Josh is in DE for a visit and he, Kyle and I went to NYC for a visit. This is a view from the Empire State building.

Here we are in Times Square. We went eat at the Hard Rock Cafe' and met up with Keith's cousin, Misty, who is nine months pregnant. It was great to see her and very nice of her to venture out since she is due any day. Of course, those New Yorkers are used to walking everywhere! Not like us lazy Southern people...

We made it to Madison Square Gardens which was a goal of ours and we just kind of found ourselves in it. It is a really huge place with the whole underground a subway station and train station. A really busy place.

This is Josh and Kyle at the top of the Empire State Building. Kyle is taking the pic because I am safe downstairs sitting in a bar drinking a 7-up. Elevators are not my thing. But the boys loved it and thought is was cooler than the arch cause there was more to see.

Here we are on the ferry going back to Staten Island. It is a great way to head into NYC. We also saw St. Patrick's church which was unbelievable. If they would have built that church behind my house, I would not have complained at all! We lit candles to St. Jude for Judy, my mother in law who has been in the hospital for a long time and to St. Rose for my mom (I know she would like that). I tried to post pics of the saints but I kept getting an error and it would not let me put them on here. Weird. Anyway, we had a great time but I was exhausted. Who knows what is in store for us today.

The last two days have been quite a whirlwind. My friend, Leighton, came to see me from Chicago.
On Saturday, we went to Baltimore and walked around downtown and then went to the aquarium. It was a beautiful city but it was very hot.
The aquarium was a lot of fun and we saw lots of cool sharks, dolphins and other ocean life but this is coral that was just beautiful. Oh, and all these pics are courtesy of Leighton who was the official photographer for our weekend. We also went shopping at a mills outlets and a prime outlet so it was a very long day.
Today we went to Washington D.C. Also a very hot day but we went to a couple of museums that were really great. I don't often get to go to museums cause no one likes to go with me so I really enjoyed it. Both of the museums were in beautiful buildings too. We saw lots of modern art but I like the old stuff the best including this one by Monet. We also saw the memorials but it was really too hot to be walking around D.C too much. We had a great day but I am tired. Tomorrow, the beach!

I received an email from my brother, William, last week telling me about the pre-launch of his newly designed tote in NYC this past weekend. The company, cykochik, is putting out 6 totes by 6 different artists including William. The owner of the company is a super nice woman named Nikki (above with me). We decided to go to this NYC market and give William's tote some love.
The original bag he designed is orange and pink but she has this one done in green. It was the coolest bag there and I thought I would be able to buy one but I have to order it online and that won't be until August. But I will and when I do, I will certainly blog the finished product. The new website for this is http://www.custom-handbags.com/ for anyone interested in checking it out. It was great to meet Nikki who had just wonderful things to say about William.
Of course since we were in NYC we decided to make a day of it and did a lot of walking about and riding the subways. This is Kyle down in the subways.
We went to Battery Park where we could catch a glimpse of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and went in the opposite direction to Times Square. Keith and I had seen it before but I think Kyle enjoyed it especially Times Square.
But the best was catching a Mets game at Shea Stadium. It was free t-shirt night so we all got free shirts and it was perfect weather. The Mets had a great game, we saw two homeruns, and ate lots of food. Especially Keith! We got home at about 2:00 in the morning but it was worth it.

I went to New Hampshire this week to see my friend, Chrissy. I haven't seen her in a long time so we had lots to catch up on. She lives really close to the beach so one day we went lay out at the beach. Being it is so far north, the water was freezing cold but there were people in the water. I thought they were nuts!
This beach had many interesting sights but none so intereting as this bird pecking at this fish skeleton. It was nasty to watch but fascinating. There were also lots of rocks on the beach which is weird for me.
We went to Portsmouth, NH which is a very old, quaint town that has lots history there. However, lighthouses are my favorite things so we went see this one. It is called Portsmouth Light and it was built in 1878. While we were there we went eat at a restaurant called Ferry Landing and while there, we saw Tom Bergeron who is the host of Dancing with the Stars. I don't watch that show but apparently Chrissy does.
This big contraption is called a DUCK. It is a tour car that can also go in the water. Chrissy and I toured Boston yesterday on this and it was lots of fun. It took us through a good part of Boston and pointed out many highlights such as where the outside of Cheers was filmed. Also. where many people lived such as Samuel Adams, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and where some were buried like Mother Goose!
This is Paul Revere's house that was built in 1680. Paul Revere lived here from 1770 to 1800. It was cool to see something that old. There are many old buildings still preserved in Boston which makes it a great city to spend time in. It was fun to spend time with Chrissy and her family and hopefully it won't be so long before we see each other again.

Happy 4th of July. Today we celebrated by going to Hershey, PA. Home of Chocolate World.
They have an amusement park which I wanted no part of the roller coasters. Michelle and Kyle are in the last car of that coaster that is headed straight down. Just watching them makes me a little sick. There was also a zoo that was neat and we saw some neat animals. Since it was not very hot. most of the animals were out. That is one big elk behind Michelle and Kyle.

Lastly, we went on a tour in Chocolate World. They put us in these little cars and take us around and show us exactly how everything is made. At the end, all of this candy is around. Here is a big mess of Reeses. When I saw this, it made think how happy all this would make my Dad.
When we drove into PA, they had lots of signs for us drivers but somehow this one really spoke to me. I thought Keith would have pointed this out to me and said "Laurie, they are talking about you!" Below is a video of Michelle and Kyle on a ride that starts off of them shooting out like a bullet. It was really fast. Anyway, it was a great day. We just wish Josh and Keith could have joined us but maybe next time. Hope everyone had a good 4th.

I am really behind on my blogging since Michelle got here a few days ago. We have been busy as bees as usual.
The first day she was here we went to the beach and had a really good time. The beach we went to is not really big but has a cool boardwalk and lots of shops and restaurants so when we got tired of laying out, we went shopping and ate lunch. The weather was perfect and their was no burning!
That night we all went eat at a great seafood restaurant and ate some really good food. Keith and I had eaten there last December and it is one of my favorite places. Kyle ate chicken, God bless him.
The next day, after another day of shopping with Michelle, we went meet Keith on the flight line after his day of flying and Michelle was able to tour the C-17. Here she is in the pilot seat of the plane.
After, we got to ride on the crew bus with everyone in the flight. It was a lot of fun to see Keith taxi in and wave at each other and to be that close to the plane while it is moving. It is quite a sight to see.

I thought I was done going to volleyball games when Kyle finished high school but I guess not.
Here is Keith and Kyle playing for Keith's squadron. They are in a tournament playing for the championship game. Kyle was a real asset for the team.
But alas, they came in second place. It was very close but they just couldn't pull it off. Kyle in his ever competitive mode said second place is just the first loser. But he had fun playing with his dad and playing volleyball again.
Here is their team with the trophies and some random little boy who wanted to be in the picture. Next up, softball. I guess my days of attending games is far from over...sigh!