Allie and Justin came to play in Granite Bay!

We feel really fortunate that we were able to spend the past 3 out of 4 weekends with these kids!

Four weeks ago, we were in Provo celebrating their graduation from BYU!

Three weeks ago, Mark and I were in Philadelphia for the AAO Convention,

and Allie and Justin had planned a trip to visit UPenn Medical school

 and check out the housing, so we just happened to be there at the same time.  Fun!

And then a couple of weeks ago, they came to California for the weekend 

to attend Allie's high school girlfriend, Kelsey Skinner's wedding.

The weather was incredible that weekend so we took advantage of it!

 Perfect for all the outdoor activities that we had planned.

We packed the wetsuit and some BeachHut deli sandwiches

 and took the boat out to Folsom Lake on Friday morning.

These two are pretty happy to be on the boat at Folsom Lake eating a Surfin' Bird sandwich!

It just doesn't get better than that!

We had the lake all to ourselves that day!

Lunch!  The Surfin' Bird, turkey, bacon, avocado, cream cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle.

 YUM! That's what I'm talking about!

Dad is pretty happy about his Surfin' Bird too!

Justin, sporting the wetsuit, is ready to get out in the water and wakeboard!

Ohhhhhhh!  The water is a little cold:)!

Crossing the wake and looking good in that wetsuit!

Our trusty boat driver and wildlife spotter...

yep, he found a deer on our way back to the dock.

Allie and me in front of our beloved MasterCraft!  20 years and still going strong!

Here is Allie and Justin with their favorite dessert, "Fat's famous Banana Cream Pie."

That night we went to dinner at Fat's, one of our favorite restaurants in town

to celebrate Justin getting into another great medical school, probably his #1 choice!

That's right!  He got an acceptance call that morning!  (More on that later.)

So of course, we had to celebrate... again!

When trying to decide where to go to dinner that night, 

we told Allie and Justin to choose a place from one of our many dinner gift cards.

So they chose Fat's, we took the gift card with us to the restaurant, we ordered and ate a delicious dinner, 

the bill came, Mark paid it, and then we left the restaurant with our tummies full... and our gift card in Mark's wallet.

Does this happen to anyone else or are we the only ones that go somewhere because we have a gift card...

 then forget to use the gift card??  Yeah... we do this all the time:)!!

We got up early and went on a bike ride around Lake Natomas the next morning with Allie and Justin.

These two look pretty cute with their biking gear!

Allie borrowed my pink biking skort and she is working it!

They were holding the Western Coast Championships at Lake Natomas that day.

So we stopped and watched the first leg of the race!

We made it back to Karen's Bakery, safe and sound and happy!

 The weather was gorgeous, the perfect day for a bike ride... and a wedding!

And that's what was next on our agenda... Kelsey's wedding!

I'll post about her incredible WedFest later!  It was so fun that it deserves it's very own blogpost!

After going to church on Sunday morning, we BBQ'd in the backyard and had the Hansen family join us.

The kids played in the backyard with Justin and Kevin, and of course, Chica!

Kevin has been such a great mentor and friend to Justin in all of this medical school application process

(and throughout his life, for that matter!)

But really, he has been great and as you can tell in this photo, 

they got a little caught up in the conversation so Tyler dribbled right past these two score a basket!

After beating Kevin and Justin in basketball, Tyler joins Lizzie,

who is playing with Chica, the cat.

Chica is obviously happy to be getting some attention:)!

It was a gorgeous sunset on a wonderful weekend with Allie and Justin!

New York City, Part 2

After we got Allie and Justin off to the airport to head back to Utah, we took little Cheri to one of the playgrounds 

at Battery Park so she could show us how she likes to swing in the little baby swing.

With the sunsetting across the Hudson River, the lighting was perfect, and baby Cheri insisted that we stop and take a few photos.

The girl loves taking pictures... I mean, really, can't you tell... look at the smile on that little ones face!

Cheri seems so happy that Grandma and Grandpa are here to visit!

OK, Grandma and Grandpa... I've had enough kisses!

Sorry kid... you can never get enough kisses from this grandma!

Then we took her to the swings and she loved it!

And we loved watching her giggle and laugh 

while we took turns pushing her in the swing!

She is just way too cute!

Such a cute mama!

We checked into our hotel and were happy to see that we got a room with a great view.
Here is a panoramic photo he view of the construction going on at the World Trade Center.

The Freedom Tower!

The next day, we headed to SoHo and to have lunch at one of our favorite spots, La Esquina.

Cheri wasn't very hungry... all she wanted to eat was her Sophie, the giraffe!

She loves that thing!

We all love La Esquina!  So glad that Kimber introduced us to this place!

And then shopping at Cwonder, where Brooke will be interning this summer!

Cheri seems pretty excited about all the bright colors in the store!

Look at the excitement on Cheri's face. 

 Obviously, she has spotted something that "she has to have."

A true shopper at heart!  #startingheroutyoung

Brooke, Cwonder's newest and cutest intern!

One of my favorite brunching spots in New York City is Sarabeth's,

so when the girls asked where I wanted to go for Mother's Day,

I didn't hesitate for a second and insisted on walking to Sarabeth's in Tribeca.

And of course, Ash ordered the french toast!

And Brooke ordered the chicken pot pie. Yum!

Cheri was a perfect little baby and just played happily in her stroller!

It was such a beautiful day that we decided to walk 

and just enjoy the sights and sounds of the the city.

