Spring Break 2011 - New York City!!

We had such a wonderful week in New York. Get ready for some major pictures because we did soooo much! Here we are on the flight to NYC. So excited about our trip and about seeing Meme and Gee! We got bumped to another flight so they put us in first class...Quinn especially loved all the special treats she got on the plane.

...and off the plane into her first taxi!

We ate lunch at a deli right when we got there...they had so many choices! We had soup and Q had pancakes and bacon.

Times Square!

There were a few firsts for me too...this was my first corned beef on rye...it was delicious!

The Petrossian...the building is stunning...just look at the details! And they serve caviar with everything! On our way to see Eloise at the Plaza! But first a quick trip over to....

Dylan's Candy Bar! It is a super cool candy shop that Quinn has been DYING to see...a very special treat for the birthday girl...today is the day! Dylan's had all their Easter stuff out.

Now to the Plaza...

...and here is FAO Schwarz...amazingly big toy store. A NYC institution.

These FAO toy soldiers are made of jelly beans!

Then back to Times Square/Theater District to see The Lion King. It was a birthday present for Quinn, but all of the adults enjoyed it immensely as well! The costuming, choreography, voices, etc...wonderful!

Quinn at the Top of the Rock.

At Rockefeller Center, statue of Prometheus, Ice Skating Rink.

Then we went over to the Museum of Modern Art. Quinn really loved Jackson Pollack. The flag below is Jasper Johns.

We went to Grand Central Station. The constellations on the ceiling were amazing!

Look how beautiful this ticket station is! The whole place is made of marble.

And we had to stop by the New York Public Library. Here we are with one of the lions out front.

The Statue of Liberty!

Quinn and the view of NYC from the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

Quinn filled out an activity book about the Statue of Liberty and she got a badge that says she is a Junior Ranger for the Statue and Ellis Island. The picture below is the grand hall of Ellis Island. Visiting this area is was so moving to me. Just to put yourself in the place of these people who immigrated here and what they must have been thinking while going through all that was required of them.

We went to the Museum of Natural History and it was really HUGE and very interesting!

Quinn loved seeing this, especially since one of her fave movies is Ice Age.

After such a busy day filled with walking, we treated Quinn to a ferris wheel ride at Toys R Us for being such a trouper! This ferris wheel is 3 stories high, as is the toy store. We got the Little Tykes bus.

Before we left Times Square I took a picture of the New Years' Ball. It says 2012 because they are filming a movie right now...New Years Eve I believe it is called. A follow up to Valentine's Day.

Afterwards we picked up soup from the Seinfeld Soup Man. It was delicious! I got lobster bisque and quinn got chicken gumbo. We all enjoyed it so much!

St. Patrick's Day, we took the subway (had to have this experience in NYC!) up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art...we took the 6! Quinn had just bought her 6 shirt the day before so it was perfect timing.

Here we are with Rembrandt's Self Portrait. And below is Van Gogh's Cypresses.

Then we enjoyed the St. Patrick's day parade. We saw lots of bagpipes and drums and dancers.

Afterwards we walked through Central Park and enjoyed the ducks, ice skaters and beautiful weather.

This was our last day in NYC and Quinn thought that Bun Bun should see some of the sights. So here he is at Starbucks, where we started our mornings.

This is the view from Columbus Circle. This is the floor where Masa is located.

Bun Bun taking in the sights of Times Square. Below, Quinn is at the top of the Empire State Building. We laughed forever because it was really windy on one side and everyone's hair and scarves and dresses were blowing everywhere. So funny to watch!

We spent some time on Madison Avenue. This was my favorite stretch though! 57th St...between Madison and 5th Ave. Dior, Chanel, Burberry, Miu Miu, Yves St. Laurent, Vuitton...and the list goes on.

Quinn especially loved the windows at Louis Vuitton...so imaginative!

We went to the Central Park Zoo and saw a red panda, sea lions, polar bears, snow leopards and many more. We also fed a cow and some sheep at the little petting zoo. It was an absolutely beautiful day and people were out and about in the park enjoying the weather.

Dinner...with a Shirley Temple....and our last trip to a deli!

Quinn enjoying her Starbucks in the airport on the way home. (It's a milk peppermint steamer!) She is wearing 3d glasses below to read her puppies book on the flight home.

We are so thankful that we had the opportunity to do this. When I look back on all that we did, it seems mind-boggling that we could fit it all in! Quinn had so many life experiences and learned so much...it really broadened her horizons. It was such fun to spend time with Meme and Gee and they knew so much about the city it made it all so comfortable and fun. An unbelievably special week!

Happy 6th Birthday Quinn!!

We had a family celebration for Quinn's 6th birthday at Fox's Pizza.

Pizza, funfetti cupcakes, balloons and presents...fun was had by all!

"kay-gound"

Tyndale and I had a fun morning at the "kay-gound" today (sometimes "pay-gound")...We have several to choose from in Brookhaven, but we frequent the Exchange Club Park the most. Probably the oldest one, but what it lacks in fancy new playground gear...it makes up for with nostalgia...I mean...do yall remember these horses?? Who didn't grow up riding on these? Brad rode on these very ones!

....you can tell that he is having absolutely no fun at all...

