Vacation Part 4: New York (FINALLY)!!!

WARNING: Long Post Ok so we have been home for a month and a half now and I am just finishing up my vacation posting, bad I know. We have been super busy and I rarely have a second to do it. On Tuesday the 12th of our trip it was my birthday! We left Boston and drove to New York City. It was a pretty drive. We got to our hotel but we were an hour early for Check in but we were able to because we met this cool guy named Charles, he was so nice and got us in early and gave us a better room. We then got ready and rode the bus into New York. We were told this was the better way to go by Charles so we did it. He ended up on our bus with us. It took forever. We got on the bus at about 4 and he told us it took about 30 minutes to get into the the City. It took a lot longer then 30 minutes it took an hour and forty five minutes. It was awful. We ended up being 20 minutes late for our dinner reservations. We ate at the the View Restaurant atop the Marriot in Times Square. It was very good we both had Filet Mignon. The restaurant actually turns while you are eating. It goes slow enough you don't even notice it but it gave us a good view on the entire city. After we were done with dinner we had to run so fast because we had 4 minutes to get to our show 7 blocks away. Not the best thing to do after eating a huge piece of meat. We made it just in time. We went and saw Wicked. It was so good. I wanted to see it again and again. It was defintely worth the money we spent on it. After the show we rode the bus back to our hotel and it only took 30 minutes thank goodness because we were both so tired. Wednesday we went back into the city, this time we figured out how the train works and found a station close by. It was so much better then the bus and it cost about the same. We headed first to get our bus tour tickets then off to the Statue of Liberty. We won't bore you will all the details but we saw the Statue and the bus took us through all downtown New York like China Town, Little Italy, and Soho. It was nice to not walk everywhere and from the top of the bus you get a pretty good view of the city. We also took a night tour over the Bridges after it was dark. It was amazing to see the city so bright off in the distance. Thursday we did the city again. We did more uptown we saw the Manhatten Temple, went to the Museum of Natural History, The MET, and saw the actors from Night at the Museum filming the second movie! We walked through Central Park for a bit and also saw the Empire State Building. This day it poured so hard for almost an hour and there was a lot of lightening and thunder. It kinda freaked me out a bit. Thursday night we also had bought tickets to the Blue Man Group. We could not find the theater for the life of us we walked in the rain and were soaked for almost an hour and we finally found it with only 15 minutes to spare! The show was awesome it was a small theater. We were on the ninth row. If anyone every gets a chance to see it go it is worth it and tickets really weren't that much (Vegas is a lot more I know that). After the show we figured out the subway system so we wouldn't have to walk the 50 blocks back to the train station. It was actually really easy, cheap, and not scary like I thought it would be.

Here are a few pictures I picked through over 250 from just NYC!

Manhatten Temple!!!

Museum of Natural History
Central Park

Empire State Building

Times Square!
Top of the Empire State Buiding! It was Raining to hard to go outside!

I put this picture of the mean french lady, I

tripped over her and she did not like it! Like I



liked it and meant to she glared at me the whole



rest of the ride!

I look awful thanks to the rain! Wicked Rocks!

Interviews!

Andrew received an email and a letter in the mail yesterday for two interviews for Optometry Schools! The first one is the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis and the Second one is for the State University of New York in New York City. He is so excited! Wish him luck!

P.S. Someday I will put our pictures of the last part of our trip in NYC on here.

Vacation Part 3: Boston

After a good nights sleep for the first time on our trip we started our day in Boston with a trip to Finagle a Bagle. It was delicious! We then spent the rest of the day touring Boston and walking along the freedom trail. It was a nice 70 Degrees out and there was light rain off and on during the day which was nice cause it deterred a lot of people away. We enjoyed Boston very much. The last stop on the Freedom trail is the Bunker Hill Monument. Andrew and I both climbed it, it was 294 steps! We are so out of shape we were dying by the time we got done. It was an awesome view of the city from the top though! We had a lot of good food in Boston. Some good hot dogs, Dinner at Durgin Park where we had the best pot roast ever! After we got done with the freedom trail we went and did a little window shopping. We then went back to our hotel and crashed for two hours we were so exhausted. We woke up and went to a great ice cream place a guy I work with suggested called Picco. We had cinnamon, raspberry chip, mango, and carmel swirl. They were so good! I was a little hesistant to try the cinnamon at first but it was the best one by far. Who would have thought?

