Car Conversations

After complete silence in the car, Meg said.

Meg: Did Jesus build our bodies?

Me: Yes.

Meg: How? What kind of tools did he use?

Me: Umm, Jesus has . . . (how to explain this to a 4 year old) powers to do it.

Meg: Oh, does he has more powers than the evil people in my movies.

Me: Yes, way more powers.

Silence

Meg: Will I die someday?

Me: Not for a very very long time. You will be a very old Gradma when you die.

Meg: Ohhh, I don't want to die. Do I have to have nails put in my hands when I die?

Me: (Shocked) No!

Meg: So, I just die.

Me: Yes, with no nails.

Meg: Good. When I die, do I have to be naked? (Meg thinks men with their shirts off are naked despite me trying to explain)

Me: No (picturing the picture of Jesus on the cross).

Meg: So, I just get to die with my regular clothes on?

Me: Yes, and you don't need to worry about dying because it will be a long time and when you do die you get to stay with mommy and daddy because we were married in the temple. That makes it so we get to always be together.

Meg: Good, I want to stay with you. Do I get to be with my bunny forever? (stuffed animal)

Me: No, just with the people in our family.

At this point, we were at the grocery store and the conversation ended.

Kids are seriously the best!

Guns

So I hadn't really established my opinion on whether or not I would let Adin have a toy gun when he asked for one at the store. I gave in and got it for him not knowing that he had any idea of what it was or did. I soon found out that he was very knowledgable about guns. The next store we went to he rode in the cart shooting every person that we walked by. His little eyebrows scrunched down and he made a shooting noise at everyone we passed. I was shocked. I didn't know he knew that guns shot people.

Brian has been having Star Wars nights with the kids on occaision since I started working at night. Meg LOOOOOVES this. Apparently, they turn the lights off and the surround sound up. Adin has been very into it too and now does Yoda and Darth Vader impressions. I thought that the gun knowledge must be from that.

Brian was equally suprised at his gun knowledge and told him very sternly that you don't shoot people with guns. Now he walks around with his gun but says repeatedly, "Don't shoot people, Mom?"

This brings me to yesterday. I was driving home with him from taking Meg to school. The car was silent most the way home. All of a sudden he said, "Don't shoot people, Mom?" I confirmed for the millionth time wondering where this came from because he hasn't played with his gun for quite a while. After a brief thinking pause he said, "Pocahontas shoot people" Aha! Now we know where he got it. He went on a huge Pocahontas kick. All he wanted to do was watch Pocahontas, the original one and Pocahontas II. If you will recall, John Smith gets shot by a gun at the end of the first movie. Now we know.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK . . . IT'S A HELL OF A TOWN

So, it has been nearly three months since our Christmas extravaganza back East. The entire trip was amazing. The best part was to be able to spend the holidays with the Marchants. Heather had never been to her parents' house in all the time they've lived back there. Heather's parents were our gracious tour guides around D.C. for four whole days. We took in a lot of sites all in all. Heather and I both LOVE the history and diversity of the area. We're looking forward to going back at some point.


A couple of days after Christmas, Heather's parents and sister, Sarah, were gracious enough to watch the kiddies for a couple of days while we bussed it up to NYC. I'd been once before, though I was by myself and stayed in a hostel and the Queen's YMCA. This trip was much more enjoyable. This is the first time Heather and I have been away alone since we've had kids, so it was a much needed trip. Fortunately, NYC has lots of freebies, and our trip up there was extremely cheap. Hopefully we get to go back soon! Again, thanks to the Marchants for affording us the opportunity . . . Meg and Adin had fun staying with Grandpa and Grandma. Adin still asks to go back on the plane. Here are some pics (in no particular order) with brief explanations.

Me looking goofy in front of the Eastern States Buddhist Temple in Chinatown. Heather and I went in, looked at the giant Buddha, and got our fortunes.

Heather in front of one of the famous lions in front of the NY Public Library. I kept saying to Heather, "Go get her Ray," when we were inside, but Heather didn't seem to get the joke.

Looking up at Heather and the Rockefeller tower. Our first day there was really foggy. We couldn't see the tops of any of the buildings. It created a sort of ambiance as we walked through the city.

Me with the Chrysler Building in the background. I love the art deco design.

Looking toward the Empire State Building. This picture really makes me wish we were there.

Heather in front of Letterman. Last time I was here, I was able to go to a taping. They weren't filming the week we were there . . . but we had other opportunities (as you'll soon find out).

Heather in Times Square. I love this picture because everyone but Heather is moving. It's such a busy place. This area was packed the whole time we were there. It was hard to even walk around. Heather had some weird idea that Times Square was a literal square without streets or anything . . . ha, ha, ha . . . my silly wife.

I had to take this picture. Hee hee. This is a staircase in the main concourse at Grand Central Terminal.


























