NYC in 31,600 Steps

Emma, Kate and Jane came home for UEA weekend.

(In Utah, there is a fall recess so the teachers can attend a training workshop- that exactly zero teachers I know attend. Teachers need a break, too.)

Since it was just a short trip and the weather was going to be amazing, we packed a ton of things in our two full days together.

 I love, love, love  street art.

Bryant Park

We caught the morning bus to Midtown and spent Friday sightseeing, shopping and visiting the Museum of Natural History. 

Yes, this guy is famous. 

No, we did not get his autograph because he's a statue and doesn't actually come to life and ask us for gum-gum.

Also, he doesn't like to be touched by fans.

Worst. Dinosaurs. Ever.

19,600 steps- over 9 miles of walking that day. 

In the past month, I've been committed to getting my daily goal of steps in. The dog is going on way more walks, and go figure, he's managed to get house trained. He fought going outside, but since I wasn't going to turn around and return home until he went potty, he  gave up and quickly realized that going outside got him a treat.

Smart dog- feisty and bratty, but smart.

It took him about 4 days of consistent long walks and going outside to discover the joy in marking things.....every 10 feet. He also attempts to pee on any dog that he isn't trying to bite.  

We're very popular with our neighbors who have dogs.

Walks with Badger are not super fun right now, but he's getting better.

This is why you tall people should never date short people. 

I was glad to see that after a solid month of walking every day (except for when I was sick) I was able to keep up and it wasn't even that hard for me on Friday. 

Saturday was another story.

We all had Jell-o legs, but we also had theater tickets, so we forged ahead. 

We were able to get tickets to Phantom for a really low price and everyone had a wonderful time.

I will be forever thankful to my friend, Wendy Koller for showing me how to get the cheapest theater tickets, so that now, when we have guests, we can actually afford to go to shows. 

It was fun seeing each of the girls connect with and react to different scenes, I was crying during my favorite scene, where Raul's life is being threatened unless Christine vows her love to the Phantom. 

Emma & Jane have been to three Broadway Shows, Kate has been to four and Romy has been to two. I've lost count, but I think I'm at six or seven. 

Five years ago, I'd have sold a kidney for the chance to just attend one Broadway show in my lifetime.

It makes me so happy that my kids get to experience it and that they know we're all very lucky and blessed right now to be able to do this. 

We had Doughnut Plant for breakfast, NY cheesecake for lunch and Popeye's for dinner.

Super healthy.

It's a good thing we got in all of those steps.

We made a Popeye's convert out of Kate. KFC is lovely, but oh, Popeye's.... 

There isn't one close to our house, thankfully.

The girls flew back to Utah on Sunday, and Kyle and Rebekah came over in the evening to play games. 

We barely defeated the zombies, but Wanda had to die, in order for the rest of us to escape.

RIP Wanda, the roller skating waitress who had no weapons save a frying pan. 

You had to die because you sucked.

I' m not dead yet.....

We sure do love Kyle and Rebekah and can't wait for their baby to be born this spring. 

I might possibly go crazy with baby gifts for them, and since they are like younger brother and sister to us-- I get to be Auntie to their baby and Aunties spoil children with presents they don't need.
That's the rule.
 I read it in a book somewhere.
Probably the Bible, so it MUST be done.

Today, a cold front has blown in and the kids are bundled up in coats and I have to figure out how I'm going to get those steps in when the weather is just too cold.

Matt has finally succumbed to that awful sickness I had 2 weeks ago and he is home, in bed, coughing and dying. 

I've got 50 pounds of apples that I'm going to make pie filling with and can this week, and we have the big ward party coming up this weekend. I'm in charge of decorations, so I'll be busy making Halloween crafty messes all week.

Life isn't quite the same now that the kids are getting older. 

It's strange how much time and energy went into just managing the chaos when they were all small and home all of the time. Now, people have routines, jobs and everyone wants some alone time to decompress each day. The house is quieter, there aren't toys to trip over and plates of cookies don't get eaten within 20 minutes of my taking them out of the oven. We work out where the cars are going to be and aim to have at least one night a week where we can all be together, but usually we can only manage to have most of us together.  We are all very busy with our individual things and it's a strange season. 

I guess I think they are all strange.  I'm one of those people who wakes up every day and life still surprises the heck out of me.  

I always have the same sense of wonder at how each miraculously ordinary day unfolds, even when things are terribly predictable and obvious to others. 

Eh, I don't hate that about myself. 

The world is crazy wonderful, even when it's quiet and boring and cold.

A New Tradition- If We Don't Have Heart Attacks First

School started on a Thursday in Springfield, New Jersey, which was kind of strange.

And I sure do love this family of mine. 

We miss the older girls every day, but we know they would be with us if they could. 

We started a new tradition this year, the Back to School Family Feast.

Earlier in the week, with the help of the family, I created the menu. 

I'd asked each person what they would have me serve if they could only have one thing- anything for dinner. It could be dessert it could be a drink, a main dish....whatever.

On Sunday, I decorated the table and presented the kids with our feast.

We had: 

hamburgers (Greyson)

mashed potatoes and gravy (Zane)

pizza (Parker)

sausage links (Mom)

grilled cheese (Dad)

and 

Dutch Apple Pie (Romy)

It was absolutely the most unhealthy thing on the planet, but we had so much fun. 

