Category: Stephen and Jodi

The next morning we woke up and hit the subway once more, heading to the Manhattan Temple for church. We didn't check the website for directions and got lost for a second. Luckily the ward we went to started at 9:30 instead of 9. It is quite a peculiar thing to see Angel Moroni peering out among high rises in the city, but such a welcome site! It is so cool to be able part of such amazing doctrine and religion. Mason was visually disturbed about going to Primary and Alexis was naive enough to think that they would only speak Spanish in her class. Once we sat with them for a second they realized it was the same Primary that they experience in Sugar City and were fine. Stephen and I participated in a discussion that was talking about unifying the ward. You see, 60% of the members were single and 40% were married. And most of the married were students attending Columbia University. Such lovely people leading such a vastly different life than mine – it was good for me to, if only briefly, think about what it would be like to trade places. After church we went to Central Park and had a picnic of bagels and cream cheese, left over from breakfast. Central Park is very beautiful and a breath of fresh air after the hustle and bustle of city life. We went to the Strawberry Fields area of the park – a tribute to John Lennon and the quest for peace. John Lennon's number one fan was there to share his knowledge and facts about the legend. My nephew Dallen would have enjoyed this- we thought about you! From Central Park we headed back to Times Square and attended Wicked. This play is something I feel everyone should have the chance to experience – from the flying monkeys to the amazing songs you can't be disappointed. Mason and Alexis were in awe. We were so close to the front you could see the perspiration. "Simply Wonderful". After the show we did take time to walk past the Empire State Building, but didn't go up. The day was then finished.

We woke up the next day and saw Trump Tower, Tiffanys, Sax Fifth Ave, and went to the Sony Wonder Lab. This was so much fun – if you go to NY and you're with kids it is free and they have a blast. It is like a children's technology museum. They were able to create different things and learn about ultra sounds and oil spills, etc. Stephen liked it too! We were most excited about seeing Les Miserables, and of course it was amazing. "To love another person is to see the face of God" – my personal favorite line. After that we walked around Times Square, saw where Dave Letterman is filmed – saw the Gershwin Theater and the sign to Wicked (wishing we had tickets, they were all sold out when we originally looked). We then ate and went back to our hotel. When we got there, Stephen checked online and found 4 tickets to Wicked in the Orchestra Section, Fifth row back – reasonably priced!!! He got them. We were all excited.

We woke up and took a bus to PATH (the New Jersey subway) and it took us right to ground zero. We saw them working on the new Freedom Tower – it is at ground level now. After looking at that we decided to go drop our luggage off at our hotel. We took MTA (the NY subway) to where our hotel was located (20 minutes away). When we hopped off of the subway I was nervous about being on the "wrong side of the tracks" our hotel was brand new, but it was in the middle of low income housing and a taxi rental shop. Considering we were saving ourselves $400 a night by staying there instead of Times Square it was great and we got used to it! We took the subway again to the South Ferry and got on the Ferry to go see the Statue of Liberty. It was as breath taking as the first time I saw her – it brings out all of your patriotism! We walked around and decided to ascend the 168 steps to the balcony up top to catch an amazing view of Manhattan. I have to tell you those steps wore my aching legs right out, but it was well worth the climb! As we were trying to leave we were stopped to wait for a minute. We latter found out that there was a bomb threat and the dogs were out sniffing around. After we were permitted to leave the area we hopped on the ferry again and went over to Ellis Island. To be honest, I think I was personally too tired to really enjoy the history there, but it was neat thinking about all of the ancestry and such that came. We got on the Ferry again and walked through Battery Park. Lex and Mason were anxious to go to Times Square so that's where we went. It is such a rush walking the streets through the myriad of people and watching the bright city lights. Toys'rus was first on the list – they have a ferris wheel in there and giant things built out of Lego's and a huge Barbie house, etc. They loved it! I was the party pooper that called it a night.

