Funny, New York

Hey, look at me guys! I'm on the subway! With sunglasses on!
Well, now that we got that nonsense out of the way...
Just a few things you wouldn't see in your typical American suburb. Honestly, as much as the convenience of the suburbs is just waaay easier when raising a family, hoofing it around NYC made me fantasize about moving into a 500 sqft apt so I could see signs in the subway like this everyday.
What IDIOT does that? Honestly. (Clearly idiots of all nations must do it because the sign was in 15 different languages.)

Hmmm. Good to know.
Not that HIV or anal cancer is a laughing matter but the public service announcements were definitely...interesting. What you can't see very well on this one is the picture of the skeleton in the bottom corner with his anus ablaze. I think the red letters were enough to get the picture. Yikes.
These next few were taken from this glorious little "Pinkberry" style rice pudding dessert shop called Rice to Riches. Best Marketing EVER. Delicious too, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Wise, wise words.
Phew. Thank goodness Rod saw this sign. He was just about to sit on the curb to do his business (as depicted in the rendering) and luckily we looked up and saw this painted on the side of the building. TRAGEDY AVOIDED.

We kind of went all reckless on this last one...

(Dude, it was freaking chilly...)
It's true. It was a ten day whirlwind, especially if that whirlwind was 40 degrees and humid with a wind chill. I took 578 pictures because I was so excited to blog about something other than the backyard.

Landon was a champ. Here is the short rundown.

Wed, March 30--my mom Nan, me, and Landon fly to Louisiana. Landon did pretty well on the plane. I felt spoiled because I had my mom with me to help. Otherwise I would have hit the "delete" button for sure.

Fri Apr 1, Rod joins us (after I drive to the airport at 1am to pick him up). We spend the next few days visiting with my Louisiana family and eating obscene amounts of fried food and crawfish.

Tuesday, Apr 5-Rod and I wake up at 3:45 am, ditch the kid, and drive to the airport and hang in NYC from the Apr 5-10. My mom agrees to fly with Landon back to Denver and then take him to Oakland to do the grandparent hand-off. BIG props to my mom (and all those years of being a flight attend so she is fearless in the face of a strong-willed toddler and fuselage)! The sole purpose of the NYC trip was to be an eating one, and we also wanted to pick a place we would never, I repeat, NEVER dream of taking a toddler. New York fit the bill. We both gained close to 10 lbs in 10 days. This is where I hit the "pause" button on HealthGirl. :)
View from our hotel room
It was great. And I am going to be posting individual posts of the vaycay in reverse order because NYC is still fresh in my mind and Louisiana is definitely going to be a baby-overload.

Off to The Big Easy and The Big Apple

image found here

Yes! Finally! A vacation! A REAL vacation. It's been about 18 months. While we do try to make the best of our weekends and do little day trips here and there, there is nothing like take a full week off to do some fun things.

Landon and I are headed to New Orleans to visit family and Rod will join us at the end of the week. I'm so excited to see my cousins and family down there, eat some great southern food, and listen to some Jazz.

image found here

Then Landon gets to hang out with my Mom while Rod and I go to NYC!!!! I am so excited. We are basically going to the Big Apple for the sole purpose to eat really ridiculous food. Seriously. And I'm just hoping that our fluorescent fanny packs, maps, and baggy jeans (remember when it used to be tapered jeans we made fun of?...) wont make us stand out with all those chic New Yorkers.

I'm not sure if I will ever get over the colossal undertaking that it is to travel with a child. It's astonishing the amount of CRAP that you have to lug with one little child. I'm sure its going to cost us an extra $500 to check everything. I'm hoping for the best. Anyway, there will be lots to blog about in two weeks, and hopefully we will know our permanent family destination when we get back.

We really need this. Praise the glorious vaycay.

Hello there Ham Sandwich

Just some cuteness for the day.

A few more cute ones from Grandma Sherri's visit

Warning: An abundance of photos are now coming your way...

Grandma Sherri and Monterey Bay Aquarium

Last week, my step-mom Sherri came out to San Jose for a visit. We had so much fun and little Landon didn't want it to end. We decided to take a short day trip down to Monterey. As I have mentioned before, we have been in a bit of uncertainty in our lives, not knowing where our options are as far as no knowing where we are going to settle until the company lets us know when and where we are moving. So we have been trying to make the best of it, and enjoying all the fun things in the area as much as possible.
My outfit seemed like a good idea when I left the house...uh, yikes.
I love the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Its just the right size, not too big that you get museum fatigue but big enough that you aren't bored.









Jellyfish are so awesome, as long as they aren't swimming in the same water as you, right?




There is a reason my son is so animated...This was at our favorite Clam Chowder restaurant. Vivolo's Chowder House. Super Cheap, really heavy, delicious clam chowder. My recommendation would be to split your sourdough bowl of chowder because it is FILLING.

And don't worry I was TERRIFIED of a Tsunami the whole time we were there. This full blown paranoia is something I have recently adopted since becoming a Mom. Does any one else get ridiculously paranoid about death, accidents, and natural disasters since becoming a mother?

Getting in the Zone for BYU Basketball

Last week we watched Fredette take BYU to the Sweet 16. Before the game I wanted Landon to be a little bit of a patriot for his dad. Anyway, he decided that playing in the dirt would be better.


Such a boy.