Each person set a goal for the year and we brainstormed about what our family mission statement would be for the 2014-2015 school year. 

We talked about things we are looking forward to, things we are thankful for and things we hope to change this year. 

We drank Cokes and laughed when people turned down foods that they normally would fight over, because nobody could eat a cheeseburger AND a slice of pizza AND a grilled cheese sandwich AND Sausage AND mashed potatoes AND pie- even though the boys certainly tried to.

 We had a lot of leftovers, but there are worse things than having leftovers of your favorite food.

It was a good way to start the year, it added some fun and the Olson silliness that we enjoy. 

It was fun to start a new tradition, we will see how it changes over the years.

We don't have that many back- to - schools left, after all. 

I hope the kids look back on this and it makes them as happy as it made Matt and I to see their shocked and amused faces as I brought out the feast food. 

I hope your back to school week included something fun, if it didn't- you still have time, there are plenty of weeks left n September.

As we celebrate and have fun, our hearts are with our dear friends in Murray, Sarah and Andy.  They were in our ward in T-ville and when they moved to Virginia, we were all so sad to see them go, but we were excited for them, too. Years later, they had returned to Utah and we were the ones moving far away. I was so freaked out and it was Sarah who gave me the confidence and comfort to trust that the Lord was with us and it would all be just fine- wonderful, even. 

Their son, Magnus, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and in the past two weeks, their life has turned upside down and inside out.

You can read their blog here:  http://sarahandandyfamily.blogspot.com/

We love you guys, your names are in the temple here in the big city, and we think of you every day and pray for you. I wish there was more we could do to help. If any of my readers would be willing to pray for and put their names in their local temple, I would be personally thankful.

Sarah, Andy, Laylah, Jonah, Daphne, Baron & Magnus Collette....we love you. 

And cancer sucks.

Begin Again

Less than an hour ago, I dropped Greyson and Romy off at school.

I may have started singing in the car as I drove back home.

Greyson began his Sophomore year and Romy is starting her final year of Junior High. 

Oh, I hope 8th grade is easier on her than it was on me.

That was a tough one.

She has good friends and I am sure it will be just fine. 

They grow up, don't they?

Parker has registered for school and all of the paperwork is in, unfortunately, the classes he wanted to take were full by the time he finished, so he will start next term.

But next term for sure, and that is a really good thing. 

Getting his life back on track has been a slow road for him, but he hasn't given up.

Emma is back at the U, and has a job at Subway. She's living in the dorms again, and hopefully her roommate this year will be friendlier than last year.  I am excited for her to have more independence and to have the experiences she is having. 

Zane has a job, working for a flooring company that is owned by one of our closest friends. It's all hard, physical labor and just what he needs as we wait for his mission call. (There were a few hiccups with the paperwork, I didn't quite get all of the doctor clearances needed.)

Today he is working a job in NYC, he's driving into the city all grown-up like.

I still don't have the courage to drive in Manhattan, but he's a confident driver who learned to drive in New Jersey. 

Beware, Big Apple drivers.

Kate is busy with play practices, she tends to fill up her schedule during the school year and Senior year has many opportunities to do the things she loves. 

She and Jane both made it into the advanced choirs at their schools. 

It's fun to see that they not only got 'pokey outie ears" from Dad, but they also got his amazing ability to sing.

 (Did you know Matt can sing? Like an angel- a giant, 6ft 7 angel. He has an amazing voice.)

Jane, I believe, is attending SLC comic-con with Emma today.

 I think it's a good reason to ditch school. Comic-con is awesome and I hear Salt Lake is one of he best.  With today being Thursday, even though most of the stars will not be there, they will also be spared the crowds. 

(If you see John Barrowman, swoon for me!)

 She's playing violin in the school orchestra, but she's really sick of it and only hanging on so she can go on the orchestra trip this year. She is also singing in the advanced chorus at her school. Like her sister and her father, she loves to sing and has talent.

(Did you know that I can sing as well? Yep, but I don't enjoy it so I only  sing in the tub or to babies.)

Matt and I have started to look for deals on flights, the girls are coming out for UEA and Christmas this year and Matt and I hope to attend Kate's play. I may not be able to swing it, but Matt will go for sure.

 After I have purged the house of all of the summer messes, I am going to start a fairly large sewing project. We will see if I actually see it through, you know I am only good at 80% of any project. I did FINALLY finish my accent wall two weeks ago. It only sat there, with a stencil taped to it, needing two panels painted for a year. 

I also painted the front room. 

I love the color, but the room feels very cold, like a doctor's office to me. I need to figure out what to do to warm it up, because I'm not painting that space again. Our home has great paint colors, but it's all flat paint and after two years, every wall outside of our bedroom has some sort of mark and grime on it that won't wash off. 

With that, the next season has begun.

It was even a little bit chilly when I dropped off the kids at school this morning.

I'm ready to begin again.

Meet The Met

Have you ever been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC?

You MUST go.

I don't care where you live, what your life plan is.

You simply must go to the Met at least once in your life. 

 Emma had not been yet, and it was high time she checked this one off her bucket list.

Everything you see is incredible.

 Sometimes, you find things that speak to your soul, or at least, try to peer into it through crazy, beady eyes.

Join ussss.....It's blissssss......

 Apparently, the steps were super poopy today, so Emma stood up for any remaining pictures in order to escape the plastering of poop that the pigeons created.

It was a good day in NYC for all.