Surprise visit to MI

OK, so I do not have to summarize my sister's visit. If you have any interest in this, simply check out her EXTENSIVE review here. She has three posts on her blog detailing her trip!

So, they left on Monday Feb 15, and I woke up Tuesday Feb 16 with the week stretching out beautifully in front of me. THe kids didn't have school, Timm would be doing some traveling, and I had left our time wide open to do whatever we felt like with our winter break.

Started by doing some laundry and doing some quiet reflective time on our own, praying journaling. I came in on Alli and asked how she was doing now that our visitors had left. She was fine at first, then she started crying.....hard. She was feeling a horrible sadness about missing her baby cousin Isabella. She was feeling really bad about not being there to celebrate her first birthday. She was missing family.

I comforted her, prayed with her, then asked if there was anything I could do to help her feel better? She sobbed "not unless you can TAKE ME TO MICHIGAN!"

Shortly thereafter, it occurred to me that I could take her to Michigan! So, I presented the idea to Timm, not sure if he would think I was crazy. But, of course, since he is the best husband and Daddy in the world, he was all for it. We told the girls to pack a suitcase and a "fun bag" for traveling, cuz we're going on a road trip to Michigan!

THe squeels of delight were wonderful!

So, with Daddy helping to pack us up, off we went. Arrived Tuesday night just before midnight. Spend all week visiting with everyone in Michigan, then headed back to NY Sunday morning.

What a great trip. We appreciate every single minute we have with our family in MI. SOme highlights were when the girls were pulled in sleds behind the four wheeler with their cousins (while I stayed in the warm house and watched), seeing Collin's new home, fighting over baby Isabella and kissing her 50 million times, celebrating her birthday a month early, having dinner with my sis and bro and their families, playing a game that made us laugh till we cried and became hoarse, a sleepover at Grandma's with the bestest buds, and my visits with a couple of friends I miss a lot. Just a few highlights. The whole week was great.

Now, it is back to reality.

Not exactly a normal average week though. Timm found out that the Verve Pipe is coming to NY. He surprised me by getting tickets, making dinner reservations somewhere, and arranging a sitter for a weeknight! So, tomorrow is a big date night for us! YAY!

Of course, as it always seems, something else came up on the same day. My new friend/neighbor who is fighting cancer is having a benefit concert tomorrow night. And I want to go SO badly. But, I won't be able to make it. If you want to check out the event, you can read about it here. I'm sure it will be a fantastic evening.

Many people have asked for updates with Alli's middle school pursuits. As I noted before, she did not get awarded the scholarship to the private school. She did get a letter from one of her top two picks within our district and she is scheduled for an interview/audition there on March 6. From what we understand, they aren't looking for exceptional talent as much as they are looking for a student who fits with the school's philosophy and a student who really WANTS to be there. It is a school that has a strong emphasis on the arts and humanities. A great fit for Alli. If she got in there, she would have 5 classes in the arts each week during 6th grade (dance, theater, graphic art, instrumental music,and visual arts). Then, in 7th and 8th grade, she would select a major art area and focus on that 5 days each week. She said she is going to audition for dance and theater, but she is also interested in graphic art.

She should also be hearing from her other top pick soon. They hold a similar audition/interview with a similarly focused school. However, that school is a little bit more competitive and you select your art major right away starting 6th grade. For that school, she is debating between dance, theater, and photography.

We'll keep you posted. However, from what I hear, we will not know which school she gets into until she is done with this school year!

Oh, almost forgot....NEW LAPTOP. Yay. So, I have some learning to do. Maybe I'll try right now to attach a pic and see if I can?

Hey, I did it. Now, I need to organize my pics and figure out what is where.

Whew

Whew, I am tired. Just spent the last 3 days with my sister, brother-in-law, and 5 nieces and nephews. It went WAY to quickly. I will put some photos up soon. I'm glad I'm so tired, or I might realize the underlying sadness of waving goodbye to my visitors.
But, here I sit, on my couch, looking at facebook, watching seinfeld reruns, and resting.
It was so fun to have everyone here. Goodbyes suck.

Pics from the week

Yep, the snow hit Brooklyn! Here is our terrace the day after the blizzard. It's already melting quickly on the streets. Good thing, cuz there nowhere to pile it!

Alli and mom outside of the theater after seeing "In the Heights" on Broadway! Great night!!! Great show!!!

Girls night out, while guys watched superbowl. Alli looking at her winnings from chuck e cheese. Both girls playing around at "guitar center". We know how to party.

Wii party turned rock band party!

Volunteering at St. Joe's soup kitchen.

These are just some pics of our week. SO FUN.

On Tuesday, our friend called to let us know she had tickets to a musical and wondered if Alli and I could go!!! We were 5th row! COME ON! It was so awesome. It's called "In the Heights". Look it up on line, Corbin Bleu was one of the people in it, we love him. It was so cool.

Lots of snow, and a snow day on Wednesday. Very nice. THe girls went sledding with a neighbor, while Timm and I stayed in the cozy apartment, relaxed, and watched the snow BLOW and pile up outside! I was wimpy and stayed inside. But, it was a very nice day. I did venture out once, as Timm took us out to lunch at a little cafe down the street.

Now, we are counting down the HOURS till our visitors arrive. CAN'T WAIT!

Fun head

OK, most of you have seen on facebook, but had to throw up a couple pics of the new fun head. I never would have done this if it wasn't for Timm encouraging me to have fun with it. Thanks Timm. He's the one who encouraged me to go short and that's been fun. I think colors might be fun too!

THese are self portraits, which somehow make my face seem distorted in size, but maybe that's just me. I prefer the side angles, as my face does seem a little more proportionate to my head and body from the side view.

