More Mountain Fun

The Mountain House

We decided we couldn't live without a car! We've spent almost a year here without one and found ourselves renting cars atleast twice a month for out of town adventures. So.... we bit the bullet and found a (used) car on craigslist. We got a Volvo Cross Country and we love it! It's the perfect car for our family.

Our first official outing in our car was last weekend to the Pocono Mountains. We stayed at Rob & Carol's beautiful mountain house... it was an amazing experience! The Gullette family joined us on our adventure. We're ready to go back for more of that mountain air! Thanks Rob & Carol for being so generous with your house.

US Open

Kerri & Greg, our friends from Plano, came to see us a couple weeks ago. They had the opportunity to attend the US Open. Luckily, we were able to spend a lot of time together and even had some mini-shopping adventures!

Kerri had her first H&M experience - a definite NYC 'must do'! Looking forward to seeing you guys again soon! You're welcome here anytime!

New York Girls From Texas

I'm so lucky to have made five special friends here in New York. The funny thing is - we're all from Texas, but none of us knew each other before we moved here. We started a supper club that meets once a month. This month we met at Misty's apartment in Brooklyn. Her apartment is straight out of anthropologie - very cool. Not only is she a great decorator - she sings and plays guitar. It only took a couple glasses of wine to convince her to play for us!

Fun!

My "New York Moments"

I'm trying to really appreciate living in New York and all it has to offer. I've even started labeling my exceptional experiences as my "New York Moments". For example - the first time we had a family picnic at the Great Lawn while overlooking the massive skyline... was definitely a "New York Moment".
Happiness, amazement, and contentment all at once... this is a "New York Moment".

I had a "New York Moment" last night that I'd label in the "top 3".
It was a last minute decision - to go out with our friends Bryant and Christine. We decided to do a joint-sitter to save money. We bathed and PJ'd at home- then headed to their apartment. The sitter was responsible for five kids, but was happy to do it for $20 an hour.

Our plan was to go down to the lower east side, aka, Alphabet City, which also happens to be the "it" place to be. We stopped first to get some food at our favorite new restaurant that just so happens to be Mexican. Can you believe it? We found a great Mexican spot in the City! It's called Canyon Road and is delicious (the beef fajitas rival Uncle Julio's).

We've been wanting to see our friend Wes in concert for a while and finally got this last minute opportunity. Wes Hendrickson (check out his website, weshutchinson.com) used to be our Music leader at church but has left us to pursue his career. He's a young, hip and soon to be not-so starving artist now that his music has hit the tv circuit. You've probably heard his songs on Windfall, Laguna Beach, Boston Public and more. He's on the verge of hitting it big so we wanted to see him in concert before he forgets all about us.

We got downtown and we were in a sea of trendy 20/30 somethings wearing only the hippest clothes and sporting only the hippest hairstyles. Good thing I didn't wear my laura ashley dress(ha)!
We walked into this teeny-tiny club called the Rockwood Music Hall. The word "Hall" might lead you to believe this place could hold a lot of people. Not true. I'd say the maximum occupancy is 50 people and we were one of the lucky people who got a table up close and personal.
The concert was great - Wes is great. He's coming out with a new CD soon - I'm sure there will be information on his website if anyone is interested. Keep your ears open - he's sure to be the next John Mayer.

PS158

Griffin started school today- his first day at a NYC public school. There are 18 kids and two teachers in his pre-K class. Both teachers seem very nice. Griffin was excited and did great. Mommy, on the other hand, was very sad and cried. My boy is getting so big!!!!