more nyc

 inside the toys-r-us store is a giant barbie house.

you can walk inside and look at all of the fun things to buy.

you can even walk upstairs and look out on the store.

at the times square m&m's store.

 

no, i do NOT want to go see the empire state building.

you can't tell...but this fun machine tells you what sort of m&m you would be. 

i think ella was a dark chocolate kind of m&m girl.

caine's arcade on youtube

love this!

american girls

i had to devote an entirely separate post about our trip to the american girl store on 5th ave.

it was a huge moment in the lives of our own american girls! 

 here we have aftie, alicia, bella and ella.

all safely buckled for the 6 hr drive to the city!

 after a 6 hr drive from buffalo,

a 1 hour train ride from new jersey,

and a 20 minute walk from penn station,

we finally arrived at 8pm!

1 hour to spend in the store of little girl dreams.

 ella and i promptly headed to the 3rd floor to the hair salon to have bella's ears pierced.

since ella has her ears pierced, it was important to get bella's done as well.

 aftie and ry started on the ground floor browsing for outfits.

 after a hurried but thorough search, the girls gathered the items they liked and sat together to make their final decision on what items should be purchased.

they were given a set amount of money for the entire trip.

seeing as this was the first evening of the trip, the reality of their financial situation weighed heavily on their little minds.

"if i buy this outfit, will i still have enough money to buy a souvenir at the statue of liberty?", asked ella.

 in the end, each girl made her purchase with a big smile and a remainder of money for souvenirs.

the girls could hardly wait to get back on the train and open those beautiful bags and boxes. 

we didn't return to our hotel in new jersey until midnight, but luckily we were on vacation and could stay up just a bit later to organize all the new doll clothes and accessories.

a time for firsts

we took the girls to new york city this past weekend.

ryan has meetings there this week, so we went a bit early and made a weekend of it!

the girls experienced so many new things!

it was so fun to watch them as their eyes and minds were opened to a plethora of sights & sounds.

 the first time at a train station.

convent station, new jersery.

 first train ride for ella. 

 afton's taken this train before, but doesn't remember it very well.

new jersey transit to penn station, nyc

 first time walking in nyc.

5th avenue, no less!

first show on broadway!

 first trip to times square

 first subway ride!

the no. 1 to south ferry

first sight of the manhatten skyline.

first time to see the statue of liberty in person!

first ferry ride.

first ferry ride while snacking on nachos!

staten island ferry.

 first time to see, hear and feel the 9/11 attacks.

first time to see evidence of the collapsed world trade center towers.

first time to see rebuilding.

world trade center.

100 floors and still building.

alexander mccall smith

last week i had the amazing and wonderful and exciting privilege of hearing one of my favorite authors speak.

alexander mccall smith!

(author of the number 1 ladies detective agency and many other fantastic series)

he came to buffalo as part of the just buffalo literary center author series. 

here i am with my cute friends, eliza and cynthia.

do you think it's time for me to have my roots done?

we all had a very enjoyable evening!  we laughed until our cheeks hurt from smiling.

mr. mccall smith was hysterically funny and kept us laughing the entire time. 

he was so entertaining, i didn't want him to leave the stage. 

 cynthia stole a couple of shots while he was signing books.

he was so cute and even wore a kilt!

he is scottish, so i suppose it wasn't too abnormal.

so glad i had the opportunity to hear this wonderful man in person!

hulse holiday!

march 22-23 marked the annual hulse holiday at splash lagoon in erie, pa!

here we see the sweeties in action,

making their way down the hallway from the hotel to the doors of splash lagoon.

 the bathing beauties taking a photo break.

 ella the monkey swinging her way across the lily pads.

aftie decided her legs grew too long for the lily pads!

she would have had to go across on her knees.

 waterlogged and hungry!

the girls decided to try out the new ropes course.  afton was not as in love with it as she thought she'd be.  ella went a bit further, then realized afton was going back down, so she decided to be done as well.

we love going to boston's pizza for lunch.  it's attached to the waterpark! 

ella tried out some of the bigger slides this year and we were all so glad, because we had even more fun!  we all loved the new wave pool.  and we loved it when our friends, the gruwells came to play with us!!!  another successful hulse holiday!

funniest commercial

i just saw this clorox commercial on tv.  i laughed right out loud!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rBhBnwAf64