Only 4

garbage cans

 

site seeing.  This was one day where we decided to go to the garment district but explore on our way.  I loved that they had these little tables and chairs all over the pedestrian islands through out the city.  They were a different color depending on which district you were in.  The green ones were on Broadway near the garment district.  And the garbage cans were so cute I had to take a picture.  Again I love the beauty that New York creates in everyday things.I did find myself feeling a little claustrophobic in New York with hardly any open space.  I could not live here but I would be happy to visit again.  Space is so limited that everything is built up and I mean everything.  I thought this parking lot was quite interesting. The lifts go underground so when they need to take the top car off they lower the lifts so the other cars go underground and drive the top one off.  How ingenious.  I did notice that parking was expensive $20 for an hour.  No wonder no one drives here.  Not only is there no parking the streets are so crowded its a wonder more people aren't shot from road ragers.  Scott would never be able to drive in New York, I am pretty patient but even I was getting frustrated with people and I wasn't even driving.
We only took a taxi on the way to and from the airport.  There is a law that taxi's can only take 4 people.  This was a little bit of a hassle for us because we had 5. So on the way back to the airport our bellman found a willing soul to break the rules and take all five of us.  We squeezed 4 of us in the back seat and let my mom ride in the front.  Our driver was from Nepal and didn't fully agree with the law behind the 4 person limit.  So as we approached a check point on a toll road he told us that one of us needed to duck down so it only looked like 4 riders.  He was so impressed that we had no problem with that.  Steph was the ducker and we just put a backpack on top of her to more hide her from view.  Then he announce that when we got to the airport we shouldn't all get out to get the bags and would one of us mind just walking away from the taxi.  Again no problem there.  As soon as the cab stopped I slipped out and walked in the airport.  I know how to disappear.  When the cabbie got out to help us with the bags he was so surprised when he looked around he said " Hey. Only four."  He couldn't figure out how I disappeared so quickly.  This is not our first rodeo.  

I love to see the temple

We had to visit the New York temple while we were there, no question about it.  So we got ready for the day and ventured on our first real subway experience. Lets just say my map from the hotel and my smart phone with GPS were invaluable tools for getting around.  The subway system was very easy to figure out.  It was hands down the simplest way to get around in New York. And it wasn't nearly as crowded or as dirty as I thought it would be.  The great thing was that every subway stop there was a musician of some kind.  Some were really good others were not but the experience altogether was well worth it. 

The only problem I found with traveling underground was that I had a hard time finding my north when I came out of the subway.  Everything looks the same (tall buildings) Once north was found it was easy to get around because New York is a grid system like Utah.  My sister's smart phone compass was very helpful.

Back to the temple. . . We learned which stop to get off and as we came up there was this really nice farmers market with beautiful fruits veggies and flowers.  It was a nice welcome to enter the temple.  We looked at our GPS and it told us to walk to the temple once we got out of the subway.  We couldn't figure out which way to walk when Stephanie "looked up" and saw the word Jesus on a building then looked some more and found the angel Moroni.  It was literally in front of us.

As soon as we stepped in the temple we noticed the silence.  There is always  noise in the city at all times of day everyday.  In the temple it was an immediate feeling of peace and tranquility.

The New York temple is small in comparison to other temples so when all 5 of us showed up to do initatories they were very happy but a little overwhelmed because they only had the one booth.  It was a wonderful feeling to do temple work with my mom and sisters.  As we read the names we couldn't help but think it was divine intervention.  All or names were Hungarian.  Our ancestors are Hungarian and we planned on visiting Ellis Island specifically for our ancestor Elizabeth Farkas who is Hungarian and the first of our line to enter the US through Ellis Island. It was a wonderful way to start out our trip, with something familiar and wonderful and peaceful.

This is to get the full experience of the subway.

It was quite crowded during rush hour but other than that it was fine.

Times Square

Everyone warned us about rude New Yorkers.  Even New Yorkers warned us to watch out for rude people.  I am happy to report that we didn't run into anyone who was rude with exception of one security guard. I don't know what everyone was talking about, everyone that I came across was nice.  I think its one of those things where if you be nice to them they will be nice to you.  Sure we came across a few crazies especially at Times Square but they were nice and fun to watch. Always plenty of people in costume trying to score some cash by having tourists take their picture with them.  We avoid this tourist trap but took a few from a distance.

Some of the more interesting characters we came across were the "Naked Cowboy"  a man in his tighty whiteies and cowboy boots with a guitar.  Then there was the crazy man riding a bike in a woman's bikini with pink bathroom slippers and turban (like the one Clark Griswold wears on Christmas vacation when he falls through the attic floor). Neither of which I got a picture of because this is a family blog.

Times Square was very overwhelming at first.  So many people in a strange city and more than half of them a little on the eccentric side.  It was my least favorite place we visited.  But we quickly got used to the crowds.

