New York Diaries Day One

Our first airport, Dan & Seth dropped us off at the unloading zone of the Salt Lake Airport at 4 AM and as I jostled around my various bag, purse & oxygen concentrator - they chuckled and wished Chloe, "Good Luck!", wishing her the best of luck - handling her mother...

She treated me to Starbucks for an early breakfast

What a morning! Happy Birthday to me!!! 

But I made it through the terminal [only I got a pat down through security] , after checking all of our large luggage - many thanks to Lauren Forsberg for lending us her bougie 4-wheel-drive luggage.

I chose Southwest Airlines because they offer passengers of size a free seat to provide enough room. And I wasn't encroaching on anyone's space - comfort & Yay!

We landed in Chicago with a looong layover. 

We ate at a restaurant called Go White Sox during our loooong layover.

I french braided her hair during our looong layover.

Then we sat around just outside of our gate. 

Or so we thought :(

After I got a text that said our flight to Rochester was boarding, 

we realized our mistake and booked it from gate 15 → → → → → to gate 26. 

We didn't get to sit together but we made it on the plane and to New York. After departing this plane in Rochester we learned that this airport was so cute and clean and empty.  We got our luggage and rental car and took off.  The area is part suburban, part college town and we made our way to Branca, a rustic-chic restaurant with gourmet Italian dishes and cocktails.

Aglia E Formaggio ($12)

The ciabatta was drizzled with garlic oil, oregano & mozzarella and had a cherry pepper puree and a hot honey to choose from for dipping. This was divine, the hot honey especially!

Hotel June ($9)

She picked this drink for her first New York beverage. 

It consisted of nonalcoholic tequila, cucumber, lemon, lime & pink grapefruit.  

It was not delicious! 

The drink was so, so bad with a very strong cucumber presence that was very overwhelming.

Chloe's dinner: Spaghetti alla Limone & Steak ($32) 

spaghetti, lemon, garlic, parmesan

This dish was light and creamy with a delicious portion of well seasoned steak.

My dinner: Rigatoni e Pisello ($28)

rigatoni, pea pesto, mascapone, crispy prosciutto, & pea shoots

This restaurant was close to our hotel and even though we weren't sure about the fanciness of the menu items as we looked online, we both found something yummy!

Salted Caramel Gelato

they served for my Birthday!!!

The .5

After we checked into the hotel we had to drive the five minutes back to Branca's to pick up Chloe's purse she had left behind...  

199 Woodcliff Dr, Fairport, NY 14450

Back to the hotel for some relaxing at the pool and hot tub, which was a major let down. All the pools in Kanab were better than this dirty and dingy pool. The hot tub wasn't filled more than half way and was not even really warm - sad...

I had pulled out my label maker as I was packing back at home and just came across my lotion I use each night. Dan had added a new label for a surprise as I got ready for bcd.

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Birthday Party at Boondock's

I have never thrown this boy a birthday party for him and his friends.  I've always been afraid of a gang of boys (anything more than 2 boys).  Cub Scouts has changed me and guilt has pressured me into giving in.  The fact that I didn't have to entertain any of these wiggly, noisy, dirty boys was the cincher!  We met at Boondock's in Kaysville and they had pizza and soda, opened presents, crowned the birthday boy and covered him in tickets.  Seth's tallest friend Tyler was tall enough to drive the big go-karts and he took all of the boys in turn for rides around the race track.  Boondock's height requirements for the kiddie go-karts where why we chose it in the first place!!!  They bowled, played laser tag, played endless games and spent tortuously slow minutes picking out the cheap prizes with their winning tickets!

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This Little Man is 9

Seth is my favorite son!  He always tries to be a gentleman and will probably always be a moma's boy.  He is a LEGO building, dirt bike riding, noise with dirt on it!  He crashes into trees while skiing.  He narrates his day even if no one is around to listen.  He still gives me hugs and kisses and allows me to count all of his freckles!  He likes to play out in the cold, getting frostbite, and gets upset when I make him come in and warm up.  He loves to laugh and play UNO Attack.  He likes to watch old episodes of Gilligan's Island.  He would eat Ramen Noodles as often as possible and makes it all on his own.  He has loved being a Wolf Cub Scout.  His favorite song is Come With Me Now by Kongos.  His wacky teeth are almost all grown in.  When given the opportunity to choose any restaurant for his birthday, he would choose McDonald's every time!  Seth is by far, my favorite son!!!

