Tuesday, June 23, 2009

I [heart] NY

There is a LOT to catch up on! On June 10th the Late Show with David Letterman flew us out to NY and put us up in a hotel for a few days, because (as you may have seen) we were on the Stupid Human Tricks segment of the show that night. [And if you haven't seen, CBS put it on YouTube...here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-dE_TJfOVg ]

New York was absolutely unreal and amazing in every way!! We had 2.5 days and 3 little girls tagging along, but we were able to do and see SO MUCH! I would NEVER want to live there, but it was the funnest vacation I think we've ever been on. From the streeets to Times Square to the Subway to filming for the Letterman show...every aspect of the trip was amazing. Not to mention it was free..so who can beat that, ya know? I'll try to explain everything through pictures. I just can't decide which ones to leave out...so hang on tight...there are a million of them!!! (Ok...so if I counted right there's 49 pictures. But close to a million.)

The LOOONG flight out. (That was of course delayed a couple hours.)



Ok..so our van driver from the airport to the hotel? Wow. Didn't think we were going to make it there alive. New York City drivers are CRAZY!!!

Didn't take long to find the Statue of Liberty! ;o)
Emma's mode of transportation. She was such a trooper..Nate hauled her around in this for 3 days and she just chilled!
The madness. I couldn't believe this place!
The M&M store..of course! Every store around Times Square was AMAZING!!
Times Square
Our hotel was right next to Carnegie Hall
The ferris wheel INSIDE the gigantic Toys R Us store on Times Square. Like I said...amazing.
People lining up to see us. Ha ha ha.
The 1st green room for the Late Show. We came here for dress rehearsal, where the writers and producer watched us do the act (with a Dave stand-in) and they filmed it onstage. They then decided which of the 6 acts would make it to film later that afternoon. 3 of the 6 made it. Everyone there was so nice! It was awesome.
Hair & Makeup. And blackmail picture of Nate. :oD
The greenroom we were in during the filming, and where Annette watched the sleeping girls when we were onstage. Annette was the SWEETEST lady I've ever met. She fell in love with the girls. She is the travel agent for the Late Show...and she bent over backwards to get our flights all scheduled the right way. Thank you Annette!!!
Caitlin and Abby were pretty excited when we were actually filming. Can you tell?
Well..what can I say. Dave got sick so they let us run the show for the night.
And then the monkeys took over. And YES that's Conan on the phone with Caitlin getting all mad that Dave was edging him out in ratings.
The only picture (sadly) I have of Annette. She really was our lifesaver with the girls out there.
The bandstand.
Felicia Collins (guitar/vocals) and Sid McGinnis (guitar) from the Late Show band.
This picture may look insignificant...but this is where you stand ('in the wings') and go onstage. Memorable because of the nerves beforehand...and it was FREEZING!!! They keep the set sooo stinkin' cold!!!
You guessed it...Anton Fig (drums) was sick too...so they had Emma cover for him.
The set.
These were most of the people we were with all day. The ones on either side of us were the ones that didn't make it...but they were great sports and stuck around anyways. The guy next to Nate can jump off a platform into his pants. The guy on the other side of me can blow up those thick hot water bottles with his mouth (the ones you usually hook up to a hose because they're so hard to fill). It was great to be around these people all day...they were so nice.
This is Ryan...he is the talent agent, and the one that put this all together. Again..such a nice person. Everyone there was incredibly nice.
Dave.
Central Park
We paid this bike guy to give us a short tour of Central Park. He was in such great shape..he hauled the 5 of us, a diaperbag, stroller, and backpack around up and down the hills, without breaking a sweat...and he was talking to us the whole time!
The crazy streets. There isn't a moment when someone isn't honking their horn at someone else.
Nate's favorite sign: Hannity and Beck. Double bliss for Nate.
Abs mode of transportation.
Trump Tower.
Nate's 2nd favorite sight in NY. The Big Apple. Or the Apple Store. Open 24-7. Crazy!
Get 'em hooked on Apple while they're young.
The Late Show girls.
The Subway. Cleaner than I thought it would be, but so many wierdos on the Subway! (See next pic..)
Stinkin' drunks. (Hahaha..Caitlin wanted me to take a picture of her like that for some reason.)
This was such a beautiful memorial for a few victims of 9-11.
Ground zero. I have to say I was disappointed that they don't have a makeshift memorial or anything while they are building the permanent memorial building. To think of all that happened there, I wanted somewhere to go that was quiet and that we could remember and revere those who lost their lives.
The biggest clock I've ever seen.
The REAL Statue of Liberty. What, you don't see it? Squint through the fog..it's there.

Our hotel. It was so nice to be so close to everything!

All-in-all the trip was fabulous...and was an experience we'll never forget. I'll post pictures soon of Sarah's wedding!!!!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Happy Birthday Abby!!!

I can't believe that she's already 4!!! Time flies so fast, but I am grateful for the past 4 years of my life. Abby is always ALWAYS smiling. Even when she tries to get mad about something, she has to hide her face because she can't wipe a smile off. She is a little fireball and a joy in our family. We were lucky to have a few friends and family members come to a little pool party for Abs! Picture summary:
Birthday phonecall wishes from Grandma!
Girlies at the party
Bebes in the strollers
Abs and Uncle Bob
Cake!!
Lots of help blowing those candles out!
Emma found a new friend (with the help of cake for a bribe ;o). The girls love great-grandma Mary! (Yes...she's purposely hiding under her hat.) Birthday phone call from Great Aunt Pauline! Hot tub beauties
And of course..Lindsay and I did a self-photo shoot. Why not? ;o)