New York: Part 4

This is the last post about our New York trip. Our final day in the "Big Apple" was a lot of fun. We spent the day in uptown Manhattan where we visited the Temple, Museum of Natural History, Central Park, and on our way back to Bryan's, we met Nicolas Cage.

It's interesting to see the Temple amidst all of the other buildings uptown. If you don't look up to see Angel Moroni, you would probably just walk right past it like we almost did.

If I were to ever live in New York, I think I would want to live uptown. Central Park is absolutely beautiful. I'm always amazed at how big the park is. In 1859 when the park was first constructed, more than 270,000 trees and shrubs were planted. Incredible!

The Museum of Natural History was one of my favorite sites. We only had about 2 hours so we had to race through the entire thing. Erik and I could have spent the whole day there. They have everything from prehistoric dinasour remains, life size replicas of animals including a blue whale, and the largest meteorite to ever be placed in a museum. It really is incredible!!!!

As Erik and I were walking to a subway stop on our way back to Bryan's house, we passed a large film set and asked some people what was going on. They were filming a Nicolas Cage movie called "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". Erik and I were very surprised to see how much went into filming a movie. There had to have been atleast 50 people there working and they probably only filmed about 5 seconds worth of footage in the 45 minutes we stood there. Nicolas Cage eventually came over and I asked him if he would take a picture with me. He was very nice and said 'yes'. Then, the worst happened....the camera wouldn't work. I got so mad at Erik, even though I knew it wasn't his fault. Oh well.

That basically sums up our vacation to New York. It was a lot of fun, but we were ready to go back home. I couldn't wait to see Khloe and get in our car to drive somewhere. :) Walking all the time gets very tiring. Maybe next time we go back to New York, Bryan will have his own gallery open. He is very talented and actually has a painting in the Smithsonian. Prince Charles also has one of his paintings and he recently sold this one below that is currently hanging in his apartment. You can view some of his work by going here.

Thanks again Bryan for letting us stay with you. We had a blast!

New York: Part 3

The U.S. Open finally arrived. We were supposed to go to the final day of the tournament, but due to rain delays earlier in the week, we were actually going to see the 3rd round and not the 4th because it had been pushed to Monday. The tournament took place at the Bethpage Black course in Farmingdale, New York. Before we left for our trip, we did a little research to see what we could bring to the course. Erik read that we couldn't bring any cameras. I couldn't believe it! I was very upset that we wouldn't have any photos documenting our day. Seriously, the click of a camera is really going to distract the players? They deal with heckling fans all day.

The day of the tournament, we had to wake up around 6am in order to make the train to Farmingdale. It took us about two hours to get to the "check point" where we had to check our very small backpack because it had STRAPS. So retarded! We got to the course around 10am and because the course was so wet, they delayed the start times until noon. That gave us time to do a little walking around and watch the players warm up at the driving range. We were also able to get our one and only picture for the day with the U.S. Open trophy. (I doubt it was really the actual trophy though.)


I have to say that I wasn't really looking forward to an entire day of golf, but to my surprise, watching golf in person is way more entertaining than on TV even with my tired and soaking wet feet. Thanks to portable TV's the guys got at the course for free, we were able to watch the live coverage and scout out our route for watching players throughout the day. It's very hard to follow players because there are so many people. In order to watch Tiger, we had to find out what hole he was currently on and then walk to the hole three or four places in front of him. I couldn't believe how many people were there and Erik was surprised how much more narrow the fairways are when you see them in person. These guys were incredible to watch and we all had a lot of fun. Bryan and Jon went back on Monday to watch the final round, but Erik and I decided to stay in and watch it on TV. Overall, I think Erik really enjoyed his anniversary gift. I know I did.

New York: Part 2

Our second day in New York consisted of midtown Manhattan. Our first stop was the G.E. Building, where they have the "Top of the Rock". This is one of my favorite New York attractions because the views are incredible. Unfortunately for us, it was very cloudy but it was still beautiful. While on the 70th floor and 850 feet above street level, you see the Empire State Building and southern Manhattan from one side and on the other, you see Central Park and northern Manhattan. Being above most of the buildings really is amazing. This is one of my "must see" attractions if you are ever in the Big Apple.


