Catch Up

Hello, Hello, I'm back. And here's a brief recap of what's been going on since we returned home from Utah.

The Friday after, we took the girls to a NYC Yankees game. Overall, we're not MLB fans, but someone gave B the tickets, so we said why not. The game started at 7pm, so driving was not an option. After considering driving (NO WAY-we'd have to go thru Manhattan in rush hour), taking the ferry from our town (slightly costly), driving to Staten Island and taking the ferry (too many steps), we settled on riding the train into the city. Lise' had been asking to do it for weeks, so it was an adventure. The girls and I drove up and met B at the train station near his work. Abri was in the backpack, and somewhere, lost in cyberspace is my incredibly cute picture of her in it. When I relocate it, I'll be sure to post.

Once in the city, we had to transfer to the subway, which Lise' loves. I'm thinking she's a born people watcher. As we inched closer to Yankee stadium, the subway became packed with all the fans. It was fun to be a part of it. The game didn't' start until 7pm, so we were already pushing it with the girls bedtimes. I believe we stayed through the 4th inning or so. I know to all you baseball fans out there you're thinking, "what's the point in going," but we had 2 small children with us. If you've ever had children or been around children, you understand. Lise' had a ball, although I'm not sure she ever really saw one. She was more interested in the vendors walking around selling things. If you ask her what she enjoyed most, it was the Cracker Jack and hot dog.

We promised her the cotton candy for next time. As for the good pics, they too are missing, but I do have a few OK ones.


The following day was an exciting one because Grandma came to visit! Lise' just loves when she comes, we all do. It's never enough time to do everything we want to do.
While Grandma was here, B and I worked at painting our back room. It's the same room he recently put the wood down. It looks great now, but it's not quite ready for pictures, so you'll have to hang on a few more days. During all the painting, the girls spent a lot of time in the backyard. It was still a little cool for swimming, but they splashed around each and every day. We took Grandma to the beach one day, and down to Pt. Pleasant to experience the boardwalk.
As you can see, they had a ball with the paint.





I'll have to post more pics of this day when I can get them off B's computer.

Pampered Chef Alert

Hi Everyone,

I just had a Pampered Chef party here last Friday. I wish I could have flown you all in for it. The good news is that you can still order if you have that one must have item you've been wishing for. Just click on the link above, and it will bring you right to the site where you can order and have it delivered to your home. The opportunity ends on Friday. Thanks for looking! Oh, and if you do order, be aware that I'm in the computer as Julie Swindle. It just wasn't worth the effort.

Julie

Ah hah...you don't have to click to see them

A Sneak Peek

While in Utah, we took the girls to the same photographer that took pics of Lise' when she was 9 months old. We haven't received the set yet, but she does have a few to view. Click here to see them. You'll have to scroll down on the blog or click on the right side of the screen where it says "Leslie & Abri." We're so happy she caught Abri in one of her grand pouts.

Catch up

Hello, Hello, I'm back. And here's a brief recap of what's been going on since we returned home from Utah.

The Friday after, we took the girls to a NYC Yankees game. Overall, we're not MLB fans, but someone gave B the tickets, so we said why not. The game started at 7pm, so driving was not an option. After considering driving (NO WAY-we'd have to go thru Manhattan in rush hour), taking the ferry from our town (slightly costly), driving to Staten Island and taking the ferry (too many steps), we settled on riding the train into the city. Lise' had been asking to do it for weeks, so it was an adventure. The girls and I drove up and met B at the train station near his work. Abri was in the backpack, and somewhere, lost in cyberspace is my incredibly cute picture of her in it. When I relocate it, I'll be sure to post.

Once in the city, we had to transfer to the subway, which Lise' loves. I'm thinking she's a born people watcher. As we inched closer to Yankee stadium, the subway became packed with all the fans. It was fun to be a part of it. The game didn't' start until 7pm, so we were already pushing it with the girls bedtimes. I believe we stayed through the 4th inning or so. I know to all you baseball fans out there you're thinking, "what's the point in going," but we had 2 small children with us. If you've ever had children or been around children, you understand. Lise' had a ball, although I'm not sure she ever really saw one. She was more interested in the vendors walking around selling things. If you ask her what she enjoyed most, it was the Cracker Jack and hot dog.

We promised her the cotton candy for next time. As for the good pics, they too are missing, but I do have a few OK ones.


The following day was an exciting one because Grandma came to visit! Lise' just loves when she comes, we all do. It's never enough time to do everything we want to do.
While Grandma was here, B and I worked at painting our back room. It's the same room he recently put the wood down. It looks great now, but it's not quite ready for pictures, so you'll have to hang on a few more days. During all the painting, the girls spent a lot of time in the backyard. It was still a little cool for swimming, but they splashed around each and every day. We took Grandma to the beach one day, and down to Pt. Pleasant to experience the boardwalk.
As you can see, they had a ball with the paint.





I'll have to post more pics of this day when I can get them off B's computer.

Happy Father's Day!

