Fun Visit!

We were so excited to be able to hang out with my wonderful friend Lissy and her new husband, Mark this weekend. I was so sad that I missed their wedding in Utah by 2 1/2 weeks, but was thrilled when I learned that they would be spending part of their honeymoon in New York!

It was so great to see them! We went to dinner in Little Italy, dessert at Carnegie Deli and, of course, did a little shopping. Lissy is the best shopping partner since we both have very similar styles and tastes. It's almost dangerous! I was so sad to have to say goodbye last night!

Governors Island

I am really enjoying getting to know so many nice girls in our new ward. Every Friday, a group of us get together for "playgroup". One of the girls plans an activity and anyone is welcome. They try to gear it for the children, but I think it's really a good excuse for the mom's to get together with each other!

This week we went to Governors Island. It is a small island in New York Harbor about a 5 minute, free ferry ride away. It was first settled in the 1600's by the Dutch. Then in the mid- 1800's, it was used as an Army base and then by the Coast Guard. It was closed down several years ago, so there are all of these old Army buildings and colonial homes that are now just sitting empty. It has a weird "ghost town" feel, but is very cool.

There isn't much to do there. You can rent bicycles or take your own, or just walk the cobblestone roads and there are a couple of buildings open to walk through. We walked around a bit and then sat on a beautiful lawn for a little picnic and to let the kids play.

Now, New York City has a plan to develop the island over the next 10 to 20 years for tourists. It sounds like it will be a pretty fun place!

Buy me some peanuts...

Last night Bill and I went to see the Yankees play the White Sox. It was a beautiful evening and we had a great time complete with a hot dog for dinner!

This is a picture of the new Yankee Stadium where they will start next season.

Wicked Fun!

Last week Bill and I went to see Wicked. It was great! I've had the songs memorized for years, but realized I was missing a lot of the details of the story. It was really funny and even Bill laughed here and there! I think he enjoyed it. We had a great time!

Our First Victims...I Mean Visitors

We had a fabulous Labor Day weekend with Ted & Sarah Gardiner. We walked everywhere and did a lot of fun things. Friday, Ted & Sarah arrived at 6 am. We slept until 10:30 am and then Ted, Sarah and I walked through SoHo and Little Italy and down to Ground Zero while Bill was in class. Then we met up with Bill and found a fun little restaurant in Greenwich Village for dinner and walked around a little more.

Saturday, while Bill studied, the three of us went to a matinee of Mary Poppins. It was great! Bill met us at Grand Central Station after the play and we looked around a bit. Then we headed up north to see the Columbia campus and Grant's Tomb. By then, Sarah and I were completely worn out! We finally found a great Thai restaurant called the Lime Leaf to get rejuvenated. It was delicious! After that we went to Times Square and got some dessert at the Carnegie Deli. We each chose our own and they were huge!

Sunday was a much needed "Day of Rest". After church we came back to our apartment for a little nap time. Then we went up to Central Park for a nice stroll through the park and to play our favorite board game, Pollyanna.

Monday, we met another friend, Matt Hemsley for lunch at Empanada Mama's and did some shopping and later that night, after much deliberation, Ted & Sarah went to the U.S. Open. Today, Bill and I met Ted & Sarah for lunch at Caffe Napoli in Little Italy and then I went with them to the Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village while Bill went back to study. We each picked a tasty treat and walked to the park along the Hudson River to enjoy. After, we headed back to the apartment so Ted & Sarah could get ready to go home.

We had such a great time and were so sad to see them go! I'm going to be so bored now!

Clever Quips

We've gotten some pretty funny remarks about our little apartment that I had to share:

• "I always thought a fridge would make an excellent bedside table!"
• "There's a lot to be said for a dwelling that you can circumnavigate in so few steps."
• "Now that's what I call a Bed & Breakfast!"

Wonderful Birthday!

I had a great birthday today! It started out with lots of little coupons hidden around our apartment for things like dinner, ice cream, a movie and tickets to Wicked! We'll go see Wicked next week. When Bill got home from school he brought me flowers and we had a great birthday date which included the following...

Thank you Bill for a fabulous night! I love you!