So much to be glad about

Well, it is absolutely true that time flies. It is hard to believe that we have been here now 9 weeks. We feel so blessed in our circumstances right now, to have been able to sell our home at just the right time. The reality of this Wall Street crunch is so obviously evident here- in Ward Conference on Sunday the Stake President mentioned that he hadn't received this many phone calls since 9/11. There are so many people in the Ward (and Stake) who work in the Financial District. They are just living their lives one day at a time right now- this is one time that being an organ builder is a very steady job; strange, I know!!

So for the activities of our household during the past 2 weeks:
On Friday Sept 12 we went with our friends (Kristen and Matias, and Gil, Marin, and Charley) to Victoria Gardens which is the amusement park for kids at Central Park. This was their last week being opened, before the skating rink opens for the winter! We had a lovely time, paying 2 arms to get in- though we were only able to enjoy it for a couple of hours before it began to rain. The first ride that the kids went on was the one that has individual swings for everyone to ride in and it goes around and around up in the air. No problem, this has always been a favorite of mine, however it didn't cross any of our minds that Eli has never been a fan of swings in general! So poor Eli was left to be terrorized through the whole ride claiming "I hate...this thing" through clenched teeth. He did pretty good recovering and was able to go on other rides after the incident. We had other great amusements in town introducing Kristen and Mati to Dylan's (we have been there too many times now) this time they had the chocolate fountain out in celebration of International Chocolate Day. We made a run to the old friend FAO Schwartz, and a first time stop over at the Disney store on 5th. Eli was thrilled to have his picture taken with Chip and Dale and Donald Duck.

Monday night we had our Family Home Evening with a fellow named Anders Karlsson, who Joe met at church on Sunday. He is from Sweden and was here on business. We met up with him and went to Dylan's candy bar of all places and tried out the ice-cream parlor upstairs- it is overrated for sure. We had an enjoyable time just visiting with him and Joe got his Scandinavian fix in for the day! The full moon was gorgeous and made for a great picture of our family and the Crysler Building with a full moon, which Anders took with his camera- (we will add it when he sends it to us!) They have 4 kids just opposite ours and two years younger- two girls, oldest and youngest, two boys in the middle. Same age splits and everything- their oldest daughter is Kaija's age and youngest 1 1/2 years old. I think the cogs in Joe's head were turning- not such a bad idea to have planned marriages te, he, he! Oh, for the love of Scandinavia!!

Tuesday morning we went with Kristen and Sara and their kids to the Doughnut Plant down in Chinatown and got some yummy doughnuts- raspberry glaze, tres leche, coconut cream, chocolate etc. Yes, admittedly we have had WAY too much sugar in our lives lately!!! Oh well, we will be back in Warrensburg soon enough without yummy, fun places to eat- live it up, that's what I say! Anyway, we burned some of those extra calories by playing at a park nearby and shopping around a little bit.

Wednesday morning Kristen, Sara, Marin, and Amiee and I with all of our children went to the Bronx Zoo which was spectacular- and it was the most beautiful and perfect day ever known to man! The camels made a huge impression on us as they were healthy and happy looking- something unknown to us in our zoo travels. Usually they look like they were hit with the ugly stick; having their humps falling off their backs, and their mangy looking dread-lock patches semi-attached. We were so pleased of their confident manor in the Bronx! Yea Camels! The Gorilla forest was wonderful with mists and waterfalls and other things to amuse onlookers. It was just a fantastic day and we were so glad to spend it with such fine friends!

Friday and Saturday I was able to help our friend Suzan Nelson pack up their things for their move back to Provo. It was such fun and a good break for me since the kids could work on their school stuff in our apartment while I was seven floors up with Suzan. Suzan and her husband Tom were the first members that we met upon our arrival- they were going to dinner with the Sister Missionaries and we all happened to meet in the foyer of our building. They were instrumental in helping us find the church building on the east side (since the temple building is currently undergoing renovations). They have been so fun to get to know and we are so sad for them to leave, however, they are conveniently moving in "across the street" from my parents in Provo; that should work out nicely!

For our final outing of the week, we found ourselves in a crazy crowd down in Little Italy on Saturday night for a street fair or festival of some sort- we just had to check it out- though Joe wouldn't hear of actually eating there. It was a very busy place and sort of repeated itself each block, so we ditched and wandered around Soho, Noho and Nolita and somehow ended up at the K-Mart; how weird, but we were able to get some items that you just can't find at other places around here. I never thought I would be shopping at K-mart in Manhattan- I could probably say it was the least notable shopping experience yet!