"Empire State of Mind"

Danny and I just had the best week in NYC!! We were so lucky to have amazing friends (Scott and Ashley) that found us CHEAP flights, and let us stay with them to boot! We had such a blast! Here are some of the highlights.

Day 1:

This was the view from our bedroom window. UH-MA-ZING!

The one thing I HAD to do in New York: WICKED! My one splurge. (Hint: I got the very 2 end seats on a row, they were still pretty close to the front, and we could still see everything, and they were half the price of the seats next to them!)

It was raining, so we couldn't do the ice skating at Rockefeller Center, it was pretty much a lake.

We finished the day at Malecon, a Dominican place by S&A's and it was SO GOOD (we may or may not have eaten there twice)!

Day 2:

We went to the South street Seaport Museum and then rode the Staten Island Ferry. We LOVE the SIF, it is free, and has great views! We rode it right at sunset and saw some amazing things!

Then we met up with Ashley and had seafood right on the pier. Great view! It was so amazing.

Day 3:

We started the day at the Met. We went there last time we were in NY, but only got like and hour before it closed. We love taking the tours; they're free and make the museum a whole lot less mind-boggling. It really is a maze, so it's nice to have them show you around. There are tours on all different subjects running all day long.

Then we looked at some buildings around downtown. Grand Central Station:

Chrysler Building:

We met up with S&A and headed to Grimaldi's in Brooklyn. We LOVE that place, and they have the Best white pizza. (Why am I the only one who looks like I am in pain?)

Then we walked back to Manhattan on the Brooklyn Bridge. (Again, I look like I'm in pain)

Saw some amazing views.

Then we walked down canal street for a bit; always an adventure :)

Day 4:

We went to Central Park and saw Belvadere Castle. There were some awesome views from the top.

Then we rented a row boat on the pond, and it was so fun! The boys were nice enough to row us around.

S&A

Some fun "Polaroids" from my iPhone. I love the vintage look.

Lunch at Shake Shack.

(We may have gone there 3 times on our trip just so I could get this Pumpkin custard! -Worth it- They kept changing the schedule on me!)

That night Danny and I took the Harbor lights tour. We took the day cruise last time, so we decided it would be fun to see the harbor at night. (Not great pictures- it was dark and far away)

The Empire State Building was orange and black for Halloween.

Saturday night Caydence went Trick-or-Treating with Paige (we left her home with my family). I was sad to miss her first time! She was so adorable!

Day 5:

We went to church with S&A, and it was so great to see a non-Utah ward. We loved it. Scott made us an amazing dinner, and we took it easy (Ashley warned us Halloween is a gang initiation holiday, so we were a little nervous to head outside)

Day 6:

Saw some more cool buildings. The flatiron building:

The Empire State Building:

Then we met up with Ashley and headed to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It was so fun!

Day 7:

We started the day at the temple which was AWESOME. I love that the church is the same no matter where you go, but still so different. It was so beautiful.

Then we headed to dinner at some random mall we found but we had the most amazing view of Columbus Circle.

Ever seen "Say Yes to the Dress"?

Seinfeld?

Day 8:

We took it pretty easy on our last day- walked through the city, got some cookies from Levian to take home to thank my family for watching Caydence, then took a cab to the airport that night.

Must haves for an amazing NYC trip:

1- An iPhone: It was a lifesaver! Subway maps, finding nearby restaurants, just using the internet anywhere!

2- Danny's work badge: Got us in to all the museums for free!

3- A subway card!

4- AMAZING friends that let you stay with them, eat their food, and show you around the city. We couldn't have done it without you S&A!!!! Thank you so much!!!

All of summer 2010 in one post!

I'm feeling too overwhelmed to go back and do individual posts from this summer, so you get it all in one!

My dad turned 50 (I hope he doesn't mind me posting that!) and we surprised him at work with decorations and cake and ice cream. This was my first attempt at a 2 layer cake.

Just a couple more cakes from my class I took on fondant.

In July the girls went to California for an Eynon family extended reunion (my mom's dad's family). This is just my Grandparent's descendants (those that were there). It was so fun to meet all of these people I have never met, mostly my mom's cousins and their families.
While we were there we hit up Seaworld and Disneyland with the cousins.



We drove home from Southern California, and 24 hours later headed back to Northern California with Danny's family to stay at their cabin. Caydence was such a trooper! She is an amazing traveler! No tears, no whining, and she entertained herself for at least 5 hours with a roll of paper towels! Who is this kid??!

Unfortunately this is then ONLY picture I have from the cabin, and we've been having a hard time getting pictures from the rest of the family's cameras, so hopefully we'll get that figured out soon.
Then in August Little Richie got married. It was such a great day! They are so cute!
And could you die over this dress!?! I made her the sash to match our bridesmaid's dresses from some extra fabric. She was adorable!
This is at the wedding luncheon at the Joseph Smith Building. I put her hair in sponge curlers and it turned out so cute!! (once it settled down a little)
My mom and I made all of these favors for the luncheon. They took FOREVER but they were sure cute. They had Hershey's nuggets in them.
We went to the Bee's baseball games a few times this summer. They are always fun (and cheap!). Caydence decided she wanted to wear the popcorn bucket as a hat.

Well, that pretty much sums up our summer! It went way too fast! But we had lots of fun.

A preview

-Tarin

Haircut!

Just kidding, it's just tucked into her bib. But I was wondering if it was a good representation. I have been going back and forth about chopping her hair off. I make up my mind and then chicken out. It is almost to her waist in the back, but there are so many layers, and I can't leave it down because it gets all in her face. I need help! What do you think? (PS- I would cut it in an a-line and actually style it, so it would be way more cute than this picture)

-Tarin

Thriller

We just had an AMAZING night at Thriller put on by the Odyssey Dance Theatre. (thanks to Danny's mom for the invite!!)

So what is wrong with this ticket?....



It's for FRIDAY night! We got there and found people in our seats- not uncommon- but their tickets were for the same seats! Then we realize our tickets were for last night. Long story short, half of our tickets were for Saturday and half were for Friday, even though they were all purchased at the same time and all connected! Danny's mom said the website was acting really weird, and the ushers said we weren't the first ones to have this problem. We asked if we could just sit somewhere else, but it was sold out. So they set up chairs for us right in the front row, but the fire marshal made us move, and we SOMEHOW found a group of just enough empty seats for us! (it's a good thing we didn't end up in the first row because Paige was practically in my lap when the performers jumped into the audience and we weren't even close to them :)

And these lovely ladies were roaming the lobby in true zombie character.



Such a blast!!!

-Tarin

Princess

Caydence loves to play dress up, so luckily my mom has a huge box of dresses and accessories for her to play with.

I love this girl!

Caydence is so funny! We all just love to sit and let her entertain us. Her new favorite thing is to "fly" on great grandma Betty's swing and then "play dead." Every morning when I get her out of bed she asks "gama Betty?" It's too cute!

-Tarin