I Wanna Be A Part of It, In Ole' New York...

I was thoroughly depressed…didn’t want to do anything, feeling pretty exhausted and wishing I was still dodging swarms of people while navigating through familiar streets. I figure that’s a pretty good sign the day after a fantastic trip, right?!

I simply adore New York City…it is one of my “happy places” on earth. And I was pretty stoked when Mom presented Natasha with plane tickets for her 12th birthday for a “girls’ trip” to the Big Apple. It wasn’t nearly long enough for my liking (Grammy is, after all, a fan of the short trip!), but we squeezed in as much fun as we possibly could! Here’s a little (or a huge) peek at the itinerary:

Thursday, 11:50 pm—Red-eye flight to JFK (who cares if you drool a little on the person next to you?)

Friday, 6:18 am—arrive at JFK, wheels completely broken off Mom’s luggage and baggage claim doesn’t give a dang…! Oh well, get taxi into city (Tasha’s first taxi ride-woo-hoo!)

*Arrive at the digs, dump bags, Grammy insists on hour catnap…we all soon slumber...

*10:00 am—meet up with now-living-in-NYC-Johnny P. at the Coffee Shop in Union square for breakfast…yummo!

*Start shopping with stops at an antique store (hmm, how could I get that 8-foot awesome mirror back to Utah with me??), FAO Schwartz (these are really cool toys!), all the fab stores lining 5th Avenue: Tiffanys (I want that necklace! Grammy promises Tash diamond earrings from there for her wedding—see Tash, now I’ve documented it! (wink, wink)) Bergdorf Goodman (okay, salesperson watching me like a hawk, I won’t touch the silk ties again!) Zara (uh, is this the spring line? Why is it all cream and gray?) Juicy Couture (now we’re talking! Animal heads mounted everywhere with pearls and rhinestones draping their hides! Love me a good Juicy experience!) H&M (we don’t have two hours right now for me to start trying on armfuls of clothes, better come back tomorrow!) Italian Jewelry place (can’t remember the store name, but, boy, do I remember the amazing baubles for the buying...yowzah!)

*Run through Magnolia Bakery (oh sweet little cupcakes, I love you so!)

*Jaunt over to TKTS for some discount tickets (that line is WAY too long! Grammy heads to the theater to see what she can do…)

*Incredibly generous New Yorker gives us huge discount for West Side Story tickets in the box seats! Yippee!

*Cab to 8th Avenue and 53rd Street, pig out at The Eatery (um, DIVINE food! Best salmon and green rice dish I’ve ever had…okay, never had green rice before, but I am a serious fan now! And that white cheddar meatloaf Natasha had was DE-LISH!)

*West Side Story—nothing to say except WOW! I KNEW I had to see it in NYC, and I was right! The cast was incredible, the dancing fantastic…loved it (so what if I didn’t understand some whole scenes in Spanish? Oh, well…)

*Long subway ride back to 181st…drop into bed….

*Saturday am—First stop, Dylan’s Candy Bar—Grammy was captured by some funny Easter suckers. (I just felt like a sucker paying $12.99/lb for bulk mini gummi-bears!!)

*Across the street to Bloomingdales (whoa—shopper heaven. If I were a rich girl, I would move in….)

*Subway down to 34th street…many hours in H&M and Macys…geez, who knew that store had nine floors of shopping pleasure??

*Run to Max Brenner’s for dinner with Johnny’s friend, Tony..love that guy, he’s a dollface. So fun to eat, catch up and drown in a to-die-for molten chocolate cake…

*Off to see Mamma Mia! So very funny with a fantastic leading lady! I’d say NYC’s cast beat the socks off the show I saw in Vegas (duh!) But, really, if that leading man made his scary-high-note-singing-face one more time, I was going to jump from that 4th row right up on stage to slap him out of it! Don’t people practice in the mirror to see what they look like when they sing??

*Sunday am—breakfast at the Food Emporium (croissants and coconut macaroons unlike anywhere else (what, I can eat cookies for breakfast if I want to!))

*Off to 34th for some more shopping. ..time is running out, must leave for the subway..but, wait! I didn’t get to go to Crumbs Bake Shop and sample their cupcakes! I must! I start to feel emotional breakdown coming on. Johnny steps in, guides us rapidly through the subway maze only to emerge next to Bryant Park and…ta-dah! The most lovely cupcakes I have EVER seen! We make a quick selection and run back for the subway! (PS, I might considering selling a child for another one of those coconut cups of heaven from Crumbs! I'm just saying....)

*Oh, no! It’s Sunday. Subways not running frequently. We are very, VERY late! Finally, we’re off, run to apartment (I mean, literally!) throw suitcases together (5 minutes flat) and jump into car. Car man drives like a maniac to get us to airport…

*We are five minutes late to check in..not going to be allowed on. WHAT!? Yikes! (okay, secretly, I’m not caring all that much, because, hey, remember the beginning of this lengthy post? I didn’t want to come home!) Mom starts to beg the nice lady behind the desk…she keeps shaking her head, but, alas, her super takes pity and tells us to board—FAST!

*10:00 pm—we’re crashing at Village Inn in Draper (I know, gross, but we were starving!)

What a blast, what a memory! Natasha and I had such a great trip—can’t wait to do it again ASAP!

Natasha's first taxi ride!

