sUnDaY & TiMeS sQaUrE

Sunday was a BEAUTIFUL day! We decided to make the most of it and ride the Staten Island Ferry. It takes you past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and its free! We wanted to go to the Statue of Liberty, but they aren't re-opening the top until the 4th of July and then they will only be allowing 10 people at a time to go up. It was fun to ride a ferry again. I haven't done that since my family went to Seattle/Canada in 1993!! It was almost 16 years ago (right Kaylee:)

Devin and Jonas (and a woman's backside) in front of the entrance on the Manhattan side.
Guess who fell asleep? It was SUPER windy. I didn't post the picture with my hair flying all over to prove it, but I should have!

Here She is! It was exciting to see her. She wasn't as big as I expected (then again I was zooming past her on a ferry), but it was fun! I took so many pictures, you'd think I'd never seen it before :)

Sadly, you can't read his sign, but it was hilarious. It said: "Jennifer Aniston won't go out with me because I don't have enough money. Please Help." or something like that. It was a good one. We saw a lot of creative homeless signs while we were there!
This is the sight where the World Trade Centers once stood. It was surrounded by tall construction fences so you couldn't see anything. There is a visitors center, but it was really busy so we didn't go in (that, and we're cheap). There is such a heavy, sad feeling in the area. It was a major eye opener for me to actually see the sight. The pilots knew what they were doing. The WTC were surrounded by several buildings in the area, and yet they hit them just right. It was sad to see it, but a great reminder of all the heroes that emerged that day. There is an NYFD right across from this picture and there were lines of people getting pictures taken with just a few of the heroes from that day.

It goes with out saying that Times Square is totally awesome. I loved all the excitement and seeing the things I have seen on TV forever in real life. Jonas loved the lights and was mesmerized by them.

The giant Toys R Us
I took this for Mom and Kaylee. Wicked, and Sbarro's Pizza :)
This was our Hotel! Right in the middle of Times Square. It was a really nice place! The elevators went SOO fast that my ears would pop as we went up or down.
Another shot (I took like 1000)

Blurry, but you get the idea

MoNdAy

On Monday We went to the Central Park Zoo. It was a little pricey, and very small (I know its inside of a park, but it was still small), but overall it was fun. They have potential to have some cool animals, but they didn't have all of the exhibits open. I was able to spot a RED Panda that no one else could see. Thanks Dad for teaching me how to spot things :) I took a picture, but he was hiding in a tree, so all you can see is the color of him, not much of his face.

The Polar Bears were very active while we were there. They were swimming around, playing with their toys and being very entertaining. It was fun to watch them!
These little turtles were everywhere in this pond. What they were lacking in animals, made up for in turtles (if you like them anyway).

They had REALLY neat looking birds in the Rain Forest section. I was busy trying to take a bunch of pictures and then....

This happened. One of the birds flew right over my head. I screamed, everyone laughed, and this is the result of the picture. It was funny, but I was disappointed that I didn't get a better picture of this bird. It was beautiful. It flew away after "the incident".

Jonas slept for the first part of the Zoo and woke up REALLY cranky. (did I mention he cut a top tooth while we were there...why does he always have to do it while we are on vacation?) I tried everything I could think of to try and make him happy, but he wasn't having any of it. I walked by this little path with the Lilly pads that went to the other side and decided to see if he would like them. He threw a major fit when I sat him down until he noticed the water. Then it was all I could do to keep him for falling over to reach it. There was a big sign that said, "Please don't play in the water, our Ducks make their homes here." We broke the rules. The ducks had to share their home with a cranky, tooth cutting, 9 month old! It was worth it to be rebellious. He was so happy when we left. I could live with him again!

tUeSdAy

Tuesday was a busy day again! Devin worked. Jonas and I saw The New York Public Library(which was lame), The largest Macy's store (and it was HUGE), and we all rode the giant Ferris Wheel at Toys R Us.

This was at the library. I was very disappointed in the Children's room. Other than these Bean Bags to play on, it was small and pretty lame. I went to see the Winnie the Pooh statues, but couldn't find them and Jonas wasn't really quiet enough to wander around and look for them.

This is the infamous Empire State Building. We didn't go to the top since we did the Top of the Rock, but it is truly amazing how tall this building is. You can barely see the top of the building in this picture and I had to take the picture like twenty times. It is really cool!!

Devin had this Yogurt after his lunch with Jen and Jill (The girls he works with, and also our tour-guides). He told me it was the best he had ever had (and believe me when I say he knows his frozen treats) so I wanted to find out for myself. I gave it two thumbs up! It was THE best frozen yogurt ever. We had Pomegranate and it was delish. I hope we can locate one of these in DC. We {heart} Red Mango.

Then we rode the Ferris Wheel inside Toys R Us. The store is amazing itself. Three floors and then the Ferris Wheel in the middle. It has a life-size Barbie house (that Devin wouldn't let Jonas go see..silly) and a big mechanical T-Rex that most of the little kids were scared of. It was a fun store just to walk around!
Jonas wasn't sure about it at first. He wanted to stand up and look over the side, but the workers kind of frowned on that, so he was mad that he had to be in the seat-belt. Once it got going, he loved it. But he was mad again when it slowed down for us to get off.

