Claire's Birthday and Picture Time

The next day we celebrated Claire's 5th Birthday at my mom's house for brunch! My mom and I got Claire a new pink bike with a little basket and streamers - everything she wanted! Then we had a little photo time before Philip and I had to head back to NYC.



And in honor of my dad and his obsession with taking photos, my sisters and I all posed like some older photos that my dad had taken of us about 10 years ago. Here's my favorite with Kim, Kari and Carly. :)

Here's one of my favorites of all the kids sitting on the porch: Cameron, Finn, Claire and Tad.



We had such a WONDERFUL time in Omaha over the 4th of July holiday. We got to see so many people and it was so much fun! Thanks Mom for hosting all of us and thank you for everyone who came out (Sue, Ken, Aunt Char, Uncle Joe, Jason, Kari making it even more special.

4th of July - RHS 10-Year Reunion

Saturday was the Fourth of July which included the big Ralston Independence Day Parade and also my 10-Year High School Reunion! It was such a fun day! My entire family went to the parade of course and all my nephews and Claire enjoyed it...except the firetrucks were WAY too loud and there were TOO many of them. But it was a lot of fun. Here's the most adorable photo of the three cousins waving their American flags on the curb at the parade. (Finn, Cameron and Tad)



Afterward my dad invited us all over to his and Donna's house to hangout and BBQ. It was going to be the last time I would see my dad's house before he and Donna move to San Diego! Their house was currently on the market while we were all there...and since then it's been sold and they've already moved out to San Diego.



After my dad's BBQ, Philip and I left to go to my 10-Year High School Reunion, which was held at the Fox n Hound in West Omaha. I was on the planning committee, but the event was nothing formal. We had our own room and we just wanted anyone to come out and have some drinks and see people. It turned out to be a lot of fun and there were some funny photos/yearbooks that people brought and Melanie played an old freshman courtyard and lock-in video that she had found. It was pretty funny.


It was fun to see old high school friends and reminise. Here's some photos from the night! Oh, and yes, I walked in with my letter jacket on!

On the left above is the Meadows Elementary School photo! We had everyone take a photo with their elementary school. On the right above is a group shot of Shannon, Miranda, Mike and me.

Here's a good one of me and Lisa and a group shot of the girls: Andrea, me, Melanie and Shannon.

I think Philip had a fun night playing beer die with some other husbands/boyfriends that came out that night. FUN TIMES!

4th of July weekend in Omaha!

For the 4th of July weekend, I headed home to Omaha for a Family Reunion and my 10-Year High School Reunion. It was such a great time to see everyone! Both of my sisters and their husbands and kids came, my mom and dad, my Aunt Char, Uncle Joe and Jason came from California and Philip's parents drove in from Clinton as well!


When Philip and I first arrived on Friday morning after a dreadful evening of sleeping in the Minneapolis Airport, I had brunch with my favorite friends: Kellie, Shannon, Lisa (with her little girl Taylor!) and Melanie met me at my mom's house afterward with her little Urban! I had never met Urban yet and was so excited to see him and hold him! He is SO ADORABLE! I think he must have really liked me too, cause he spit up a little on my shoulder. :) Above is Kellie, me with Urban and Melanie at my mom's house afer brunch. And on the left is Kellie holding Taylor at lunch.

On Friday night my entire family all went to Maria's (my favorite Mexican restaurant in Ralston) for dinner. We all sat in my backroom and Mark's parents joined us as well. Afterward we all hung out in my mom's backyard playing some outdoor games, watching the kids run around and just hanging out and talking. It was so great to have Philip's parents here too as they got to meet the entire family!


Here's a photo of Kari, Philip and Jason while we were all outside. And here's one of my favorite photos of me and Philip.

2nd Trip to Amaganset - Hamptons

Philip and I made it only one more weekend in the Hamptons this summer, but it was yet another FUN WEEKEND! We went out there with our friends Kevin and Kenta on a Friday afternoon and stayed in the famous "Shack" house right on the beach. It was really nice weekend and we got some great beach time on Saturday.


Philip was really excited too because he learned how to shuck oysters! Here's a photo of my very proud boyfriend shucking oysters on the beach! And other photos of our group on our perfect beach day.

