2 Weddings and a Missionary (2 of 3)

Rod's younger brother Tod got married to Betsy on Mexican Independence day in the Bountiful, Utah temple. Arrrrriba! They were a very happy, handsome couple and I am glad we got to be a part of the big day.
I didn't get a lot of great pics but here are few I did happen to take.
I see three Mr. Bean's and one Creeper in this picture.
They had their reception where we did, at "The Point" and I have to say, I enjoyed their reception more than ours because I actually got to eat, relax, and enjoy the view. Not to say that I didn't love my wedding, but it was just kind of funny to be back in the same place I was married only this time toting the little Prime Minister Landon. Didn't the little PML look dapper in his prep-school suit?
Us, pretending like we have it together.
Married BABIES!!! Andie Marshall (Landon's cousin) and Landon . jk.
This is a little more accurate.
And of course we had to get the all testosterone picture. Luckily Landon learned how to "fold his arms" last week.
Congrats to Tod and Betsy!

2 Weddings and a Missionary (1 of 3)

We've had a busy few weeks, (thank heavens--something to keep my mind of the fact that we have to move at any given moment only we STILL don't know what city we will be in yet...) so yes, trips to Utah and Palm Springs to celebrate some great milestones of our family and close friends have been a welcomed distraction. I guess I'll start chronologically with the missionary.
I love little diaper butts. Landon has been on a few airplanes in his day but this was the trip where he realized that we left the Earth. He loved take-off but once the cars got a little too small, he was in my lap holding on to my neck for dear life with some worried tears. Luckily, he was a little more calm and introspective as the plane landed.
Next stop: The Ranch. These aren't pics from Christmas, that is May 3rd folks. This is the main reason I don't live in Utah, for anyone who is wondering. I feel for all who do in the winter time. Landon had fun with Grammy in the snow.
He also loves to bug his cousin Sophie. They have a good laugh.
Elder McKinley Smoot with the 3 Stooges. I can't believe my baby brother is old enough to be on a mission to Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Oh, did I mention that Landon had diarrhea for 5 days while we were in Utah? That was especially awesome. We both survived the worst diaper-rash on record with a little help from Grammy and Grampy, along with cornstarch and butt paste.
He was a good little toddler when confined to his towel so we could "air it out."

My Dad is obsessed with Chuck'o'Rama. So that was the pre-MTC lunch spot. Unfortunately this was the best picture I had of the four of them.
It was a beautiful day in Provo when we dropped McKinley off. It's days like this that make be re-think the comment on the picture above. Landon loved the big lawn and the big lawn mowing equipment, and even whispered to me after chasing the missionaries around who were enjoying their P-day, "Mom, I hope they call me on a mission."
Now wouldn't that be something...
It really went more like this "Mama! Ball! Tractor! Kinlee. Bye bye. See ya."
Which I took to mean..."I hope they call me on a mission."

I dream in SUV's and Mini-vans

Rod and I both have small cars, we like them because of good gas mileage and no monthly payment. Rod's is a tiny girl car, (that he thinks is not a girl car--but it is) and mine is an old Lexus smallish girl car too.
This was fine when we were just two lovebirds in a nest (circa 2007).
But now that we are these people....
(even though we like to think that we are these people...But our self-awareness prevents us from really going there...)We need a bigger car. Like, NEED.

I think I was in denial the first 16 months of Landon's life. Why, we could fit everything we needed for a weekend trip in one car, even if Landon's car seat was surrounded with huge box suitcases and sharp objects. Unless Heir Rodney decided to bring the golf-clubs...then something important was definitely getting left behind. Once Landon started getting bigger and my back started hurting from having to get in all kinds of crazy positions just to get the kid in his car seat, I quickly came to the decision that the new car needed to happen.

Now most of my day is spent running errands and staring longingly at SUV's and Mini-vans. So pretty soon, it's going to happen.

What do you recommend?

Instant IQ booster

I got some specs today. Not just-for-funsies glasses either. These are must-wear-everyday glasses. Apparently I've had an astigmatism for 15 years and didn't know it--according to the opthamologist. I always thought I was mildly near-sided. My crow's feet from constantly squinting would beg to differ. Guess LensCrafters doesn't really know what they are doing after-all.

Oh, it's nice to see, btw. I have to say I quite like it. I feel like a different person in glasses. Like a different, much smarter person in a costume. And that different person kind of resembles if Lisa Loeb and the MTV V-jay (not to be confused with va-jay-jay) of olden days Kennedy had a baby...but I'm liking it. I'm really liking that I can see. And that I feel smarter. And that I feel like a new person, or the old person in a costume depending on the minute.

