A family trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming

I guess my summer really wasn't quite over yet. We had a family trip planned for all of us including my grandparents. We stayed at the Crescent H Ranch and it was beautiful. It was so good to be surrounded by God's creation and to be reminded of how powerful it is. I mean it really stirs your soul to be surrounded by such beauty. After being in New York, it was definitely a nice change of pace. It was also fun to get some quality family time. We did so many fun things together: horseback riding, a scenic float trip, canoeing, Yellowstone National Park, hiking, and some fun at the local rodeo. Memomie, my grandmother who is 80, went on 2 big hikes with us- she is amazing. Here is a slide show with lots of pics from our trip.

Time to say goodbye

I can't believe the summer is over- where did the time go? I have had so much fun being in New York- what a fun experience. I came in with little to no expectations and when it was time to go a part of me was sad. Probably because I have not had to work and I have been able to sleep late, go to Broadway shows every week, hang out with friends, shop, & eat at great restaurants- I mean can it get much better than that? Well, I guess all good things must come to an end and I am excited to get back to Texas to see my family and friends. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to come with Ben and experience NYC. He has a job offer, so we may be moving here for a few years. We will see what the Lord has in store. Here are some pics of our apartment, the laundry level, and the East River where we loved to take Bailey and relax. Oh yeah, when I flew home one of my bags weighed 70 lbs (maybe I have a little problem with overpacking). They had to put a tag on it that said, "Heavy, bend your knees." I can't imagine what a real move to NYC would be like :o)

Bailey meets a new friend

Well, on this day I was in need of some cash. I never carry much cash in Texas, but in New York you always need it and it is gone before you know it. I was taking Bailey out and I decided to stop in this little convenient store to pulse. I managed to get distracted in the card section and Bailey discovered a cat. This cat was the queen of the store- she belonged to the owner and she got to go anywhere she pleased. Bailey LOVES cats and she is so curious when she gets around them. Her little heart starts beating so fast and she does not know what to do with herself. The owner was very nice and he would pick up the cat and let Bailey sniff her. After this discovery, we had to stop at this little store every time we went outside and she knew exactly which door to go to. It made me laugh and I couldn't resist her little eyes looking back at me and then looking at the door like she was asking me if she could go in. Can you tell how spoiled our dog is? :o)

My Birthday

So this year was my golden birthday- that's right, I was 28 on the 28th. My sister-in-law and I share this birthday but hers is in April and she is 2 years older than me. Anyway, that morning Ben and my mom went down to the studio and got tickets to Jersey Boys. After that we headed to Madison Square Park and got a burger at the Shake Shack. This place is so fun, especially on a pretty day and they have great burgers. After lunch, we headed down to Union Square to check out the Framer's Market that comes each weekend. It was huge and the food looked great- didn't buy anything though. That night we went to dinner at Pastis. It is a sister restaurant of Balthazar which is another great restaurant in NYC. The food was so good and I had the strawberry shortcake for dessert. We ordered it to share, but I liked it so much I ended up eating most of it myself. We also ran into Megan and Randy at the restaurant- they had plans to go there that night too because it is one of their favorite restaurants. It was fun to get to see them! Next, we headed to the studio to see Jersey Boys. This show was so great- the music was amazing and it was definitely one of the best shows I saw all summer. It was such a great day and I was thankful to have mom there to share the day with us.

A visit from my mom...

Mom came in town for my birthday weekend and spoiled us as usual. I had been wanting to go to Gramercy Tavern all summer because it has been voted the #1 restaurant in NYC over the past couple of years. It definitely lived up to its reputation- the food was great (I had the stuffed meatball :o) ) and the atmosphere was so fun. We had to wait for about 45 minutes so we decided to kill some time at Flute. It is a champagne bar- another fun place with a cool atmosphere. Mom had the biggest drink out of the 3 of us, but I helped drink hers because I did not like mine. She ordered the champagne mojito- it is really good if you ever go there. It was so good to have her here and it was the first weekend Ben and I weren't spending money- thanks mom.

A Broadway show, Times Square, and way too much fun in a tourist shop!

That afternoon we stopped by TKTS to find some discounted tickets. We decided on 110 In The Shade- it was cool to see a show in Studio 54. After the show, we decided to head down to Times Square-we got the usual pic in the middle and we asked a random Asian guy to take our picture. Then we asked him if he wanted us to take a picture of him (this is usual camera etiquette) and he said yes. But, he wanted us to get in the picture with him- ha! I think Shelly and I took one for the team. We also managed to get distracted at a random tourist shop and had way too much fun. We were laughing so hard at ourselves trying on Statue of Liberty hats, sunglasses, mini license plates with our names- I mean the fun was never ending :o) Leslie liked her Statue of Liberty hat so much she decided to buy it and walk around in it until we got out of Times Square.

Some "street meat" and a walk through Soho

After the ferry we stopped in Soho to check out the cheap jewels you can find on the street. We were hungry, so we all stopped and had a "dirty dog" as they call it here. The hot dog was great and were on the prowl for some cute jewelry to wear to the show. We all found a necklace and we also ended up with new dresses for the show. I have had way too much fun shopping in this city!

The Staten Island Ferry

Some of my favorite pictures and then a slide show...

What season is it??

So, Monday morning we get up and decide to go stand in line to try and get on Regis & Kelly and the View. It was POURING down rain and cold! Definitely a random day in the city for the month of July. Well, we did not get on either of the shows, but Leslie and Shelly did make it on David Letterman. I could not go because I had already been on the show with Melissa. I enjoyed a little down time and then met up with the girls after the show. The rain decided to slow down and we headed to the World Trade Center and the Brooklyn Bridge for some pizza. It felt like October, but we still had a great time exploring.

The Brooklyn Tabernacle

Since Ben and I have been in NYC, we have been going to church at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. I love this church- the pastor is great and the praise and worship is amazing. It is the closest picture of heaven I have even seen and so different than any church experience in my life. There are all kinds of people there and the worship is powerful. The first time we walked in, the balcony was shaking from the bass and the music. It has been such a blessing for us and a great retreat from the city each weekend. If we move to New York, we will definitely go to church there. I would love to get involved in the children's ministry. This weekend I brought Leslie and Shelly and I think we were all moved to tears. There was a visiting pastor from Chicago who was great- his message was about how God is in control- Amen! Oh yeah- this is for Leslie "Rhoda, answer the door :o)" Anthony Evans, the son of Tony Evans, (my mom loves listening to him on the radio) was also there providing some guest music. Ben and I were so amazed we went back to the 3:30 service just to hear him in concert- it was worth it. Ben managed to snag a picture with him after the first service. If you ever go to NYC, I definitely recommend going to a service here- you will love it. Here are some pics.