The photo on the left is one I just took of the guys walking along the lush green street among the beautiful Amagansett homes.

It was yet another fun and relaxing weekend in the Hamptons! Hope we can make it for more than two weekends next summer...

Movie in Bryant Park

Every summer Bryant Park hosts Movies in the Park on every Monday night. Bryant Park is this big green space in the middle of Midtown Manhattan (where most corporations are located)and is this little relaxing oasis among all the chaos of the city. It's a great place to go to study, eat lunch, take a break or they have entertainment, yoga or something going on there every day, especially in the summer. They even have free internet and have been voted the nicest public restrooms! The Park is located right near my work on 42nd Street between 5th & 6th Ave.



It has been one of my goals to make it to a movie this summer and Breaking Away was playing there so Philip and I had to go! Breaking Away is one of Philip's favorite movies where this group of "cutters" win a college bicycle competition. We planned on having a group of us there, but it ended up only being me and Philip...making it a fun date night! :) We had some cheese and crackers and wine. It was a great night!

Girls Night Out!

Philip had a Bachelor Party one night for his friend Jakub, so I decided to have a Girls Night with some of my favorite gals! We had dinner at this Tibetan restaurant in the East Village called Tsampa, and it was amazing. Then a former co-worker from Hess, Amy, was organizing an 80's night with her husband and friends at the Alphabet Lounge on Avenue C. There were four of us girls and we had a really fun time dancing to the 80's music! Here are some photos from the evening. (Pictured from left to right: Erin, Amy, Kiersten and me)

Women's Mini 10K with Hess friends

One weekend two of my co-workers and I decided to run the New York Road Runners Women's Mini 10K, which is the oldest women's race! It was really cool. There were 10,000 women runners and we all started on Central Park West and ran through Central Park. Olympian runner Deena Kastor also welcomed us at the Starting Line and ran it. I loved it! My co-worker, Linh runs often and we both decided to do it, and then a co-worker, Janet, decided to run and this was her first race ever! Afterward we all went to lunch at this Vegetarian place called Blossom with a couple other friends/co-workers who supported us at the race. It was a great day! Here's a photo of four of us who ran: (Janet's friend, Janet, me, and Linh)

Biking in NYC

I decided this year that I wanted to buy a road bike to potentially do some triathlons and to cruise around the city. So Philip found me the perfect bike on Craigslist and luckily he called right away so I was the first to see it and I bought it! It is a 2008 Specialized Dolce - Women's bike and I love it. It's white and pink and I got a matching helmet and of course, all the essential gear: padded shorts, clip shoes, gloves and butt butter :). Philip and I were pretty geared up and looked like official bikers. Check out our photos!

I am not the strongest biker, but I'm decent and have a lot of endurance and potential. My biggest problem is my fear of falling. When I first started taking some practice rides, I was learning to use my new clip pedals (which I actually like) and learning how to change gears and get a good feel for the bike. I was enjoying riding, until my second practice ride and well...that fear came over me when I decided to take a drink from my water bottle. I grabbed the bottle and was drinking when in slow motion I fell off my bike! Philip watched me fall too. I forgot to pedal while I was drinking...so of course, I fell. I had a nice bruise on my butt and on my elbow, but I was a okay - just a little sore and had an even worst fear of falling now. Check out my battle wounds on the left.

But after a fews days recovery, I decided to get back on the bike again. One Saturday Philip organized a bike crawl that started at our apartment where we had a beer at Becky's, a bar right around the corner from our apt, then we rode over the Queensboro Bridge into Queens to stop at the Bohemian Beergarden then back over the Triboro Bridge to the upper east side, where we picked up some friends and then through Central Park to the west side where we stopped at the Boat Basin for some food and drinks and then down the westside highway walk/bike path to this old dive bar called The Patriot on Chambers Street. Then we ended up in the Lower East Side at some bars and ate some Mexican food and rode home in the dark getting in around midnight! It had been quite the bike crawl! Here's some cool photos of us on the Triboro Bridge and one at Becky's Bar where we had a beer before we headed out. Pictured below is Philip, me and our friend Danny who is from Queens.

