New York, New York

Chris and I headed to NYC for a couple of special events.

Event #1 - Silver Anvil Awards

Chris was up for a Silver Anvil, which I now understand is a big deal. When he told me we were headed out for an awards ceremony I wasn't quite clear why this was so terribly important and admittedly I'm kinda hard to impress. But, being at the event and then having Chris explain that this is the highest award you can receive in the PR industry and a Utah recipient hasn't received one in about 7 years, well, I was impressed. I'm usually a little reserved about how proud I am of Chris, but this time I can't help it. He works so hard and I'm just impressed that he holds it all together with all the demands placed on him. He deserves a big old reward. Yay!

Here we are headed into the event.

I love this picture of Chris.

Event #2 - Sightseeing

A few museums, a play, the Kramer Reality Tour, and some great food. We even made it to part of church and brunch with some friends. A little bit of shopping, but nothing too intense. We tried not to get to wrapped up in the city. These are some highlights.

The Times Square night shot.

Chris and I actually love art museums, but sometimes

we can get a little giddy walking through

after a couple of hours.

Opps, pardon his language, better him than me. Right?

If you ever watched Seinfeld, this is the guy the

character Kramer was based on, he was a hoot.

Chris is a huge fan, I'm still catching up on it.

We're watching the entire series this summer!

The things we do for love.

The restaurant from the series.

Event #3 - Us

Chris proposed to me 9 years ago and we revisited the occasion.

Chris proposed to me in the crown of the

Statue of Liberty, and around our house

we affectionately refer to her as "The Lady."

He looked out the crown's window with me and

reminded me that his great grandfather Dorigati

looked at the Statue of Liberty as a symbol

of freedom and the start of a new life

when he came to America through Ellis

Island. He then asked me to start a new

life with him by marrying him. It was the

most important decision of my life

and I've been greatly blessed because I said yes.

We took a retake of our engagement picture taken in

Battery Park the day after he proposed.

Now Chris has some gray hair and

I have a few more wrinkles,

but we are a littler more wiser and

gratefully, closer than ever.

For fun here is a copy of the original

that I took a picture

of hanging on the wall of

our bedroom. Ah, youth. You get the idea.

New York was a nice break for me. I came home rested and grateful for a wonderful life.

The tradition continues

Thomas the Tank came to Midway for Memorial Day weekend and we just couldn't resist. And so, we went and enjoyed the festivities with our good friends the Spanglers and spent the weekend enjoying some down time.

The Thomas Family 2010.

Part of the Spangler Family 2010.

My little engineer.

And now would be a good time to mention

that Carter broke his arm. Yes, it was traumatic for both of us.

And yes, I should have been watching closer.

And yes, I feel guilty. Sigh, motherhood

is not as easy as it looks sometimes. But, he is

recovering quickly. He fell while he was

climbing up the slide in our backyard and lost his grip.

And I wasn't close enough to catch him, shoot.

All I know if that I love him so much and hate

to see him struggling through this, but he is a little trooper

and most days you wouldn't even know he is hurt.

But, we're hoping the next couple of weeks go quickly

and he feels 100% soon.

H.J.

HJ and his Mom.

The end of an era

Harrison ended his pre-school days in a blaze of glory.

First, a field trip to Wheeler Farm with great photo opps.

I love this picture of "the boys."

Mrs. Brown and her class.

My boys.

Then the cutest ever graduation ceremony with the cutest homemade caps. Oh, we will miss our preschool friends and especially Mrs. Brown. It was such a big year for Harrison and I can't believe how fast he is growing and learning and I'm so proud of him.

The graduate.

You should know this is Richie, Ryan,

and Harrison they're good buddies.

Can you tell?

So proud.

Summer begins

What is summer without a lemonade stand and a garage sale. We had a HUGE garage sale to put a close on a long chapter. The settling of Chris's granny's estate that took almost to three years to end. But, Granny would have loved to have been a part of this closing....a good old fashioned garage sale with deals beyond belief and family time with a little work and sweat, done mostly by Amy and Dane, to make some extra cash. If only we had a round of Bingo going to really set the stage, if only. She would have been so pleased. We miss our Granny.

Harrison and Carter set up their first Lemonade Stand and it was a big deal. Chris says I undersold the lemonade and we didn't charge enough. Leave it to my entrepreneurial-minded husband to point out the flaws in my business planning, the nerve! Anyways, Harrison and Carter sat at the table and drank most of the lemonade themselves, how's that for blowing your profitability! But, they sure were cute doing it...I even think they got a few tips.

The Stand.

Step right up and get your

ice-cold lemonade.

So sorry, the sippy cup

is only for the manager.

And so summer begins.