NYC

Here's the view of the Empire State Building just around the corner from our hotel.

Here are the boys heading down into a subway station in Battery Park.

The boys and I at the Statue of Liberty.

On the Big Piano in FAO Schwarz.

Cheesy photo op in Central Park.

We got to the Bronx Zoo an hour before it opened!

Here's my favorite picture from the trip. This was in Times Square.

The whole week was sooooo much fun! We already have a list of things that we want to do the next time we go!

brrrrr

We are in NY and I am wondering ... who forgot to turn on the sun? Actually, we did see the sun today for about 3 hours. Yesterday we saw it for about 5. It got all the way up to 72 degrees. Woo Hoo! Heat wave!

They loaded up the truck...

For some reason the Beverly Hillbillies song keeps playing in my head as I go through my checklist:

Gas: check
Bags: check
Maps: check
Snacks: check
Kids: check
Dogs: check
Cats: check
Hamsters: check
Fish: check
Sanity: ??????????

Survival: Texas Style

I got this forward from my friend Amy B. in Germany and thought I'd share it with y'all:

Due to the popularity of the Survivor shows, Texas is planning to do one entitled Survivor: Texas Style. The contestants will all start in Dallas, then drive to Waco, Austin, San Antonio, over to Houston, and down to Brownsville. They will then proceed up to Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Odessa, Lubbock, and Amarillo. From there they will go on to Abilene, Fort Worth, and finally back to Dallas. Each will be driving a pink Volvo with bumper stickers that read "I'm Gay", "I Love the Dixie Chicks", "Boycott Beef", "I Voted for Obama", "George Strait Sucks", "Hillary in 2012", and "I'm Here to Confiscate Your Guns". The first one to make it back to Dallas alive wins!

Mr. Energizer Bunny

My dad just left yesterday after a two week visit. First off, he drove here from NY in a little less than 35 hours. Straight. According to google maps the trip is about 1770 miles. When we go home for our vacation it's going to take us three days. He did it in 35 hours. He'll tell you that he stopped to sleep for a while, but I don't think 45 minutes behind the wheel of a tiny little pick up in a rest stop parking lot really counts for much of anything. During his visit he completed every single thing that was on my "honey-do" list that I had started for Brian. He even fixed a few things that broke while he was here. Here's the list: he replaced all five filters in my reverse osmosis system, repaired plumping under the kitchen sink, repaired two door handles, fixed a light fixture that hasn't worked since we moved in (that one required numerous hours in my 130 degree attic), fixed an outlet in Kenny's room that hasn't worked since we moved in, rerouted the central a/c condensation system so that the water empties on the side of the house that we don't even go near (if you've ever been to my house and had to avoid the pool of water by my back door you'll appreciate that one), repaired the metal fencing stuff that holds the gravel around the outside of my privacy fence (that the garbage men ran over with their truck while he was here), placed door stoppers behind my interior doors so that we don't make any more holes in the wall when the doors get opened too far, fixed my lawnmower, fixed my dryer, hung my extremely large ladder on the fence so it isn't sitting in the grass any more, aired up the tires on my truck, and planted some nice pretty bushes in the back yard. I am sure there is more, but I just can't even remember it all. He was busy and productive every single day he was here. To top it all off, he left yesterday morning and took one of my dogs with him to make my trip easier on me. Somehow in all of that he found time to hang out with the boys and help me with everything that I did to support the Ludwigsen family while they were here. He kinda reminds me of someone else I know.