New York In A Day

This guy about sums it up.  What do pigeons do?  Poop and make annoying noises.  Okay it wasn't all bad, only mostly bad.

Here's the deal.  About a month ago I decided to make Steve plan a quick trip to New York to attend a Yankees game for the last season in Yankee Stadium.  He came up with a million excuses and so I basically forced him.  He was going to go alone until some of my family members decided it sounded like a fun trip.  I went along for the ride.  

Three days before the trip Lizzy pukes in her crib.  I didn't think much of it because it was a one time thing and then she was fine.  Two days before the trip, Will gets sick.  Puke his guts up sick.  The poor kid was sooooo dang sick!  The next day I get sick (puking my guts up).  We were so hoping somehow Steve would avoid this.  No.  The night before the trip Steve is puking his lungs out and I decided enough is enough, we're canceling this stupid thing.  Not to be.  Steve decides to wait out the day and see if he thinks he can make it through the airport.  Sure enough, we decide to go.  

Our lovely sitter comes, the kids are happy because she is wonderful and they love her and we're off.  The flight is the stupid Jet Blue redeye which I have taken before and HATE with all of my heart.  In fact, I'm not such a fan of Jet Blue (seriously, why all the hype?).  Needless to say, no sleep.  How does anyone sleep on an airplane?  Most uncomfortable flight of my life.  

Is this sounding like a fun, smart plan yet?  It gets better.

So we land and hit the ground running.  We leave our bags at the hotel and run over to the Empire State Building.  I have never been so I really wanted to go.  It was really cool.  I only wish they didn't make it so touristy.  Let me explain.  When you go to the Eiffel Tower, you buy your ticket and up you go.  When you go to St. Paul's Cathedral, you can get your headset and off you go.  When you visit Notre Dame, you take a peek and on you go.  They don't let you do this at the ESB.  There are people yelling from every corner about how you MUST have a map because if you don't have one, how will you know what you're looking at?  They have a compulsory photo stop where you stand in front of a green screen (on which they later superimpose a photo of the ESB) and they snap your picture like a mug shot.  It is not until you get to the top that you are left alone to see what you came to see.  It's just so tacky.  I'm sorry to speak ill of any US tourist sight, but there you go.  

Here we are atop the Empire State Building.  Steve was being sassy to my Mom and therefore looks like a nutter.  

So we're completely exhausted at this point, what with the no sleep, the barfing, the taking care of sick kids...  Whatever.  On we go.  

Actually, on we didn't.  Steve and I went back to the hotel and slept on the couch in the lobby.  Yes, that's how we roll.  When we woke up, we went over to Otto, the famed Mario Batali restaurant in Greenwich Village.  Oh, how choice this restaurant is.  So choice.  We had an amazing cheese plate for an appetizer and then pizzas.  And for dessert, what else?  Gelato.  Only Mario can match that sweet sin of Italy.  So many others try, only Mario Batali succeeds.  We had three different flavors; salted caramel, creme fraiche, and olive oil.  If you could but taste it, you would understand!  Yes, I said olive oil.  With salt.  

Now by this point we had to hustle our buns back to the hotel so Steve could get ready for the game.  I was overcome by nausea so my Mom and I took a nap and then planned to go out that evening.  This was not to be.  I was so sick.  I think it was just exhaustion but I COULD NOT get myself together to go out.  Duh.  My poor Mom.  We stayed in the room and watched "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" which is very cute, but still, duh!  

Steve was very excited to attend a game in this historic stadium.  The stupid Yankees played their hearts out (actually they didn't) but lost to Boston.  I REALLY hope it was fun anyway.

There's Steve and my Dad at the stadium.  Go Yankees.  

Okay.  That night I call our babysitter just to check in again on the kids.  Everything had been fine earlier in the day and everyone was having fun.  I suppose this ill fated trip could not allow that to be.  She got the pukes too!  Puking her brains out.  When I called the kids were already asleep so she said "we're fine, Haley (my sister) is coming over tomorrow (she and her family had already had this sickness, we thought) and she'll help and we'll be fine".  I felt so bad.  Here I am in New York and there she is puking in between reading my kids bedtime stories!  