WeDnEsDaY

This was our last day in the big city. Devin had to finish up a few things at work, so again Heaman and I were on our own. We asked for a late check-out at the hotel, but Jonas was so used to being out and about that by 11:00 I couldn't take his crying anymore. If I even walked by the door and we didn't go out, he would scream. So we checked out, left our bags at the hotel, and headed for the last few things we wanted to see. We started with M&M world, and guess who fell asleep? So I saw it on my own while Jonas slept in the stroller. It was cool, nothing fancy. Just like Vegas, but in New York.
Then we walked to Central Park to see if we could find the Carousel. Our map wasn't very detailed (and I can't read a map to save my life), so we got lost a few times. Devin was able to leave work a little early, so we waited for him to ride with Jonas. The carousel is really old, but really cute. It was only $2 to ride it. As you can see, they had a great time.

Then we ate, picked up our bags, and headed for the Airport. It was a good thing we left as early as we did too because the traffic was really bad and it took us over an hour to get to the airport. Riding in a New York Taxi is crazy enough. Add traffic to that- I was pretty sick by the time we made it to the airport. Jonas fell asleep and slept the whole way..thankfully! Here he is saying that he will be one soon! :) Actually he was trying to touch the camera..but I thought it was funny!

This is how Jonas spent our 45 minute (so nice) flight home. There were about 20 people on the plane, we had the entire back of the plane to ourselves and our own flight attendant who was in love with Jonas and took very good care of us. Other than the fact that we flew over the ocean for quite a while before we landed, it was a great flight!

New York was so much fun, and I can't wait to go back. I would love to see a Broadway show, or just wander around again like we did this time!

Next Stop: Cape Cod

UnDeR ConStRUcTioN

****Due to the 250+ pictures I took while we were in NY, Our blog is under construction****

(that and the fact that our internet is SUPER slow here!)

Vermont

Devin and I decided to make the most of our last four weeks in the Boston area by really sightseeing. So this weekend we went to Vermont. It was so much fun! We mostly took it easy, relaxed and played with Heaman. He was a great little traveler. He slept until after nine both mornings we were there! (He made up for it by getting up at 7:30 this morning).

Our first stop was to tour the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. If anyone knows Devin, they know he loves Ice Cream. He passed that down to Jonas-who love, love, loves Ice Cream! I love Jonas in this picture. You have to click on it to see his silly face, and I love the little chubby arm sticking through. The people behind us were laughing while we were taking the picture.

This is the infamous Green Bus. Ben & Jerry once tried to travel the 50 states giving away free scoops in this bus. It burned to the ground in Ohio. Guess they didn't make the 50 states!

Next Stop: The Trapp Family Resort. This was the "house" the Von Trapp Family (The Sound of Music) built when they came to America after WWII. I really wanted to go inside, but Jonas was sleeping and needed the rest, so we just drove around. It was HUGE-as you can see. (This is a bad picture). During the winter they have a snow shoe shack and you can take tours of the area via snow shoe. That sounded like fun! The area has a bunch of Villas-as they call them. They sleep about 30 people. It would be fun to stay there, but the cost for one night was almost $300.00. Our Marriott was good enough!! The view from up here was amazing. One of the best things about Vermont was all the green grass and the trees. It looked like spring everywhere we went. That's nice for a change!

Then it was off to an Apple Cider Mill. The have the Cider Press on sight so you can see them making it. It was Saturday, so they weren't working, but it was a really neat little store. We bought Maple Syrup, Apple Cider Donuts, and this fresh Apple Cider. Jonas thought it was pretty good too. It was a little too sweet for me. It burned your throat because it was so sweet.

This is a covered bridge like you would see in a Country Living Magazine. It was pretty neat, although I think Devin could have driven a bit faster over it. It looked really old. I was a little nervous about it's strength. There was a river running pretty swiftly below.

The highlight of our trip was taking Jonas swimming at the hotel. He LOVED it! He was mad that we had to hold him. He wanted to play all by himself. Looks like we will be spending lots of time in a pool this summer. I knew we should have stayed in Arizona!

Jonas in his new swimming suit.

The back float.

He was really happy I promise. He just didn't want to be held!

Our last stop was at The Hope Cemetery. The town is a granite mining/carving town and so the cemetery had some very interesting headstones. Soccer balls, race cars, figures of the person, head sculptures, hearts, pyramids....it was truly amazing! I want to be buried in a room like the one above. I hate the thoughts of being underground (even if I am dead!). This particular room only has one person housed here. He thought his family would join him, they were all cremated instead. The doors have glass in them so you can look inside, but don't worry you can't see anything scary. Not even the coffins. The are put in big "drawers"- for lack of a better word. The grounds keeper said for about $25,000 I could have one of these-in 1942-the year it was built. It's probably ten times that much now. Guess I better start saving! Anyone want join me?

