I am thankful for baby nephews

I was able to go visit my little sister Melanie, her husband Luke, and the newest addition to our family - Merrill. I love him, I love him, I love him. Just look at those cheeks...



He is such a sweet baby and Melanie is such a good mom. I am amazed every time I see mothers with babies and am reminded how exhausting it is to take care of babies.

Melinda, Jason, and Isaiah were also able to meet up in Missouri. Isaiah had several new toys to choose from, but he preferred the fly swatter. I crack up every time I watch this little video. His diaper bum and tummy sticking out kills me. He would walk around with the fly swatter and just be as happy as ever.

Nothing Works Like You

I went to a Lenka concert tonight at the Mercury Lounge. She was amazing. If you have a chance to see her live - DO IT!

This first song is one you have probably heard before - "The Show"




This second one was one of my favorites from the show - "Knock Knock"




My favorite part of the show is when she covered "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure. It was rad.

She was a doll and has a beautiful voice. GO SEE HER!!

What can you get for $325 in the Bronx?

Yankees vs. Red Sox- twelfth row seats behind home plate. It was UHHHHMAZING!!

My roommate Rachel got the hook up from her very generous boss and she got four tickets to this great game. I was lucky enough to be one of the four she invited to the game. I'm telling you, twelfth row is the way to go. It truly is a different experience to watch the game that close to the players.

Here was my view:

I am becoming more of a baseball fan since moving to the city. New York definitely takes their baseball seriously and fans are die hard. It is such a fun experience to make it out these amazing stadiums and participate in the excitement of the game. The fans are always up for a good time and you end up cheering and laughing with everyone around you - it is great! One of the perks of going to sporting events in New York and specifically in the area we were seated are the celebrity sightings:

Spike Lee ( Rae said hi and shook his hand)
Richard Gere ( Surprisingly quite handsome in person)
We were looking for Kate Hudson, but no luck.

Some footage right after the Yankees won and became the AL East Champions. Please note the Red Sox fans at the end of this video that we were taunting. They were very brave for showing up and being so vocal, but they were good sports in the end.

Saturday Apple Picking

The annual apple picking trip was a success this year. I got to wear my braided boots for the first time this Fall season.


The orchard had a little country store that sold apples, pumpkins, squash, and some beautiful Indian corn.
There were a bunch of little kids running around the pumpkin patch and pointing at some of the farm animals penned up.. There were a bunch of city kids getting their mind blown after seeing animals up close for the first time. " Mom? Is that a REAL sheep, mom? Like on tv??!" Poor kids.

The apple trees were beautiful and it was great to spend some time outside with the sun and fresh air.

Fruits of their Labor

So, two of my sisters had a busy Saturday, September 19th.

My little sister Melanie had a baby. I still can't believe it sometimes. I received a text from her Saturday morning informing me the baby was on his way - two weeks early. I was so excited! I continued on with my morning, which consisted of brunch with my roomies. In the middle of brunch, I made the announcement that Monica was finishing the last hour of her first marathon.

I finished my pancakes and freshly squeezed grape juice.

As I was walking down Bleeker, I received a picture text from Melanie - with a picture of the baby!!

Merrill Luke Peterson
6 Lbs. 13 oz.
20 -1/2 in.


I like his sneakers.

Shortly after Merrill was born, Monica crossed the finish line. She was such a trooper during the race. She ended up having to run the race alone since Matt injured his foot about a month ago. Also, on the last mile of the race, her nose started to bleed. When her nose starts bleeding, it is game over. It is always really bad and takes forever to stop. In fact, she had to run the last mile with blood dripping down her face and it didn't stop until after the race. I'm so proud of her for finishing the race - what an accomplishment!

My mother was a bit of a mess. I called her after I got Melanie's text:

Mom: Hello?

Me: Hi Mom! What's up?

Mom: WHAT'S UP!? I'm losing my mind! I'm a crazy woman! One daughter is in labor and another daughter is killing herself in a marathon. Ahhhh! I can't take this! So- what have YOU done today?

Me: Uhh....I just had a great brunch- man I'm full. Nothing to worry about mom, I'm a stress free daughter today.

My poor mother - she was a little stressed on Saturday morning.

I am so happy to have another nephew! Merrill is my 5th! Maya is still the Queen- she probably always will be...

I can't wait to see him and I hope that I can hold him soon.

LDN

I took a very necessary vacation to London, England. I was there for a week and Monica was able to join me! I love London. I can see why many New Yorkers end up there for a couple years or even permanently. It is kind of a pretty, more calm version of New York City. Any way, Monica and I went and saw a ton of sites and saw a couple shows. No one told me that London basically shuts down by 6:00 p.m. If you aren't at a Pub, I don't know what people do in that city. I know I just went to shows or a movie. I ended up going to Les Miserables for the first time and it was great.

Anyway....

I am awful at taking pictures, really I am. I don't take enough, and the pictures I do take are crap. We spent most of our week in the city, but there was one day that we ventured out to the countryside to see Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath. The pictures below are in random order and I am super lazy, so they will get some quick captions.

One of the amazing carriages at the Royal Mews of Buckingham Palace

Roman Baths

Wellington Arch

Big Ben

London Eye

Tower of London

Stonehenge

The 4th in D.C.

I love last minute trips. I love my friend Chelsie. I went to D.C. with Chelsie this weekend and it was pretty great. I doubt I will be in Washington D.C. on the 4th of July again, so I am glad I took the opportunity to go down.

I've been to D.C. several times now, but there are still several sites I haven't seen. I was able to go to the Arlington cemetery for the first time. I had no idea it was so large and there were so many memorials and sites within the grounds. I will need to go back to fit it all in.

I have pictures from the cemetery and around town, but blogger won't let me upload pictures. Luckily though, I'm able to post video. We had an AMAZING view of the fireworks from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, overlooking the reflection pool. The fireworks were right above the Washington Monument.

I hope everyone had a great 4th!

Back again!

I'm a lame blogger. No news there. Here is what has happened this past month:

1) Went on vacation to Dominican Republic - I got burned. I was really hungry - the food was gross.

2) I got one year older - bought myself a Chanel handbag - don't worry about it.

3) Work is out of control - one of the main reasons I haven't really been caught up on personal stuff - emails, blogging, etc. I really shouldn't be this tired of working at my age. Help me find out what I should really do with my life.

4) Weekend trip to Rhode Island - it was beautiful and I had such a good time with a great group of people. I am constantly impressed with the people in my ward. It is always good to get away from the city for a couple days.

5) Planning a trip to Europe with Jaclyn. I can't wait.

6) I hope I post again before another month goes by...

Change of Venue

Plans are the same though....

So, Swine Flu has tried to ruin my vacation, but I am not allowing it. Luckily, our resort has another location in the Dominican Republic. Frankly, I think the whole flu craziness is a little out of control. I don't really like the media....

On another note, I am in Utah for a week. Utah friends- call me so we can hang out!!