So we go to sleep only to be wakened in the morning by my Mom who says, "get up, Courtney's sick (our sitter) and so is Haley".  What?  We all thought she'd had this!  I guess she didn't have it bad enough because it got her.  It got her good!  We weighed our options of flying home early (not really an option) etc. and decided to have Steve's Mom come and get the kids and then have my other sister get them later so my mother-in-law could go to a wedding.  OH MY GOSH!  Haley hears about this and is feeling well enough by the afternoon that SHE goes back and gets my kids and takes them to her house.  At this point I feel like the jerk of the year.  

What do you do when all hell has broken loose at home and you're stuck in New York?  You go to Purl Soho, of course.

Such a cute store.  The Koigu selection was INSANE.  I restrained myself to only two hanks of Koigu and two hanks of some lovely Sheep Shop wool/silk.  Whatever, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more had I not been laboring under the crushing guilt of the entire Bendixen/Linton clan caring for my "possibly still contagious" kids.  

Now, to add insult to serious injury, my Dad got sick on the plane ride home (didn't puke thanks to my genius packing of phenergan (anti nausea stuff from when I was pregnant)).  What a joke.  I told Steve that this was the second to last sacrifice I was willing to make in the name of sports (he's going to a BYU football game in Seattle next weekend).  He IS NOT the insane sports enthusiast this makes him sound like.  I swear.  But I can only take so much!  I always knew I didn't like baseball.  It makes me sick ;)  

We're home now and all is mostly well.  Will has an ear infection and I'm sure Lizzy will too by Monday (you know how these things work).  I think you will all understand the picture at the beginning of this post now!  I REALLY hope all is well with the rest of you.  Have a great week.

Jackson!!!

Now tell me that's not beautiful! (It is, I tell you).

Last weekend we went on a family vacation to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  What an amazing place.  Steve's family goes fairly often but Steve and I haven't been in years.  We stayed at some cabins in a place called Colter Bay.  It was lovely.  SOOO relaxing.  We didn't have any TV, our phones rarely worked (and Steve's conked out completely after Lizzy gave it a bath in the cooler) and we didn't have anything we HAD to do.  We our first full day there we sat along a river by the dam and read, fished, threw rocks, whatever.  It was delightful.  

After we arrived we hung around the town square for awhile and did a bit of shopping (which, by the way, has gotten extremely stupid if anyone was planning on spending any time there) and picture taking...

Will by one of the antler arches

Lizzy doing what she did most of the trip-running from us (did I mention she is a savage?)

Here is a picture of the Lizzard throwing rocks.  She did this for two hours and was angry when we had to leave.  She hit a few people in her efforts to heft and throw the largest rocks she could find.  No worries, everyone remained conscious.  

Here are Steve and Will "fishing".  Will tired of it quickly and the only fishes caught that day were about 4 inches in length!  So much for learning a new skill, Will.  

This was a "road trip", the first road trip we have ever taken with the kids.  They did amazingly well.  We now have a TV in our car so I'm pretty certain that is what got us through.  There may have been a mutiny had Disney movies not been along for the ride.  

We took a little side trip to Yellowstone.  It was amazing.  I haven't been there in probably 14 years.  Mental!  Our first stop was at Old (not quite as) Faithful.  This thing is amazing.  Even though it doesn't erupt as often or as "faithfully" as it used to, they have a pretty good idea of when it will.  They're only off by 10 minutes or so.  We even got splashed with some of its stinky water!  


We then continued our drive of the "grand loop" (I think that's what it's called) and saw some more hot pots and some amazing waterfalls (Yellowstone and Jackson have to be the waterfalliest places in the entire world).  I was amazed at how many different languages we heard while in Yellowstone.  I forget that people come from all over the world to see this place.  I suppose, after being there again, that its beauty is very unique and awe inspiring.  