So this is the other opportunity I spoke of. Heather's dad surprised us by providing us plush Broadway tickets to the hottest show in town. Apparently, his friend at work is the brother of the sound tech at this show, so he was able to get us prime seats for free. Thanks so much again! We were literally 10th row orchestra . . . the best you can get. The sound was unbelievable. The show (In the Heights) won the Tony in 2008 for best musical. The Clintons (yes, Bill and Hilary)were at the show the night before us. The day following the show, we got a backstage tour. We met some of the cast. The theater was suprisingly dilapidated; the pit was tiny (I don't know how the musicians fit in there). The production was absolutely amazing. All in all, it was unbelievable.


























Heather in the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal (bottom center). Again, everyone is moving around her.

Instead of going to the top of the Empire State Building, we went to the Top of the Rock. We'd heard the views were just as good . . . or better. Having been to both, I think they're equally impressive. This is looking North toward Central Park.

Heather in front of the theater for In the Heights. We had lots of people staring at us for these pictures.

From the Top of the Rock looking downtown. The great thing about the Top of the Rock is the view of the Empire State Building.

Me in front of NBC Studios. SNL anyone?

Me in front of Radio City Music Hall. We loved that the city was still in Christmas decor.

Heather's parents dropped us off in Baltimore, and we bussed it up to NYC on a "Chinatown" bus. The bus was actually pretty nice. The area in Baltimore was pretty scary. It was a little intimidating being dropped off in Midtown with all our luggage. But we navigated the subway and towed our stuff to our hotel in Queens. It wasn't too scary this time, since I'd used the subway before. We never even had to pay for cab fare! This is a shot looking at Manhattan from Jersey.

We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at probably 11 PM. The skyline was absolutely amazing. This is a shot from the bridge looking at lower Manhattan. I learned that our camera isn't so good at nighttime photos. This was one of the better ones we got.

Heather in Central Park at around dusk. This is near the Great Lawn. Heather is singing the song from Enchanted. I personally felt like we were going to be mugged with Heather dancing around and singing with dark approaching.

Our last night in the city, we were able to go to an amazing jazz club in the Village. The music started at midnight and went through the night. We stayed for a couple of hours. The club was very small, just as you'd imagine. When we got there it was packed, and we had to stand in the back for 30 minutes to get a seat. The quartet that night was unbelievable. It was everything I hoped it would be. I was even able to talk the guy taking cover charges not to make us pay for the two drink minimum:) This is me outside the entrance.

Me at Washington Square park. This place lived up to the cliches. Heather and I were offered pot twice.

We got the most unbelievable deal on our hotel. We payed literally a quarter of what we would've have payed staying at a dive in Manhattan. Our hotel was right across the East River in Queens. The location was perfect. The Queensboro subway stop was two blocks from our hotel, and subway ride was only 10 minutes to midtown. The hotel was brand new but was in an . . . hmm . . . up-and-coming area. Below is part of the walk from our hotel to the subway in Queens.

This is a shrine to 9/11 victims in St. Paul's church, right across the street from the Trade Center Site. There isn't too much to see at the actual site (besides the construction going up). St Paul's was very moving, however. It is called "the little church that stood." When the towers came down, a tree in front of the church blocked an enormous steel beam (coming from the towers) from wrecking the church. Not a single window in the church was broken. There was a very somber spirit there. It is the oldest church in New York. George Washington's pew is still preserved in the church. He worshipped there right after he took the first oath of office. After 9/11, the church was used as a resting place for the exhausted rescue workers. Hundreds of cots were layed out for workers to sleep on. With the church's history and the special significance of 9/11, it was something I'll never forget.

Heather in front of St. Paul's. It's amazing the church wasn't destroyed. The cemetery was even preserved.

Me in front of the New York Stock Exchange, looking very uneasy because of the current economic times. The streets are still blocked off to traffic (they have been since 9/11).

Heather at Battery Park. This is where the ferry takes you to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. In the background you can see someone impersonating Lady Liberty, as well as the mangled globe that was at the World Trade Center site.

Performers playing for money in the subway. The entertainment in the subway is amusing and not half bad. We even had performers playing on some of our trains.

Me waiting for the train.

This picture is on the edge of Chinatown and SoHo (I think). This street is the best street in the city for "ripoff" shopping. "Gucci, Prada, Rolex, Versace." All sort of different sellers stand outside their shops and try to lure you in, whispering name brands in your ear. We were secretly escorted into several different "backrooms" to look at name-brand bags. Heather ended up finding a ripoff Versace for $25 after hagling. Heather also got a bootleg of Twilight. Hee hee. The bootleg isn't bad, aside from the last ten minutes or so. Hee hee again.

Good picture of Heather with the train moving at 14th Street.

Columbus Park in Chinatown. We loved the ethnic neighborhoods. I think we were the only non-Chinese individuals in the park as we walked through. All of the men were playing games native to their country.

Heather doing a fish face in front of a fresh fish market in Chinatown.

Heather and I at a restaurant in Little Italy. It was the BEST Italian food either of us has had. It actually wasn't too cold, so we sat out on the sidewalk. It was an amazing evening. Our matride was even Italian.

Heather in Little Italy.

Me at Union Square. We went to the green market and bought apples. Despite what it looks like in this picture, the place was packed all around the outside of the park, with people looking at booths. This picture was taken right before I played chess with the dude on the left. I lost badly.