Vacation Part 2: Palmyra

So on Sunday the 10th we went to Palmyra. It was a quick like 20 minute drive from Rochester and it was so pretty and green. It poured the whole night before so it was more green then usual. Our first stop in Palmyra was the temple. No one was there but us. We walked around and enjoyed the cool 75 degree weather for a while then we headed to the Sacred Grove visitors center. We had two sister missionaries both from Utah that gave us a tour. We were the only ones there so we got a personal tour. We first toured the Smith family home and then the home that Alvin Smith was building for his family. We also saw where Joseph hid the plates in the floor boards and then moved them a few days later to the ceiling of the little barn and later that night the mob came and tour up the floor boards and didn't find a thing. After that we entered the Sacred Grove and had it all to ourselves. They was no one else around. It was so peaceful and calm. It is such an awesome experience to be there. I was so excited to share it with Andrew. After we left we went and got lunch at Nima's a little pizza/burger place in Palmyra. It was so good and we stuffed ourselves. Then we went and saw where the first Book of Mormon was printed and the Hill Cumorah.

After we left Palmyra we headed for Boston. It was another 4-5 hour drive but upstate New York it so nice to drive through. We arrived in Boston and our hotel didn't have our room clean. You would think at 10 at night they would but no. So we went and parked and walked around and got Lettuce wraps from P.F. Changs. On our way back to the hotel to check in we stopped at Ben and Jerry's for some ice cream. Andrew goes to pay and they inform him they don't take debit cards only cash, well our luck we left all our cash in the car so we look really stupid at this point. The girls were really nice and told us not to worry they were closing in 10 minutes so it was free! It was good and even better since it was free. That was a great way to end such a great day!

Vacation Part 1: Philadelphia and Lancaster

So we got back late Friday night from our week long excursion on the east coast. We had a lot of fun and wish we would have extended it a few more days. We flew the red eye last friday (the 8th) out of Salt Lake to JFK. Neither of us slept on the plane so the whole next day we were exhausted and drove over 400 miles. Our first stop was Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. We had reservations for Independence Hall because that is the only way you can see it, well I fell asleep in the car and we missed the exit so by the time we got there we were to late but its ok we got to see the outside and we only paid $3 to reserve our tickets. Then we went to Lancaster County home of the Amish. It is so pretty and green there. We ate at a family style restaurant called The Good and Plenty. We then went to the outlets there. There are hundreds of them. Then we took the scenic route to Rochester where we stayed. We got there at about 1 in the morning and they gave us a smoking room and it was all they had left. It was so disgusting we put got our stuff out of our bags for the next day and put them in the car for the night so everything wouldn't stink. All in all the first day was tiring but we sure had a great day!

The Yummy Restaurant we ate lunch at in Lancaster
One of the three outlet centers in Lancaster
The red thing in the background is for buggies in Amish town!
This guy was in the Independence Hall visitors center
Us at the Liberty Bell. I look awful I had been up all night!
Independence Hall
Our pretty white Corrolla. Excellent gas mileage!Our lunch at the Good and Plenty. The couple next Dennis and Jackie were hilarious and the couple on the other side used to live in Murray!

cAliForNia

This week Andrew had an opportunity to go to California! He went down to the Southern California College of Optometry Open House. He learned a lot on pointers when applying and interviewing and it got him all excited to get going on applying and getting into school. It is strange to believe that we are already at this point and the next year is going to fly by. The day before the open house he flew down and he walked around Downtown Disney outside of Disneyland and went to Islands Grill for dinner. He was nice enough to take pictures of his food to show how good it was. He forgot to take a picture of the school but I will find one and post it. Southern California College of Optometry

This week Andrew had an opportunity to go to California! He went down to the Southern California College of Optometry Open House. He learned a lot on pointers when applying and interviewing and it got him all excited to get going on applying and getting into school. It is strange to believe that we are already at this point and the next year is going to fly by. The day before the open house he flew down and he walked around Downtown Disney outside of Disneyland and went to Islands Grill for dinner. He was nice enough to take pictures of his food to show how good it was. He forgot to take a picture of the school but I will find one and post it.

