museum day: the met

After grabbing some pizza on the UWS, we walked across the park to go to the Met. That place is absolutely ginormous. It is huge. You could get lost in there. You could spend days and still not see everything. What we did see, we liked. Mike's favorite were the suits of armor, helmets, swords, etc dating way back to the 12th-16th century. Sara's favorite were the European paintings. I don't know what my favorite was, it was just a really cool place.

museum day: the cloisters

Mike, Sara and I went up to The Cloisters. It was amazing. There are all these artifacts that date back to the 1100-1500's. We felt like we were in Europe for an hour or so. If you've never heard of this museum, here is a paraphrased description from their website: "The Cloisters has been described by the former director of the Louvre in Paris, as "the crowning achievement of American museology". It is the branch of the Metropolitan Museum devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. Located on four acres overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan, the building incorporates elements from five medieval French cloisters—quadrangles enclosed by a vaulted passageway—and from other monastic sites in southern France."

this one's for cousin bryce

We went to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx this morning to get tickets for a game this week. Let it be known that we are loyal Boston fans and therefore hate the Yankees. We love baseball, however, so we're going to watch the Yankees vs. Mariners tomorrow. Here is Mike showing his distain for the Yankees:

day one with mike and sara

We met Klane for lunch at a Halal cart on 49th and Park Ave. Yum!

We hit Battery Park and saw the Statue of Liberty (no pics)...

...then visited Trinity Church

...the New York Stock Exchange

...then visited Federal Hall on Wall Street. This is where George Washington took his oath of office and gave his first inaugural address. There happened to be a very cool (and free!) Abraham Lincoln exhibit there. It was neat to see actual artifacts from his life, like campaign posters and badges, letters, clothing, etc. After that we wandered through Chinatown, Little Italy, and Soho, and became thoroughly exhausted. We came home for homemade pizza and the Bachelorette. (Which was ridiculous, but very entertaining.)

justin's farewell

Sunday was such a wonderful day! We got to spend so much great time catching up with family and friends. It was so so good to see all of you! I love that we're able to keep in touch through our blogs. Justin gave such an awesome talk; I am so impressed with what a great guy my little brother is. He is so mature and handsome and smart and spiritual and talented and hilarious and I just love him. We're going to miss him a lot over the next two years but we're looking forward to exchanging letters and keeping in touch while he's away. I can't wait to see the wonderful influence for good he will be as a missionary to the people of Toronto.

Everyone came to the house afterward for lunch and visiting.

lots of family, friends and food

the man of the hour

I took some pictures of Justin the missionary, and a few with he and his girlfriend, Andrea.

Can I just say that I'd be very thrilled if she was around for a long long time? We love Andrea. And look, they are so stinkin cute together.

We love you Justin! You'll be an awesome missionary and we can't wait to see all the good things you do!

prep.

Night before the farewell: in the kitchen with some of my favorite people.

saturday on utah lake

Boating is definitely one of my favorite things. My parents are so awesome; they made sure the family went out on the lake while Klane and I were in town. I love the dry heat in Utah, it's so much more comfortable being outside when there's no moisture in the air. It's so relaxing riding in the boat, being with family, listening to good music, tubing, surfing, and skiing. (Oh, how I love slalom skiing. If only the water had been flat today!) We had such a fun time with lots of laughs. I just really love these people.

These pics enlarge when you click them. It's more work so I only do it if I really like them. We're having fun playing with our lens, check out the sharpness in some of these shots! :)

I love this kid.

(okay, is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?)