The Empire State

Does anyone know why New York is the Empire State? I don't, but I probably have it in a brochure somewhere.

This evening we decided to explore "The Village". Doesn't that just reek of hip yuppiness? While wandering aimlessly, we spotted the Empire State Building and headed towards it. Although it was getting late, we decided to go up and check it out--cost, wait time, etc. We figured we may as well do it since we were already there and may not have time tomorrow so we bought tickets and headed for the line. The wait (for the elevator to the observation deck) was supposed to be an hour to an hour and a half and we were starting to reconsider the whole idea.

D went and asked an employee if she thought it would be just as busy tomorrow and she told him just to wait for a minute. After directing a big group of people to the incredibly long line, she moved a barricade, and ushered us to an elevator. Without us asking, she let us skip the WHOLE LINE!!! We were stunned! Before getting on the elevator, D ran back and thanked her again. We couldn't believe how nice she was!

So we got to the top and looked around and it was awesome. It got dark while we were up there and the city just looked beautiful.

Unfortunately, in my old age I'm starting to get a little bit afraid of heights. Only if I think there's a possibility someone might fall from them, and it just so happens there were spaces in the wire fencing big enough for a kid to climb through (and plummet from).

So although I did enjoy the view, at the same time I was getting more and more sick to my stomach and less and less inclined to let my children anywhere near the edge. (Max is a really excellent climber! Okay, I'm getting sick thinking about it again.)

Anyway, despite my paranoia, it was a cool experience made even cooler by the "To Be Commended and Forever Praised" female employee who got my boys home and in bed that much sooner.

Tomorrow we're going to see the Statue of Liberty! Hooray for the Empire State!

New York On My Mind

Observations of NYC:

1. People are no more rude here than anywhere else. In fact, most people I've talked to have been extremely friendly and helpful. Especially the dog walker who got me un-lost and the chatty guy in the laundry room who was whistling "My Fair Lady" songs the the mom who pointed me to the nearest food place.

2. There is a serious garbage problem here. Piles of garbage wait outside buildings for indeterminate amounts of time, rotting away in the heat. I'm not throwing stones, because I don't know what to do about it, I'm just saying...

3. There seem to be fewer homeless people here. At least in Manhattan. There are lots of "performers" down in the subway, but seemingly far fewer then we used to encounter in San Francisco. (I guess maybe they don't give out really large cash hand-outs like in S.F.)

4. I didn't think it possible to find somewhere more expensive then S.F., but this is the place. I almost passed-out the first time I went grocery/drug store shopping here. $10 for a tube of toothpaste? I'll brush with sand before I pay that much. $8 for less than a half gallon of ice cream? I'm now on a diet. (It's probably for the best to stop eating ice cream since I'm out of toothpaste. .We're currently using Maxwell's Sparkle Crest.)

5. A lot of women do not wear bras here, and frankly, I don't blame them. It's really hot and humid outside!!!!! (But it sure ain't pretty.)

6. I don't really have another one, but I don't want to end on the bra thing. Fact is, we're still having a great time despite the smelly garbage and bralessness. There I go again. On a positive note, there's a stand nearby that sells candied cashews and almonds and they smell REALLY GOOD!!! (and taste good, for that matter.) And with that, I'm finished!!!

7. I thought of one more tonight while we were out exploring. This place is NOT "handicapped accessible." Which means it is NOT "Parents-with-kids-in-large-bulky-hard-to-collapse-strollers accessible." I shudder to think how people actually confined to wheel chairs get around in this city. Certainly not on the subway!

Monday and Tuesday

Yesterday, Monday, Dr. D had to go back to"work" (orientation) so the boys and I were on our own for the first time. We walked to Central Park and found the carousel. One hour down, lots more to go until Dad gets back. I didn't really have a second item on the agenda so after we all took a fun ride we started wandering aimlessly. Luckily, we ran into a really cool water play area. I stripped the boys to their undies (diaper and adorable boxer/briefs, respectively) and they took off. It was a really fun morning culminating in hotdogs from a nearby stand, then back to the apartment for naps. We ended the day by meeting for dinner at Gray's Papaya...a famous (rightfully so) hot dog stand.

Today being the 4th, I whipped out the matching Moldy Gravy t-shirts (picked them up at the outlet for $2.50/ea.) and the whole fam. headed for The Park. (D had the day off.)

