September Stuff

2 Fun Things We Did While Matt and Lauren Were in NYC:   

1.  We did a lot of rollerblading!  It's slooow going for me and the little boys, but we're improving!

2.  We had playdate with our cute cousins Hudson & Journee.  These cute kids loved playing outside and were so much fun to have over.  The highlight of the night was when Owen and Journee snuck outside to dance and play in the rain; they loved it!

September Vanguard Game Night:  

We hosted the first party of the year at our home and played the "Bigger/Better" game.  The leaders like all the game/movie nights to relate to the monthly theme in some way; this month's theme was true happiness and after the scavenger hunt they spent some time discussing how the game tied into the theme.  Then they played a hilarious (and a bit crazy) pantomime game.

 Bigger is always better when it's in reference to an ice cream bar...

 The girls were doing the "cup song" while the boys tried to volley the ping pong ball back and forth.

Ode to My Blendtec:  

This appliance has surpassed my KitchenAid Mixer as my favorite/most used accessory in the kitchen.  Biffy has had a nice blender for a while and tried to convince me of their appeal.  I swore I would never be crazy enough to spend that much $$ on a blender... the less expensive ones can do the job, right?  Well, when you use them as much as I do, they just can't do the job.  After burning through 3 of the cheaper models, I eventually moved to the crazy side and bought this Blendtec last year.  I've never regretted it!  I use it at least 1-2x a day and it is hands down the most hard-core amazing piece of machinery you'll ever see.  This month, while grinding some wheat for homemade bread, I hit 1000 uses.

Below are pictures of what I make for myself almost every day; a chocolate, banana & spinach smoothie.  Some people crave diet sodas for their "happy drink" but this is what I've gotten into the habit of drinking.  It's truly become a treat that I look forward to and crave. Here's the recipe: 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, fill the jar to the top with spinach, smoosh it all down with a banana, 2 Tbsp cocoa powder, 1 scoop of raw/vegan protein powder, and a bunch of ice cubes.  No sugar!  I used to use highly processed, sweetened whey protein powder but earlier this year I switched to the raw one for a bunch of reasons.  The earthy flavor did take a little getting used to but now I love it!  So healthy, so delicious, and I know it's probably so disgusting looking to some of you; don't judge until you try...

Something Better than Video Games: 
Did any of you watch "American Ninja Warrior" this summer?  It's been a family favorite of ours.  The kids have been setting up obstacle courses in the backyard and timing themselves.

Pics of Sleeping Kids are Always Cute:
When I went down to check on the kids before I headed to bed, I found Lola dead asleep in this crazy pose.  I took a picture, came upstairs to show Matt, and said, "you'll never guess the position I found Lauren asleep in..." He totally guessed!  He'd found her asleep that way in the Hyde's home.  We got a good giggle and wonder what is going on in her dreams.

Everything in our house is falling apart:
1) Our washing machine downstairs is broken and it will cost more to fix it than to buy a new one.  2) Our fridge broke and it cost $500 to fix - ugghh, I guess we won't be buying a new washing machine for a while.  3) While our fridge was out of commission (for a very long week!!) I turned on and started using the downstairs mini fridge - yeah, that's broken too.  4)  I also discovered (when I moved things into our garage freezer), that the seal on the door isn't working properly.  We've got frost up the yin-yang.  5) And the straw that broke the camel's back was that our door knobs and deadbolts in both the kitchen and garage stopped working.  Ya know, all this stuff really isn't that big of a deal... but when it all happens at once it's frustrating!  I repaired the locks and deadbolts while Matt was out of town on business and though I about cussed while doing it, I'm pretty proud of my handiwork...

Bradley is Playing Varsity Hockey:  
When did he grow up?!?  He played his first varsity hockey game this week against Bingham and Davis won 7-0!  Bradley scored a beauty of a goal, had some great moves around other players, knocked a kid off his feet with a clean check, and got knocked off his feet by an opposing player.  Fun game and as an additional bonus there was a super cute Davis coach that was some great eye candy for me. ;-)

Down Syndrome Buddy Walk: 

Saturday we drove up to Logan to join in the Buddy Walk with Jackie's family.  We had such a great time joining in on one of the Leishman's yearly traditions.  Thanks for the invite Jack - it was a wonderful day!