We love all the father's in our lives! We wish we could hug you in person.

My virtual gift to all of you is our pictures of our recent trip to Utah online. Hip Hip Hooray! I finally did it.

I'm going to apologize that they are in some crazy order. I worked hard to get the caption in, and when I clicked DONE, they rearranged themselves. I convinced myself you don't care about the order.

So, clink HERE

Where were you 8 yrs ago?

If you missed the party, we're sorry. It was a special day, and one we won't soon forget.

As B put in his card to me "8 years, 7 houses, 5 states, 9 cars and 2 beautiful girls later"

I'm looking forward to increasing those numbers!

If you decide to click on the picture and notice a strange look on my face, I do believe my brother had just shoved a handful of rose petals down my back.

Mother's Day

As I mentioned, the girls and I flew to Salt Lake City on Mother's Day, so this is the only "celebration" moment we had. It was a good one though.

As for the rest of the trip, I'm working on it. Abri's running a high fever today, so it's an on again off again project.

Dang those viruses!

First off, I apologize for the lapse in updating. I was able to get on my computer, but I was afraid to sign into anything or upload any images for fear of the dang virus. The good news is that it seems B has remedied the situation, so we're back up and running, for now....

So, there's a lot to catch up on. I'll have to do it in increments, and pictures will be inserted when I retrieve them from the exterior hard drive.

First up, UTAH
The girls and I flew out on Mother's Day. I had only flown with them once by myself, and it was from Philadelphia to Birmingham, so not a rough trip. It was also back when Abri would sit quietly in your lap. I'm here to say, that is not the case any longer. When I arrived at the airport, I found out it was a 5 hour flight to Phoenix, and then another 1.5 hour leg to Salt Lake City. That wasn't exactly good news to me. Lucky for me, there were 2 empty seats on the plane, and I was able to bring the car seat on for Abri. After she slept for half the flight, the girls spent the remainder of the time on the floor in front of the seats. For some, you may be thinking, WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING-GERMS! but don't judge until you've walked in my shoes. At the end, I was complimented by everyone sitting around us on their behavior, so it was ALL GOOD.

Eventually, we did make it to SLC, and Utah never looked so good. As we flew in over the city, I felt like I was going home. It holds a real place in my heart. I instantly felt the smog of NJ lift off my shoulders and the slow pace of the state enter my veins. My vacation had begun.

We were picked up at the airport by the Berrys-James, Adrian, Sydney and Mason. James also works for USG, and we lived in UT at the same time. Lise' and Sydney are 3 weeks apart in age, and Abri and Mason are 3 months apart. They drove in to meet us from Nevada. We hadn't seen them since the day we left Richfield 2 years ago. It was like that lapse in time disappeared right before us, and we picked up right where we left off.

Our first stop on the way to the resort was the grocery store. We had 3 adults and 4 children in car seats in their SUV along with a weeks worth of luggage and strollers. (this includes the luggage rack on top) Somehow, it evaded our minds that maybe we should have gone to the resort first and the grocery later. You should have seen us piling groceries into every imaginable hole. It was quiet funny.

We were sure happy to pull into the Marriott Summit Watch in Park City. WOW, is about all I can say. It was our first experience with our time share benefits, and it definitely confirmed that we had made the right decision for us in joining the timeshare world. The resort was beautiful. Our room overlooked a stream, and we could walk anywhere we wanted in town. It was great for the kids. There was a pool, scheduled activities, and a playroom. The girls especially enjoyed the "Shoe Tree." (pic to come later).

When we weren't enjoying the fresh mountain air, the girls were playing dress up, dancing and building things out of playdoh. Because we're in the Eastern time zone and the Berries live in the Pacific time zone, there was some adjustment to our schedules. My girls would be up by 5 am, so we'd eat breakfast and head out for our daily stroll up (and I do mean UP) Main Street. It was quite the workout for the Mommy behind the stroller. It became something I looked forward to each day. At night, Adrian and I would polish off a bottle of wine and catch up on movies and girl talk.

Wednesday night, B was able to join us. Once he arrived, I was willing to try eating at restaurants. Remembering a show I had seen in years past with Rachel Ray, we decided to have breakfast at The Morning Ray Cafe'. It was worth the hike to the top of the hill. So, if you're in PC anytime soon, be sure to stop by.

ON Thursday, we made a trip just south of SLC to the photographer that took pictures of Lise' when she was baby. Once we have them, we'll be sure to share.

The week came to a close all too soon. We enjoyed every minute of it, and look forward to doing it again in the near future. Hopefully the Berries feel the same :-)

My one regret is that we didn't have the chance to drive south to Richfield to visit with our neighbors. So, if you're reading this, I'm sorry. There just wasn't enough time in the day. I promise the next time we make the trip it will be the first thing.

Within minutes of taking off, we vowed to return soon. Our flight home was long, and we almost missed our connection in St. Louis, but we eventually made it home. It was good to be back, but we sured enjoyed ourselves while we were away.