We discovered another new area with a giant turtle pond and a really cool castle, complete with turrets (where you can gaze down on the turtles). After that, we split up. The boys went one way, and I went to the Guggenheim. Yep, it's been awhile since I've wandered a big city alone, but it's still just as fun. I went through the whole gallery at a leisurely pace with nary a whiny boy in sight. I even got to sit down and sketch one of the few Renoir's I encountered. The exhibits were mostly Modern Art, which I really don't get, but there was still tons of cool stuff to see. The inside of the building is awesome, but unfortunately, I didn't get to see the outside because it's covered in scaffolding as it's being renovated. (Bummer!!!) When I finished at the museum, I got to do a little shopping on 5th Avenue and checked out H&M (Thanks Felix!) The boys met up with me again for dinner followed by dessert at Serendipity. (YES! I got to go into a restaurant JOHN CUSACK has been in when he, not coincidently, made the movie "Serendipity") From there, we made our way to where the co-residents were and we all watched fire works over the Roosevelt Bridge. All in all, it's been a pretty great two days with no costly parking fines! Hopefully the rest of the week goes as well!

Sunday in New York (When I meet Larry King)

As it is getting late and we wont be going out again tonight, I think it's safe to say that today has passed without mishap. Not only that, it's been a really great day.

Today we attended church at the Manhattan Temple which in and of itself is really cool. There is a separate part of the building with a chapel and class rooms for regular church meetings (separate from the temple itself) where the Manhattan wards meet. As we came in and sat down, I turned around to get a look at the ward. Towards the back I saw a very familiar looking woman. Familiar because I just saw her on Dr. Phil a few weeks ago. It looked like Shawn King, the (Mormon) wife of Larry King with her two little boys. I was pondering if it really was her when I got a glimpse of who was sitting next to her. There was Larry King sitting with his family. It was a really great meeting with lots of visitors sharing their testimonies. Afterwards, I saw Mr. King in the foyer and shook his hand and told him I really liked his interviews with President Hinkley. He then got on the elevator with us and Dug got to chat with him a little. It was very cool.
This evening we wanted to do something a little mellow, so after we all took naps, we went down to Ground Zero. There isn't a lot to see...it just looks like a huge construction sight. But on the fences surrounding the area, there are signs and pictures describing everything that happened on September 11. There are also signs with the names of all the hero's and a display of pictures painted by some of their kids. Pretty powerful stuff!

Parking Problems

Today started out very happily. The husband woke me up and told me we were going out to breakfast (one of my favorite things to do in the whole world...go out to breakfast). But first we had to stop off at the car for some extra diapers. So we all got ready and walked the two blocks to where I'd parked the day before. Doug asked me to move the car over two blocks so we wouldn't get a ticket from the street sweeper. Unfortunately, we read the sign wrong and already had a ticket, but I moved the car anyway. So as we walked down the block and I didn't see the car up ahead, I got a really sick feeling. Very similar to the feeling I got one of our first Sunday's in San Francisco when, after church, we discovered our car had been towed.

Turns out, our car had been towed. It so happens that in San Francisco, if you're car is hanging over into someones driveway by even an inch, you can be towed. And in New York, if the sign says "No Standing" that means "DON'T PARK HERE OR YOU'LL BE TOWED, YOU TOURIST IDIOT!!!"

Now, normally when something like this happens, it really stinks but can be dealt with. In this particular instance, it wasn't so easy. Since we have only had our fabulous mini-van for a few weeks, we didn't know the license plate number. And since we didn't know the license plate number, we weren't able to use the automated system that tells you if your car has been towed and where it's been taken. After a million fruitless calls to various NYC government agencies with no luck, we had one life-line left--my fabulous father-in-law. Since we bought the car from him and it is still registered in Utah, he was kind enough to drive to the DMV and stand in line for over an hour, VIN in hand, to find out the required license number. By now, we had gone back to the apartment to sulk and kick random objects.

Eventually and painfully, the van was retrieved by SuperHusband and we were ready to start another fun-filled New York day...at 4p.m. Good thing we're so darn resilient and impervious to the flushing of a few hundred bucks down the proverbial toilet!!! We went straight to Time Square and took the boys to see "Cars" which they've been dying to see. We all loved it and followed it up with a trip to a very large "Toys R Us" for a ride on their indoor Ferris Wheel. Also very cool. That's it for our adventures today. Tune in tomorrow when we see if we can get our van stolen and driven off the side of a bridge!!!

