New York Trip

For the past few months Mike has been in contact with a chiropractor in White Plains, New York. While they were texting and talking back and forth Dr. Gertner told Mike that he is looking to hire associates to work in his practice. He told him all the details about the opportunity and Mike was really excited. He was excited mainly because of the opportunity but also because the opportunity is in New York. He LOVES New York! He had been considering New York for the future for about a week when he heard about this opportunity and started talking to Dr. George so we knew a trip to New York was definitely going to happen.

Dr. George told Mike he wanted him to come for an interview and to also see the clinic and observe how he runs his practice. We planned to go during Thanksgiving week since we had more time off school and work but schedules didn't line up and Christmas was out of the question. That left us with 2 options: go this past week or wait until sometime next year. We decided that the best time would be to go now. So on Sunday night we decided and we left for the city on Wednesday afternoon. So Mike picked me up after work and we began the 11 hour drive up to White Plains (for those of you who don't know, White Plains is about 20 miles outside of Manhattan).

We got to the hotel around 12:30am and basically just passed out. Mike was going to be with the chiropractor all day Thursday and half the day Friday. That meant that I would be left to explore on my own. The only hard part was that I wouldn't have a car so I decided to just stay around the hotel property which was huge and beautiful so it wasn't too hard. So on Thursday I spent the day sleeping in, working out at the gym, sitting outside in the park reading and taking pictures of the area. It was fun to explore an area that people don't think of when they here New York. It was so quiet and peaceful and we would have everything we need with the city being just 20 miles away if we wanted to go.

Mike at Dr. George's clinic

I had fun relaxing and taking lots of pictures. The area had tons of trees so you completely forget that you are in New York and so close to the craziness. The nice part is that you have the peace and quiet but there is still lots to do. You can go into downtown White Plains to get more of the city feel or you can just stay in the suburbs. I think we were there at the best time of year because the leaves are starting to change and its cold in the morning and at night but its still in the 70's during the day and the good news for me....less humidity than home :) I also love how they've combined the old and the new. The hotel was updated but it still had that old feel to it.

After Mike was done shadowing we went into Manhattan. I have to say that its not as loud as I thought it would be for being a crazy city. The traffic is really not too terrible either. The worst part in my opinion are all the people walking around. The traffic is always moving unless its a red light so its really not bad. The hardest part is trying to find parking. Another thing that I'm not positive I could ever get completely used to is the smell, the city has a very unique smell to it and where you are depends on how prominent it is.

We got so see the LDS Manhattan Temple :) Its across the street from Lincoln Center

I've never seen so many pigeons in my life! Let's just say....the cars dirty now

Julliard

One thing I wanted to make sure we explored was Central Park. After much searching we found a place to park right next to the park :) On the way into the park we saw one of the many hot dog and pretzel vendors and we had to stop and buy a big pretzel :) The park was beautiful and it seems so out of place in the middle of the city. It completely takes you out of the craziness.

We found Balto!

After the park we just did some more exploring of the city. We got to see Times Square which was amazing! I think it was my favorite part of the whole city. I loved the energy of all the people and the huge tv screens. This is also where a lot of Broadway shows are done and the Madame Tussauds wax museum (which I really want to go see someday) and a ton of restaurants. We also saw the mirror ball they use on New Year's Eve. We also got to see where the richest people in the world live and the city was noticeably cleaner in the areas these people live in than in other areas.

The Empire State Building...It just keeps going and going

The iconic Flatiron Building

See that tall building way in the background...that's the new world trade center

After exploring Manhattan, Mike wanted to leave via the Brooklyn Bridge so that he could start showing me some of his mission. On the way out of the city we saw more beautiful buildings. My first thought when we there was that this city is definitely old but that is part of its charm and its also what I think it so amazing.

 

This was one of the most ridiculous things we saw. I think at this point I would just park. The parking ticket would probably be less than the idling ticket.

 Brooklyn was one of Mike's favorite areas in his mission. It was exciting and still considered city and he loves city life. He took me to a park where we could see the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges and a nice view of New York City.

After Brooklyn we drove through Queens and then Long Island. Mike arranged for us to stay at some friends of his that he met on his mission. It was fun to spend the night talking with friends. Mike also took me out to a nice dinner at Applebee's :)

This poor dog.....

This was the church building for Mike's mission for 6 months.

This picture and the one below are from Flushing Meadow Park. This is where they had a world's fair.  Behind it is where they play the US Open.

We were set to head home on Saturday but on the way out Mike told me he had a cool place to take me. We climbed up to the Pulaski Bridge and got some great views of the New York City skyline. We were so happy we had such a beautiful morning on our last day.

This one really shows how tall the new world trade center is

Lastly because we were tourists we bought I love NY shirts and I told Mike I wanted a picture of us wearing them in Times Square. So being the great husband he is, he paid for parking and we walked 7 blocks to Times Square. It was so much fun to walk around :) I just loved being in New York City!

