NYC Day 2

After our first "get acquainted" day with NYC, I planned out the rest of the week to hopefully utilize the time we had there.  This is how Day 2 went...
   We started out early in the morning and headed to Rockefeller Center to go to the top of "the Rock"
It had a fabulous central view of the entire city 72 stories high!

 From there we went to the taping of the Today show.  They were just finishing and so we just caught a glimpse of Ann Curry.

 We saw the beautiful St. Patricks cathedral on our way up 5th Avenue. 

   Our next stop was FAO Schwartz the famously HUGE toy store!  We were able to play on the Giant piano used in the movie BIG with Tom Hanks.  

They had awesome Lego displays as well that Miranda loved.

   We finally found the Apple Store.  Told Parker we would check it out for him.  He told us it was a giant glass block building.  But it was being worked on so they had all the glass covered. 
but they did have a glass Staircase & Elevator

 This place was HUGE....a true computer geek delight :)

  From there we strolled through Central Park.  It was so beautiful...crazy how it is just right in the middle of town. 

We walked from 60th street to 84th street (we started at 45th street)  where we spent 2 hours in the Metropolitan Museum.  It was crazy huge and full of amazing stuff.  I'm surprised we found our way out of that maze. 

 Our Knights in shining armor!

After the Met, we crossed Central Park to the West side and hit the Museum of Natural History.
We were both anxious to see if it was like in the movie, but it wasn't

 It did give us a good chance to cool off and rest our tired feet during the imax show :)

Then we headed back South towards Time Square and our hotel.  Our feet were KILLING us!  But then...up ahead we saw....

 The Angel Moroni sticking up in the sky ....  The Manhattan Temple is right in the middle of town!

It was crazy to see it there among all the buildings.  It was so beautiful though!

 From there we stopped for a great dinner and a much deserved treat :)

Smore and Lemon coconut cupcakes!

We made it back to Times Square just in time to see The Naked Cowboy :)

It just wouldn't have been New York without seeing him.
FINALLY....back to the Hotel!

We rested a little then regrouped to head over to our first show.... Catch Me if you Can!
Miranda and I loved the show a ton!  We had front row seats!  We could reach up and trip them if we wanted to (he he).  The orchestra was onstage so there was nothing between us and the stage. 
After the show we headed to Stage Door to wait for any actors coming out to give autographs.
We saw.... Norbert Leo Butz who won a Tony for his role as the detective in the show.

Then we saw Aaron Tveit who is the lead role in the show. Miranda is certain that he is her soul mate and plans to marry him someday :)

It was late...we were tired ...we had another BIG day ahead of us tomorrow so back to the hotel and bed!
It was a totally Amazing 2nd day!

Here's a slideshow of the day as well (some are the same photos)

Surprise Trip of a Lifetime!

Miranda and I both had BIG birthday's this year so Ryan decided to surprise us with a trip to New York City...yep you read right, the BIG Apple!

While Parker was away at Scout Camp for the week, Miranda and I headed to New York to see 3 Broadway shows and all the sights!
I'm going to break up our days with slide shows because there are soooo many fun pictures..

Day one was a travel day. We left at 7am Vegas time and arrived around 4pm NYC time. We took a taxi to our hotel,the Marriott Marquis right on Time Square. We got settled and headed out on the town. We just walked around to get familiar with the surroundings. It was fun to actually be on Time Square!
We knew we had a big day ahead of us so we went to bed early-ish (is 11pm early?)
Enjoy the pictures from Day one!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

When will my Life Begin?

Miranda was invited to be part of a performance as "Lucy" from the Peanuts play of "Your A Good Man Charlie Brown". When we got there to get ready they asked her if she knew the song from Tangled "When will my life begin".
Come to find out, the person who was going to sing had to leave unexpectedly. Miranda, of course, knew the song so she was thrilled to be the substitute Rapunzel.
She didn't get a chance to practice before going onstage, but I think just being in this amazing costume made up for any lack of rehearsing.

They even had a Flynn Ryder on hand to make a special appearance!

Just look at that smolder :)

Not sure why these pictures are so blurry, but at least I have pictures.  I didn't bring my camera originally, but thanks to my friend Sharron she ran it to me and saved the day!  TWICE because after she brought it the first time I realized it didn't have a memory card in it...ugh!

She also stayed and video taped her song for us.  The first time Miranda started singing, the microphone didn't work so while they fixed it, they asked her Rapunzel questions.  She did such a great job and stayed in character (what a professional)

Finally she had to use a hand held microphone and the song began...

Watch closely at the very end...her hair actually lights up!

Enjoy!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

High Adventure

Ryan spent this past week with the Teachers and Priests in our ward canoeing down the Green River.

They had wind, rain and KILLER mosquitos, but they all survived and made it back safely.
Seems like our family hasn't slowed down all summer, and it won't for a while! I just love it when everyone is home safe and sound all together :)

I know, adventures are important, but I just miss family time when we're all apart.

Just call me "Cliff"

Parker is smart...
Parker is logical...
Parker is no nonsence...
Parker is wise beyond his years...
Parker is Cliff Clavin (mailman from Cheers)
Parker knows anything and everything. And if there is something he doesn't know, he will make it up or look it up!

For example...
I called home the other day and this is how our conversation went...
Me: Parker will you take out 4 cubes of butter from the fridge. I'm making cookies later.
Parker: I don't see them
Me: Top shelf by the milk
Parker: These sticks of butter?
Me: Yes, cube, sticks either way, set out 4 please.
Parker: These are actually more like Rectangular Prisms
Me: UGH!
I love that kid!
PS (if you ever need to borrow a rectangular prism of butter, let me know)

Monday, July 18, 2011

Mrs. Moustache

Saturday, July 16, 2011

First Date

A couple weeks before Miranda's birthday(just before EFY) she went up to her room and found THIS on her bed....

She was asked out on her first date!
She was so excited and quickly came up with a cute response..
(forgot a photo)
She made up a note that said
Hey HONEY...The BUZZ on the street is that Miranda would BEE delighted to go with you.   We even found a cute photo of her in Kindergarten holding a Pooh Bear.
She put it in a box with a stuffed pooh bear and tigger and a box of gummy bears with Bee cut outs all inside the box.
She ding dong ditched and left the package on his door step.

Finally the night arrived...the day after her birthday.

McKay came and picked her up and brought adorable flowers.  I really wanted to take a picture of them when he came, but it's not like it's prom or something, so I knew Miranda wouldn't want me to.  Luckily, his mom texted me when he was on his way and asked if I could get a picture of them :) 
Oh yes I did!  He he!

They doubled with another couple Kameron & McKenna.

They had dinner at Chilis then headed to Barnes & Noble for a team scavenger hunt. 

Miranda had a blast and of course she and McKay (team M&M) won!

They went out for yogurt until they were kicked out because it was closing.

Miranda had a fabulous 1st date....I'm sure there will be many more to come, but this one was certainly memorable!