Jakefest Charity Golf Tournament

Every year, Philip's Eastern District has been raising funds for charities and in the last few years, they have been raising money to support Cure Search, a charity for children with cancer. One of the VP's of Kiewit recently lost his son to cancer and ever since then, the company has been raising money for this cause. The entire Kiewit Eastern District raises money for the cause and different jobs compete against each other for the most dollars raised. Philip's job - Willis Avenue - is one of the largest and they had some very successful fundraisers, but the culmination of everything ends at the Jakefest Charity Golf Tournament. The tournament is named in memory of Jake, who was the son who passed away from cancer.

This was Philip's first year to participate in the golf tournament and they needed volunteers, so I eagerly accepted! We rented a car with some other Kiewit guys and drove to New Jersey at 5am to this beautiful golf resort. Philip headed to the golf course right away and I started organizing all of the raffle and door prizes for the awards celebration afterward. Then I headed to the course to sell drink and food tickets. It was a beautiful day and I had such a great time volunteering and realized how much I actually missed it.

The day turned out even better when Philip and I ended up winning big in the raffles. We each won a golf club valued at $200 (which I exchanged at the golf pro shop for clothes and some other items and Philip ended up selling his on Craigslist) and I also won a women's golf shirt (I think the only one there) and Philip also won a Blue ray player. It was awesome!

We had such a great time and I hope that we can make it again next year! Also, Kiewit ending up raising over $125,000 for Cure Search and $25,000 came from Philip's job. That's impressive!

Memorial Day Weekend in the Hamptons

On Memorial Day weekend and another weekend this summer we had the chance to go Amagansett, which is just east of the Hamptons, the second to last stop on the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) which is how we get there. We took off on Friday afternoon and walked from the train station to "The Shack". Our friend, Kenta, has had a share at The Shake for a couple summers now and he invited us one weekend along with our friends Kevin and Nick, who work with Philip. Their place is probably the last house in Amagansett that hasn't been renovated or torn down...and you can tell. It is definitely not winter proof and I shared a room (which used to be a garage) with four guys. But the place is awesome! It's literally 100 feet from the beach and is a great party house. Every day Kenta would prepare an amazing breakfast or dinner that he would serve on a surfboard (as pictured on the left) and we would all hang out in the front yard near the fire pit.

On Saturday there was a free concert in Amagansett Square so we all decided to go. There were a lot of families there, but we had a lot fun decorating Kevin with paper cups when he decided to take a little snooze. It was pretty funny. While we were watching the concert, Alec Baldwin (from 30 Rock) walks in with his wife and daughter. I guess he lives in the area...so that was pretty cool celebrity sighting!

That night we went to the local bar - The Talk House and heard a reggae band. They were awesome! The photo above is of Kenta and Philip at the bar.

It was cloudy most of the weekend except we had a great beach day on Sunday and on Monday. Here's a photos of Kenta with his sword - this guy is meant for the beach!

We had a great time that weekend. Everyone that lives in New York always tells us that you have to get away during the summers and now I completely agree! I had no worries and was really able to escape the busy city. It was such a fun and relaxing weekend - we look forward to our next visit!

Walking Saturday...Kiewit to Central Park to Las Ramblas!

We had a full day planned for Saturday since it was the last true day Philip's parents and brother would be here visiting. We started out with brunch at the Union Square Coffee Bar, which is one of our favorite areas of the city. We all had a great big breakfast and headed out for our busy day ahead. We jumped on the Express subway and headed up to Philip's Willis Avenue Bridge jobsite so his parents could see where he works and the progress they've made on the bridge. It's always an interesting walk from the subway to the job since it's a walk through Harlem - probably not the best thing for his mom to see. But his job is amazing and extremely complicated. Just walking around the jobsite is nearly a mile and it's crazy all of the different projects going on. The photo on the right with Philip's mom is of us on the bridge with a crane in the backgroung. On the left is a photo of the Willis Avenue bridge in the background.


After seeing the entire jobsite we walked back to 125th Street and jumped on a bus that took us to 90th Street, where we started our walk to Central Park. It ended up being a beautiful day and we walked a lot through Central Park showing Philip's parents our favorite spots - such as the Central Park Reservoir which we run around all the time. Here's a photo of Philip's family overlooking the reservoir.