We returned home yesterday from NYC. It was quite the adventure and it never stopped until we hit our heads on our pillow last night. We left last Thursday after dropping Lily and Olivia off at Grandpa and Grandma Parker's house. (Many thanks for helping us out with them!) Alexis and Mason were so excited to ride on an airplane until they got on the third and final plane. We arrived in Newark, N.J. at midnight after a long day of sitting. We caught a shuttle to our hotel, which was very interesting to say the least. It seems they must have used several bottles of caulk to patch things up and we couldn't tell which color the grout in the bathroom was supposed to be. Lucky for us we only stayed there one night.

I am so excited that today was the day we got our family photos back! I will no longer have to answer why Olivia isn’t in our family picture above the fireplace, because now she’s there. Just this morning she was pointing out everybody in the old photo. I asked her where she was and she gave me a puzzled look – not anymore! I know what you’re thinking – isn’t Jodi prego with another little one in the oven? Yes, this photo was out of date even as it was taken, but I am so happy to have Olivia in the pic that it is worth the expiration. A family photo is priceless to me, hence the excitement. By the way, our photographer was my friend Alana Lerwill. What a talented person – you should check out her other photos by clicking on her name! She is so awesome and patient with four crazy children! It is a miracle that we got a picture with everyone looking in the same direction. She is being so awesome to let me post these on our blog and share them with you all. Come on over to our home to see the great sepia-toned head shots of all of the kiddies in person- they turned out fabulous!!!! Of course I’m not biased or anything…

Sister’s Day. A day to remember the sisters of our family. Of course if you keep track of our family you know that this day originated with Mason’s inquiry after mother’s and father’s day – wondering why there wasn’t a brother’s or sister’s day. So now at our house we have both. Sister’s day is on the second Sunday of September. As a mother I am full of pride and jubilee as my children spew forth their love for one another (if only momentarily). We were honored to have the Parker Parents over for dinner and the girls felt all warm and fuzzy on their special day. Just a side note – I really feel badly that I didn’t call my one and only sister on this day. She is truly the best. She has always looked out for all of us siblings in our family. Always remembering special days and occasions and giving me personal therapy sessions whenever I call with concerns or problems. I am one lucky little sister to have her around! She is very forgiving when you spill red punch on her white couch, or your child writes with permanent marker on her child’s one and only baptism book, or there was that time that I spilled hot chocolate in her brand new van or when Mason wrote with permanent marker on the big screen T.V. She has given my family ooodles of hospitality throughout the years and my kids just adore her as much as I do!

Counting down the days (two weeks from today) until we see Lady Liberty and the bright city lights of Times Square! This time Lex and Mason get to experience it! Lex said she just doesn’t want to ride the subway…little does she know that is our only mode of transportation. More to come ….

Comments:

Magan said…

We would of came with you guys! Have fun, go to the museums! I loved the MET
Thursday, September 13, 2007 7:28:19 PM

John Boy said…

Sounds like a good time.
Saturday, September 15, 2007 12:24:33 PM

Jeana said…

does this mean boston and south america are out?
Sunday, September 16, 2007 8:44:31 PM

Jodi said…

Yes!
Sunday, September 16, 2007 9:01:42 PM

We went to Island Park this weekend. The extended Parker Family has been working putting new windows in the cabin, siding, and building a deck. This has been a lot a work – especially for Bruce and Sharon, the busy working bees! Our family, John and Michelle’s Family, Jana and Ryon’s Family, and Stacie and Rick’s Family went up to work a little. Well, the guys decided they really wanted to ALL work on building a play set for the kids, first. So for basically the whole day the big “boys” played as they built. They had much fun. As you can see by the size of this play set it is big enough for any size of kid or adult for that matter. I really wanted to get a photo of the guys all playing on it after they were done building, but missed the opportunity! Bummer….. We topped the day off with a canoe ride adventure (see Alexis’ blog). The thing I’ve learned most about being a Parker is that even though they work hard, they always make sure to top everything off with a party!

Olivia loved the merry go roundWe went to Lagoon with the Baldwin Clan….We all had a great time.

Giddy Up
	Moving right along here
Olivia was wondering, was that supposed to be scary?
Poor Lily got soaked
	Long Day	Here we are in line for “Wicked”

Here are just a few fun shots of the 2007 Idaho International dance festival.