New York Recap: Friday

On Friday, January 16th, we dropped Amelie off at school, Violet and Linus off with my parents, and we were on our way to NYC by about 9:30am. We made it to Liberty State Park(in NJ) just in time to watch the 1:00 ferry leave for Ellis Island. That meant we had an hour to look around the old train station and to check out the view of the Manhattan skyline, as shown behind Duncan. You can't see it, but just above Duncan's left shoulder is where the plane that landed in the Hudson the day before was docked.

We took the Ferry to Ellis Island and looked up my relatives. Sten and Mathilda are my maternal grandmother's parents.

Henning and Hildur are my maternal grandfather's parents. In other words, these are both of my mom's sets of grandparents that came through Ellis Island from Sweden. Pretty cool to see their names there.

Here's a cool view of the Statue of Liberty from Ellis Island.

Much of Ellis Island remains unrestored. Here was a cool section of one of those buildings.

After we toured around a bit (we could have stayed for hours), we hopped back on the ferry to Liberty Island. Fortunately, there was a very detailed sailing schedule on the boat, to avoid any confusion.

Here's a view of Ellis Island from Liberty Island. The building with the four domes on top is the one that is restored and contains the museum exhibits.

At this point, you can't even get into the base of the statue without making reservations and getting tickets at least a week in advance. Therefore, we just got to walk around the island. It was freezing, but we only had an hour before the last ferry left to take us back to Liberty State Park.

We arrived back at our car close to 6:00 and had to fight our way through the Holland Tunnel and into the city. It wasn't so bad and pretty soon we'd arrived at our hotel. We got settled quickly and headed out to a nearby Italian restaurant for a yummy dinner. They we set off to find some of the close by landmarks!

We found Rockefellar Center and Radio City Music Hall.

Then we walked to Times Square and hit the Toys R Us. We even took a ride on their indoor Ferris wheel!

We got to choose between the Barbie car or the My Little Pony car. Duncan wasn't thrilled with either.

But he made the best of the situation, making nice with his pony.

Here's a self portrait in Times Square. We sent this picture to the kids as an e-mail postcard.

When at Rockefeller Center, we hit up the Magnolia Bakery for some of their yummy cupcakes. Here I am, hat hair and all, getting ready to enjoy some yummy goodness.

Please excuse all of the nitty gritty details. I'm recording this as much for me as for anyone else.

Next up will be the adventures of Saturday.

New York, New York: a checklist

Liberty State Park?
check
Ellis Island?
check
Statue of Liberty?
check
dinner at Caffe Cielo?
check
Rockefeller Center?
check
Magnolia Bakery?
check
Times Square?
check
Toys R Us Ferris wheel?
check
Broadway?
check
sleeping in until 9:22am?
check
breakfast at the Cosmic Diner?
check
Central Park?
check
Metropolitan Museum of Art?
check
Dean and DeLuca?
check
subway ride downtown?
check
Wall Street and NYSE?
check
World Trade Center site?
check
lunch and coffee at World Financial Center?
check
Battery Park and plane in the water?
check
subway ride back uptown?
check
relaxing and readying for a night on the town?
check
quality time with my husband on our first trip sans kids since kids?
check

33

Today is my 33rd birthday. As I considered how to "celebrate" on this blog, I thought about birthdays past here at Tulipa Murillo. Two years ago, right before we found out we were expecting Linus and our whole world was thrown for a loop, I shared some resolutions. I know better that to try and do THAT again. Last year, I did the usual "32 things about me" post. Quite frankly, I don't have time for such things. I shared thankful things as post 100. I REALLY don't have time for another one of those! And at post 200? Well...let's just say that three of you are still waiting for your 50 cookies. So much for the best of intentions.
So for this post, I decided to give you all a piece of who I really am. And WHY I am. So, here goes:

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." 1 John 1:8-10

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." Romans 1:16-17

That, my friends, is what I am all about. I pray that as you read this blog, these truths ring through.

