1 last trip to the Big Apple!

I HEART NYC! Absolutely LOVE it! Owen and I have had many discussions about wanting to live in NYC. It has been so fun to live so close. We have taken many trips there, some of which have been just myself without Owen. Took a girls overnight trip my second year and saw Phantom and had a fabulous time! Had another girls trip and went to the Martha Stewart show which she gave camcorders to the audience! Came with my buddy Cari, and my mom. Went with the Coombs, Coxes, and Newells and stayed overnight for a Thanksgiving weekend. (rained a lot!) Our first trip was when they had the open house for the Manhatten Temple. Needless to say, we are going to miss NYC so much! I told Owen next time we come, we'll be able to enjoy the city not as students and we'll actually have money to do all the stuff we could never afford as students--like stay at the Plaza!
Everytime I've been to NYC, I've endured rain. I know it rains a lot on the east coast, but everytime I have been? Yes, it's true! Except for yesterday was a very pleasant 80 degrees and we were able to enjoy sitting in Central Park, and walking the streets without carrying an umbrella, or being scortching hot!
Audrey's birthday was a couple of weeks ago, so we were able to go to the American Girl Doll Store to get Ruthie. Maggie already has Kit and she and Ruthie are best friends. Audrey was so excited! Thanks Oma and Gammie for helping Audrey and Maggie get their dolls!





We had a fabulous lunch at Serendipity 3. I had the most tasty turkey and brie sandwich and we topped it off with a hot fudge sunday and Peanut butter frozen hot chocolate which are both to die for!




Of course I had to do my turkish trading with the nigerian streets men and get myself a new coach purse!


We were exhausted by the end of the day, but left on the Staten Island ferry looking at the lights of Manhattan and hoping to reurn again soon!

Where in the world are we headed???

Owen has had a whirlwind of interviews, several job offers and a few declines. After 6 cities-(yes, that is several plane tickets $$$), we have finally made our decision.--We just decided 3 days ago--which is a good thing considering we are moving cross country next week. Don't ask me about my nerves--they are basically shot!
In February it was Denver
In March it was beautiful wine country in Paso Robles, CA.
And then up to Eugene, OR.
Then in April it was Sacramento CA.
and then Simi Valley, CA
And then finally in June, it was Vegas.
In late April,Owen found out that UNLV was opening a pediatric dental school. If you know Owen, and have seen him on a professional level, you know that he is very good with kids. He has a great passion for it and kind of regretted not reapplying last year. But we were on a different level last summer and felt that we should just move on. A couple of months ago, Owen came home talking about his passion for pedodontics. Then when he found about UNLV, he jumped on the opportunity. I admit I was a little nauseated--most of you know that I am SOOOOO done with school. But I gave him at least the opportunity to apply. He had his interview the 4th of June and found out 2 days later that there were 4 spots and he was #5. He was quite disappointed and we had to endure a weekend of mourning. We then decided to head to Simi Valley, CA where he has an offer to work at a pedo clinic. It just so happens that my brother lives there and it is only and hour or so away from Owen's parents. I was having doubts all week and then Owen got a call from UNLV last Friday. They were very impressed with him and offered him--no not a spot this year, but a guaranteed position for 2009. He doesn't even have to reapply. We have really felt like it was right, and so we've decided to move to Vegas and work there this year so we won't have to move again next year. I have had to change moving plans and moved storage rentals 3 times now! Let's just say I'm a little nuts now, but we feel really good with the decision, and are excited to embark on this new phase of our lives. Yes, we are eternal students, but it will pay off in the end, and Owen will get to do what he wants to do. Vegas is very affordable, and we will be 3 hours from Owen's parents and 6 away from mine. Plus our good friends Brett and Angie will be there--but we are sad that Steve and Michelle are deserting us! But since this is so last minute, we are moving to California so Owen can get to work since he has a California license, and then we'll move to Vegas as soon as he gets his license and a job there--hopefully that will be within the next couple of months.
So....VIVA LAS VEGAS!

Second Grade here I come!