This is some waterfall in Yellowstone.  I stopped keeping track of names.  It was so great to go back there and see all the natural beauty.  The last time I was there we were on a family "test" vacation with some of our good friends (it worked out, we're all still friends and it was a test vacation because we needed to see if we could handle a longer vacation together.  All in one 15 passenger van.  Why our parents thought that sounded great is beyond me but it really was!) and were chased by an attack squirrel walking around Old Faithful (remember guys?)  Good times.  

So, on the knitting front, I totally thought I would knit on this trip but I read instead (probably a good thing because I think I may now be illiterate.  I haven't read a book in a LONG time and I'm in two book clubs (obviously the idiot of both)). Yesterday at The Tuesday Night Knitting Club I picked up the clapotis again and charged forward.  Good thing my co-president was there there to help me through dropping my first stitch.  It totally worked and the yarn looks amazing.  Thanks again, Kara.  Woo hoo!

I know,  it's a totally crap picture but it really is so lovely how the yarn makes this sort of rainbow when the stitch is dropped.  It's gonna itch the heck out of me but boy am I going to look fiiiine wearing it ;)  

The End.

A Really Big Boy

My Braun Wee Man

Will started preschool last week.  He is officially a big boy now.  I was actually very sad to have him start because it means that in just a few years he's going to start kindergarten.  Here is a picture of him on his first day...

He didn't have a great first day.  Apparently he's a bit too comfortable in his class because he is surrounded by his best buddies, Logan, Luke, Ellie, Cole and Ella.  I guess he thinks it's just a huge playgroup because he's had a problem "tackling"  people.  Oops.  We're going to have to work on that.  

Will wants to be bigger than everyone.  He is constantly asking me if he's "bigger than..." whoever comes to mind.  The other day he was watching the Little Einsteins in the car (once again, Mother of the Year) and he says to me "hey Mom, I'm bigger than the little Einsteins because I have a pinky!"  This cracked me up because, you see, those poor little Einsteins were created, like so many cartoon characters, with a thumb and three fingers.  He's been bothered by this until he realized that it was just because they weren't "big" enough to have acquired a pinky yet.

Poor kids!  

On the knitting front, I have been working on my Clapotis, which is boring, so I have completed a few pair of fingerless mitts (what else?) for gifts.  I made Will one yesterday and he loves it.  This first picture is of Asher, my nephew, wearing the mitt.  I had to put it on him because he is sooooo fat and his hand just looked so cute in it...

 This next picture is proof that Will has a pinky...

You see.  A very big boy.  Now to my tag (a month overdue!) 

The last 3 things I purchased A sachet for my car (which developed a hideous smell overnight), pajamas, spray deodorant for Lizzy's shoes (that girl has some stinky feet)

The last 3 songs I downloaded The "Annie" soundtrack, Michael Buble, 

the "Sense and Sensibility" soundtrack

Last 3 places I visited I guess this means something other than the grocery store.  

So, Florida, the Caribbean, California

3 Favorite Movies Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Notting Hill

3 Favorite Posessions Car, house, wedding ring

3 Things I can't live without Family, friends, knitting (heaven forbid I lose a hand!)

3 Wishes I'm just being selfish here, to live in London, to be in super

physical condition, to have endless money (then I could do all those non-selfish things ;)

3 Things I haven't done yet Visited Asia, done a triathlon, scuba dived in Mexico

3 Favorite dishes Gnocchi pomodoro at Le Nonne, risotto primavera at Cucina Toscana

Steve's chicken enchiladas (seriously)

3 Celebrities I'd like to hang out with Tom Hanks, Collin Firth, Jack Black

3 Things that freak me out Drowning, spiders, family getting hurt

Describe yourself in 3 words Crazy, fun, compassionate (I guess!)

3 Unusual things I'm good at Understanding foreign languages (when spoken), baking these

amazing peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from Bon Appetit magazine (this is truly amazing because

I don't cook), I can put one leg behind my head.