The swording hat from Harry Potter at FAO Schwartz

'Nuf said...

Lovin' us some Juicy Couture!

Times Square, baby!

The Eatery's version of chips-n-salsa...weird, but tasty!

Chillin' before dinner

West Side Story box seats!

Our "home" subway stop in Washington Heights

Dylan's Candy Bar tub of joy!

Muggin' for the camera at Max Brenner's with Tony!

Mamma Mia at the Winter Garden Theater--4th row!

A little fun during intermission--see Johnny's gummi bear??

Everybody squeeeeze together...

Post-show shot--we are CUTE!

Just me and my baby posin' in front of the digs.

And All That Jazz!

It's BBBBBAAAAACCKKK! Friday night, Natasha kicked off her 2010 dance competition season in Bountiful with the SPOTLIGHT Dance Competition. And what else is there to say other than she was fabulously fantastic, of course, when isn't she?? and performed her four dances back to back in about 20 minutes (including costume and hair changes!) Phew! It was a lot of running, grinning, rushing, sweating, lipstick re-applying, crazy and beautiful dancing...and it was fun! Tash was entirely ecstatic to do not just five, but six fouettes perfectly--it was a first for her and she was beaming with excitement to share it with me after the dance (oh, yeah, for those of you not in the dance world, that's a lot of kick-turns in a row...) Her teams scored first in both lyrical numbers and second in both jazz routines. They also received the Judge's Choice Award for Commitment and Emotion in their very moving lyrical dance (and, ps, Tash's coach told me it was because of Natasha's facial commitment to the emotion of the dance when she performs that number! So, double who-hoo for her on that!) SO proud, as always, of my not-so-tiny-anymore dancer!

These pics were taken while the girls ran through their dance backstage in a choir room--Spotlight didn't allow photography during the performance, so this was the best I could do for that night!

Goodnight, My Angel, Time To Close Your Eyes...

So excited...he's finally here (and finally named!) Our very own little leprechaun came springing into the world on St. Patrick's Day: Noah Reed Preator, weighing in at 5 lbs., 6 oz. and 18 1/2 inches long...so happy for you, Mark and Melinda! This little guy's been hanging out in the NICU for a bit until he get's up enough strength to start his journey in this thing called LIFE. Can't wait until you're all healthy, little boy, so you can come out and play!

...and I was so lucky to be allowed into the NICU to shoot these photos...thanks for being such a willing subject, little man!

I Wanna Rock & Roll All Night...And Party Every Day!

Six rocked-out femme-fatals, six bejeweled VIP backstage passes, 6 pairs of dainty earrings, 6 beauty guides, 6 rhinestone-studded lipstick pens, 6 shimmery microphone lip glosses, 6 cool word bracelets, 12 neon hair-extensions, 12 rock-star cupcakes, and treats, treats and more treats...plus decorating the sequined "swag bags", a star photo-shoot and several fierce rounds of Lego Rock Band constituted a hugely successful 12th birthday party for the newest young lady at our house! (Although, judging by these pictures, I'm pretty sure I see a crazy 18-year-old lurking in that body!) We HEART you, Tash! Can't believe how fast the years have passed! (and how 'bout a STOP--Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 card for the next 12?...hey, a mommy can wish right??)

(Check out photos of the swag here!)

'Cause I'm Sick And Tired Of Always Being Sick And Tired

Poor little baby--so very sick. No energy, no appetite. Just yucky. Mommy feels very sad for you, sweet pea...but those little lips, that sleeping face and the chance we get to cuddle, just love it! I hope you get well soon. xxoo

My Eyes Adored You...

Thursday morning I woke up to a beautiful sight--blue sky interrupted with white streaking clouds, the sun just peeking its rosey glow over the horizon...and it took me right back to the same kind of morning exactly twelve years ago. I was quite scared--I had no idea what to expect, except maybe the unexpected! For Shayne and I were off the hospital to welcome our first baby into the world...and all that accompanied such a monumentous moment in life for us. I will never forget the instant the doctor cried, "It's a girl!" (we didn't find out, you see!) and wondering if we were going to have to call in a team to resuscitate Shayne from off the floor (afterall, just what was he going to DO with a baby GIRL??) Then, a coffer of emotions flooded through me that I will never forget as they laid that incredibly warm, incredibly pink body onto my stomach for the first time. I was so afraid she'd slip off, I reacted by clamping my hands down around her body just to get a grip on her...and I was startled at the reality of this angel sent from a loving Heavenly Father and the sensational rush that filled me to the core to realize that she was mine! And they were actually going to let me take her out of the hospital without sending the police after me to reclaim her! It was a truly surreal experience if ever there was one.

Unbelievably to me, twelve years have passed since that day. On this moring, my darling dear walked into the room, put her long arms around me, snuggled up to me in bed with her leggy limbs twined with mine and I sang her the birthday song...as I have done every one of those twelve years. I adored that baby girl...I adore her still. What a beautiful girl, what a treasured gift you are to me, my sweet Natasha...I love you forever and ever!

Today, such an important moment she has been anticipating for months: receiving her Faith in God award (thank goodness for saintly Achievement Days leaders who helped her accomplish this goal!) and enjoying the rite of passage into Young Women's. We are so proud of you, Tash!We hope you remember today for a long time to come...