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Happy Birthday Gwen

Gwen invited all of her cousins to the theater to join her in watching the LEGO Movie.  It was hilarious!  Afterwards we met for cake and icecream.  Gwen is so quiet and sweet it is hard to know when she is excited.  All of her cousins love her so much.  Happy Birthday Gwen!!!

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Thanks Grandma & Grandpa Davis!!!

Grandma and Grandpa usually invite the family to dinner and then take the birthday girl or boy to Toy's R Us for 2 hours of indecision.  This year Chloe decided to forgo the toys for fashion!  When we went out for Lunch on the Saturday after her birthday they didn't have her size at the Kohl's we were at.  So the next Monday, Dan came home from work with a wrapped gift box and her shoes!  For some reason the twinkles went out and we had to go back to Kohl's were they replaced them with the last pair of size one's in the state!

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Happy Birthday Uncle Josh

I found this costume last year after halloween on clearance.  This year I have been looking for an iron man costume for Seth to dress up in, in a size 6-7.  Dan took a picture with his phone of Chloe in the woopie cushion the day we dug the halloween boxes out of the basement.  Grandma asked if she could borrow the costume for Uncle Jelly Bean and I really don't think we'll ever get it back ~ he loved it almost as much as he loves bathroom humor of all types and sorts!!!

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Chloe's Big Day!!!

She came home with this huge roll of paper.  They traced her and each class member signed it!

If you were wondering how old she is now... She's Seven!

For weeks she has been telling me she wants a new camp chair. 

Seth got her the little family peoples:

And Daddy picked her out a new bike:

She took a few calls throughout the day and loved all of the attention!

Then Dan showed her how to pop a wheelie and she thinks this bike is just too big!

This is the present she picked out and spent the money on the Grandpa Davis sent her:

We went out to cafe rio for dinner, her favorite.  We were going to go to the movies and watch Despicable Me, but it didn't start until 7 pm and I didn't think Dan would make it through the entire show!   We will have to catch it another time, instead we got Lego Harry Potter for the Wii and she showed us all to play!!!

Happy Happy Birthday Chloe!

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You say it's your Birthday...

well it's my birthday too!  I just don't think a woman over the age of 25 has any reason to celebrate...  I also feel guily after spending the weekend away from my family on our girls trip to St. George.  This is the last picture I have from our trip home:

It is some crazy kind of mash up car that I thought Seth would love!

I thought you all would love the new way I have been doing Chloe's hair.  It is long enough to curl!

I got these decorations while in St George.  I loved Krumpets and

love finding things for my house for the holidays

Or for the kids!  I loved these sparkly blue star fish like sandals for Chloe!

After getting Chloe off to school, I made some fabulous cheese cake for dessert tonight.  I had already bought the berries and glaze like the last time!!!  I didn't sleep very well and wanted to take a nap before she got home from kindergarten, but Seth and I started to shred.  We shredded all of my old paperwork that I had been hording!  We took a nice afternoon nap and then I soaked in my jacuzzi tub {by myself} for almost an hour before getting ready to go out and celebrate my birthday with the family!!!

The kids wished me happy birthday first thing, they sang me various birthday songs and I got oodles and oodles of birthday drawings.  After going out to dinner we went to the office store and picked me out a new office chair.  The kids like to climb up onto mine and I let them because they promise to give me a neck rub or to massage my back...  All of the climbing has caused an arm to detatch, but no more!!!  I picked a chair that's arms were attatched to both the seat and the back parts of the chair.  We savored our cheese cake and watched Dan put my chair together.  I teased about how much funiture he has put together for me lately after swearing he would never do it again.  And then I teased about how many times he can put the same piece of furniture together without reading instructions!!!  He thought it was an opportune moment to let me know that the kids really shouldn't sit on the arms of this new chair because it is just a few screws attatched to the arms that are holding the entire thing together!  Happy Birthday to Me!

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