That is all.

Some NYC favs

It wouldn't be vacation without picking up crappy souvenirs.

Just a few little trinkets I really liked when I went to the huge old Macy's in the Big Apple.
I actually ended up buying this because I thought it was cute. It reeks of plastic and I don't know what I will ever put in it, but I thought it was darling.
I debated on this one.
Obsessed with Pylones. These adorable quirky creations from a cool company in France.
A little pricey but so cool and artsy.
Macy's was having a floral show so the building was always packed with tourists like myself taking pics (I might have gone back 3 times...maybe).

great trip.

Being all Touristy and {Wonderland}

I have to say...
Times Square is a rather fun place to be. So we decided that since the only people walking through Times Square are tourists, that we would stop trying to blend in and give ourselves permission to act all silly-touristy-like. (although, due to the fact that I brought bright red and blue coats with me and everyone in NYC only wears black and gray--we never truly blended)
Because if you can't act like an idiot in Times Square, then where can you?
Of course, our main reason for dilly-dallying in Times Square was to see this talented lady perform ON FREAKING BROADWAY in the new musical, "Wonderland."
How cool is this picture of Natalie Hill? I mean, it's like 9 feet tall. I had to get a shot of Rod with mim's impressive cleavage. :)
You guys, I loved this show. I was so entertained. We had crazy-amazing seats and it was so fun to know someone in the cast (way to go RZ). I loved the dancing and the costumes and the whole crazy spectacle of it all. I think this will be something that all the little Wicked-ers will just eat up.
7th row, baby.
And Natalie was so awesome to invite us backstage and actually ON STAGE. Always fun to be in a theater. Reminds me of the good ol' days (sigh).
Rod and I look a little like we just got stunned with a stun-gun, but it's on stage at the Marquis Theater so you better believe it's getting included. :)

Definitely one of the highlights of NYC. Thanks Natalie for making us feel so special! (and thanks Rod for those ridiculously priced but hella-amazing seats).

More Reality TV Dumbness...

Only this time, it's about that lunatic, Charlie Sheen.

When we were in NYC I was hell-bent on walking through Central Park. I had never done it before and I always pictured myself frolicking down the paths around the lake gazing up at beautiful skyscrapers. Too bad it was totally freezing and I'm 30 years old. Not a whole lot of frolicking going on, unless its in my head. Luckily Rod decided to humor me and agreed to walk along the side of the Park en route to the Shake Shack celebratory dinner we decided to have since Rod had found out he passed his last administrator exam WOOT!.
The incident happened like this:

We come out the subway and are greeted by an enormous crowd gathered around Trump Towers. Black SUVs, police officers, cameras, you get the idea. We thought for sure it was The Donald, so we decided to hang out for a few minutes to see if anyone came out. There was this southern lady standing next to us with a super telephoto lens, fanny pack, and talking all serious on the phone about the whereabouts of this "important person." Definitely paparazzi, right? Wrong. And right when I was getting a little embarrassed about incessant picture taking. At least my camera was a little point and shoot and not some 40 inch camera.

We decided we would watch her because she was pretty excited and seemed to be "in the know." All of a sudden she goes, "Oh my Gawd! There is one of the Goddesses!!!"

We were like, "Wait a minute...The Donald doesn't have Goddesses."
"The Donald?! pssht. Charlie Sheen is staying at Trump Towers and is doing his show tonight and he's already late to get to Radio City Music Hall."
"Ohh, Charlie Sheen..."
Now that is one crazy sighting. So, like a pack of weirdos, we decided--like any respectable human, we would stick around long enough to see Charlie Sheen brave the restless crowd. There were definitely a few guys who looked like they wanted to kick the crap out of old Charlie.

This guy wasn't one of them...although I thought he looked very appropriately like a paparazzo.
Then the southern lady told us she was just a tourist, but that she was getting all her info from the paparazzi guy standing close by. (Who was very forthcoming with the info of the Head Warlocks' whereabouts.)

And that, my friends, is where the Sheen story ends. You see, 5 minutes turned into a good 30 and I got cold. REALLY cold. And that Jimeny Cricket in my brain was screaming, "WHY ARE YOU WASTING ONE MORE SECOND OF YOUR TIME DOING THIS." But mostly, I was cold.

So that was the story about how we ALMOST saw Charlie Sheen. And apparently New York felt the same way about his show that night.
We did, however, enjoy gorging on Shake Shack. nom nom nom. So unbelievably, amazingly good in the moment, SO gross the rest of the night.