(Don't worry...I still love New York even if I am getting a slight nervous twitch.)

A few other quick items of note:
* Since coming here, Sam has developed a severe elevator phobia. Whenever we get near one, especially the one in our apartment building, he starts whining and runs the other way.
* Max has become very smell conscious and announces it very loudly if he smells anything "yucky" or "stinky".
* Mother-of-two (that's me) has discovered she has NO good walking shoes and will be stopping at the outlets on the way home to RI.
* Father-of-two has probably discovered it was much simpler and cheaper having his family in another state...though he wont admit it.

The MET

Yesterday was possibly one of the most extraordinary days of my life. I got to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the first time. If you know me, you know I love art, but maybe not how much I love art. I can only say that I'm not often at a loss for words but that museum left me speechless.

The afternoon started when we took a subway to Central Park and then walked through it to get to the Met. Central Park is very big and beautiful and similar in some ways to Golden Gate Park, only it has this amazing skyline framing it. When we got there, my little boys were less then thrilled to go inside. As we started dragging them through the Egyptian "Hatshepsut" exhibit, they were dismayed to find they could neither climb on the ancient sculpture nor run through the tombs playing hide and seek. It didn't seem like the Mister and I would be getting much out of our visit. But we persevered determined to get our money's worth.

Upstairs we went through the Japanese and Chinese Art galleries. I was amazed by the ancient porcelin and it made me antsy to start another ceramics class. Next I dragged the boys to what I knew would be my favorite area: the European Paintings and Nineteenth-Century European Paintings and Sculpture. Sure enough, when I found my first Vermeer, I could have cared-less that 20 different docents had already shushed my boys. They were told by Dad to get on the bench in the middle of the gallery, and stay on it so Mommy and Daddy could look at the paintings. I've never seen a real Vermeer up close and it was awesome. They had on display one of my favorites: "Young Woman with a Water Pitcher" which D-bug bought me a print of so we can hang it in our new house.

Next I found some Van Gogh's which, in their original form, have the power to get me teary eyed. They're just awesome and seem to exude his angst, genius, and love of beauty all at the same time. The Renoir's, Monet's, Manet's, Rodin's, and Dega's were also amazingly beautiful as well as a works by a bunch of other masters.

After dinner in the Museum Cafeteria, my kind, thoughtful, selfless husband, took the boys to a park down the street and left me to wander unhindered for a few hours. When I entered the Medieval Art area, it was like stepping into a million books I've read and getting to see the art, architecture, and costume in real life. Just a few days ago I finished reading a novel by Tracy Chevalier called "The Lady and the Unicorn". It is a fictionalize account of how some actual French Tapestries came into existences in the late 1400's. After reading the description of how the tapestries were made, I was thrilled to get to see some real ones up close.

Finally I forced myself to leave knowing the boys would be getting tired and ready to go back to the apartment. Besides, I had blisters on all my toes from walking so much and felt like my feet were about to fall off. So home we went by way of bus, subway, and a pleasant jog through torrential rain to top it all off. Just another day in Manhattan!

Feeling Bloggy?

D-Dub has created his own blog because I wouldn't let him mess with mine. While I was stuck in traffic yesterday, he was out meeting hockey players at the Mac store in Manhattan.
Check it out at www.fromcoast2coast.blogspot.com.

We're HERE

And by "here" of course, I mean Manhattan!!!

Okay, I've been without Internet access for awhile so I need to back up a little.

A week ago Monday we left San Francisco and crossed the country to arrive in Rhode Island. We went straight to our new home where we found the electricity hadn't been turned on and the floor was covered in cat hair.

So we left and went straight to Wal-mart for Swiffer accessories. Never before have I so loved and appreciated Swiffers! (Do you think they'll want to give me some coupons or something for saying that?) After clearing a swathe on the floor for the air mattresses we all went to bed in a very hot house. (No A/C yet.)

The next day, sunlight revealed the full extent of the cat hair. (Hey cat owners, have you cleaned under your appliances lately? --->)

I'm going to save my anti-cat/anti-hair/anti-cat hair diatribe for later. Suffice it to say, we called a bunch of cleaning services until we found one that could send a crew over immediately. Four girls and four hours later (at $36 an hour per girl...you do the math) we came back to a much more livable and clean smelling home.