I hope we can go back soon because it was awesome! I really don't think I would mind living in a place like White Plains and being able to go into the city whenever. The best part of New York city is that you have plenty to do without spending any money. There are always free shows and museums to go see, I just wish we'd had more time. Those shirts are such true statements of our feelings after this trip :)

Tour de Paws

Mike is writing on the blog (I know real shocker). Last Saturday 9/7/13 I rode in a charity bicycle ride for the Humane Society of Spartanburg. I had been approached by one of my teachers to ride in it and he signed me up for the 62 mile course. The ride had three distances to choose from 28, 48, and 62 miles respectively. Of course I didn't want to seem weak to my teacher so I chose to ride the longest distance. Granted I had never ridden in a group of cyclist before the race and my longest ride to date was only 55 miles. I knew I could do the distance because the route was relatively flat and I knew that when drafting off other riders you conserve much more energy.

There were over 310 of us at the start. That included all the riders doing each of the three distances

 It started out going fast and it took me about 12 miles to get into my rhythm so that I didn't burn myself out too early. It was an interesting experience riding in the larger groups. You really don't have time to look around and see the scenery because you are so focused on the wheel 8 inches in front of you out of fear of smashing into the back of them when the whole group suddenly slows down for no apparent reason. There was only one instance that I feared for my life when we had a quick left then sharp right hand turn. We did not expect the right hand turn to come so early so we all slammed on our brakes and my back tire broke free but luckily none of us made contacted with each other. I later let that group speed off and found my rhythm again. It was a very pleasant day so I just spun my way through the course grabbing on to someones wheel whenever I had the chance. At about 35 miles I came across Nicole's doctor who I knew was riding in the race as well. It was great pulling for each other and working together for about 10 miles until I cracked and he left me in the dust. I really hit the wall at about 48 miles but I was able to muscle my way to the finish. I finished with a time of 3 hours and 22 min.Great time for someone that has never ridden 62 miles. I was very excited to see that Nicole was there to cheer me in! She is the best! Great opportunity and awesome people to be around. I hope to continue riding and my next benchmark is to ride a Century (100 mile ride).

Coming across the finish, Nicole was there to greet me :)

All finished and ready to collapse. Don't be fooled by the smile, I was hurting something fierce.

Joy

I love my job. I get to spend my time with adorable little kids and play with them and teach them all day long. Right now I'm working part time doing summer camp which is great cause I stay busy but not too busy. I've gotten to spend more time with my little boys from last year....I'm sad I won't have these little guys anymore. They are seriously the sweetest little boys in the world. I love that I get a big hug every time they see me. I love that they like to sit and read books and I love hearing them tell me the story because they've heard it so many times. 

Now its not all easy and fun. Its tiring and sometimes frustrating especially with 10 little ones around the age of 2 years old. I'm always tired and sometimes I have to drag myself out of bed in the morning and honestly I don't want to go. Then I walk into the classroom and one of those kids (or more sometimes) smiles and comes running for a hug and I can't help but smile. I mean when they climb into your lap and give you a kiss and ask for a story while saying please.....you just can't be in a bad mood. These little ones just brighten up my day...for the most part. Let's just say the positive out weighs the negative :)

 Children are like sponges.
They absorb your knowledge,
they sap your strength,
they soak up your resources
and drain your energy -
but with one big squeeze,
they give it all back.

So I love my little ones to death but I also work with the school age kids. I haven't seen them as much since its summer but some of them still come to camp so I've seen them a few times. When I got back from Las Vegas I got to work and 2 of the school age boys were sitting in the office and when they saw me they got so excited. They ran and hugged me and said they missed me and thought I was gone forever. They were relieved when I told them I'd be back for the school year. Now its sweet when the little ones give me hugs but lets be honest.....they are 2 years old and pretty much hug and love everyone who plays with them. But when a 7 and 9 year old do it...now that's saying something :)

 

Katie and Ben's Wedding Reception

When we were in Charleston Mike and I got to go to my best friend and little sister's wedding reception. I got to be her matron of honor and I was so excited to be part of it. Sadly I couldn't be at the temple when she and her husband were sealed but I'm glad I got to celebrate with her in some small way.

 The reception was in Mt. Pleasant and this was the view from the room. The website for the venue calls this the $14 million view....you be the judge. It was a really pretty place though.

I LOVE what they did with the cake and cupcakes! Their colors were blue and purple so the purple frosting cupcakes were white cake and the blue were chocolate...the vanilla and purple was my favorite. I had to test both kinds though ;)

The 4 bridesmaids :) It was fun to meet these girls and spend the evening with them :)

Congratulations to my little sister! I'm so excited for her! She looked beautiful and so happy :) I hope you and Ben will be happy and love each other more and more each day! The best advice I got was to never miss an opportunity to say 'I love you'. Even when you're frustrated and don't feel like it, saying those three words and giving a little hug can help bring things into perspective again. We love you!

Our 4th of July

This year we spent Independence Day in the desert. We started our morning at the church having a breakfast. Then we attended the Summerlin parade. Honestly, Mike and I had pretty low expectations for the parade. We were told it was amazing but we thought it was an exaggeration. Boy were we wrong!

There were lots of floats and balloons. There was a marching band, a drum line and a pipe and drum band. The parade was great. It was short so we didn't have to be outside for too long. It was about 100* but luckily the parade was a nice distraction from the heat. So we brought water, found the shade and watched for about 2 hours.

No 4th of July would be complete though without a fireworks show (in my opinion). We went to the roof of the Red Rock casino to watch and we could also see a couple other shows.

Happy Independence Day! I hope everyone had a safe and happy day!