After Rockefeller Center, we walked over to St. Patrick's Cathedral. As we walked inside, I noticed that a wedding was taking place. To my surprise, I was able to walk up to about the 5th row and take some pictures of the ceremony. Since witnessing a wedding at St. Patrick's isn't something that can be planned, I was very excited to be there. I doubt that will ever happen again.


While in New York, we took the subway everywhere. It was really nice when Bryan was with us because we didn't have to figure out where to go. Taking the subway got a little boring, but Erik did a great job navigating our stops. We got on the right train every single time. Me on the other hand, had a difficult time getting through the gates. I scanned my Metro card once and didn't get through fast enough so I had to ask a girl if I could squeeze behind her as she walked in. Thankfully, I only had to do that once. :)


Last on our agenda for day 2 was a piano concert at Carnegie Hall with Jon and Bryan. You'll notice in the picture that Jon and Bryan are dressed up and we weren't. Erik and I had been out all day sightseeing so we didn't have time to change. I wanted to dress up, but oh well. Anyway...I've been to NY a couple of times and this was something I had never done before. This was the pianist's Carnegie Hall debut and she played absolutely beautiful! The concert lasted about 1 1/2 hours and I'm guessing she memorized around 75-100 pages of music. Being a pianist myself, I can't even imagine memorizing that many pages and playing so many songs back to back. Her forearm muscles must have been sore! Afterwards, we started talking in the lobby and she came out to see her family. I asked her if we could take a picture and they were very excited. Her husband took pictures with their camera so she could have pictures with her "fans". :) It was pretty funny.


Stay tuned for part 3. Erik's favorite day....the U.S. Open!

4th of July Celebrations

I'm interrupting my New York postings to share our 4th of July celebration. I spent the evening with my sister and her two girls, Lindsay and Kayla, who were in town visiting us and other family members.

Lindsay (8) and Kayla (6) are two of the many girls infatuated with the Jonas Brothers who headlined the concert at Stadium of Fire this year, which we got to attend. When the Jonas Bros. came out for their first song the stadium went wild with screams. You could barely hear the music. I didn't know any of their songs but it was still fun for me to be there with my sister and nieces.

My favorite part of the evening, besides the incredible fireworks, was when I got to witness something I've never seen before. They stopped the firework show part way through and had a flag burning ceremony. The giant flag that has been used for many football games and Stadium of Fire events was finally being retired. Members of the army carried the flag in and placed it in a big silver container. Glenn Beck, the night's host, was very emotional as he introduced the burning of the flag. It was very cool to see.

For the last three years, I've spent the 4th of July at the Stadium of Fire with my nieces and it has been so much fun. Unfortunately, Erik hasn't been able to come and I am looking forward to the next "4th" so we can be together. I hope you all had a wonderful and safe 4th of July. What a wonderful country we live in!

New York: Part 1

While in New York, Erik and I stayed with his friend Bryan, who is a painter living in Brooklyn. He met Bryan through his friend, Jon who also went to New York with us. We spent a total of 4 days in New York and were able to see and do many exciting things. Here is part 1. Sorry it's so long; it was a very busy day.

Our first day consisted of the southern tip of Manhattan. We started off by taking a ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty and then on to Ellis Island. We really lucked out with the weather because it was supposed to rain the entire time, but we had mostly clouds and a few bursts of hot, humid sunshine. I wore boots thinking I'd be cold on the ferry. Big mistake. I was so sweaty as we stood in the two hour long line to take the ferry over to Liberty Island. It was worth it though. The statue was beautiful and we got some great shots of the New York skyline.

About an hour later, we got to Ellis Island. Between 1892 and 1954 over 12 million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island. My grandparents came through Ellis Island when they immigrated to America and it was really interesting to hear and read about what their experience must have been like. One of the things I was most fascinated about was looking at the passenger manifests and individual passport documents that were displayed. Their handwriting was immaculate! Every letter was perfectly written and I'm sure they were under a lot of stress and time constraints. It was beautiful.

Next on our agenda was a little bit of walking. First, we stopped at the "charging bull" by Wall Street. An Italian artist spent about $360,000 to create the sculpture in 1987. In an act of "guerrilla art", he trucked it to lower Manhattan, installed it beneath a 60-foot Christmas tree in the middle of Broad Street as a Christmas gift to the people of New York. The police seized the sculpture later the next day and placed it at an impound lot. The public outcry led the parks and recreation department to install it in the plaza at Bowling Green shortly after.