Okay, that took forever. If anyone wants to play along, please do, that was really fun! I will officially tag Nicki, and Hege.

So I'm noticing that my list looks crazy when I'm viewing it (words split up weird etc), I have no idea how to fix it. Sorry!

Speaking of all things footballey...

HERE WE GO!

You know when you have the "what the heck...?" expression, after the explanation has already been given, that you're in for it.  I DO NOT understand football.  It is a ridiculous tangle of rules, loudness and whistles.  In my attempt to understand the sport and to support my husband and 3 year old son (season ticket holders for BYU football) I made one last go of "getting" football.  For the last 4 years, BYU (Brigham Young University, my alma mater) has held a women's football clinic.  After attending, I have realized that there is very little that is clinical about it.  In fact, I don't think I learned anything.  I do finally agree with Steve that not ALL football players are "thugs".  These guys were really nice.  We had the opportunity to get autographs and pictures with the coaches and some of their "star" players.  This was exciting for me since I knew Will would be over the moon about having those "cougars" sign his shirt. 

We did some "drills" on the field with the players.  It was absurd.  Fun, but absurd.  I went to the clinic with some friends from my neighborhood and ran into my friend Bri (sister of my favorite knitting duo Erin and Kara and lifelong friend).  She, poor thing, was there in order to write an article on it for her magazine.  We teamed up for the drills and her husband Adam took some awesome pictures of us.  

This, my friends, is what an idiot looks like...

A fool...

And a dork...

The funny thing is, the "clinic" was actually fun.  I made a COMPLETE fool of myself but I had a good time doing it.  The photo that is now the apple of Steve's eye is this one...

That is Bri and me with Bronco (I think that actually IS his real name) Mendenhall, BYU's head coach.  Steve couldn't believe Bronco was there and that I got to meet him.  Isn't that the way it goes?  I didn't really care about meeting BYU's head coach, Steve would have loved to meet him.  There you go.  Anyway, fun times, nothing learned.  Thanks to Breezy for the pictures (I forgot my camera), I'm so glad she was there, she made being a dork so much fun!.  

Grazie tanto to everyone for your advice on the clapotis.  I'm going to forge ahead with it and hope that washing it will make it wearable.  I've decided that if I like it, I'll make it again (yes, multiple knitter) in a softer yarn that I can wear up against my neck.  

Lovely Yarn! Way Too Itchy!

Beautiful

Yes, it is lovely, isn't it?  So lovely.  I bought this for my clapotis (a lovely shawl/scarf) which I started a few days ago for the ravelympics (a little competition in the knitting world and oops, I forgot I wasn't supposed to start until the olympics actually start but I forgot so I guess I'm disqualified!)  This yarn is from Lonesome Stone which is a company in Colorado.  It's mohair and wool and apparently mohair dyes really well so the colors are unbelievable.  It felt quite soft when it was in a hank and even when it was wound into these balls but now that I'm actually knitting with it-yikes!  It's VERY itchy.  What do I do?  I love the colors and I splurged on this yarn specifically for my clapotis but I don't think I can wear it as a scarf because I will tear my neck to bits from itching.  Oh dear, oh dear!  It'll make for a lovely shawl but I was so looking forward to using the clapotis as a shawl AND a scarf.  Suggestions?  What would you do?  Here's another picture of its loveliness... 

And here...
What to do?  

Okay, enough whinging.  Swimming is going better, it's going to rain this week (yessss!) and it's my 8th anniversary tomorrow!  Yay!  Here's a picture of Will actually floating on his own...
Again those teeth!  How cute are the little bucks?  Floating all on his own (for about 3 seconds but still).  Here is the Lizzard "smiling"...
My kids are incapable of making normal faces for pictures.  It's hilarious.  She is enjoying Will's lessons more now and doesn't cry to get in the water the entire time.  

SO.  Advice on the clapotis?  I'm dying because I thought this was the perfect yarn.  AAAHHHHH!  Up next-BYU football clinic and a tag (I haven't forgotten, Liz!)