NYC: Day Two

Day two in NYC was fantastic. We slept in, ate a crappy breakfast from our hotel breakfast bar and took to the streets. We traveled throughout Central Park that late morning. We were amazed at first how beautiful the park is in the middle of the big city.

After the trip through Central Park we went back to the hotel and got ready for our dinner cruise that we did with my family that was in town. En route to meeting up with the Fabricius crew we did some sightseeing. Checking out the NBC headquarters, Rockefeller Plaza, the Empire State Building and more! We also grabbed some frozen yogurt and sat back and enjoyed some people watching--there are so many to watch!!

We headed to meet the family and it started raining! My Grandma, Mom, Uncle John and myself snagged a taxi to get to the dock. The boys...I mean men, decided to hoof it. What started as a sprinkle turned into a full out down pour. So much rain that they shut down the train to get in and out of the city! The men showed up completely drenched from head to toe. But they didn't let that ruin the booze cruise as we called it :)

NYC: Day One

Someone once said, getting there was half the battle. I would agree. But, getting there is much more fun when you're with a great guy and you run into the Vandal Plane! That is my silhouette while Shane tries to figure out the flash. There are no good ways to get a picture like this.

When we finally landed in Newark we jumped on a train and headed to a Brazilian BBQ place we found online. One of the things Shane wanted to do while in New York was go to an all you can eay meat joint like we did in D.C. with the Pea and Lentil Board a couple years ago. It did not disappoint! We didn't eat all day in preparation for the meal and we ate until we were stuffed!

After the meal we headed out to find our hotel in Long Island. We decided to take the train to Madison Gardens and then take a taxi from there--what an experience. Shane gets motion sickness when I drive. It was nuts trying to watch him trying to not lose his cookies! We arrived fairly late and after a full day of only sitting and eating we were exhausted and hit the hay!!

More on day two soon....

June 19, 2011

Well, we made it! It was a shaky, stormy, rough road. There were moments I was thankful that my mom is a counselor. We had great moments as well. Moments when we laughed so hard together that we had tears running down our face.

We made it through our first year of marriage. We celebrated by taking a week long anniversary/honeymoon trip to New York City. It was fantastic to get out of Idaho for a week long vacation.

We were true tourists in NY. Getting lost together, riding the Metro the wrong direction, and asking random people in suits on crorners for directions--ALOT! You would think that after four trips to NY I would be a master. We also did a lot of fun things together. We walked a lot, toured Centeral Park, went on a dinner cruise that went right by the Statue of Liberty, attended my younger brothers college graduation, ate amazing cuisine, and danced and sang our hearts out at dueling pianos...ok, maybe I was the one dancing and singing while Shane just herded me out of there!

More Details to come in the following posts....

Sure Happy the Sun is Out!

Those of you who kept tabs on me this winter know it was rough for me and my poor car. I lost track of how many times Shane had to come pull me out! Lucky for us my parents got us AAA for Christmas--and there was one really bad morning that we both had to use it.

I have been told that this past winter was particularly bad and that it probably wont be that bad for awhile. I am hoping they are correct! But, with twisters touching down in Massachusets, I am starting to think that "normal" weather just doesn't apply today. Thank goodness we live in a area where people ask if you are ok, let you borrow their land lines when you run off the road in a "dead zone" and where employers aren't mad when you roll in an hour late and believe you when you say you're snowed in.

My car has really enjoyed the sun the last couple days and I have enjoyed racing to and from home with no worries! I am knocking on wood right now, because snow in June can always happen!!

"He couldn't catch a cold buck naked in Alaska"

I don't know who "he" is--but I have definitely caught a cold, and it didn't even take me getting buck naked in Alaska to do it!! It is flat out cold here!! I spoke to a recruiter a couple of weeks ago who had been up in AK and she hadn't explored much. I told myself, "that wont be me--I will be out and about every chance I get" little did I know that it would be too cold to bare outside! Part of it coule be that I am a huge wimp, part of the reason I have stayed inside as much as I can is because I have a cold, most of it could be that the warmest the weather has been since I have gotten here is -2. This morning when I left my first high school at around 10 am the sun was finally out, but it had disappeared by 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The sun never rises it seems, it just hovers, as does the moon.

The picture above is a shot of what it looks like flying into Alaska. I couldn't get to my camera on the plane but I was amazed at how beautiful the ocean was frozen over. It looked like trees from above--this photo is courtesy of NASA--they have a better camera than I do anyways!

Tomorrow night I am planning to drive up a little north out of Anchorage and hopefully see the Northern lights. It has been so cloudy here that the hotel front desk folks were skeptical that I'd see them, but tomorrow is supposed to be clearer. I am going to go get a hot chocolate and wait it out--wish me luck!!

I got here Monday afternoon, I started my high school visits today and had three successful visits! The counselors here are great and I have had quite a bit of interest in University of Idaho. I will do three visits a day and am hosting a Informational night on Thursday for students and their families. I am pretty excited for it and am hoping for a good turnout!

I miss home already though and feel bad for poor Shane, he is working hard and here I am having a work/vacation!

Catch Up

Wow--It has been awhile! December flew by and Christmas was done before we knew it! We spent Christmas in Tekoa with Shane's family! It was very busy--which was good! It kept me from thinking too much about missing my family. Christmas Eve Shane's family (Terry, Denny, Jenn & Grace) came to our place for brunch and to open presents! It was a lot of fun!
Shane and I got each other couches for Christmas (finally!!) and they came the day before so we were able to enjoy them with the family together!
After brunch we relaxed for a bit, went to Mass at Tekoa together and headed Shane's Grandparents house for a Brouse family dinner! This was probably the highlight of Christmas for me! Delicious food, very fun people, my first time playing Pictionary, and a White Elephant gift exchange made the evening fly by!
I missed going to midnight mass with my family, singing in the choir, and everything though. The following day (Christmas Day) we slept in and went to Denny and Jenn's for dinner and a game night with some members of her family.
Overall Christmas was pretty good! It was my first Christmas away from my family! It seems like every time to Fruitland gets shorter and farther apart with the obligations of work and farm that we have--but I wouldn't change it and I'm just happy that both Shane and I are able to do what we love and be together :)

Thankful for so much...

I have been back from Alaska for over and month and life has just whipped right on by! It took me a bit to get used to driving in Idaho and Washington and it has been great being able to sleep in my own bed again! I do have to admit that I do miss out eating all the time, but am very happy to be in Tekoa where there are familiar faces, and of course happy to be back with Shane.
Thanksgiving sneaked up on me this year, and was over before I could get a second helping of turkey! We celebrated at my Grandparents house in Myrtle, (outside of Lewiston.) It was the first time since the wedding that I have spent time with them and my parents and brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins rounded out the guest list. It was fabulous having the entire 'gang' back together.
My parents and brothers joined Shane and I in Tekoa, WA for a couple days. We watched football, ate great food, and played the Wii. I realize I am very fortunate for family and friends this season! Thank you everyone being a part of my life! Until next time!