New York

New York was definitely amazing. We had a blast seeing all the very large buildings - and getting lost on the Subway. I tell you, it really does take a genius to be able to decipher those stupid maps. Luckily for us, Sheena was just a phone call away and she is very familiar with the subway system. Our first hotel was very scary. I just have a word of advice for anyone wanting to visit New York City - DO NOT GO CHEAP ON HOTELS! No matter how expensive you think $200+ a night is, it's totally worth it. I booked us a hotel for $130 a night and when we got there - we were in the middle of the FREAKING ghetto in QUEENS of all places! We stayed one night and then booked a better hotel right in Manhatten. We were on 49th and 10th. Five blocks away from 5th avenue (where everything is). It definitely got better once we got to a better hotel.

We met up with Sheena one of the nights and walked across the

Brooklyn Bridge and had real Brooklyn Style Pizza. It was kind of

getting dark when we walked there, and it was dark when we came back. You definitely get a different perspective on the city when you see it all lit up and from a distance. It really is beautiful.

See... I told you the city was beautiful!

I hadn't seen Sheena since they moved to New York like 2 years ago. It was so nice to be able to spend the evening with her and catch up. Thank you and Love ya!

We went on "Top of the Rock" (Top of Rockefeller Center) and got a GREAT view of the city. We walked passed Tiffany and Co. and I had to keep myself from going inside - that could have spelled disaster for my checking account. The building behind Nate in this picture is the Empire State Building. And, a little bit of New York Trivia (thanks Sheena) - did you know that the top of the Chrysler building is made of old car parts?

Central Park was beautiful and SO peaceful. When you're relaxing in the sunshine, it's almost like you can't hear the city anymore - everything just fades out. I see why people like to hang out there a lot and have picnics. I would if I lived there.

We got tickets to David Letterman. The only guest I knew was Ashton Kutcher. (He's always a pleasure to look at). The show was really funny and it was interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes. To get tickets to Letterman you enter online, they call you with a trivia question, and if you answer correctly - you get the tickets. We never watch Letterman, so I was completely amazed that I got the answer right. The answer was "Where does Rufus work?" (I think the name was Rufus) anyway - if you don't know it, he works at the Deli down the street. I was STOKED when I got that answer right, and for never watching the show I was pretty pleased with myself. I really wanted tickets to Conan O'Brien but he wasn't currently giving out tickets because they are booked for like 2 months.

We took a helicopter ride over the city. It was only about 12 minutes long, but it was amazing. Yet another way to get a different perspective of the city. Here is a shot of the Statue of Liberty from the chopper. It's beautiful, but it's not as big as I had imagined it would be.

Anyway - this part of the trip was amazing. I definitely think that if I ever go back to New York it will probably be with my sisters and will more than likely be a pure Broadway trip. I think we would go for 4 days and see a different show every night. That would be awesome! I wanted to get tickets to Wicked but Nate isn't into that stuff, and the price of $140 per person choked me a little. But they currently had Wicked, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid and The Lion King playing (among others).

Washington DC

I am finally getting to my blog after being home for a week. It's been interesting playing catch up with work and school and my yard. Our trip was amazing and worth every penny (and believe me, that's a lot of pennies). We had some very interesting experiences, but believe it or not, Nate and I got along the ENTIRE time without killing each other. We had a lot of fun together and were able to spend good quality time with just us. It was awesome! We went to Washington DC first. Flying into Baltimore, MD I came extremely close to throwing up on the plane, but I held it back. I have never gotten sick before on flights, but this one almost did me in. Then getting from the airport in Maryland to our hotel by the Pentagon in Washington DC was interesting and um... adventurous I guess you could say. I felt bad because the one thing Nate really wanted to see was the Declaration of Independence. Well, just our luck- the building was under construction and not open to the public so we couldn't see it. Here are a few pictures from Washington DC though.

Arlington National Cemetary - notice the sentinels are in perfect rows. Only the best for those who give their best.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier- If you ever get a minute, google some information on the requirements it takes to be a Guard at the Tomb. It's amazing the qualifications these boys have to have.

The Capitol Building. Washington DC completely dies down at night. Nothing is exciting or happening there at night. Everywhere we went, the cops were eyeing us down to be sure we weren't doing anything wrong. It was really creepy. Definitely not a night life city.

The Lincoln Memorial

There are a whole bunch of these statues of soldiers. It's very peaceful and almost sacred to be in the presence of these. It definitely makes you very proud to be an American.

Iwo Jima Memorial

The White House

The Saddest Day of my Life

I sent a text around to those of you who new Jeff. The day we got the call that his little boy had passed away, I don't think I have ever cried so hard. The pain that goes through your body when something like that happens is indescribable. I can't even come close to imagining what Jeff and Emily have been feeling. Weston Lee Campbell passed away from a colon disorder he was born with. There was no way to know that he had it, and there was no way of preventing it. Even though he was only with us for 20 short months, we all will cherish those months for the rest of our lives. He was the light of his parents lives and brought so much joy to everyone he came in contact with. He was (and still is) the most beautiful little boy. I'll never forget those big brown eyes, and his adorable binky protruding from his mouth. Miss you bud.