Our last visitors...

So Brian and Wendy were our last NYC visitors, unless any of you surprise us! We jam packed the weekend. Those two have got some major energy reserves! I don't think Soph and Jack are giving them a hard enough time at home. We shopped SoHo, ate pizza, toured Time Square, ate Middle Eastern cuisine, got Wicked tickets(hey-oh!), ate bar food, rode on the Harbor Lights Cruise, and then ate some more greasy delicious food. Our New York touring is officially complete after having Bri and Wendy. Hope you had fun!!!

I am so impressed with how great they look. Tan, thin, even svelte. They made me feel a bit too pale and a bit too soft but that's okay because I am motivated.

Brian was a picture taking fool! He was all over utilizing his new camera. He might as well have painted TOURIST all over his forehead. I'm surprised we didn't get robbed. Probably because I am so street smart these days.

Yes this is us taking pictures of each other...nerdiness is in the genes:)

Brian was so awed by the city, I had to practically hold his hand to keep him moving. Like a little kid in the candy store.

Check out Wendy and Brian staring; Wendy at people, Brian at potential photography opportunities. Out of control.

We hope you had as much fun as us. Love you guys!

brookesballbuster.blogspot.com

I started a fitness and health blog family! brookesballbuster.blogspot.com....now you might be asking why Brooke's ball buster? Well, I owe Bryson credit for the stellar name. Thanks Bruce! These are some pics I took for the blog, I document all the food I eat. It really holds me accountable for the choices I make. Come check it out and support me!

Gabe eating the opposite of a healthy meal.

Me eating overpriced yogurt, just come check out the blog, brookesballbuster.blogspot.com

Time for warm weather visitors...

Robin stopped in New York on her children visiting circuit and we think we showed her a pretty good time....
Gabe's cousin Gage and his family just moved to New Jersey so they came to visit us. Their little girls Charlotte and Evelyn were the calmest most cuddly kids I've ever met. I was in heaven holding Charlotte....I pray our kids will be cuddly!
We went to the Aquarium in Brooklyn. This picture was taken at the Sea Lion show. The best part was the pre-show dance off between the down syndrome guy and his girlfriend standing a few bleachers down from us....in hindsight I probably looked like I was making fun of them but I was really just loving it. They had some killer moves!

Gabe's ready to be daddy.

We played at the beach at Coney Island. While I tried to nap the girls thought it was a good idea to try to bury me in the sand.

It was a great time and we really enjoyed having Robin with us for a few days.

Hey-oh for life experiences!

I had quite the life experience today...I got a colon cleanse and wow was is an intense experience! This man was not there but this was the machine that did the magic. To be honest I would not recommend the procedure. To begin with the salon that I got this service done in was super sketchy so I probably should have taken a hint and just left it at that but I didn't of course. I could really go into detail about the discomforts and awkwardness and if anyone is curious let me know, because I am more then happy to fill you in:) But I'm going to sum up the experience as invasive and I've got to be honest I feel a bit taken advantage of. You live and you learn!! and then you don't get a colonics!

Easter, New York Style

We hope everyone had an absolutely wonderful Easter weekend! We missed the fam but we continued on with some of our old traditions of egg dyeing and we checked out a fabulous easter parade on 5th avenue....so first off we need our viewers to vote on the eggs that we dyed. Batch #1 and Batch #2, you let us know which one wins your hearts delight.

Batch #1

Batch #2

And here goes the Easter parade...

Alice in Wonderland were a big hit.

Don't these guys look like missionaries? Well, they're not. I checked for badges.

I'm just thinking, what encouraged these women to want the attention from ugly hats?

It was starting to get awkward standing next to this guy, because it took forever to get the camera to work. He kept saying in a really munchkin like voice, "we done yet, we done yet?"

This family was so adorable. I am going to make my kids dress up just like this, though I will not make them parade around 5th avenue and have random people take pictures of them.

It was my goal to get a in a picture with a transvestite. Don't ask me why, I'm just fascinated with them!...They were really bitter that we were taking the pictures in the wrong direction of the sun. DIVAS!

Spring has sprung...and so have my eyelashes

Gabe threw his back out last night, so if it looks like he's got a stick stuck up his bum then that's why.
I absolutely love the smell of spring. This was the first tree to blossom in our neighborhood.
Do you notice my beautiful foe eyelashes?...Yesterday I went with 2 of my students to the nail salon, while they got 3 inch acrylics put on. I opted for the familiar choice of fake eyelashes. They are a little bit out of control and Gabe says it kind of looks like I'm playing dress-up with them on but I think that's why I like them:) Dress up is my favorite...anyways, I have never had so many compliments from the students. Funny, huh?

I'm a proud owner of a Bluetooth

Thank you Momma for the Bluetooth! Even though you didn't realize what the device was;) I am hands-free and lovin' it! Tonight I came home and opened up my package and I immediately made Gabe take Reggie on a walk so I could talk to him on it. I feel so uninhibited with this new piece of technology that I just want to take a page from Robin's book...(she is a recent owner of a Bluetooth herself and she is looking into getting it surgically implanted to her ear). I can't wait to catch the looks of people on the street wondering if I'm talking to myself or if I am on a Bluetooth...the simple joys of life. Call me!

Friends!!!!

Our best friends Adam and Tara spent their precious spring break to come visit us. It must be because we are so awesome and lovable that everybody wants to be near us...or maybe it's just because we live in New York City. Either way it's so nice to have loved ones come out.




Tara and I were chatting away on the subway when we notice the boys have been giggling really hard. We start listening in to their conversation and realize that they were unsatisfied with the "1-866-866-MALE" as being the phone number for an impotence advertisement. Here were some of their ideas...1-866-MY-SHAME, 1-866-NO-BONER, 1-866-NOT-HARD....boys will be boys.
Adam was such a sport about accompanying Gabe on Reggie's walks. Thank you Adam! Gabe, why are you wearing my robe outside?