We strolled around Brooke and Ashley's new neighborhood

and stopped for a photo at Washington Square Park.

Since it was Mother's Day weekend,

 the girls and I had to stop and get a photo by this cute sign!

I've been dying to go to Momofuku's Milk Bar and try me some "crack pie."

It was along our walking route so we stopped in to grab some treats.

 And as you can see, Cheri is eyeing the crack pie and wants to try it too!

Some of the goodies that we tried that day.  The crack pie was my favorite.

I'm not really sure how to describe it.  A cookie and a pie rolled into one and it was delicious!  

Wow!  Loved it and finished it off within seconds. I wish I had bought more!

And Dad had the perfect touch pushing that stroller and 

getting little Cheri to sleep in her bassinet.

After a little nap, baby girl woke up and was giggling and smiling

and just wanted to be held and I think wanted to take more pictures, so we did!

If she weren't so darn cute and always so happy, 

then we wouldn't have to stop every other minute and take a ton of pictures! 

 But seriously, do you blame us?!

I just don't want to forget how cute she is at this stage in her life!

She loves her mama!

Those eyes get me every time!  Precious!

One of my favorite shows when I was a little girl was Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella,

so I was really excited that it was on Broadway and couldn't wait to see it with Dad and the girls!

And I wasn't disappointed!  We all really loved it and agree that it was "a dazzling delight for all ages!"

 I snapped a photo of the gorgeous stage seconds before I got reprimanded by one of the ushers.  Oops!

But really, I'm glad I got this one because the stage was pretty awesome!

 As a child... actually, up until a couple of months ago... (love you Brookie!)

 we would call Brooke "Cinderella" because the kids 
(and, at times, Mom and Dad) would make her do all their chores.

Mostly, because she works so hard but also because she is fast and doesn't ever complain.

So Dad had to get a photo of his little "Cinderella" by Cinderella's glass slippers.

On Friday, we decided that we needed to walk... a lot... because we seem to be eating... a lot.

So basically, we walked from one eating establishment to the next. 
 Luckily, they were very far apart so we pretty much worked up an appetite 
by the time that we arrived to the next eatery.

I've wanted to take Dad to The Burger Joint ever since Kimber and I went there  in November.

The original Burger Joint is located behind the curtain in the lobby of Le Parker Meridien Hotel.

There is always a long line and always about a 30 minute wait,

so we were excited when we found out that they had a new location in Greenwich Village.

It is about 3 times the size as the original Burger Joint and there was no line at all.

I'm sure that will change once fellow New Yorkers realize that it's open,

but we pretty much had the place to ourselves and enjoyed it.

I caught the girls in action!  And look at Cheri's face!
How many blondes does it take to change a baby's diaper?! Ha! Ha!

They said that there was a contest and whoever took the cutest photos by

1) the monkey

(cutest photo ever, wouldn't you agree?)

Cheri looks a little bit nervous getting so close to that monkey?

and 2) a photo by Diana... again, could she be any cuter?  

I think she is pretty excited to see this photo of Lady Di!

and 3) a photo of someone enjoying their burger... looks like Cheri can't wait to take a bite of that burger!

She looks so focused on that burger.

You can almost hear her asking Grandpa, "please let me have a bite!"

Dad loved The Burger Joint!

And so did Cheri!  Look at the smile on her face!

Brooke is just a little excited about spending another summer in the city!

This place has such personality.  Everywhere we look things are in bloom!

After lunch, we decided to walk over to Brooke and Ashley's apartment

 to show Dad their new place they will call "home" for the next couple of months.

Standing in front of their apartment complex, 

these two "besties" are going to have a blast together this summer!

The cute view as we were walking around their neighborhood...

Isn't it absolutely charming?!

Cheri is such a little trooper, sitting in her little bassinet, enjoying the view,

but I think at this point, little Cheri is getting a little warm and asks for a glass of water.

We took turns pushing the stroller down the sidewalks, on our way to Central Park.

The weather was perfect and the park was beautiful!

Taking a break on our walk in the park.

We found some beautiful trees where the cherry blossoms had fallen, covering the ground

 so we had to take more "Cheri in the Cherry blossom" photos!

This has got to be the cutest picture of Cheri, playing in the Cherry blossoms!

Obviously, Cheri doesn't seem to care about it at all and just laughs at her grandma's lecture!

She is the perfect little baby model, smiling every time right on cue!

After little photo shoot of Cheri in the cherry blossoms,

we decided to walk to the Central Park Conservatory Gardens.

It was quite a walk... all the way up to the 105th Street and 5th Avenue.

But it was a beautiful day and the park looked gorgeous

so we all enjoyed walking and talking on our way to the gardens.

After a long walk, these two are ready to take a little break and enjoy the beautiful gardens.

The Conservatory Gardens in Central Park!

Sisters pic!  (minus Allie and Sonya)

Grandpa sures loves his little baby girl!

Holding hands with my baby as we walk home.

The kids wanted to take me out to dinner for Mother's Day, boy, did I get spoiled!

I chose Ninja New York, a new restaurant serving Japanese cuisine.

Cheri was pretty excited to get to go out for dinner.

Checking out the menu!  

Cheri ordered the Dragon Roll!  She loves sushi!

Ashley looking beautiful, as usual!

Love this guy!

Showing off my new glasses from Cwonder!

I finally broke down and bought some reading glasses!  Yikes!

Thanks for a fun Mother's Day dinner!  You guys are the best!

What a fun trip and what a great way to celebrate Mother's Day weekend!