day 105

We visited the Hill Cumorah, another church history site, and had a nice lunch in Palmyra. A huge thunderstorm came up and poured rain on us during lunch. Most of these "California" kids had never seen a thunderstorm quite like it. We made our way to Rochester, New York where Upstage performed in a Elderly Care Facility. The residents enjoyed it so much. We spent some time mingling with them and enjoying their company. From there we made our way to Niagara Falls. What a sight! They were so incredible. We took the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride out to the base of the falls. The roar of the water and the immense size of the falls was amazing. After a dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, we watched some fireworks and enjoed the falls at night. They were beautiful.

day 104

After getting trying to get some sleep we headed to China Town for some shopping purchasing of useless items as very discounted prices. I had sworn I would not buy anything but I came away with a few treasures. We then hopped aboard our bus for a very LONG bus ride to Palmyra, New York. We stopped to visit the Peter Wittmer Farm, a church history site, in Harmony, Pennsylvania.

Upstate New York is a beautiful place. Everything is lush and green. We had perfect weather all week. A good combination of temperature and humidity.

We enjoyed dinner at a quaint little place called the Hollaway House before making our way into Palmyra for the night.

day 103

We started our day in New York at the Museum of Natural History. We then headed to 5th Avenue to do some shopping. The Apple Store is very creative. The only thing you see from the street is this glass block. The store is underground and has anything Apple that you ever dreamed of. It started to rain so we bought umbrellas from a street vendor and strolled along in the rain. While we were in Tiffany's admiring the jewelry, I said to Taylor "If Dad ever asks, this is the one that I want". The salesman then asked if I wanted to try it on. He said that they don't normally do that but since it was a "potential" sale we could. He called over his boss and the security guard to stand by while I tried on this necklace. It was absolutely beautiful. The price tag? $50,000.00 (No...I didn't add any zeros by mistake). Needless to say, the necklace stayed in New York and all I have are pictures to show. After shopping and strolling through Times Square, we had dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner. It was wonderful. The waiters and waitresses sing and dance while they are serving. Taylor made his Broadway debut when they performed Bye Bye Bye for the crowd. (I have video to share). From there we headed to the theatre to see Wicked. It was even better than the first time we saw it. We were able to see some of the actors/actresses when they exited the stage door and had a chance to chat with "Boq" and get autographs and photos with "Elphaba". What a wonderful and crazy day!

The Apple Store in NYC

Strolling in the rain

Jewelry at Tiffany's

Times Square

Dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner

Getting ready for Wicked

Times Square with friends

Taylor and "Boq"

Pari, Taylor, Sammie, "Elphaba" and Carly

day 102

We started our day with a trip to the Statue of Liberty. The security that we had to go through was intense. It took us over 2 hours to be able to actually get out to the statue. From there we headed back into NYC where Upstage performed at the Morgan Stanley Childrens Hospital and the show was very special. To be able to perform for kids who are very sick, most of whom could not come down to see the show and only watched via television, was a great experience for our group. We had a great time after getting to know a few patients. We then strolled through Central Park and had a wonderful dinner at a quaint Italian Restaurant. From there we headed to the Empire State Building and watched the sun set from the top. We headed back to the Hotel where we would begin the first of many sleepless nights with 25 teenagers that don't sleep.......ever.

(I have so many photos to share. I am only going to put up a few each day. I am working on a slideshow that will show more photos.)

day 101

I am not getting to my photo editing and journaling as I had planned. We spent the day at Six Flags (again) after a morning phone call from some friends. I had planned to spend the day doing laundry and catching up on things before we head out again on Friday. The temperature in Rocklin is a sizzling 110 degrees so it was nice to head into the Bay Area where is was a bit cooler.

In the meantime, here is a picture from the first day of our New York Adventure. Arriving at the airport in Newark, New Jersey.

There's No Place Like Home

We arrived home safely late last evening. I want to take some time to write down some of our adventures that we had. Photos and video are coming soon.

new york, new york

Taylor and I are headed to New York with Upstage for their summer tour. Look forward to many pictures when we return next weekend. I will post some pictures on Facebook throughout the week if you would like to follow some of our travels. Wish the 4 bachelors left at home some luck as they survive without "mom" for a few days.

day 100

Fathers Day.....what a fitting day for our 100th day in project 365!

We celebrate the fathers that we love so much!

day 99

we enjoyed an evening in San Francisco at AT&T park and watched the Giants play Baseball. After 11 innings, the Giants came out on top 2-1 against the Texas Rangers. It was a beautiful evening.

day 98

welcome summer!

day 97

I realized we never posted a picture of Tanner and Taylor's "new" car. Would you beleive me if I told you that we only paid $200.00 for it? Thats right, $200.00 (and it even runs). It needs a few things fixed but otherwise is a great little car.

day 96

Sometimes life throws us curve balls...........in the end they make us better and stronger, the hard part is that you can't always see it in the moment.

"Your time is limited, don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinion drown out your own inner voice. Most imporant, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary."
Steve Jobs

ping pong battle

day 95

In an effort to feed these growing boys, see Day 93, Walmart is definitely one of the places we go, frequently.

day 94

"Oh the places we go...."

day 93

Football has started and so has his appetite.

Upstage Show 2009

Enjoy some highlights from the 2009 Upstage Show (For those who cannot pick him out, in Bye Bye Bye, Taylor is in the white shirt and jeans). We are looking forward to our trip to New York next week where they will perform and see the sights.

Giants Baseball 2009

Rancho Seco Triathalon

Day 92

Upstage Show 2009! It was Fantastic!

Day 91

The Ping Pong has gotten serious!