NEW YORK CITY

We decided to spend the day in NYC exploring with the family. The weather has been getting colder and colder so we tried to wear as many layers as we could for walking around. Our first stop was at the American Museum of Natural History. We only really explored the first floor full of dinosaur bones and other extinct creatures. It is always fun chasing the kids around and trying to tell them about everything we are looking at. We were able to get free admission into the general exhibits, which was plenty for us to see. It will be fun to visit again and again with our future trips to the city.

After leaving the museum we had a romantic walk in and around Central Park. I guess not that romantic since we were chasing our kids around and listening to them tell us that their legs were going to fall off. You know, the usual romantic stuff? They are getting ready for the NYC Marathon so we got to see the bleachers and plenty of runners and fast bicyclers cruising through the park. I happened to remove my canvas jacket while we were watching the boys climb on some big rocks. Somewhere between that moment and when we had walked a mile away my nice warm jacket disappeared. I hope it is claimed and keeps some person a little bit warmer (and more fashionable, too)

Lunch at the Carnegie Deli. Busy and crowded, but a classic experience. Ben was longing for a foot high pastrami sandwich like the one on the counter... I guess we will have to get one next time. Connor was asleep in the stroller and we had quite a lot of looky-loos checking out our family (a waitress asked "4 kids?") There are pictures all over the wall of "famous" people who have also enjoyed a lunch or dinner entrée.

We walked along the street with some delicious crepes, caramel apples, pies, cookies, cupcakes, and hot shish kabobs to try, we were just so full from lunch--- but we did our best to try what we could.  Next time the street vendors will get more of our attention.

As we turned and continued to walk I knew when we saw ATLAS and then PROMETHEUS on Rockefeller Square (people ice-skating below), with the NBC observation deck and experience store... I felt like we were in New York. It might be fun to get down there early for the TODAY show so I can wave at the camera like a crazy person.

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trump Tower, H&M, PRADA and LOUIS VOITTON along our walk up to F.O.A SCHWARTZ toy store experience. Our kids were begging for us to get them something. We enjoyed watching the associates sell their goods and the kids had a great time playing on the BIG PIANO (as seen on the movie BIG with TOM HANKS) Luckily enough we walked out of there without any purchases made. I'm sure the kids would really have loved to get something, but we're not made out of money!

More walking, trying to stay warm, sleeping Brielle in stroller and we made our first ride on the NYC subway. Nothing too crazy, just trying to make our way back to the Museum where our van was parked. From loading up and starting out it took us about an hour and 10 minutes to drive back home. Not too shabby. Our neighbors were cooking s'mores when we pulled into our driveway so we joined them before going inside for the night.

You might think that we were so tired from the day and we all collapsed in our beds, right? Well we had also promised the boys that carving our pumpkins needed to occur sometime before Ben left--- He was leaving the next day! So we let each of the boys pretty much carve their very own pumpkins. We are proud to say there wasn't any blood spilt. Not like the night before when Connor split his ear open and Ben applied DermaBond to keep the wound together. Yesiree, we didn't have any blood or finger fatalities on pumpkin carving night :) I would call that a success!

WHAT A DAY...  and WHAT A NIGHT!

Connor's birthday

Our sweet little birthday boy! We had the Elgan Family over for a fun laser-light dance party and to share birthday cake and ice cream. The party was THAT much better when we also made everyone wear a furry mustache on their face. Silly Connor was wearing his on his forehead most of the night. It doesn't itch that much up there I guess.

 

The Elgan and Platt kids smash together for a quick picture- SAY MUSTACH!

Some of our favorite gifts for the kids are things they pick out at the grocery store for a treat! They get pretty excited and tradition has been a can of pineapple-- He appreciated the Tom and Jerry fruit snacks as well.

We sure love our Connor and the good boy he is growing up to be. He is sweet, funny, and a good helping member of our family. He is a big soul in a tiny body- full of snuggles, hulk-like anger, energetic and loud when he wants to be-- Little bear cub-- our big 4 year old!

OCT everything

It seems that lately I am capturing all the fun and daily life on my phone camera. It is handy and I seem to have it with me most of the time. As part of my "family journaling" I just have to remember to upload the 750 pictures every month! Might as well start with our September through October fun!

I went to help in Brecon's class while they drew a fire escape plan and talked about fire safety. I love these little chances to see my children in their classroom environment, how they interact with their friends and what they talk about. Brecon's teacher talked about what a good boy he is, he does his best work and really is excited about learning. He is kind and a good helper.

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Brecon hard at work and Cael swinging in the tree. Our children ( and the neighbors ) have loved this tree swing that Ben put up when we moved in. There is a slight hill so when we push the kids really hard they are flying high in the direction of the street. They love to twirl and swirl around the tree like cirque-de-siol, and they've only smashed into the tree on their backs a few times. Cael is especially talented with his twirling and spinning, it really is fun to watch him.

Here is the "front" of our house here on post. Technically it is the back because our garage and parking spaces are right behind me. It is a little funny to have everyone who enters walk through the not-always-clean kitchen to get in. The kitchen is the Heart of the Home and mine is always full of dirty dishes!

Ben and Cael were joking around with the water hose in the front and they both ended up so wet! They love to play tricks and laugh when they are winning...

... then Ben gets mad and the fun is over! No more water fights you crazy kids!

Ben all dressed up and home from work. He looks so handsome in his uniform.

