to deal with it and forget about the people around me. Kids are kids...they are all learning how to behave.
The second situation was major. My best friend's mom passed away about 2 weeks ago. This woman was amazing! I am not exaggerating! Rob and I left her funeral service desiring to be better people. The pastor didn't talk about what a great gardener she was, or how crafty she was, or what amazing photographs she took. He talked about what a light she was. Her kids talked about how she was full of love and grace. How she, no one else, led them to a relationship with the Lord. And her best friend talked about what a great friend she was. I am not saying I want to be Betty, but I want to be like the Christ that she was to so many people. The most important thing in my life right now is my relationship with the Lord. Secondly it is my family. I need to be more like Christ so my kids can know him. I am so thankful for the life Betty lived to remind me, and the rest of us that knew her, to be like Christ.
So, as I take these things God has placed before me I pray that I will continue to grow from them and a) remember to not get stressed out by the small stuff and b) to be more like him in everything!

Blog Hiatus

So I have kind of been having one of those weeks, okay maybe a couple of those weeks, as a mom. After talking to my lovely house church ladies I am deciding to take a blog hiatus. I am not checking blogs or updating mine for awhile. Not sure how long exactly. One of the very wise ladies of my house church said, "I would not want to raise kids this day and age. I read those mommy blogs." It got me thinking. I read all these blogs of these amazing women and it puts pressure on me to be "those" moms. I feel like my head is spinning with things I want to write in a post, but am afraid it will come across wrong. So, I am taking a break and asking the Lord what kind of mom he wants me to be. Where does he want me. What does he want me doing. He will tell me. If you are feeling pressure too, pray...he will answer!

She has figured it out!

Need I say more?!

Good-bye to an old friend

Rob and I have been talking about getting rid of our dog for the last 2 years. It just got to the point that we weren't giving him the attention he needed, we travel often so it was getting costly and we felt someone else could provide him with a better home. The problem was, he is almost 11 years old. When we were in NYC a couple from our house church took care of him for us. When we got home I called to say I was on my way to get him and she told me they wanted to keep him. I was shocked! Even though we wanted to get rid of him it was still a little sad. We talked to the kids about it and they seemed fine with it. The funny thing is, Broderick really liked Zaccheus, and he drove Carys crazy. She cried initially and then was fine. Neither one has asked about him since. (confirmation) Carys has told a few people that we don't have him anymore, but that is it. Again, while it is still a little sad and every morning I walk over to let him out of his cage or let him outside before bed, or go to get him food, I feel like this was for sure the right decision. Hard, but right.

New York City - with kiddos

Our annual trip to New York included the kiddos. Usually just Rob and I enjoy this week long getaway by ourselves, but the little miss had a birthday over the scheduled time so we thought, "Why not take them with us!" Turned out to be a great idea. The city is a lot for me to take in, I can't even begin to describe the awe and wonder they experienced. To keep this short and not turn it into 5 separate posts, which I could easily do, I will give you a brief synopsis of the weeks events. Friday we arrived and walked around Times Square and ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The kids could not believe Times Square. I had gotten books about NYC and read to them before hand, but can you really prepare a kid for what they will see, NO! Carys literally sat in the stroller looking around and not saying a word. Broderick was so hyped up he just kept jumping around and say, "Let's go here, let's do this!" It was great! He really wanted to go to the M&M store most so of course we did. As we were going down the escalator Carys got her foot stuck in it. Put a hole right in her crocs. I later found out that kids have lost their toes while wearing crocs on escalators...thankfully we walked away with all toes!

On Saturday we rode the Subway to Battery Park and then the boat to the Statue of Liberty. Let me just say, I love being in New York around the 4th. To think that people came to Ellis Island with hopes and dreams of this new free country is awesome. Anyway...It was exciting to tell the kids about the history and see the statue with them. This also was an interesting day thanks to Carys, again. We got to the Liberty Island and she started complaining that her belly hurt. (She was just getting over strep, so I naturally thought it was due to this.) We got a snack walked around and headed to Ellis Island. While walking around the museum part she was really complaining of a belly ache. I saw a bathroom and told Rob I was going to go and I would take Carys. No sooner do I walk into the stall door and she pukes. Due to the fruit punch and twizzlers we just had it was lovely. (Isn't puke always lovely!?) Thankfully it was not on the subway, boat or in the museum. After that she was totally fine! Never a dull moment.

Sunday and Monday Rob had to work so I was left to fend for myself in the city with the kids. This made me super nervous, but let me say...we did great! The kids were so awesome which made it very enjoyable and fun for me. Sunday was Carys' birthday so we went to The Met, Dylan's Candy Bar got cupcakes at Magnolia's, and rode the Ferris wheel at Toys R Us.

Monday we went to the Central Park zoo, which is fun, but not like the movie Madagascar. I have been before so I knew this...I tried to prepare the kids that there would be no lions, hippos or zebras. They still really enjoyed it! That night we ordered pizza to the hotel room and watched a movie. It was so much fun!

Tuesday proved to be my favorite day...along with everyone else. It was the day we celebrated Carys' birthday with the whole family. It started with the brunch at the American Girl Place. So fun. If you have girls and ever get the chance I would suggest this. Carys had birthday money so she picked out a few things and got her dolls hair done. Too cute! And we bought her another bitty twin. So now she actually has twins. These people that invented these dolls are genius. Genius I tell you! After the store experience we walked 5th Ave. FAO Schwartz and all. Broderick even got a little surprise. The grand opening of the Lego store. He loved it!

Wednesday we did the Intrepid Museum. It is a huge battleship. Rob and I had never done this, but knew the kids would love it. It was great. Again, another reason I love being in NYC this time of year. To walk aboard a ship that has served our country is a great honor. To see the conditions these men and women live in for my freedom.

And the last day we walked Central Park. We took a taxi to 85th Street and walked down to 60th through the park. We stopped and let the kids play at playgrounds, saw the Great Lawn, the Castle and parts of the park we had never seen before.

Even though Rob and I look forward to having this trip to ourselves I am so glad we took the kids. It was so much fun! They did great with all the walking and behaved wonderfully. I love doing new and fun things with them. I was nervous about being in the city with them by myself especially. And even up to the day before we left, I was questioning if this was a good idea. I am so glad we did it!