Thanks to sitemeter, I can tell I've picked up some new readers. If you feel like leaving me a comment, just to tell me you're checking in, I'd be tickled pink.

Still the Bride. ALWAYS the bride.

And yes, those are my prom shoes, for anyone who may remember (or care). Remember Precis? Glad they have some purpose after keeping them all these years.

Our Daycare Center

Duncan and I tried our hand at home day care a few weeks ago. The Skellys (the family of Baby Jillian of the previous posts) were to stay with us the Sunday of the WTP and head down to their family in Virginia on Monday morning. Duncan took a half of a day off to be able to spend time with them before they left. (This turned into a full day. You'll see why as you keep reading.) We hadn't seen them in four years, after all! Andrew and Duncan were friends in high school, roommates during their freshman year at Penn State and again in State College while Duncan worked for the CCO. The nice thing about the Skellys is that no matter how long between visits, it feels like no time at all. I think this was the fifth time I was even with Jocelyn (the first being a simple hello when Andrew introduced us before they were even dating and the second being at their wedding!). However, I feel like we've known each other for years and see each other often. She's just that kind of friend for me. So, we wanted to soak in all of the time we had with them, which wasn't much and is why Duncan took off from work.
Well, we got a "bonus." The Skellys managed to get food poisoning between the WTP and arriving at our house. They didn't know this until the wee hours of Monday morning, however. Andrew and Jocelyn were sick. Really sick. They could barely get out of bed!
The bonus, you ask? We got to know their three oldest the next day, as we fed and played with them. We got to visit with Jocelyn and Andrew as they laid in bed and sipped Jello and water and Sprite. We got to share funny stories about their kids and ours with them. (To read Jocelyn account of the story, click here.)
Do I wish they were well?
Of course! But had they been well, we wouldn't have had an extra 24 hours with them! It was a true pleasure to get to know Jason, Beth, and Adam. And it was a joy to serve Andrew and Jocelyn while they were under the weather.

Jocelyn, I unfortunately didn't get too many pictures. I was a tad busy:).

Fun with Play-doh on Monday morning.

Bedtime stories on Monday night.

A daycare center? Come on, how hard could it really be?

Linus Fell in Love

During our WTP weekend, Linus fell in love with Baby Jillian.

Here's a shot of one of the first times he noticed her on Sunday morning. (He was in bed already when she and her family arrived on Saturday evening.)

As the festivities continued back at our house on Sunday evening, Linus' feelings grew deeper. If Baby Jill was in the room, Linus was right by her side.

This one was on Tuesday morning right before she left. As you can see, his feelings hadn't diminished in the least.

Arranged marriage, anyone?

WTP

Duncan is still very close with some of his high school friends. Back in 2000, the __TP or the __Tree Party was born. It was decided that being neither on Christmas or New Year's, it could not be a Christmas or New Year's party. Back in 2000, it was the Fir Tree Party.

Very profound, I know.

Ever since, there have been__Tree Parties of many varieties.
There was the Palm Tree Party, in Southern California, of course.
There was the Crab Tree Party, hosted by us in Maryland.
There was the Honeymoon Tree Party, immediately following the wedding of one of these friends, in his house even. Fortunately for he and his new bride, they were NOT present.
Then there was the Orange Tree Party in the actual OC.
Next was Anniversary Tree Party. The sixth __TP, but also the fifth anniversary of the original FTP.
This was followed by the Natal Tree Party the year in which every one of the friends (well, their wives, I guess) had a baby. (Violet is the oldest of the five babies that were born in 2006. Four of these babies were present at the WTP. One had to stay home in CA.)
Last year was the California Rustic Tree Party, on the west coast again.

Which brings us to the __TP of 2008: The Wing Tree Party.

Wings are a very important element to all of these parties and it was decided that they should finally get the attention they deserve.