My big 4th grade boy! We are still in the thick of piano lessons and he is doing so well. He does a little computer homework every night, practices his songs, does a few chores, and then he disappears with a book. After dinner and messing around, he is found reading until we call to him to turn off the light. Usually he tries to stay up longer and read even after we've gone to bed! At least he is enjoying the books we find for him. Currently he is on the third book in the "Adventurers Wanted" series. Fun, fast and a good time.

Here are a few shots from the "backyard". We are lucky to have some great people we share with, good equipment to play on, and they even let us share playing with all their dogs (4 different dogs to play with) The boys are loving it! Cael is the oldest, Brecon the roughest (we had a few incidences with a little neighbor boy) The swing set is a big hit and we purchased a trampoline to contribute to the backyard fun. Brielle loves getting pushed by her brothers (above) and Brecon loves to pet Babs. She is a good dog!

I love when I pick up my phone and I find 200 pictures of the same face... I am not even joking. These kids have hijacked my camera function too many times. Still I have to keep one or two to remember the moment.

Becky and Ben at IKEA. In the hopes of grabbing the apple strudel dessert I walked away disappointed. Europe IKEA is different that U.S. IKEA I am afraid to say.

One weekend we took the family camping and explored a nearby pond. The sand was very soft and it was a perfect day to walk along it. As we read the signs nearby we were a little confused that the water was "closed for the season". We didn't just in the water or anything, but Cael kept running into the edge. Suddenly we heard a 4-wheel speeding in our direction and a man yell to us "No wading in the water, not even your toes!" Talk about taking your job seriously! Our campsite was noisy so I didn't feel too bad that Brielle was a beast the whole night. She really does need her own container to sleep well during the night, sharing is not recommended.

The evening is the best time to wrestle and play rough. The kids are getting stronger so I can only play for a little while until I am too tired. The boys squeal and love this time with Daddy!

Our friends the Elgan's had a giant carrot in their garden and Cael thought it was pretty awesome to chew on that until he was full. Then  Ben took a turn and worked on that ginormous vegetable for 1/2 an hour. He eventually got the hiccups and finished it  despite the small inconvenience.

The day I left to fly back to Utah Ben took the boys out for some fun. Lunch at Wendy's, Duncan Donuts, and a small party at Chuck-E-Cheese. No wonder the boys love it when I leave :) Connor had too much fun and crashed on the drive home (picture below)

All dressed up and ready for church. This was sent to me from Ben while I was away.

... and this is what happens when you leave a baby with a jar of nutella open nearby, I hadn't even had time to take her church clothes off. You know when you are busy and you can hear the background noise of kids laughing and teasing one another? I thought everyone was playing together- so you can imagine the surprise when we discovered this little hungry lady. At least I know if a survival-type situation she would not be starving, this one knows how to fend for herself.

Weeds Farm

One Monday the boys were out of school and we wanted to pick apples and get a pumpkin for the Halloween Holiday. The only catch was Ben was "on-call" and needed to be close enough to the hospital in case he needed to go in. It was a beautiful day and we really could have spent most of it here at the farm.

 We ordered some Bar-B-Q chicken, cornbread, corn on the cob, apple cider donuts, and a gallon of apple cider to wash it all down with. My mouth is watering just a little bit thinking about our tasty lunch.

 As we made our way to the pumpkin patch Ben's phone rings-- it's the ER and they have a patient who needs to be admitted. They told Ben to hurry, but to meet up in an hour! This really put a cramp on the day. We ran and grabbed the best pumpkins we could see quickly, walked up to a playhouse and playground area for about 5 minutes. Skipped picking our own apples and instead filled a bag from large wooden boxes near the front gate and bought everything we could before loading up in the van to get Ben back to work. I wish we could have explored the corn maze and all the other festive things at the farm.... I just loved the experience and everything they had set up here for all the visitors to do.

 Brielle sure thought her apple was delicious! Cael enjoyed one as well.

And just because I like to remember that Ben and I were here together too!

Our Angel Aunt Kailee

My brothers wife Kailee passed away Sept 26. She was 38 years old. We got information about what was going on when she was admitted to the hospital a month prior, but it didn't seem real. She was on life support for two weeks, medications and other treatments were given to her but her body was shutting down. We were visiting family in August and we had no idea how sick she was. The last thing I said after hugging her goodbye was "We'll see you in New York... when you come to visit us."

I never got to spend a lot of time with Kailee. We always lived so far away. She still would send us little gifts in the mail, even when she didn't have to. When we would come home to visit during family reunions she would want to hold one of my little babies-- she loved babies. She would go on about their beautiful blond hair and blue eyes... I just loved that about her. She really jumped right into our family with her whole self, in no time at all she knew all the cousins, aunts and uncles, Grandmas and Grandpas. Kailee and Ryan would drive up to visit Great Grandma Hoopes and travel to family events from Boise down to Las Vegas. She would get everyone something for Christmas... even after one year when we specifically told everyone that we understood that finances were tight and we didn't want anyone to feel like they had to buy a gifts for the extended family. She wrapped up little gifts for everyone anyway! I love that she did that. My brother told me that whenever they drove through Evanston on their way to Star Valley she just had to drop something off at my other brothers home for their two children. She loved giving, even if it was only a small thing... it was special. When we sang "Because I Have Been Given Much" as the opening songs for her funeral I couldn't even sing the words and not think about her. I could not sing at all. My heart was sad about everything. For my brother, for their family, for their children.... I cry and my heart hurts for them.

I am going to miss Kailee.