All I wanted for my birthday....

...is Jude Law on Broadway in Hamlet.

My oh-so-tricky husband gave me my present at breakfast...which was an apple slicer and potato peeler. NICE!!!

But that was from the kids.

Then he gave me Hamlet tickets!!!! Oh, I love him (Wade, that is).

Since Mom and Emma are in town, we had built in babysitters and Wade took me out to dinner at Celsius in Bryant Park. This restaurant only pops up (literally) once a year at Christmas when the park installs an ice skating rink over the grassy park.

The park was beautifully lit with Christmas lights, there was Christmas music on the ice rink, and all the Christmas craft stalls were set up and open. Our table was right up against the windows and we looked down onto the ice rink. GORGEOUS!!! It was one of THOSE New York moments.

It's just amazing that in a few short weeks, all this will be taken down and Bryant Park will be back to normal.


And true to our tradition, I like to take pictures of our food. It was soooo yummy. I had a salad and Wade had steak and fries. For dessert, I had chocolate molten cake a la mode, and Wade had chocolate chip cookies a la mode. Although those cookies had NOTHING on the ones he and his Mom make.


After strolling hand in hand through all the craft vendor stalls, we made our way over to Times Square to see Jude.

His performance was unbelievable as Hamlet and I walked out of that theater emotionally drained from watching the 120% he puts into that role. Not to mention it was 11pm, and WAY past my bedtime.




So Wade, thank you for making my 35th so memorable. I wouldn't want to spend my birthday with anyone but you. I love you.

P.S. I love my apple slicer too. :)

Boxes at my back door...

...make me happy!

I love finding boxes that the mailman leaves at my back door, and this one was extra fun. It was for me!!

We spent the day in the City at Macy's with the kids so they could see Santa, and when we got home, I had a surprise waiting for me at my back door!

Tomorrow is my bday, and I love getting packages!!! Thank you thank you thank you Erin!!! I love my new coasters!!!!! And the card?? Priceless!!! Love you!

Happy Birthday Ava!!!

I know every mom says this, but I can't believe she's 4. OK, I said it.

So this morning started out with a "bang"...literally. We spent the night at Wade's parent's house and after she went to sleep, we filled her room with at least 50 balloons. Let's just say we all wanted to pass out after blowing up that many. There were a few "bangs" in the middle of the night, but only a couple casualties. Ava was so surprised when she woke up this morning!!! It was awesome. The kids had a blast playing in them.


We started the morning off with a birthday breakfast and yes, the breakfast included cake. Ava's amazing Aunt Amy baked the most amazing castle princess cake and carted it 4 hours from Grand Junction to Denver. Have you ever watched those cake shows on Bravo?? They should hire Amy because it was transported without any oopsies.


Now what more could a 4 year old want other than My Little Ponies, Pet Shops, and a $10 note from wonderful Aunt Judy??? Not much!! Well unless you include the "big barbie" from Uncle Kris which hasn't left her sight all day...






Wade and I promised her a date with just us, so we played putt putt. Ava was soooooo close to making a hole in one that she gave Wade the biggest high five. Honestly I was pretty impressed with her game. I guess she gets her putt putt skills from me because I pretty much rock.




Happy birthday my sweet girl.

My Baby is All Grown Up...

Bittersweet. My baby turned two today! We had an amazing day in the City. Central Park zoo, carousel rides, long naps, pizza, presents and cake.


He was so excited about all his big boy presents. He's asleep right now cuddling a hammer and his new soccer ball.

Sleep tight my big boy. Tomorrow you're getting a big boy bed.

Happy Birthday Wade!!

Happy Birthday Wade!! The big 30 something. Ava was really excited this morning and told him Happy Birthday first thing this morning when she came into our room. We decided to use our super cool new art easel (from IKEA...thanks Grandma) and make him a "Happy Birthday Daddy" sign to greet him when he comes home tonight.

He actually caught a later train this morning so we got to have some good family time this morning. He opened our present and the kids and I got him the "Office Monkeys" playset. Weird sounding, I know. But for a guy who doesn't need anything, it's something fun for his office....7 monkey figurines doing "office" stuff.

So Wade, if you read this before you come home, you'll see your sign the kids made, but there are a couple other surprises for you too.

We love you!!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Happy birthday to me!! The big 3-4. Ouch. I got lots of phone calls today and lots of happy birthday's on my facebook page. Love it!!

So we hired our first babysitter tonight (first babysitter EVER), and it went really well. The kids loved her, and she's our neighbor (literally on the other side of the wall), so it worked out fabulous for everyone. I even came home to a homemade card that she made with the kids. It's awesome, and is hanging on the fridge.

So I rode the train into the City and read. Reading for pleasure...what's that like? It was a very peaceful 45 minutes. Again...awesome. I visited Wade's office which was fun to see, although I'm sure he gets tired of his office "in the middle" with no windows. Oh well. We ate at this awesome burger diner called The Primeburger. $5 burgers...in NYC!! Check it out if you're ever here. http://www.primeburger.com/ 5 East 51st Street in Midtown. I don't think the place has been updated in 50 years and it's awesome. As soon as you walk in, there's a picture of Sarah Jessica Parker sitting in a booth from an episode of Sex and the City. I am a bit of a Hollywood junkie, so it's fun to see pictures of famous people in places you go to.

And with our tradition, Wade and I took a picture of eachother with our dinner. This tradition started on our honeymoon and we try to do it on special occasions.

My next birthday request was ice skating in Central Park. I know the movies romantacize reality a bit (just a little bit), but it really was cool. Wade and I are fairly decent on ice skates, so it was fun. I even got to practice skating backwards. Wade even tied my laces for me....awwwww. The only birthday request he didn't do is spin with me on the ice. Something about his feet not created to spin........or something like that. Hmmm.

We walked down 5th Avenue on the way back to Grand Central and looked at all the store window displays. There are some amazingly creative and talented designers out there. The windows were AMAZING.

Tonight they also had the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller, but it was SOOOOOOO crowded we didn't even get to see it!

All in all, a fabulous birthday.