Wednesday instead of cleaning or painting, we found the local library and got cards for all four of us and a huge pile of books. (I got lots on New England architecture, antiques, and decorating.)

Thursday the truck came and we started unloading. (Whoops...maybe we should have bubble wrappped the WHOLE scanner.)

Friday one of *DoctorCaptain's fellow residents showed up with a friend to finish unloading the big stuff. At last, we had all our crap moved in, the electricity on, most of the blasted cat hair removed, and things getting slightly organized. I hope we got something done on Saturday but I don't really remember so we'll skip right to Sunday which is when I took DoctorCaptain to the bus station. Yes, that's right. With a home still very much in chaos and no friends or family around me, my "help meet" deserted me and went to New York for orientation.

Which brings me to today. (I should describe the last week, but it's getting late.) This morning (Thursday) I got up, packed the car, strapped in the kids, and hopped on the 95 South and headed for New York City. I drove a total of about 160 miles and it only took 8 HOURS!!! Yes, that's right. I stopped a few times the first two hours and made it to New York. That is where, with only 20 or so miles left, the traffic stopped moving. I then proceeded to go a total of ten miles in 2 hours. I only wish I were joking. This is apparently why people take public transportation in the city.

Anyway, I made it with my sanity (just barely) intact (at least as much as it was before) and I'm in New York City for the first time in my life, and so far I love it. (I'm willing to give it a chance at being a cool city even if it was hellish getting here.) Tonight the boys and I walked over to Lincoln Center, saw the BEAUTIFUL L.D.S. temple, and ate dinner at "Ollie's Noodle Shop and Grille" across the street.

So far, that's been my New York experience. Tomorrow, we're on our own for the morning while DocCap learns how to wash his hands throughly. (Or something really important and doctorly like that) I'm going to try to get mugged so I'll feel like I've achieved the whole NYC experience but we'll see how it goes.

Wish me luck!

*My revered spouse actually is a Doctor and a Captain now, and can't seem to figure out why I wont salute him when he walks into the room.

Pack Rat

It's almost all over! Last Monday night was Dr. Dub's "Recognition Banquet". (Isn't my date a fox? I felt like I was at the prom with the Homecoming King.)

Wednesday was the "Class of 2006 Picnic" at Golden Gate Park. The Grand Finale will be this coming Saturday the 17th when he'll actually graduate!!!

In the mean time, life is a bit crazy. At the moment I'm stitting in the midst of towers of boxes; some full, some empty, some half full or empty...(depending on your attitude).

In fact, it's so messy in here I can't think of a single witty thing to say, so I'll have to sign off. See you at GRADUATION!!!

Memorial Day at Baker Beach - 2006

I don't mean to brag* but can you believe how stunningly adorable my children are??? Both boys love playing at the beach even if the water is somewhere near freezing and they have to wear sweatshirts because of the breeze!

This is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's clean, generally uncrowded, and surrounded by some of the most awesome scenery I've ever seen.

{[Side Bar for future visitors: Baker Beach does have one down-side. If you walk to the end of the point, towards the bridge, you'll find a popular nude beach inhabited mostly by ugly (so I've heard) gay men** who, not coincidentely, also happen to be nude. Luckily, they tend to stay contained and out of sight.]}

* I do mean to brag.
**It's not that I personally have any problem with nude/ugly/gay/men aside from the nude/gay part. Men, even ugly men, are generally okay...)

Why People Don't Like Dentists!

Medieval torture device? Close. It's called a rubber dam. And yes...that is me under there; in perfect compliance with all health and safety regulations. Just a few days ago I got the honor of being a patient for the Western Regional Board Examination. I got to enjoy having my mouth propped open for about eight straight hours and let me tell you, it was fun.

Don't get me wrong, I actually do like my dentist. In fact, I gave him a big fat kiss on the lips when he took all this junk off me. Nonetheless, it will be awhile before I see him for a follow-up.

Book Review

I just finished two books and want to mention them.
"In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez is fiction based on actual people and events. It's about four sisters living in the Dominican Republic who are involved in a revolution and living under the dictator Trujillo. The narrative switches from the sister's different perspectives and between past and present.
I like hearing in 1st person from different characters because it seems more real when you get to hear more sides of the story. Although the story is a little bit sad, (I really like happy endings) it was a quick read and interesting historically. Reading about what people have to go through in other countries makes me feel pretty selfish that my biggest gripe is when my kids don't sleep through the night.