LOOK UP

If I could give one word of advice for visiting New York it would be LOOK UP!!

One can get carried away with the hustle and bustle of the crowds pushing you to and fro, trying to get to your destination that you could miss the beauty that is New York.  I learned quickly to look at the incredible architecture the fine craftsmen have created.  It seemed everywhere you went there was beauty, if only you looked up.  I often wondered if the locals knew what a beautiful city they lived in or do they ignore it as they rush to work.

There was a mix up at the hotel or first night.  They assigned us to a smoking room.  This was definitely going to be a problem because 2 of my sisters are pregnant.  As we tried to correct the mistake we learned that the hotel was sold out and that we would have to use that room for the night but they assured us an upgrade (the 42 floor of 43 floors) and nonsmoking room for the following day.  For our trouble they offered us some free breakfast coupons.  We had no choice but to agree.  As we went down the next morning to collect our breakfast coupons we were happily surprised to receive 12 free breakfasts.  After we ate and got our check for we were even more happy about the coupons because breakfast for 5 people came out to be $130.  It pays to complain NICELY.  I think if we were not gracious they would not have been as giving as they were.

We stayed at the Hilton in Times Square.  It was perfectly located for us with the subway hub less than a block away.  Thanks Jared for the fabulous hotel!!!!

view from our Hotel window

View from our hotel window

New York

My baby sister moved to New York so my sister Amy came up with the idea that we all go for a trip to visit her and make sure she was okay.  It took a lot of preparation to get this trip going.  I was nervous about what to do with my kids.  As I went back and forth on the idea Scott said this was a trip of a lifetime and I should go.  When I told him my concerns he stated "I'll just ask my mom if she'll watch the kids."  This is no small feet.  I once asked if she would watch the kids while Scott and I went on a date.  She firmly declined.  So when Scott asked her if she could watch them for my trip I was surprised that she said yes.  I made sure everything was taken care of and I cancelled all lessons (she doesn't drive).  Finally the big day came.  We headed off to the airport at 11.  

While we were waiting to board the plane we got caught up in finding a game on the ipad.  My sister Amy walked away talking on her phone then my sister Kate said "See Ya".  It wasn't until we heard our names being paged that we looked up and realized our plane had boarded and we (Mom, Steph and I) were not on it.  We ran to the gate and made them let us in.  When we found Amy and Kate already on the plane we asked "Why didn't you tell us you were boarding?"  Kate replied "I said see ya."  That doesn't mean anything Kate always says that when she doesn't want to be near us.  We all got seated just fine.  

I struck up a conversation with the 2 ladies sitting next to me.  We were laughing up a storm we had such a good time.  The gentleman across from me was chuckling away as well.  When the plane landed one of the ladies announced she didn't want to go home she wanted to come to New York with us because she could tell we were going to have a great time.  The gentleman across agreed.  This trip had the promise of a great time.
As we arrived in New York I realized that this is not a place for children.  We kept saying over and over that we were glad we didn't have our kids with us.  It was crowded and the air quality was awful, and we did A LOT of walking!!  I think we walked around 100 miles in the 6 days we were there.  This is not an exaggeration.

Geek of the Week

This is what happens when we go out to eat at a place with music.  Never fails. This particular place happened to be Joes crab shack.  They were dancing behind the glass of the play place. What a bunch of geeks

The Force

Peter has finally honed the force, just enough to open and close doors.

We were at his favorite place the DI when he discovered he had this awesome power.  He and all the people in the check out line were very impressed with his new ability.

Being the gentleman that he is he used the force to open the doors for all the people coming in.  

He was at it for quite some time before I finally whipped out my phone to document his latest development.  Beware,  if you get on his bad side who knows what he'll do with the force.

Peterism and Brennenisms

Some funny words my kids have said. Brennen had a lesson in church about lying.  His teacher told them the story of Pinocchio.  While at the dinner table he proudly announced that he knew the story of Pitokyo.
Peter heard something funny and mentioned that it was so her-rare-ious.  Then he picked up is calcater (calculator) to do some numbers

Geek of the Week

This is no one I know just some kid at Planet Play which my kids like to call Pizza Planet. I have never seen anyone look like this that wasn't doing it as a joke.  So the Geek of the Week goes to some unknown kid whom I just couldn't believe chose this look on purpose.  Talk about a redneck.

You can't really see it in the picture but he has a sweet preteen moustache

p.s. sorry about the quality of pictures I was trying to get one without it being too obvious.

