Hawkins come to Michigan!

Can I tell you that my most favorite thing in the world after my family and the gospel are visitors!! Donna and Bevan planned a spur of the moment trip to Michigan a few weeks ago when they found a great deal on air fair. They flew in Thursday afternoon and we have had a grand time. On Friday morning Donna and I got up early and went running. She kept exclaiming how "easy" it is to run at sea level. It brought back memories of myself running in Utah and gasping. Next we were off to AVEDA for hair cuts which went ok and took forever, plus we picked up their rental car which is a sweet ride. We went and picked up the kids and headed for some sights. I was hoping we could get into the stadium but it is all closed for construction. Bevan had to settle for an outside view. We had beautiful weather so we walked around campus and hooked them up with some Michigan paraphernalia. Bevan
says he's going to wear it when Michigan plays Utah this fall. GO BLUE! We enjoyed our first barbecue of the season and lots of ice cream. This morning we went on another run (due to all the ice cream) and Donna and Bevan took off to New York. I hope they have a great time at Niagara Falls, Buffalo, and Palmyra. I'm glad there coming back so we can have more fun! We are always up for visitors! Hint, Hint!

A New Bike!

Seth has officially become a biker commuter! No offense Dad, but the bus finally got to him and this should be a lot faster! He enrolled in a sodium study at the hospital so with the compensation, bought a bike! He decided on this Hybrid bike from Target so we went to get it today because it was on sale. Unfortunately it was raining hard and we couldn't fit the bike in the car so he had to ride it home. Well, he made it home cold and tired but he made it! Go Seth!

The Big Apple AND Brooklyn!

I had the great opportunity to go to New York City with my best buddy Mandy! A fellow teacher she taught with in Ann Arbor now lives in Brooklyn so we had a place to stay, why not go? There might have been a few reasons, but I'm so glad we went. We got to see and do a whole lot in a short amount of time. I missed my three boys and was grateful they were still happy and cute when I returned! Here is the break down of the trip!

My first New York taxi ride, I was trying to figure out where we were going. The driver was horrible and I was REALLY sick when it was over!


We rented bikes and rode all around Central Park and up the Hudson! It was a beautiful day and we got to see some great views!

Eating delicious New York Pizza in Brooklyn at Vesuvios! Our waiter, the buss boy, and the manager kept asking us if we really wanted the "Large." After the bike ride we were starving so of course we did. It really was Large which ended up being great because it fed us for three meals:)

Time Square, waiting for a bus!

China Town, great jewelry and pastries!

World Trade Center Sight

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge! This was my favorite! It was beautiful and you could see everything!

The Statue of Liberty, so much bigger in person!


Ellis Island, I wish we had had more time here, it's a great museum!

We went and saw a show with my Alaskan friend Holly who is living the glamorous single life in New York (she's not from Alaska, we worked there together). I loved the show, Mary Poppins flew out into the audience as the grand finale!

Our wonderful host Rosemarie and Mandy. This is the theatre where some of her plays have been shown. She is amazing and I'm so thankful she let us stay with her. She showed us around Brooklyn and around lower Manhattan where we ate Falafel in Washington Park.
It was such a great trip, and with all trips we learned some great lessons!
1. Granola Bars can sustain you for long periods of time!
2. The subway is our friend!
3. Mandy thinks she's right 29% of the time!
4. New Yorkers are super nice!
5. It's all about carry-on luggage!
Lastly, I must mention my sponsor, Transcendent Innovations at www.myvideoipodforfree.com which made it finacially possible for me to take this trip!