...and THIS!! We call it the roundy-round, but do you remember these? They are so fun! I loved growing up in the 80's and I want to share a lot of the pop culture with our children. So playground? Check! Q and T have also watched Smurfs, Snorks, Jetsons, Dukes of Hazzard, and Jem..yes, really. Quinn has seen Goonies and all of the Star Wars movies. (And they actually hardly ever watch tv! promise!) But back to the roundy-round...are these against playground regulation now? :)

Quinn Martin Star Student!

Quinn was chosen as a Martin Star Student for the month of February. Martin Stars are chosen based on character traits such as kindness, honesty, helpfulness, friendliness, and so on. We had a reception where the principal, Mrs. Hobbs, read the kind things their teachers had written about them. Mrs. Moak had such wonderful things to say about Quinn...it was all very sweet! Gimmie was able to come enjoy the festivities.

Here is Mrs. Hobbs saying sweet things about Quinn...ummm yes...i do believe that is a blue mohawk-mullet we have here in the front row...

Tyndale behaved pretty well for most of the presentation...because he had his own jar of cashews...he LOVES those!!  We are so proud of you Quinn for all of your accomplishments at school! You are our star every day!!

My favorite times...

...are when Quinn and Tyndale are hysterically laughing together. When the Parnells came, we decorated for Mardi Gras (as you can see in the crepe myrtles in the back of the picture) and in the bag of beads we found this little toilet from the Tucks parade that squirts water. Fun for ALL ages...

..of course it did eventually lead to this...but that's okay. :)

silly boy

This is one of Tyndale's favorite things to do...stand on the edge of the couch and jump into a lap. Sometimes painful...but look at that face!! He loves it!!

I have been wanting to capture this face that Tyndale makes all the time...especially when he is asking a question..so funny! Oh...and this also captures how he is going through a major nudist phase right now. I can usually keep the diaper on, but everything else goes!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We love you!

Snow day

What to do when it is 27 degrees outside and we are out of school for icy conditions? An indoor picnic! We made my famous (at least for the kids...) chicken salad and had a picnic in pjs.

oh...and don't forget about puppy...who is also dining with us.

Parnell family visit

The Parnells came for a visit this weekend and we were so happy to see them! Look how precious everyone is! We took a few pics, but couldn't get everyone smiling....I think the "funny face" pic turned out even cuter so I included it below.

Saturday night we cooked out and then the kids watched Ice Age...and Tyndale basically irritated everyone with the pair of tongs that he is holding below. Sweet Lila and the rest of the crew put up with him until we just HAD to put him in bed! It's hard being two around all these "big" kids!

Elise and Quinn had so much fun together...it is really a shame that the two can't be together more often. They played puppy shop and dressed in every piece of clothing available! Sweet friends!

winter days

Like most everyone else, we have been stuck inside the house for the past few days because of the cold and rainy weather. So our activities have looked a lot like this....reading...lots of reading! Here Quinn is reading Mercy Watson Fights Crime...one of our recent faves.

...and yesterday I caught her reading Junie B. Jones all by herself! We have also been building forts...

..and jumping on the bed...both my kids love to jump on the bed...and it is NOT against the rules at our house. I can't think of a better way to spend some energy when they are cooped up!

Oxford girls trip 2011 to Birmingham

There are some people in life that you have known forever...and these are my girls! I feel so fortunate to still be in contact with them and occasionally we all get to go on a fun trip and reconnect.  This trip we went to Birmingham and ate at several wonderful restaurants and shopped at the Summit. They are all so precious to me and when we get together, we often laugh until we cry. Can't wait to do it again!

100th day of school

We recently celebrated our 100th day of school! Only 80 more to go! :) Quinn's class had a fun dance where they counted to 100 in ones, then in tens, then in fives...and it had fun body movements to do as they were counting. This is one reason I knew Quinn would LOVE Mrs. Moak..she loves to dance and sing! They also got to bring a snack and count 100 of them out to put in the BIG 100th day munchie box. Then they all got to take a few scoops home. Fun way to learn counting for sure!

lately

As you probably noticed, I took an unintentional blogging break..so now to fill you in on what has been going on around our house! Tyndale LOVES to cut these little fruits and vegetables from his kitchen. And he never does anything in the kitchen without an oven mitt on! Safety first, you know... This 'mitt' is actually a baby doll's sock, but it works.

Quinn has learned how to make coffee for us...from start to finish! I feel like I live at Starbucks!! She loves to do it because it makes her feel like such a big girl...she even grinds and measures all by herself! Usually I have some coffee-grind clean up to do after she does this...but it is worth it! Both kids have been making us laugh a LOT lately...as an example...We were in the kitchen the other day when we heard Tyndale yell, "help! help!" So we went to investigate and found Tyndale under the bench in our den...with Quinn's riding helmet on..chasing after a ball. He thought he was stuck because the helmet was so big. We all laughed so hard...even T.

And last but not least, we have been doing a lot of dancing! It has been far too cold to get outside so the kids love to blare the music (Hannah Montana, Sleigh Bells, etc) and dance up a storm!

Pajama Day

Quinn had pajama day at school last week, so I dropped by to take some pictures.

Here is her whole class in their coziest gear!

splinter

One of our favorite babysitters, Miss Lydia, was home from Ole Miss for a long time for the Christmas holidays, so Quinn and Tyndale got to play with her a LOT! One night Brad and I went up to Jackson to meet Kristy and Noel for dinner and Black Swan...and when we came home.....

...this was the message that Quinn left us on our message board! Ha! The next morning we got the splinter out...just loved the note!