It was a fun trip even though it's always nice to be back with your own things. Next weekend...New York City!! :)

The BIG SuRPriSe

About a month or so ago, Jonas and I (with the help of my dad) planned a trip to Utah to surprise Brooklyn for her birthday. It was a great surprise and a really fun trip. I wasn't so good at taking pictures :( not sure what I was thinking! We had so much fun, as we always do. Here are a few things we did.

Jonas got his first HAIRCUT! It was getting so long around his little ears and his Mo-Hawk was out of control. Aunt Chelle took good care of us. As you can see from the picture, he was asleep. He decided to cut a top tooth while we were there. That's not so much fun on vacation!

This is a pretty good before picture. We weren't all the way ready for the day, but you can see how long it was! Nice double chin too :)

On Saturday we met G'Ma Stevenson in SLC (she got to go see WICKED!) for lunch. Here we are enjoying the nice weather and the beautiful flowers at Temple Square. Kaylee (on the right) was being a dork-as usual!

This is "THE BIRTHDAY GIRL". *brooklyn* She was pretty surprised to see us, and she said we were the best present ever. WOW! She loves Jonas, and he watches her every move. He laughs at anything and everything she does.

We played with Uncle Captain and Aunt Natti. They stole our camera and took some "lovely" photos of themselves. I am saving you all from seeing the real nice picture of Uncle Captain's BIG MOON. Thanks Chad. Seriously.

We played in the tub with Aunt Brookie (every-night!).

We played outside at G'Ma and G'Pa Misrasi's house. Jonas isn't so sure about the grass. Totally my child!

Here is an after of the haircut. Also a during of the teething and cold that he caught. Yep! We had a LONG flight from SLC to Chicago :( poor Sick Buddy!
Jonas learned to ride the horsey downstairs at G & G's. He was entertained by it, and all the other WAY fun toys too! It's every kids dream in the basement!

Jonas also learned to like the swings. He thought it was even funnier when Brookie would swing high and scream. She was hilarious after all. Even when all she did was walk by. Jonas also took his first 4-Wheeler ride. Aunt Taryn drove (Scary), but we just went to the neighbors and she was very safe. Jonas' eyes were very busy trying to take it all in!

We also had lunch with G'ma & G'pa Ure at Maddox. It was so fun to see them and we are so thankful that they were so willing to drive down and see us. I forgot my camera :( again

We had so much fun together, but it was SOOOO nice to get back and see our Daddy! We missed him. Thanks for all the fun everyone! See you this Summer :) :) :)

Jonas' First Easter

We had a great weekend! It all started with BEAUTIFUL WEATHER (finally) on Friday. I took Jonas to the Public Gardens to see the water that they have put in the pond. Saturday they will put the Swan Boats in, and I am so excited! It was windy, but warm, I was sweating when we got back. I was sad that we weren't staying in the city to enjoy it more.

Here is Jonas on the dock in his new ride. Guess who got this Bob SUS stroller for $40!! Yep, thank you Craigslist. And it was BRAND NEW!!! I have been looking for like forever and this was the perfect buy. Too bad it took me more than three hours in traffic to go get it. It was worth it!

The Pond. Beautiful Huh!

Look what I spotted on the trees? Blossoms! Jonas and I sang Popcorn Popping :) People were looking at us, but we didn't care. I am still so sad that I am missing the Cherry Blossoms in DC.

For a little get-a-way, we met some of the friends Devin works with in DC at a resort in the Berkshire Mountains. It was such a fun weekend, but was VERY cold, and Jonas didn't like the cold, so we spent a lot of time in the condo. We played Taboo for like four hours one day. It was so fun. They are great friends. It was a blast and so nice to be back in "nature". The resort was busy, but they had lots of fun things to do. The girls even went to Twilight at the "movie room". It was great!

Somehow the sneaky Easter Bunny found Jonas while we were on Vacation. What a great guy. (although he didn't bring me a trip to Disneyland like my little sisters :})

He left Jonas a note and even nibbled on the carrots that Jonas left out for him!

The Grand Prize

This is Jonas' monkey (Pete) that he got for Easter from G & G Misrasi. He is supposed to take picture of him with the monkey at all the fun things we see and do so our family can keep up. (Remember the commercial?) This is at the Winery we went to. We were supposed to hike up the mountain, but it was too cold for Jonas so he took a nap in the car and we waited for the Hikers-who got lost, but found their way back to us safely. Oh yea, and no wine for us :)

Pete on his first trip to New York. The resort was right on the border of NY and MA. Jonas was asleep, so I held up Pete for him.

Busy Boy

...Jonas has been a very busy boy...

He watched TaYloR SwiFT win lots of ACM's

He has learned to RoLl to where ever he wants to go. This time though, he couldn't get

past the couch

He has been rEaDinG BoOks (and tearing things off that he shouldn't)

He watched Mom color EaSteR EgGs and even picked his egg to be bLuE

And he grew a ToOtH, and here it is!