BYU vs UTAH

Scott and I went to the BYU/Utah game this weekend.  He was so excited.  He woke Sat. morning jumped out of bed and stated sifting through his closet trying to decide which BYU shirt to wear.  Then he laid the rest out for me to chose one.  I calmly let him know that I'm sure I could find a blue shirt to wear.  We got our tickets on ebay at a steal for $100 a piece.  They were great tickets 11th row.  As we walked from our car to the stadium we got more jeers than I care to admit to.  Shouts of go away, and plenty of BOOO's and other comments I don't care to repeat were thrown our way.  I have to admit I was getting a little nervous.  The stadium began to fill with bodies and all I saw was a sea of red.  Where was all the blue?  They eventually came,  all 200 of them not including the marching band. I was relieved to find the opposing fans sitting next to us were harmless.  I can't say the same for the fans a few seats over.  It was quite the experience.  Some fans were totally crazy.  The good kind of crazy.  This one guy in front of us would randomly turn around and shout  "GO UTAH WOOOOO!"  The poor lady in the seat behind him needed a face mask to protect her from all his spit.  Then there was the hugger.  A lady that got very friendly with anyone wearing red.  In this case I'm glad we wore blue.  Then there were the insane fans reeking of alcohol and swearing up a storm.  Lets just say the atmosphere was very different from a BYU home game. I almost said something but I knew Scott wouldn't approve.  Sometimes my mouth gets away from me and he is sure I am going to get him beat up some day. 

The weather could not have been more than perfect.  

 Neither of the teams played very well.  The refs threw out about 50 flags and everyone seemed to have butter fingers. They whole experience was a learning one for me.  I really don't know much about football and I kept asking Scott what things meant.  I am sure he would have had more fun with one of the guys but I was grateful he wanted to take me.  Thanks babe I had a good time with you even if we didn't win.

the spitter

extra time?

I thought with all my kids in school I would have all this extra time. I thought of all these projects I could finally get around to doing, quite a few of them sewing projects. Turns out I was very much mistaken I actually just got busier.  I did finally get my couch pillows done.  Mine were looking so sad I just couldn't put them out anymore.  I went to the fabric store and fell in love with this fabric.  I bought enough to do 2 pillows  this fabric was a little expensive ($20 a yard but I got it @ 50% off) so I only wanted to buy the minimum.  I brought it home and set it next to my couch just to see if the colors worked in the room.  As I was admiring it Scott mentioned I should make 4 pillows because we have 2 couches Duh.  Well now I had to go back to the store for more fabric only to find they were all out.  So I ended up getting the striped fabric for the back of the pillows.  It works and now my fabric stretched to make 4 pillows.  To save me some money I didn't buy pillow forms for $8 each. Instead I bought standard pillows for $3 each and cut them in half. Voila 4 designer pillows for less than $20.  

Now if I can only find time to make my lace skirt and trim my garden and winterize my wave runners, and detail the downstairs, and build shelves in the garage etc. . .. . .

canning Grape juice

How bountious are my blessings.  I have so many grapes that there is no way we could eat them before they went bad.  I thought about raisins but we don't really eat that many so I thought I would try grape juice. I never canned grape juice before but there is a first time for everything. I set out to harvesting and there never seemed to be an end.  I picked and picked for over hour. Brennen was helping me  and he was getting creeped out by all the spiders.  That is until I told him the spiders were actually good because they were eating the bugs that were eating the grapes.  After that he was all for spiders.  He would see a bug and call a spider to come over and eat it.  After I picked them all I filled my bins with water to wash them.  Little did I know how creepy this step would be.  For those organic growers out there be prepared.  As the water filled ALL THESE BUGS AND SPIDERS CAME CRAWLING UP AND OUT OF THE TOTES.  It was like a bad horror movie. I couldn't believe how many were hiding in the grapes.  So I washed and rinsed and washed again then I went through them one by one to make sure all the yuckies were gone.

Next step de-stemming and juicing the grapes.  This step took F-o-r-e-v-e-r.  It seemed like 30 min= 4 quarts of juice and we canned about 36 quarts. I had my trusty canning partner my sister Amy.    

Steps

1. get grapes and clean them

2. take off stems.  This process isn't necessary but I did it with the thought of making fruit leather with the leftover pulp.  (after 6 hours in the kitchen I bagged that idea. I was sick of grapes)

3. Steamer is a must.  put water in the bottom part and I put in a couple of coins so I could hear if I was out of water.  When you hear the coins rattling your fine.  If its silent you have a problem check your water level with each new batch of grapes added (use coins of the same metal so you don't ruin your pan)

4.put washed grapes in the strainer part of the pot put on the lid and wait.

  The juice will start to come out of the hose.  You are not supposed to stir the grapes if you want clear juice. I don't care about clarity so I stirred them to get every last ounce of juice from my hard earned grapes.

5. put on your canning lids.  I put mine in a water bath for 15 min to make sure they were sealed. (a step I learned later that it is not necessary. Oh well at least I know they are sealed)

This is concentrated grape juice so you mix 1 part juice 1 part water and add sugar to taste.  It really shouldn't take more than 1/4 cup of sugar per 1 gallon of mixed juice.

Now what to do with all these apples?  I just bought a juicer so maybe we'll just have fresh apple juice.