We kept walking and headed to the Central Park Boathouse for a little hydration break. We were lucky and found a table outside where they only served wine and cheese & fruit platters, which was perfect! It was such a nice time for us to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery. This was our first time going to the Boathouse and we will definitely be going back! Here's a photo of Philip and his mom at the Boathouse.


After our walking tour we all went back to our apartment to hang out before we got ready for dinner. I think everyone needed a little break from walking all day. :)

For dinner we went to my very favorite restaurant, Las Rambas, the tiny tapas place in Greenwich Village with the absolute best service and delicious food! And again they went above and beyond! When we first arrived, we grabbed a sensor that they would buzz when our table was ready. Since the streets are so narrow in this area of town, we headed across the street to this little bar as we waited. Here's a couple photos of Dave, Philip and I having a drink waiting to meet up with his parents. And then all of a sudden our buzzer went off a little earlier than expected and I couldn't even finish my drink. So when we went to the restaurant the hostess accidently buzzed us and felt horrible. I just barely mentioned that maybe my drink was still there in the bar, and before I finished my sentence, the hostess ran out of the Las Ramblas and told me to follow her and walked up to the bartender and told him that she was buying whatever drink I wanted. Can you believe that?! I still can't. They are SO NICE at this place. Needless to say we were all impressed, and not only with their service. The food that night was AMAZING as always. I already can't wait to go back! Here's a photo of us outside the restaurant that, of course, our wonderful hostess took for us.

After dinner, we headed to McSorley's, but it was a bit overcrowded so we didn't stay long. Philip's parents ended up heading home and Dave, Philip and I met some of Philip's work friends who were out.

The next morning we had to say goodbye to Ken, Sue and Dave and we were sad to see them go. It had been such a great visit - but it went too fast! Luckily we know they are already planning another visit! :)

Jersey Boys & Upright Citizens Brigade

On Thursday Philip and I had to go to work, but this was a great day for Sue, Ken and Dave to explore the city. They met me for lunch at my office, which is near Rockefeller Center, and we ate in the beautiful Hess dining cafe. Then they took off for the NYC City Sights bus tour. Philip and I always recommend for our first-time visitors to take a bus tour because you can see the entire city with the best view and in a short amount of time. Here's a photo of Dave on top with the rain coat they gave to everyone. It was a little rainy that day. Philip's family has a love for horses, and while they were on the bus tour they took a good photo of this mounted police officer in the middle of Times Square.



That night I was really excited since we had gotten tickets to see Jersey Boys! My mom had seen the musical in Chicago with my aunt and they both loved it and thought that it would be a good one for Philip's parents to see. So Philip bought his family tickets and they experienced their first musical on Broadway! It was such an awesome show - the story and music was of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. We knew all the music, such as "Oh, What a Night", "Sherry, Baby", "Walk Like a Man", and so many more favorites! I loved it and I think everyone really enjoyed it. It was another great evening.




On Friday, Philip's parents and Dave went on the bus tour again and then we met them afterwork at the oldest and famous pizzeria, Lombardi's. It's a thin crust coal oven pizza and really was the best pizza that Philip and I have had in New York City. Usually there is a long line, but we were lucky and got in right away. Afterward we headed to the Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Club to watch some improv comedy. But because we had some extra time we decided to have a drink at the Trailer Park bar since it's a couple blocks from the comedy place. And while we were standing there...Philip ran into a friend, Mike, who he knew from Preston, Iowa! We couldn't believe it! Preston is a town of 900 and we ran into one of his friends who now lives in Jersey City and happened to be at the exact same bar (out of thousands!) as we were. Philip's mom took a photo and we couldn't wait to tell Grandma about this one. What were the odds?! Here's a couple photos of us standing in front of the actual trailer that was inside the bar.




After a couple drinks we went over to the Upright Citizens Brigade to watch a very funny improv show. Many people who have made it big on Saturday Night Live started at UCB. I heard that sometimes Amy Pollar shows up unexpectedly to do a show! It's definitely not a fancy place, but they have some very talented comedians and a fun crowd. Plus, PBR's are only $2!