A bite out of the Big Apple!

Well, in the midst of all our playing, our kiddos were WORN OUT!! SO WONDERFUL Calli and Matt were SUPER sweet and said to us- let us take Hailyn for the day, go play in NY and have fun!! Oh my goodness!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! Seriously, you guys are the BEST!!!! They bent over backwards and just made our stay so super fun- you guys are incredible!!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYHTING!!! So whjile Hailyn playe dwith Taylin and Dixon (she had WAY more fun with them than she would've had with us anyway) Ryan and I got to go play in NY!!! Calli, Matt, you guys ROCK!!! So, we basically got a TON in during our day trip- we left super early in the 'stang and drove to the NJ ferry. The ferry took us across the Statue of Liberty- the bottom pic shows us getting there- this first pic is at night as we were leaving- the torch just lit up- SO COOL!!!

We got to go see this:

Broadway theatres are small!!! I'm used to Vegas- still the music was fabulous!! 'Come on babe why don't we paint the town- and all that JAZZ!'
and paint the town we did!



The LOVE statue- some sweet girl offered to take the pic for us- she even got out the homeless man sleeping under the L!


Our first stop was ground zero- we went into the memorial store they had and I'm just really glad we started the day off there- it was still an emotional place to be- and I just pray we always remember that day- and what it meant for our country- and God bless all those who lost their lives and fought/fight for us daily! This picture was at station 10 right across the street from ground zero- they had a plaque on the side that stretched the whole block and memorials still up.

This is on top of the rock! rockefeller plaza baby! We even got a pic in front of 30 Rock- I didn't see Tina Fey or Alec Baldwin though- dangit! top of the Rock is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!That's Central Park in the back- we walked around there for a while- it's HUGE!


Empire State Building!


FDNY truck- that's a batcave symbol on the side- how ryan is THAT?







TIMES SQUARE!!!!


Ground Zero







We also ate at the famous Ray's pizza and also at MAGNOLIA'S- it's a good thing Vegas doens't have a Magnolia's- Ryan and I would eat there EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Yes, it's THAT good!!!! It was a busy, funfilled day and we absolutely loved our day trip to NYC!!! THanks Calli and Matt- for EVERYTHING!!! I'll post more pics soon- for some reason it's taking my computer forever to upload photos so this may be it for today- we'll see!!!!

PHILLY!

I am SO behind on blogging it's not even funny! oh where oh where to begin? I honestly thought this summer I'd be lounging around, taking a break, Hailyn would love the mommy alone time- WRONG!!!! Hailyn misses the preschool kiddos a TON, she's sick of me, and we have been BUSY BUSY BUSY doing just fun stuff the entire month of June! After school got out, we headed to San Diego with some friends and had a blast! we went to the zoo, the beach, ate a waffle ice cream sandwich that I was in love with and basically just enjoyed the break! It was awesome! Thank you again so much Bramdon and Sandy!!! I have some gorgeous pictures from that trip- that Brandon took- so as soon as I (ahem Brandon get on that eh?;) I'll post a lovely wonderful post on all the fun we had- because seriously, we had a blast- and I ate the best fish tacos of my LIFE!!! and Hailyn- she was in HEAVEN! I need pics Brandon so I can properly post here!


(NOTE! This post is excessively long!!!)
NEXT!: I have pics of this adventure!
After San Diego- we ventured back east- to the city of brotherly love- we went to visit our friends Matt and Calli in PHILADELPHIA!!! It was INCREDIBLE!!!! I wish we could have stayed longer! and boy did we cram a LOT into a week! I'm ultra impressed with our mad skills! Another trip back east is needed for sure!!!! we'll be back!!!! Anyhow, here's how this trip went:

Getting packed to go! Hailyn wanted to make sure we did not forget her!




Ryan Hailyn and I flew during naptime to Philly- with the time change (EST is three hours ahead of Vegas) we got in at 1130ish- I thought Hailyn would nap the whole time- nope! She unpacked her blanket I got for her and she was not interested in sleeping- Ryan was though- she was (sorta) good for the flight- not crying but wiggly and impatient and of course I brought no entertainment for her, assuming she would sleep- HA! I did hit the dollar store in Philly and bought $10 worth of entertainment, of which she slept the whole time home. Sigh- lesson learned- prepare and you will never use it- better safe than sorry! Anyhow, she did great home, there Ryan slept by the window- I took many deep breaths- Hailyn was an infant in lap baby but the nice lady in the aisle seat movesd to another aisle seat so we could have the whole row- everyone on the plane was super nice! So we get to Philly, Matt picked us up and we picked up our rental car- we got a STEAL of a deal on it (thanks for the research Matt!) and I was nearly certian Ryan would try and drive it back to Vegas- behold- the awesome car we had for four days!