NYC - Matt & Lauren's Big Adventure!

Hey all! Lola here! I'm gonna tell you all about my dad and mine's trip to NYC! (And of course New Jersey!) We after reaching the airport, my cousins the Hydes came to pick me up. We went to a fun bakery called Brownie Points and got some yummy treats to share! From left to right that's my dad, my cousins Miriam, Rinda, Peter, and then me! The Hydes oldest boy wasn't with us, but his name is Cooper. My aunt and uncle we stayed with were Aunt Marie and Uncle McKay.  My sweet cousin Rinda gave me and my dad each a little "Basket of Love" with candy inside. She showed my this cupboard in her room full of candy! Way to go Rinda! I could never save candy like that! I'd eat it all!

In their backyard they have a swing that hangs down like fifty feet. And that's not an exaggeration! Even ask my dad! It was a blast! But you can't quite pump on it and need someone to push you. You wouldn't believe how high I went!

FULL DAY ONE

The next morning we started off to catch our train into the city. The station we started at was outdoors, but pretty cool. We came up in Penn Station, which was really pretty! Then we caught a taxi cab to Grand Central to take a look around and grab breakfast at a little bakery. My dad go a nut apple muffin or some ridiculous thing like that. I got a chocolate cupcake with a cute candy flower on top of the chocolate icing. Clever me. :D  From outside the Grand Central Station we could see the Empire State Building! The picture below is me outside Grand Central.

Guess where we went next? Madam Tussodes Wax Museum! I was expecting it to be kind of creepy and spooky and stuff. And it was a bit, but mostly it was super awesome! Dad and I got to take pictures with some celebrities. Dad took a picture with two people I don't know. I took a picture with Godzilla, as a news anchor, as president, with Lady Liberty, and Taylor Swift. Now I wonder who got the better part of the deal? Hmmm. Any way one part was done up like some spooky movie I've never heard of. Then suddenly the figure moved forward and said "boo!" Or something like that. Apparently one of the jobs of working there is pretending to be a wax figure then spooking people! Because it was indeed an employee. At least I'm extremely positive it was one. Also a quick fun fact, my dad may or may not have used the bathroom twice while we were there and I nearly didn't use it at all the whole day. Just sayin'. The man has weak bowels.

 Next we went to the Discovery Museum to see "The Art of the Brick" Exhibit. It's original and replicated art this guy made all out of legos. I was so cool and detailed! Will and Owen would have died to see it! At the end there was a place where you could write your name on a brick and add it to the sculpture. In case you didn't know, I'm pointing at me and my dad's brick in the bottom picture. 

 Below is a picture of me and my dad at "Top of the Rock," the observation point at the top of the Rockefeller Center. It was so cool begin up do high! We could see the Empire State building again. We could also see Central Park. The second to last day we saw a bit of that but there aren't any pictures of that. While we were there we mostly just laid around, walked, Dad did a bit of work, I played the video game I got for a souvenir. (Pokemon Gates to Infinity, if your wondering) Oh, and an Asian man gave dad a free massage without dad asking. I wasn't paying to much attention so ask Dad if you want to know more. Any way that was the second to last day so lets jump back to the first day. We saw little dots down in Central Park we figure out were people. Awesome right? Oh, and a word of advice. If you wear white to New York, cover it in saran wrap. Or you won't have any more white pants.

 Then we hurried over to the MoMA. Not the momma, the MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art. We saw lots of paintings (unfortunately many of them were of naked men and women,) like Van Gogh's Starry Night and Monet's Water Lilies. Though I liked both, neither was my favorite exhibit. My favorite exhibit? A electric fan is strung from the ceiling by a thin line and turned on. The blowing of the fan makes it constantly blowing and swinging around! It's awesome! (Oh, and my dad took another bathroom break here.) To get there we rode a pedicab.