Kamas

A few weekends ago we went with my family to Kamas to the cabin. Most of my mom's family had been there all week but we weren't able to go up until Friday when Andrew got off of work. We had dinner, played games, all the guys played horse shoes, watched movies, and just hung out and talked until about midnight. The next morning we had a huge breakfast of fresh blueberry buttermilk pancakes, bacon, eggs, juice, and chocolate milk. It was delicious! Then we just hung out for another hour or so and then cleaned up and headed on our way. Andrew was supposed to work but was mysteriously"ill" so he HAD to call in sick. He just had a case of not wanting to work. We drove with my parents up to see where they where their ward was going to girls camp the next week. It was the most amazing drive. It was gorgeous. There were flowers everywhere and many different colors. Some of the hills reminded us all of the Sound of Music with all the flowers everywhere. We topped this great weekend with a trip to the outlet mall! It wouldn't be a trip to the cabin without stopping to shop on the way home. It is so nice to get away even if it is just thirty minutes away!

Paint

A few weeks ago we painted our bathroom. It turned out so great and matches better then we would have ever thought. We also painted out living room. We will post pictures of that as soon as we get the kitchen done. It is so fun to have our own place to make how we want and paint and decorate how we want.

4th of July!!!

I absolutely love the Fourth of July it is one of my favorite holidays! This year was fun except for the nasty cold I got the night before and slept that night for 14 hours. I didn't get up until almost noon on the 4th but I did feel a lot better. That afternoon we went to my Uncle's house for a barbecue, games, and fireworks. It turned out to be a perfect day. Andrew played volleyball and lawn golf and some of the little cousins played in the water! After dark we did a few fireworks out front. All in all it was a great day!!! Saturday we went with some friends from High School up the canyon and did tin foil dinners. They were really good! It is crazy to think that July is going to be half over in a couple days it is going by too fast! But the best news is we only have 10 days left of Stats for the Summer then were off to NYC!

Date Night

This past weekend we had our monthly date night. Every month the couples in our neighborhood all get together and one couple plans and hosts the night. This month we were in charge so we decided to go to a Bee's Game. It turned out to be perfect weather and a double header. They played the Las Vegas 51's and won the second game in the last inning. It was pretty exciting. After the game they had fireworks which were just as great. All in all we had a lot of fun and thanks to everyone who came!

The Good The Bad and The Ugly

So just when you think everything is going great something always has to happen. I was home last Tuesday waiting for Andrew to get home from work when he called and the second the phone rang I knew something was wrong. He got hit on his way home from work. Its funny cause when you see the truck it doesn't look like it because the girl hit him right in the tire making it so he couldn't drive it. I never thought I would stand in the middle of State Street. I had to go and pick him up because they had to tow his truck. He was ok and no one was hurt but he really wants his truck back. Her insurance company is paying for everything and they gave us a rental car. They called today and said that the truck will be done on Monday! Andrew is glad to be getting his truck back and that they didn't total it. He is also glad we don't have to get a new car cause we don't want a car payment. He is not quite sure why the girl turned into him because he had a green light but were just glad no one was hurt and we get our little truck back!

Vacation

Test Day Results

Andrew took the OAT on May 9th, it took four hours. He did better then he ever thought possible scoring really well and getting in the 90 - 95 Percentile, which means he did better then the other 90 to 95 % who took the test putting him in the top ten percent! I am so proud of him and all the hard work he has done in the last six months to study, it paid off to have him locked in our office day after day only to come out to eat dinner. Now all that is left is to graduate and apply and wait. He will apply the first of August for most and be done by the first of September with all his applications and then it will be the waiting game. We both turned in our papers and we are both cleared for graduation in December!!! We cannot wait to be done with school (at least for 8 months for Andrew). Also we booked tickets to go to New York and Boston this summer in August. Andrew has never been to either place so he is excited to go and have a break from school and work.

Test Day

Everyone keep Andrew in your thoughts and prayers for his test that is coming up on Friday. He is taking the OAT. He has studied for the last six months so let's hope it pays off! Good luck sweetie!