It was super sweet! Hailyn fit nicely back there- I am considering making this our new family car- seriously!

Anyhow, the next morning, Ryan, Hailyn and I piled in the 'stang and Calli and her two cute kiddos got in thier car and we went to downtown Philly. We saw many of these:



Hailyn kept saying 'horsy' and pretty much seeing all the animals made her trip back east.

WE got to go to the Phiadelphia Fire Museum- it was AWESOME!!!!


Hailyn standing in the spot where Abraham Lincoln stood and gave an address (I have one of me where JFK stood!)


The oldest street in America- AWESOME! Ignore Hailyn- she was having a moment when she saw a coveted balloon another boy had- sigh- this child and balloons!


Independence Hall!

The next day we headed to Lancaster PA to visit Amish country- Intercourse PA!

The transportation in Intercourse!

Of course Hailyn HAD to feed the lambs! She also saw lots of 'horseys' and loved seeing all the animals!




I'll make another post about the rest of the vacation- but it was AWESOME!

Beach Beauty....

LOVE San Diego- love her!

Closer to 2 than 1- I sorta want to cry!

Becasue she's not my baby anymore- she's becoming a big girl! I'm hoping to transition her bed this summer- and potty train! we'll see how that goes!


Ok, I HAVE to be better at posting- I just HAVE to be better!!!! Well, it's no secret, I am not a fan of change- I like the constant. Npt that I don't like to try new things or travel because I DO but at the end of the day I love coming home to the the comfort and familiarty of my home!

So the news that myt baby girl is turning into a PERSON is really throwing me for a loop here. I guess it's not news, it's a fact, but still. WE have had SO many changes this past year- two years really, that I was sorta hoping she would remain my adorable small squishy love bug but nope! the mean girl has to go and GROW UP on me- and FAST! NOT FAIR!

She is discovering HOW to do everything- she has to put her own shoes on- and she picks them out- she also has learned how to get to where she wants to be (aka pushing a chair across the room to unlock a door- uh oh- she's already trying to sneak out!)
(pic coming soon!)
She LOVEd the first month of nursery- HATED the second month! She was a screaming banshee the entire month for the whole 2 hours straight- she finally calmed down a BIT last week- fingers crossed! Especially since I have to go to church solo many sundays!(Ry's working)

She says phrases- like 'don't do that' yup smart mouth- awesome! WE are modeling (trying) good manners and behavior for her

She has had a ROUGH month in nursery (sad since she did great the first month) she did MUCH better this last week becasue I explained to her she was going, my girlfriend Kristi sat with her (bless her heart!) and I told Hailyn I love her and would be back soon- she was sad for a bit but NOT like the past month! FINGERS CROSSED!!!! So different than me- I RAN back to nursery as a child!

She has thrown herself on the ground when she doesn't get her way- tough kid, I'm the LAW get used to it! haha (evil laugh insert here) she gets over her pout session quickly though!

She has her moods with food- sometimes she eats a ton- other times I force gaterade down her just to make sure she stays hydrated!

She is picking up SO MUCH! I am having a blast seeing how her little brain makes connections!(she's so smart! ;) no bias here)

SHE LOVES ANIMALS LIKE I HAVE NEVER SEEN A CHILD LOVE ANAIMALS TO THIS MAGNITUDE! I'm thinking she will be a veteranarian! She went balistic at the zoo!(pictures of our awesome San Diego trip coming up soon!!!)

She had her first visit with the dentist and her teeth are looking good! (mine not so much!)

Her phrases 'stop that' and 'don't do that' lead me to believe she will someday be a bossy big sister (no I'm not annoucning anything)

She is a drama queen already! will throw herself down on the floor in a dranatic flare sorta way- awesome.She has also deicovered my wallet and taking out my credit cards and stashing them for her use later!
She is an independent, smart, savvy little girl- not my baby anymore- I sure love her!