Although the narrative style is similar in the second book, everything else is completely different. It is the second in a series by R.F. Delderfield and is a very weighty tome (798 pages) called "Theirs Was the Kingdom" it takes place in Victorian England and continues the story of the Adam Swann family started in "God is an Englishman".

The worst thing about these books (by Delderfield) is opening and starting them. The sheer bulk is daunting and I was afraid I'd never finish the first one. Of course, once I started, I couldn't put either of them down. (Which is a problem in and of itself because trifling things like housework, parenting and personal hygiene tend to fall by the way-side.)
Both books, though, are very engrossing despite the fact that there is no mystery to be solved. (I luuuuuuv mysteries) I recommend them for the next time you're stranded somewhere for a week with no electricity or other people that require even occasional acknowledgement. Happy Reading!

Pictures of our NEW HOME

Picture me with a dark red door and blue shutters with white molding around door and under the windows. And a flag pole. And maybe a lamp post. And lots of flowers. Okay, I'm stopping now. Oh wait, I forgot to mention the brick chimney on the right side.*
(*this is the house talking...I, the creator of this fabulous blog, have nothing at all to do with these labor intensive plans.)


Here is what our house looks like now that it is spring and everything is turning GREEN. I can't wait to work on the yard and plant flowers!!!


We have an excellent Realtor named Lori and she took a bunch of pictures for us during the inspection today. There are no problems, so things will proceed on schedule. This picture is the upstairs living area looking from the kitchen. The wall on the left that you can't see is the same color red as the stairway wall on the right. Notice the "Dunkin' Donuts" cup on the kitchen bar on the right side of the picture.

Here we have the master bedroom...MUCH bigger than our current shoe box sized one. (Of course, it's not hard to find a room bigger than our current one.) The color isn't bad, but I'll probably change it to something I like better. (Are you bored yet? Hold on...only one more after this.)
And finally, LOOK AT THE YARD!!! Hooray for grass!!! The boys don't have to play in a concrete courtyard anymore! All we need now is a BOUNCE HOUSE to put in it!!!! (Oh wait...)
This is the side yard to the right of the house. Unfortunately, the boat in the background doesn't come with the house. There is, however, water nearby where we can park the inflatable raft* we're planning to get at Costco.
*I'm just kidding. We don't actually buy inflatable non-essentials on impulse. (Oh wait...)

10 Things I'll Miss About San Francisco

10. Painted Ladies and all of the other old buildings and cool architecture.

















9. Tons of awesome parks


8. Sour Dough Bread and fresh seafood










7. The "Diversity" : )

















6. Fog rolling up our hill

5. The Weather















4. The Restaurants
"Chou Chou" French Bistro and "Silverspoon Thai Kitchen" are two favorites.










3. The Golden Gate Bridge (The color is actually "International Orange")



















2. The Most Beautiful Scenery on Earth




















1. Awesome friends we've made and crazy people we've met!

One family down, six to go...

Boys l- r: Aaron C, Doug W, Brett B, Jeff N, Justin W, Nate S, Lee A

Girls l- r: Jess C, Me, Kim B, Marissa N, Emily S, Lanie W, Ginger A

Today we said good-bye to the first of our friends who are graduating and moving on. Let's call them "El Norte's*." The El Norte's moved to San Francisco at the same time we did into the building next door. A few weeks later, their first daughter, Sadie, was born.

Hailey followed a little later and is the same age as Samuel.

Since that time, we (that would be me and Dug**), the Norte's, and five other couples have become great friends. We all moved into the same housing so our husbands could attend either Dental or Medical school at UCSF, we all have kids close to the same age, and all attend the same church. We've traded babysitting, gossip, toys, clothes, germs and recipes. We've hunted for lost kids together, shopped, explored the city, and played together. Our kids have grown up for the last four years together. They know their "Aldea" friends better than their cousins.

We're going to miss them!

Marissa and Sadie

Sadie and Maxwell

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent. **Grammar has not been changed because I'm lazy.

We Bought a House!!!