Maggie graduated from 1st grade yesterday. We had such a great experience at Jefferson elementary. Too bad it is only for 1 year, because it is such a great school. She loved her teacher Mrs. Kline. She was so young and vivacious! Maggie is a great reader and writer. We're very proud of her!
Here is a candy-bar poster I made her for all her achievements!

Celebrating Audrey

Our little Audrey turned 5 last week! It's hard to beleive that when we moved to Pennsylvania, she was only 5 weeks old and now she's 5! She got Robert and Jazelle from Enchanted barbie dolls and some new barbie clothes. This saturday we will head to NYC for the last time to get Ruthie--her American Doll. SHe is very excited! Especially since Maggie has Kit and they are best friends! I'll post pics of that later. If you want to read all about Audrey, go to my old posts--there is a tag on her and some fun interesting facts.

a few random pics

maggie is our future guitarist--she is always turning things into guitars--she's pretty good at air guitar too.

poor Drew--yes, he's wearing a leotard--he really needs a guy friend

Race for Education

2 weeks ago, Maggie's school did a great fundraiser. Each child had to find sponsers to donate money for each lap they ran around the school. Here is maggie on the day of her race and she ran 18 laps. One lap short of 3rd place. The school raised over $5000.00, and totaled 900 miles between all the students. I thought it was pretty amazing!

So long preschool!

It's hard to believe that I have put 2 kids each through 2 years of preschool. Audrey is pretty excited to start kindergarten this fall--now that she has her shots over and done with that is. Before that, it wasn't worth going to school if she had to get shots. This is her on her last day of school with her teacher Mrs. Wagner from Holy Spirit Nursery School.

Picture Tag

Here is how it works...
1. Go to www.flickr.com
2. Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box.--check my blog for the questions
3. Use your favorite image of the subject
I tag all my Philly friends who don't live in Philly anymore--you know who you are! Have Fun!


Birthplace SoCal

Vacation Spot Anywhere Tropical

Favorite Color Pink!

Favorite Flower Tulips

Dream Job Baby Boutique Owner

Guilty Pleasure Days--been a fan for years!

and..... Gummy bears!

Favorite Shopping Spot Although now that we're done with school, maybe I can upgrade a little--but it is a fun place to go.

Dream Car Land Rover

Favorite Resturant Panera--yummers!

Favorite Actor Patrick Dempsey--So Sexy!

Favorite Actress Kate Hudson

Favorite Flick You've Got Mail

Vegan schmegan

So here is my little update on the 21 day cleanse. It is over early. I was eating fruits and veggies only and feeling hungry and very low energy. The thing that killed it for me was the vegan meat. I had to incooporate a little protein and I'm not one for Tofu--texture issues. So we had some vegan ground beef and sausage --soy protein. The smell, the taste and the texture--I'm sorry, but so nasty! Being vegan just isn't for us. However, we did feel great on our cleanse and a little is better than none at all.

Drew's little scare

Yesterday Drew had his 3rd food challenge. In the past few months he passed his wheat and barley challenge and was able start eating these foods. Yesterday was Sesame Seed--which was one of his lowest skin test reactions so we were very hopeful that he would pass it with flying colors. After sitting in the doctors office for 3 hours having several doses of sesame seeds, we went home and I layed him down for a nap. When he woke up he was covered in hives, burning hot and was starting to act like he was a little short of breath. Now I've been educated many times about what to do when he has an anaphalytic reaction, not to mention my background in nursing, but that goes all out the window when it's your own child, and I started to freak out a little. Do I give him his epi pen? I didn't think his breathing was to that level yet. After consulting with the allergist, I gave him a does of prednisone and benadryl and rushed him to the hospital where he vomited all over me-(another sign of an anaphalytic reaction) --Well, he recovered, and all is well now.--although I kept checking on him last night to make sure he was breathing. So, I guess he wont be eating sesame seeds for a while. Now I worry about his next challenges which are huge ones--egg, milk, soy and nuts--all which he had a very large skin test reaction to. But we won't be trying those until he's 4-5.