"Would you still consdier me?" THat's the Goober and the Peas song we are currently jamming to. Gotta get up and lip sync into the wii remote. see ya, back to the KKFT wii party!

As Timm and I assumed the air guitar and lip sync roles of the last song, and Liv assumed the dancer on the chair, she stopped after the song and said "Mom....I wouldn't want you to not be my Mom." Doesn't get much better than that.

party time

We like to party over here at the kelly home.
Thursday night I had my first BUNCO night in Brooklyn. It was really great. I didn't know what to expect, but really hoped people would be interested in coming. Ended up having 12 of us! We talked, ate, drank, talked, and played bunco. Ahhh, I love being a woman. There was a consensus that we should do it again, and several people offered to host next time. It's a little different hosting 12 women in a small apartment on a school night, as opposed to a big house with a finished basement! Kids couldn't get to sleep till everyone left. Anyways, happy it was a success. And, Timm was a trooper, he didn't feel very swell, but hunkered down with both girls in our bedroom and watched a movie and laid low.
Friday night we had our small group. Still small! Val and Neal came over. Timm felt better, and was ready to venture back into the eating world. So, we let him choose take out for dinner. He chose Tai food. We enjoyed a night eating Tai food, sharing stories, looking at the bible and discussing it.
Tonight we decided to have a wii party with the KKFT. So, we are jamming some of our favorite 2,756 tunes on my ipod and playing wii. (RIght now it is Goober and the Peas) OK, I'll admit, my attention limitations make it very difficult for me to play most games. I tried mario and it stressed me out a bit. I was barking out at the kids and my anxiety level was up. Not the best method of getting your heart rate up. So, now I am a spectator until we do guitar hero or a game where we are moving non stop. Oh, nascar racing is next, I'm gonna give that a shot. Gotta go.
Tomorrow is Superbowl. Timm is reminiscing about his superbowl sunday traditions from MI. He called his cousins and uncles telling them he is missing their "up north" expeditions. But, he is hosting a guys night to watch the game and play some poker and eat some snacks. The girls and I are having a party of our own. It's called Chuck - e - cheese!
PARTY weekend.
We also went this morning to St. Joe's soup kitchen to help set up and cook. Always a nice family activity.
One more thing. A friend of mine asked me if I might be interested in joining her this Spring running a....marathon. Yes, a marathon. I immediately said "no". Then, I decided to think it over. I am thinking it over. Running 26 miles all at once? May 30 in Vermont. Hmmmm, I'm thinking it over.....maybe....it has turned from a no into a definite maybe.
Church tomorrow morning, then more partying. Good times.
Nascar cart, here I come.

pics

So, I mentioned that yesterday we couldn't park on our street because there was filming going on for "Law and Order". We found out that the episode airs on Feb 22 if anyone wants to check out our street!

Here is a pic of us walking to school down our street. That's ALli in the red coat. Look at all the STUFF! THere were about 6 huge trucks full of equipment, plus cars and many many people! Crazy!

Here are some of the actors, an NYPD team with full uniforms, guns, shields, etc, hanging out in front of the house they filmed in.

And, directly across the street, more men in uniform....actors.

Here is another view of our street, turned into a film crew break room! Snack bar and all.

OK, some more pics. Just for fun. Liv and I on one of her field trips. THe kids building an awesome fort in Prospect Park. And, enjoying "super Saturday" at the girls' school where we made pinch pots out of clay and danced with a Caribbean dance ensemble.

Not is Kansas anymore....

We are not in Kansas anymore....I know, this statement is so cliche. And, since I am the reigning queen of misquoted cliches, I probably don't even have it right?
Anyways, some clear indications of this: The signs posted on our street to notify us that we can't park on our street tomorrow. Why not? Well, they are filming a segment of law and order! Come on, really? On our street? Interesting.
Second, I met a girl from Kansas. On Saturday night, I was walking with a team of volunteers on the COLD streets of Manhattan. We were looking for people who could use a warm meal, clothes, medical care, a place to sleep, etc. I was volunteering with a campaign called "don't walk by" If you are in the NYC area, you might want to check out this great opportunity to work with the NYC Rescue Alliance. Anyways, there I was, walking a section of Manhattan that I had never walked, with a group of strangers I had never met. One fellow volunteer was from Korea, but he spent much of his childhood in Texas. Another grew up in the Philipines until age 10 when he finally joined his parents who had moved here when he was a baby. Another girl was of Asian descent, but grew up in Vancouver. And, the last girl was from....Kansas. What an interesting group of people to spend 4 hours walking and talking with. But, this happens ALL THE TIME now. This is such a true melting pot, I can learn from people I encounter every single day. It is amazing. Anyways, because it was so bitter cold, we were not able to find many folks outside on the street. I think the teams walking the subway stations found many more folks. We did get a chance to meet Mike. He's from the Bronx, but has been living on the upper east side for the last 10 years...on the streets. He was cold and hungry and quickly agreed to take us up on the offer for a hot meal. We enjoyed visiting with him for about a half hour until the van came to give him a lift to the church.
I just stop sometimes and look around at the incredible diversity where we now live! I am having some of the neighborhood ladies over one night this week for "bunco" (yep, that's right, I"m bringin' bunco to Brooklyn!!) I invited people who are from Trinidad, Dominican Republic, Argentina, and England, people who are Asian, African American, and European. ANd, people from around here would say "so what? big deal." But, coming from the completely homogeneous environment I was accustomed to for so many years, this is still new for me. And, I love it! I hope I never offend someone by asking a dumb question about their culture, ethnicity, traditions, beliefs, etc. Because, I genuinely love to learn about each person, and although I believe we should focus on our commonalities and love each other regardless of differences, I am intrigued and amazed by each person's story!
Definitely not in Kansas anymore, but having fun meeting people from there, and all around this great big world!