As we continued to walk through the city, we passed the New York Stock Exchange where Erik and Jon stopped to talk to a few NYPD officers who were on duty patrolling the area fully armed with machinery and canines. They told us that since 9/11, officers are always there because they anticipate future terrorist attacks on the Exchange. Hopefully that will never happen, but it's comforting to know that they are prepared for the worst.

Next was Trinity Church (where parts of National Treasure were filmed) and Ground Zero. At Ground Zero, we spoke to a man on security who described a little bit about what they were planning to build and how high the original towers were. He pointed to a nearby building and said the previous buildings were 2 1/2 times that height. I couldn't believe it! Below is a picture of the pit where they are in the beginning stages of building new towers. The tallest one, named the Freedom Tower will be a symbolic 1776 feet tall marking the year of the Declaration of Independence signing. Very cool!

(Rendition of Freedom Tower & Surrounding Towers)

After Ground Zero, we headed to Little Italy for some yummy dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Cafe Napoli and after some good food and great conversation, we were ready to get back to Bryan's and climb into bed. We were very tired. Stay tuned for part 2.

Vacation & Golf: Erik's Dream

Normally people plan vacations about 3-4 months in advance. Well, I planned a trip to New York for last weekend, in August 2008! It was 11 months in advance. I swear it felt like the day was never going to come that we would leave on our vacation. I pride myself on being extremely organized, but I outdid myself on this one. :)

Actually, what really happened was that I was on the search for a perfect anniversary gift for Erik last August. It was our 5 year anniversary and after a lot of searching, I was finally able to find the perfect gift; tickets to the U.S. Open golf tournament which was this past Sunday in NY. You all know how obsessed Erik is with golf. This was right up his alley.

Our trip was so much fun and I can't wait to go through my pictures and post some on here for you to view. Unfortunately, I've been really busy and my family is coming in town tomorrow for the weekend so I might not get to them for a few more days. I know you're just dying to see pictures of our trip (HA! yeah right)...well, I know my parents are. Sorry Mom...I'll get to them soon; I promise.

New Photos of Khloe

I don't have anything good to post about so I thought I'd share two new pictures that I took of Khloe last week. Ahhh! My cute little baby. :)

Zero Babies / Two Dogs

Seeing as I have no babies or small children to photograph at the moment, Khloe and her sister, Zoey, became my photo subjects for the day. They'll do anything for treats. :) Watching these two play together is so funny. They wrestle and run in circles all day. Even though they are dogs, they're still our (the Olafsson's and Drage's) little babies.

Hmmm....maybe I should get one of those baby things? :)

Flashback Friday: The Big Apple (2006)

Three years ago I had the privilege of going to New York with my mother and sister in-laws. We went to probably every landmark possible and had an amazing time. This year, Erik and I are going by ourselves and I cannot wait. He hasn't been in a long time so I kind of feel like the "expert" even though I am far from being one. It's also going to be warm and sunny (hopefully) which I am really looking forward to. The only two times I have been to NYC is in the middle of winter. I'm so glad I don't have to pack any winter coats this time.

New Beginnings

Last week I had the pleasure of taking Spencer and Melinda's engagement photos. Spencer is one of Erik's good friends and we couldn't be happier with his choice to marry Melinda. They were so easy to photograph and the photos turned out great. I can't wait to take her bridals next month; she's going to look absolutely beautiful. It's so neat to see couples who are about to get married. They are so in love and can't wait to start their lives together. Some are lucky enough to feel that way years into their marriage and I am one of them. Cheers to new beginnings and the kickoff to wedding season.

A New Way Wii Waste Time

This past winter, Erik and I decided one Saturday night to buy a Nintendo Wii. It was cold, snowy and we had nothing to do...it was a very random decision seeing as neither one of us are "gamers".

We played it for a few weeks and then it sat in the cupboard accumulating dust until we realized recently that we should probably play it more. It's a lot of fun but when I think about how many hours we've wasted playing Mario Kart, it's kind of depressing. Thankfully for Erik, when I get tired of playing (and losing), his friend Jon comes over and will play with him until two in the morning. :)

(Sort of) New Church Callings

I have become such a horrible blog poster lately. After reading my cousin-in-law's blog this afternoon, I was reminded that one of the reasons I have a blog is for "journaling" purposes and that eventually, I will download all of my blog posts and get them bound in a book. So, being that it is Sunday, I figured I would do a post on our "new" church callings.