What is all of this silliness you ask? It comes down to a bunch of guys and their wives (and now their many children) that loves each other and have a blast getting together once a year. Not everyone makes it to every one (Well, except for Alan. He's been to every one.), but a _TP happens every year and I imagine (and hope) they will continue to happen for many years to come. Without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen, the WTP:

Linus became buddies with Alan, who traveled the farthest. He and one of his daughters flew in from CA to attend the grand event.

Aubrey and Amelie got reacquainted too.

Our host, Culp, prepared the guest of honor: Wings!

The Wings.

Linus gave them a try.

Amelie read to Wade.

Duncan gives baby Jill her first taste of Coke.

Duncan and Amelie spend some quality time with Baby Jill.

(Almost) The whole gang:

11 adults (2 not pictured) and 11 kids (one in utero) shared 1600 square feet and one bathroom for a little less than 24 hours. Until next year, y'all.

Will it be a Peach Tree Party?

Gingerbread Houses

For three years running, my sister, Karen, has had us over for a Gingerbread House Extravaganza. She bakes these houses, from scratch. Since she only has one mold, it takes her like a week to bake all of the necessary pieces. Each "kid" gets their own individual house. Not just my kids, but Karen's too. Her youngest is 15! Unfortunately, the oldest, Erin (who turned 21 yesterday--shout out!) has never been a part of this event. We thought this year was the year, but she HAD to spend the night in Paris since her flight from Italy was delayed. Poor thing. Seriously, we missed her and hope that maybe next year, she can participate. But Patrick and Megan, 19 and 15 respectively, have been a part of this tradition every year! Our kids LOVE it and look forward to it! Who wouldn't LOVE the candy buffet that IS gingerbread house making? We are so thankful to have an Aunt Karen that takes care of our gingerbread house needs. She ROCKS!

Amelie arranges Christmas Peeps in a bowl, while Megan waits patiently in the ready position. Can you even believe ALL of that candy?

Bowie Grandma (my mom) assists Amelie, who really didn't need much help this year.

Duncan was on Linus duty.

Linus could have cared less about the house. But once he got a taste of that frosting, he kept snatching the candy that Duncan used to decorate the house. It was hilarious!

Bowie Grandpa assisted Violet, who was a bit more independent this year.

More candy snatching...

Violet was interested in how everyone else decorated their houses.

She picked up a few ideas.

Megan is always masterful.

Patrick (Let's Go, Mountaineers!) always does a nice job. See that uniformity?

It was the last straw when Linus grabbed a handful of sprinkles. He had to be removed from the table.

Amelie took her time this year.

Violet and Megan had completed their houses and were taking a break. Everyone was quite pleased with the gingerbread outcome this year. Such fun!

On a final note, the Rudolph dress worn by Violet that day was made for Erin when she was a tiny tot. It's been passed down all of these years and is still in great shape!

I think I need to go and schedule some dental appointments or something.

Homestead Gardens

I know it's been AGES since I've updated. This morning I cleaned off the camera of nearly 300 pictures. So, let the posts-of-what-happened-in-December begin!

The first week in December, we went to Homestead Gardens one evening after dinner. We hope to make this an annual tradition. Homestead is a huge garden center that is beautifully decorated, both inside and out, at Christmastime. They have Christmas villages of many different times and places arranged in one area. Each series is cleverly displayed in or on something having to do with the theme. For example, the North Pole series is displayed in an old freezer. The New England series is displayed on what looks like a fishing pier. And, as you can see below, the "Christmas in the City" series is displayed in the trunk of a taxi cab. We spent most of our time studying these villages. There was just so much to look at!

The other highlight is their model trains. They have a huge train table with countless tracks and many trains all running at once.
Violet thought they were too loud.

Linus couldn't get enough of them!

Amelie found it pretty exciting too. And, as seen below, Violet got used to the "loud" trains and was able to remove her fingers from her ears.

And what else did we do in the month of December other than NOT blog? We made gingerbread houses, attended the WTP, watched Linus fall in love, ran a day care center out of our home for a day, celebrated Christmas at three different locations, and much much more. Keep checking in! The pictures are a comin'!

Happy New Year!