After months of on-line shopping, a plethora of e-mailed listings from our realtor, and one quick trip to New England, (by myself) we've finally found a home and are in the process of buying it! (It's the white one)

A few days ago we made an offer, which the owners abruptly countered, after which we (in a more leisurely fashion) countered their counter which they immediately/finally accepted!!!!!

We're very excited because it is a newer home (only 9 years old) in a great school district, with a big yard, surrounded by millions of trees and has only one neighbor. (Not including the airport and train tracks which at least the boys will appreciate being close to.)

Doug is already scheming how he'll landscape the yard and I'm planning to add some (very simple--yeah, right) architectural interest to the exterior with molding around the door and windows, and possibly a different front porch. See the yellow house. (Did I say "I'm planning to add?" I meant I'm planning to have DOUG add... Does anyone know how to build a chimney or two?)

Of course, we're both living in fantasy land because once we get there we'll probably have no time and no money. But what the heck--it's fun daydreaming about it.

Max gets slightly excited about the move when we remind him they have snow. (He'll probably be pretty ticked when we get there in mid-June, but we'll worry about that later.) We've showed him pictures of the new house, but his only comment on it was "OHH!!! I wanted the one with the swimming cool!!!" (Yes, cool...not a typo.)

I told him we could get a plastic one and he was happy once more. (Kids have relatively simple needs once you scale them down a bit.)

Speaking of being simple, one day while I was diligently hunting for a home, Doug called to tell me he was on his way to a Sporting Goods store in the mall that's going out of business. I asked him why and he said "to buy a bounce house!" Huh? A what? and WHY? Turns out, they were on sale and the neighbor two doors down had already snapped his up so Doug and a THIRD student father, were racing to the mall in an attempt to keep up with the Browns. We now have a NIB, million pound bounce house sitting by the front door.
See my e-bay auction for more details.

Well, it's almost exactly one month until graduation and then we're flying back east the next day. Our stuff will already be in route and will get there a few days after us. We'll have one week together in the new house and then Doug is off to Brooklyn for three weeks of training. Hopefully I'll be able to visit but although I consider myself pretty adventurous, I don't know if I want to explore New York City alone, on-foot, with two crazy boys in tow. It's mostly that last thing that intimidates me. We'll see what happens.

In the mean time, anyone is welcome to visit our new home and help us explore New England!

I don't get it, but I like this guys style.

While visiting Rhode Island, I made an interesting discovery. It just so happens that it is the "Dunkin Donuts" capital of the world. Not only are they on every corner, they're on every corner of each side of the street. I don't think I've ever before darkened the doorway of the afore mentioned establishment, but while house-hunting with my realtor we stoped for mid-day refreshment two days in a row. She for iced coffee, me for a chocolate chip muffin. Which is how I came to be searching for chocolate chip muffin recipes at home a week later and stumbled on the MrBreakfast.com website. Turns out, although the recipe I tested didn't turn out, I appreciate this guys style. See below example: Tom Cruise And Hominy Grits - By Mr Breakfast
The other night, I was sitting in the hot tub of my apartment building thinking about grits. I had been struggling to understand grits for sometime and that evening was no exception. The difference between hominy grits and corn grits was particularly perplexing. I gently laid my hand on the surface of the bubbling water and allowed my thoughts to relax with my body. The water supported the weight of my open fingers and my entire arm seemed to float. I extended the other arm into the state of weightlessness. Next went my feet. With every limb now floating and my body in the shape of a limp letter "U", I had an unusual thought.

I wondered if Tom Cruise had ever done what I was doing. Certainly he had a hot tub. Was it possible that Tom Cruise sometimes sat in the hot tub and mused about his hand floating? Had he ever tried to block the jets of air with his toes as I often did? In that moment, Tom Cruise didn't seem so different from me. We were both human… made of the same basic stuff. Most of things I did, he did too. He brushed his teeth. He watched TV. He caught colds. And he might have even enjoyed his own hand floating in the hot tub. We were just two kernels of corn prepared in different ways. And alas, I had my answer!

Tom Cruise is to humanity what grits are to corn. It was so simple, yet so genius. My struggle was at an end.

Easter Pics

Have you ever seen cuter boys? I mean, really! This was Easter Morning before church. They didn't get to open their baskets until after church and then it was a candy free-for-all!

Below is a picture of Max with his girlfriend Ani. They're best friends who see each other every day. We're going to miss her LOTS when we move! (And the rest of her family)