Last month, Erik and I were called to be the Ward Program Editors. I have to say, this calling is right up my alley. I don't have to do anything in front of anyone, have nothing to be nervous about, it's totally computer oriented, and it requires barely any time. Every week, I update the sacrament meeting schedule and add any new announcements, birthday's and lesson titles. I also find a picture on the church website for the cover that somehow correlates to the subject of the meeting. Erik and I then go to the church building on Saturday's and copy and fold all of the programs for the next day.

I really enjoy sharing a calling with Erik and every Sunday morning while I sit in sacrament meeting, I look over the program and analyze every little mistake I've made and think about how I can improve it. I do owe a BIG thanks to my Dad. He does the program for their ward in Bermuda and was the one that came up with the genius template. Thanks Dad!

On another note....Erik was just called today to teach in Elder's Quorum on the 4th Sunday of every month as well. He is such an amazing teacher and I think this calling is right up his alley.

Not One, but TWO Graduations

Today was graduation day for Erik and I. Well, I graduated in December, but walked in the commencement ceremony this morning with Erik who just finished getting his Masters degree in Finance.

It was really fun to be with Erik during the ceremony. I was supposed to sit in the Bachelor degree section but Erik and I wanted to sit together so I joined the other Master recipients on the floor. I felt a little stupid at the beginning but got over it quickly until we had to stand at the end (and keep in mind, our seats were on the floor right in front of the podium). They asked everyone getting a Master's to stand. Everyone on the floor around me stood. Then, they asked everyone getting a Bachelor's to stand; so I reluctantly stood. This is when I really got embarrassed. It was pretty much just me standing on the Huntsman Center floor for that moment. Oh well.

I am so happy to finally be graduated and also very happy for Erik. He put in so many hours these last couple of years to finish his Master's degree and we are both elated to finally be done with school. I wish my parents (well, any of my family for that matter) would have been able to be at the ceremony with us. Thankfully, Erik's parents, sister and son, and grandparents were able to make it. It was a beautiful sunny day and the perfect way to say goodbye to the "U". Well, until football season that is. :)

Not Much To Post

I've been feeling guilty lately for the lack of attention I've paid to blog posting. Our lives are pretty boring right now and there really isn't much to tell all of you about. Every day we wake up pretty late, get a bunch of work done, usually watch a movie, work out and end up going to sleep around 2am. I think it's starting to catch up with me....the fact that my sleeping schedule is all screwed up. I find myself tired all through out the day.

The only semi-new thing that's been going on in the Olafsson household is how much time we waste playing a game called "Settlers of Catan". At first, it looked really boring and very korny, but it's very addictive. I've even dreamt about it and in the middle of the night once, when Erik asked me something 'cause he couldn't sleep, I told him to "go buy some ore". You'll understand if you play the game. :) Erik, Kari (his sister) and I are the standard players. We usually play for about 4 hours after our Sunday dinner at the parent's house. It's been a wonderful way for us to get to know Kari more. I've gotten a little better at it, but Erik and Kari seem to be the typical winners. I only win about 1 every 5 or 6 times. Have you ever played this game?


Anyway....we do actually have an exciting event going on this Friday which I will post about after the fact so stay tuned. After that's over with, I'm going to try and make something exciting happen. Our blog is suffering. :)

What's So Cool About Twitter?

Unless you've been living in a cave recently, I'm sure you've heard about the latest social networking fad, Twitter. Seriously though, I don't understand why this is so cool. Everyone from President Obama to Ashton Kutcher to Oprah are twittering.

I'm assuming the only people that tweet on a daily basis are those with Blackberry's or some sort of hand held device so that they can upload their tweet's constantly throughout the day and I am not one of them. First off, I'm not important enough to warrant having a Blackberry. I'm not cool enough either seeing as the only people that ever call me are my family and lastly, why would anyone be interested in reading what I am doing at that very second? No one is going to find "playing with my dog and her squeeky toys" even remotely interesting. I'm sure my blog posts are boring enough for my family and friends to read and I only update that about once a week.

A friend of mine convinced me to create a Twitter account a few months ago but I have never used it. Every morning I get emails saying someone is following me. But why would someone want to "follow me" when I never say anything? Strange. Just like I ignored everything to do with Twilight (I have never seen the movie and never plan to) I have no intention on jumping on this bandwagon.

I just don't get it. What is the big deal about Twitter?