Heather at the Chelsea flea market. Every weekend, tons of people crowd this area to buy other people's junk. It was fun to go to, though we didn't find anything worth buying. While we were there, I don't think I heard anyone speaking English. It's a very diverse, cool area.

There are a few of our pictures from New York. We took hundreds of pictures, so it was hard to narrow them down to post. The best part of the trip was spending time with Heather. She is so hilarious. She literally forgot to pack everything but her clothes. Everyday, we were shopping to buy something she'd forgotten: a belt, socks, makeup, etc., etc. Before we went to NYC, I purchased a pair of wool gloves. Heather wanted to borrow them for an afternoon. As soon as she'd borrowed them, she left them on the subway. It may not sound that funny, but with everything she'd forgotten, it was hilarious at the time. She was a scattered mess, but it was dang cute. I can't wait til we get to go back. I'm in love with that city.

GRRRRROOOOOSSSSSSSS

Brian and I were sitting on the couch talking this morning. Adin came walking in drinking from a paper cup. I keep paper cups in the bottom drawer in the kitchen. He walked in the with a big smile and said, "Bubby got a drink. . . potty." I was stunned with horror. I said, did you get that water from the potty? He smiled so proudly and said, "Yep, Potty." I ran to the bathroom to see if there were signs of a cup being dunked into the toilet. Sure enough their were water drips on the floor around the toilet. More horror, about 20 minutes earlier Meg had gone potty in the toilet and not flushed. I felt a very very small amount of comfort in that I had just scrubbed the toilets last night. I just cannot believe he did that. It is so.....DISGUSTING!!!

The Kids' Votes Are In

So, the decision has been made and the votes are in. Brian took the job in Salt Lake so it has become necessary to take the plunge and get a second car. If Meg didn't have school we could deal with one car and commuting, but having to take her to school makes it necessary. We have been scrutinizing every used car in consumer reports and done some test driving. We were test driving a mini van today and asked the kids what they thought. Meg said she thought we should keep looking at more cars. She didn't like the van because it didn't have a TV in it. We explained that we weren't buying a car with a TV in it. She insisted that we still keep looking. Brian asked her what else she didn't like about the van. She said it didn't have one of those roofs that can go up and down. So, now we established she wanted a convertible. Again, we explained that wouldn't work for us. Next she said she didn't want it because it wasn't pink. Meg's vot for what kind of car to get...a pink convertible with a TV in it.

Next up, we asked Bubby if he liked the van we were test driving. Taking from Meg's cue of not liking the van, he grumpily said, "No". We asked him what kind of car he thought we should get. He tapped his index finger on his forehead and said "Orange Van".

There you have it. Which of these will it be??? Absolutely neither. The conversation ended with us telling them that Mommy and Daddy would pick. So cute!

Pretending

So there is this little boy in Meg's preschool class named Joshua. He is super cute but a little (as his teacher put it) high maintenance. I guess he is a little emotional but, hey, that may turn out to be an okay thing when he is older. Maybe he'll be sensitive, right? Well, Joshua (also according to his teacher) has always loved Meg. I guess he smothers her a little bit with his clingyness because her teacher told me that by the end of the day Meg often times would tell him to stay away from her.

Well, about a month ago I went to her class for Mom's and Muffins. He came right up to Meg gave her a big hug and told her that he loved her. She rolled her eyes and acted really offish...kind of snotty. After school that day, we had a talk. I told her that I wanted her to be a nice girl and to be kind to everyone just like Jesus was. She went on and on about how he follows her everywhere and how he always wants to play with her. The conversation went on for a while. Finally, (an aha moment for me) I told her that she doesn't have to like everything about someone but that she should always at least pretend to like them. This was somehow the right word because she thought it was a great idea that she didn't have to like him but she could "trick" him into thinking that she liked him. The month has gone on and she occaisionally mentions that she is still pretending to like him. This morning at breakfast she told me that she had pretended so much to like Joshua that she started liking him and doesn't have to pretend anymore. I got all teary eyed and told her how proud I was of her. She has such a big heart and trys so hard to do everything I tell her to. My heart almost bursts when I think of how much I love this little girl. She went on to say that she still has pretending to do because Alyssa (a girl in her primary class) always coughs on her and she has to trick that girl into thinking she likes her. What a sweetheart!

Change of Focus

After taking the plunge and going secure, I have been pondering my blog. When I started blogging, I did it for two reasons. The first, was to give people a sneak peak at our lives. The second, was to keep a record of what we have done. So far, I have done a far better job blogging than I have done journaling (since the kids were born). I have decided to focus a little more on things that I want my kids to be able to read about someday. So...the only change that this means to everyone is that you might get a little bit more random posting of funny stories and funny things the kids say along with the regular eventful posts. I'll probably be posting a lot more frequently but they may be only entertaining to me. Just a little FYI so ya'all know my line of thinking and why the change. Stay tuned. :)

Final call-Secure

As of tomorrow, our blog will be secure. I have received a lot of your blogger logins but not everyones. I thought I would post once more to try to catch the rest of you. You can either just leave a comment with your google id or email it to me at heatherdroubay@yahoo.com