 It was fun but suuuuuper expensive!After the two floor Nintendo store where I bought the afore mentioned Pokemon Gates to Infinity, (which reminds me, twenty days until Pokemon X and Y comes out! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!) we went to take a quick window shop through the American Girl Store. It was huge! Even bigger than the Nintendo Store! A couple floors tall believe it or not! My dad took yet ANOTHER bathroom break here.

 Then we met back up with the girl Hydes and went out dinner! You can see Aunt Marie and Rinda and Miriam again here. Miriam has a fun app on her phone where you take wacky pictures and share them with people. She gave Rinda and I a turn. For the picture we kissed! Miriam's friend didn't reply so she probably was really weirded out. :D 

 Before we went to watch the Broadway musical "Cinderella" (brilliant show by the way) we waited in a plaza across the street from the theater in Times Square. Rinda and I did a little bit of silent improve together. At one point I was throwing books at her, but somehow it turned into a snow ball fight, then a baseball game. It was loads of fun! We drove home with them. They have a contest for who can hold the breath the longest when they go underground to get back to New Jersey. They also guess what color the Empire State Building will be lit up as. It was multicolored so we all won! Except the breath holding part. I won that! We also got a really pretty view of the skyline and I did my animal impressions on the way.

FULL DAY TWO

The next day my Aunt Marie came with use to New York. Below is photos of us at the Nine/Eleven Memorial. They have these two huge inverted fountains built where the foundations of the Twin Towers were. There are names carved in the stone and on the birthday of a person the staff puts a rose on that person's name. Pics three and four are the inverted fountains. We also saw a tree called the Survivor Tree. It barely survived the destruction of the Twin Towers. Shockingly it was somehow nurser back to health from a branchless stump. Later it was torn up by a tornado yet true to it's name it still survived and was replanted. That's the fifth picture. When your there you can really feel the overwhelming sadness.

 This is when we went on a boat ride. It was really windy and wet. Most of it didn't interest me. For a good part I was on the inside playing DS. But while I was outside there were some pretty cool things! A car driving on water, the Statue of Liberty, and some really pretty skyline views. 

Then we came home for a big yummy hamburger dinner! The Hydes were really nice about my Pessitarian-ness, and bought me some meatless black bean burgers that were fantastique! 

DAY THREE & SECOND TO LAST DAY

For breakfast/lunch/brunch (we missed our first train from over sleeping. At least I overslept.) we went to Alice's Teacup. It was dad's favorite part of the whole trip! We each got a little pot of herbal tee to drink. We also got three tea sandwiches each, three delicious scones to share, (they change the available scones everyday, we order triple chocolate, buttermilk, and pumpkin) chocolate mousse and a cookie array! It way lots of fun! 

 We also went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or, the Met. We spent most our time in the Egyptian Wing. In the whole museum there was, yet again, lots of art of naked or mostly naked people. Mostly women.

The most AMAZING playground I know! There's even a place you can get wet! This picture just shows the tip of the iceberg!! Just outside the museum.

Here's a cute dog store we took a look in! Tiny dogs everywhere, barking, jumping, and even sleeping like that little golden one! Awwww!

Here is me outside the Guggenheim, by the Obelisk in Central Park, and other pics around the park.

 Then we went to a yummy vegetarian restaurant I forgot the name of. I ordered Spaghetti and "Wheat" Balls. It was so darn delish! YUMYUMYUM!!!!

THE FINAL DAY/DAY WE WENT HOME

We went to an awesome spa where I got my nails done for like, five dollars. Awesome, right!? We also went to a delish nearby bagel place. 

We went to get some sushi for earlish lunch. We got three orders of sushi which was WAAAAAY to much, so Marie took some home for her family. Two of the rolls were pretty spicy but it was all delish. And they did an amazing job of making it look pretty!

Then we went home! That just about wraps it all up! See you peeps again some other time!

~ Lola!