NYC!

Okay people... if you ever have the chance, NYC is one of the most amazing places I have ever seen in my life! My mother-in-law, Susan, took Misti (my sister-in-law) and I to NYC on a red eye bus tour. The ride was rather uncomfortable but the trip was really worth my aches and pains!

Our first stop was in Battery Park where we saw the Statue of Liberty, Eternal Flame, Hudson Bay, and had our first encounter with the people who sell the PURSES.... lol The Statue of Liberty was very amazing and humbling along with the site of the Twin Towers and Fire House 10. Freedom Tower is now being built where the Twin Towers were, but it is still a super thing to witness!

From there we headed to Wall Street and saw the Trump Building, the New York Stock Exchange and the place where George Washington took his oath as President.

Then it was onward to Pier 17. This was the only BLAH part of the trip, but there was an amazing view of the Brooklyn Bridge from here. We also walked a few blocks and found the fish market.

Next was Chinatown and Little Italy... You should see the amount of people in Chinatown. It was like taking every person you know and putting them in a 8 x 10 picture. Chinatown is where the Court House on Law and Order is filmed, so I have some great pictures of that! This is also where purses are shopped for behind closed doors and in the back of vans. (SCARY!)

Our driver dropped us off at Macy's next. UM HUGE! Macy's takes up 2 city blocks and is 10 stories high. ( I was on every floor and rode on the original wooden escalators! WahhhOOOO!)
Macy's was one of my favorite parts of the trip, hands down!

Then we were off to Grand Central Station.... This is equally as cool as most things you will ever see. It was a building saved by Jackie Kennedy. We trudged all the way up 5th Avenue gawking in all the store windows, entering stores such as Tiffany's, FAO Schwartz, Apple, and many many more.

It was a trip that I will do again! If you would like to view my pics, check out my facebook. All 260 of them are there!

SO MANY ACTIVITIES!

CHRISTMAS PHOTO STUDIO!

Thanksgiving this year was wonderful! We had a great time with family and truly enjoyed the spirit of the holiday.

Thanksgiving festivities began early as it is tradition to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with my Grandma Liz. I was up early boiling my deviled eggs and enjoying a nice cup of hot coco. Maici and Paul were still sleeping at 9 am so I was actually getting things done! I went into wake Maici and told her it was time to rise and shine so that we could go over to Grandma's for breakfast and watch the Macy's Parade. Maici didn't even open her eyes. She sat strait up in her bed stretched her little arms and informed me that she needed to get her candy bag. (Obviously she thought that it was like the antique festival where the parade participants throw candy. :)) I told Maici that we were watching the parade on TV and she said "First Macy's has the biggest sale of the year and now has a parade on TV, my store and parade are the best ever! Mommy, I love my life!" So, my day started off with a giggle and we were off for a yummy breakfast.

We had dinner at the Money house where we celebrated a room full of birthdays and enjoyed the company of everyone at the table, including Great Grandma Barnhart. Games were played, Food was eaten, Television was watched, and the little ones put on a show. (If I only had a video!)

My evening was not over because at 10 pm we left for Black Friday shopping at Toys R Us in Canton. I WILL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN! My grandma, mom, sister, aunt and I stood in a line of about 1,500 people waiting for the store to open. Cold was not the word for the weather! It hit midnight and the line didn't budge. 12:30, no movement. Then the cop cars came. One by one until there were about 7 or 8 of them. Apparently, a slew of people were preparing to rush the door at midnight because they didn't want to wait in the line. The store refused to open because of the mob and called the police to relive the situation. This was when we decided we had enough and returned to our cars and headed to Massillon to the IHop to regroup our strategy. From IHop we decided to check out the Massillon WalMart and much to our suprise, they had all the Black Friday items uncovered and people were shopping. We grabbed a cart and off we went! Once all the carts were filled with goodies we assumed our place in line to wait 4 hours to check out at 5 am. My sister and I were alone in this effort because we told the others that if they wanted to hit Wooster by 4 that they should not wait. They left their carts and money with us and took off into the night. It is amazing what you see at WalMart when you are standing there for that many hours at a time. From the muffin top to the woman with no teeth and hair that was the fresh product of sticking her finger in a light socket and reaking of coffee and cigarettes. IT WAS AN INTERESTING NIGHT.

On our way home it snowed to where we couldn't see that far infront of us and my sister expressed how much she hated Black Friday shopping and will never put herself through that again! lol. Upon my retun home, I managed to get a few hours sleep, pack for NYC and I was off to the Big Apple.

Please check back in the next few days for picture and a summary of my amazing trip!

My Baby is Sooooo Not a Baby Anymore.

I can hardly believe that the little person to the right is the little baby I remember. She is 5 now and has more attitude at her age than I did at 14. Ok, that may be a slight bit untrue but that it what it feels like.

This is Maici's pre-school picture 2009. I still can't decide if she is looking more like me or her daddy, but either way she can't go wrong. (Now there is some vanity for ya!)

Cider had her big trip to the vet today to have her problems taken care of! We will fill you in on that after we pick her up!

Here comes Thanksgiving. Maici, Paul and I will be watching "her parade" and diving into a wonderful meal with the Moneys! I feel so blessed for everything in my life. I have my wonderful husband, Maici, and the rest of my family and friends. I am very happy to say that I have so much to be thankful for! Count your many blessings! They are all worth the time!

Speaking of counting... I must go and count my funds and budget for the BLACK FRIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA! Then I am off to New York City! Talk about a little fish in a pond way too big for me to tread water in! Don't worry, I will share pictures when I return. If I make it back from Chinatown! :)

Happy Halloween!

Here we are again. Another summer has passed us and we prepare for another Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It seems that the last few year have flown by and This will be Maici's 5th year of holidays.

These are our pumpkins from this year. Paul's is hockey themed to announce his love of Geno Malkin, and Maici and I's are your typical jack-o-lanterns. Boring I know, but we had a great time.

Maici will be a lovely little Cinderella for Halloween this year. She is enjoying wearing a crown and walking in her high heals, but candy is the mission! We have been out trick-or-treating twice and as excited as she is to fill her bag for herself, she still picks out some items that she knows mommy and daddy like.

Maici and I will be going on a field trip with her class tomorrow to a pumpkin patch. We are both very excited to experience this together. I love field trips and can't wait to get pictures of her and her classmates!