Concrete Jungle

Sunday night I put my precious little babies to sleep at Mom's, kissed their cheeks, wiped my misty eyes, and Jon and I took off on the 11:30pm flight. As hard as it was for me to leave behind my kids, I knew that I wouldn't regret it.

Have you ever heard the song, Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys? It makes me want to dance around and get back on the plane to New York. This chorus plays in my head all day long...

I'm gonna make it by any means,

I got a pocketful of dreams

Baby, I'm from New York

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There's nothing you can't do

Now you're in New York

These streets will make you feel brand new

Big lights will inspire you

Let's hear it for New York,

New York,

New York!

I felt every word of that song. I know it's hip-hop, ok, but I haven't grown out of it yet. We got to stay in Chris and Kimmy's peaceful, clean, and nice home, overlooking central park. While Jon went to his business meetings, I hit up Museum Mile and loved every second of it. It was wonderful, refreshing, and inspiring. That place is definitely overwhelming though, so much to see and do, and not much time! We stood in line for half-off tickets to Phantom... A.MAZ.ING. We had insider's tips with Chris and Kimmy on our side and so we ate well, got GREAT shopping, and found our way around those stinky subways (seriously, the urine smell is too much sometimes, ew!)

Oh, and to top it off... guess what song was blasting through Time Square? Yep.

Thank you Jay-Z and Alicia. Thank you Chris and Kimmy. Thank you Internet Business Conference. Thank you Jon. Thank you Mom, Mush, Rach, Dad (for taking such great care of Mary and Ashton).

playtime

This big exercise ball puts Mary into giggles (with the help of a funny dad)

Ashton doesn't think it is quite so funny. One thing I love about Ashton is his ability to express a variety of emotions in a matter of seconds.

July

The Beach trip began at Grandma Mary's...



And the big party began a few days later...
Henriksen Family Reunion: 15 adults+ 12 children + 1 beach house= PARTY!!

I don't know if I've ever seen Jon so excited. I love the beach, but he IS the beach, it is in his bones to BE IN the waves and the sand. He couldn't get over the view and the "private beach" we had access to out our back door. If there was ever a question as to where he was, I found him body surfing, playing smash ball in the sand, or searching for sea shells with Mary. Not to mention beach volleyball, tacos, and his sand pillows... no beach towel needed.

Whenever I pull the camera out, Ashton puts on his cheesy face. I am taking advantage of the fact that he's all smiles, it makes for some cute pictures of my growing boy. This was taken at Ruby's Diner on the Huntington Pier.

Nellie, what a cute little diva! We had fun with all of the kids, and we wore them out by 7:00 every night!

Disneyland...What A Day!





Mary really looks up to her older cousins. Megs and Paige helped carry her around when she twisted her ankle. And every time someone had a new hairstyle, Mary had to have it. Her hair is so lovely in all of these Disneyland pictures because we went from braids to one ponytail to pigtails to braids, and then just to ripping them all out by the end of the day. My dad laughs every time she throws a fit about her hair and says she takes after her mom. I think she takes after her aunt Rachel, haha.

Noah and Mitchell also taught her how to fight with lightsabors... "and she even knows how to say lightsabor and not lightsavor" according to Mitchell.


I caught this face right before we went in to see Mickey Mouse. She was so excited when I said it was our turn. Since Christmas we had been preparing her for this meeting. I warned her that Mickey was going to be really big, but when she saw him, she totally chickened out. When we left she said, "Mommy, I want Mickey to be tiny."


One hand on her face and biting her lip... sure signs of shyness, but she managed to find the courage to reach her hand up and wave back to her favorite princess: Belle.


No matter how old you are, or how sick you may feel, or if you lost your shoe, or if you just walk and push the stroller all day, Disneyland is a Magical place. We had a great time, and we were exhausted by the time the day ended!



Date Night...


Blue Water Grill and Harry Potter 7 (side note: I feel like I need to apologize to Hermoine herself, or my die-hard HP fan friends that I was nodding off during it, but I loved every minute I saw)!

Our Sponsors... the two who made this all happen. It was a total success, a trip I will remember forever. Thank you Mom and Dad, for your hard work to keep us close, it is totally working!

And now we are home to this: (Mary's attempt at unloading the dishwasher) and sunset from my rooftop, not quite the same as looking out my kitchen to the sand and waves, but it's home. And there is no place like home.

Lake Powell 2011