Valentine's Day

I woke up to these beautiful roses! Gabriel was thoughtful enough to wake up early on Saturday morning while I was still asleep to buy these so I could wake up to them:) Sweet, huh?

It's become our tradition to make dinner for each other on Valentine's so that we don't have to battle the crowds. It's a fun tradition because we cook cuisine that we would never make otherwise. This year was Gabe's turn to make the meal for me and he chose Lobster. I am naive and had no idea that you bought them alive! I couldn't bear to look at them before they were cooked, hence the reason why Gabe is taking the self shot.

The lobster turned out delicious! It was a fun meal to eat at home. It was such a mess trying to pry the shells open! Gabriel conquered the art of romance once again!

Late Show with David Letterman

Brooke and I have really been New Yorkin' it up lately and this past monday was no exception. We scored tickets the The Late Show with David Letterman. It was AWESOME! Martha Stuart was the main guest and I'm pretty sure Dave really doesn't like her. He was really going after her and It was so much fun to watch. I'm fairly certain that Dave was putting on an extra special show because he knew we were in the audience. Ya- we're that cool. And I'm pretty sure paul even glanced in our general direction. The best part is that they were filming the friday show so you all can watch if you want to catch a glimpse of us on t.v. The camera swept over us a few times so be on the lookout. We were about 3 or 4 rows back and right on the isle. Brooke is wearing a bright green shirt. Just look for best looking couple in the audience.

Pasty white and lookin' fine!

Okay, so Brooke and I got tagged and this is the result. Let me tell you the story behind this particular picture. Brooke recently started a fitness challenge that required her to get her body fat tested and weigh herself and do the "before" pictures. Well, I am not doing the fitness challenge but I am trying to drop a few pounds so I told Brooke that I would do the before and after pictures with her. This is, obviously, the before picture from behind, don't pretend like you don't like it... I know you do. Maybe if you're lucky I'll post the "after" picture too. That will be a real treat.


The Rules:

1. Go to your documents/pictures.
2. Go to your 6th file.
3. Go to your 6th picture.
4. Blog about it.
5. Tag 6 people to do the same.
6. So here we go...

So now we'll tag:

Carrie & William
Brian & Wendy
Mikell & Seth
Brandon & Krystyn
Jed & Brooke
Jane

Born anew

Last night we won the raffle for $25 front row seat Wicked tickets, originally these tickets sell for $300!!!! All I have to say is that I am a new woman. I am now a believer in Musical Theater. I never expected to be blown away by the theater, but I was and I'm in love. It was seriously so entertaining and out of this world that I honestly didn't blink for 2 and 1/2 hours. For real, it was that awesome.

Casey's NY College Trip

My brother Greg and his daughter Casey came out to NYC so Casey could audition for several Musical Theater and Vocal Performance colleges. Turns out she's pretty dang good and we had a great time having them out here. The auditions seemed to go well but you never really know with these things until the results are in. We're keeping our fingers crossed for you Casey.

I'm gettin' fit!!

So family I am participating in a body challenge at my work. My co-workers are totally serious about it. We had to get all our measurements, weight and body fat analysis recorded by a physical trainer and we even had to take a before picture! Yeah, Gabe took one with me to make me feel more comfortable. Sweet hubby:) I have to say that I have been inspired by The Biggest Loser. I'm sort of pretending that I'm a participant on the show. The fact that I'm not obese to begin with may work against me as far as winning the entire challenge but my "can do" attitude will indeed get me far. I am not dropping below the yellow line! So feel free to encourage me. The end date is in June so the pressure's on!

Phantom

This year for Brooke's birthday I got her tickets to go see Phantom of the Opera. It was a little cold as we waited outside but once we got in, it was great. It was Brooke's first experience seeing a broadway musical and she really enjoyed the show.

It was absolutely freezing! Humidity cold is so much different then dry cold. I am such a wimp with it too.

Just seeing the phantom sign had me a little frightened.

I shave!

I don't shave, ever. I left that business behind shortly after returning from my mission. The reason for this being the ingrown hairs, razor burn, and irritation I consistently get if I shave. This occurs whether I use an electric, disposable, or mach 3. However, recently my nephew Jed informed me that there is a better way. And it just so happens that it's the old school way. Thats right, lathering up with real shaving cream (not the goo that comes in a can) and a badger hair brush and shaving with a double edge safety razor. So I did some research and it turns out there is a whole community of die hard wet shavers out there that swear by this style of shaving. So thanks to a generous birthday gift from my wonderful mother-in-law Diane, I was ready to give it a try.
So here is all the new gear: A badger hair brush, a Murker extra heavy double edge razor with Derby blades, Nancy Boy original shaving cream and arter shave gel, and a bar of pure block alum.
Step 1: this may be the nicest part. put some hair conditioner on my face and then wrap it in a hot towel for a few minutes.

Step 2: Creat my lather. Apparently it takes some practice to get the lather just right but I think I did pretty good.

Step 3: Lather up. Mmm nice hot lather on the face.

Step 4: Start shaving. This is more difficult than you might think. It is nothing like shaving with modern razors. I'm told it taks a few weeks to really get it down.


More shaving
Step 5: After splashing some cold water on my face, I rub it with the Alum. this helps to close the pores and stop the bleeding of any cuts.


Step 6: Finish it off with some witch-hazel based after shave.


Ahhh a nice clean shave. this first time wasn't perfect but like I said, it takes a few weeks. But it feels great and the irritation is way less than the old days. It's time to grow up and start actually shaving. Thanks again Diane!