NYC Day 3

We started our third day in the Big Apple at Madison Square Garden. Keagan would have loved the tour even more if the arena had the basketball court down,  but it was prepped for a concert instead. 

After a quick sandwich, we headed to The Music Box theatre  to see “ Dear Evan Hansen.” This is the part of the trip Keagan has dreaded (art, music...they just aren’t his thing), but ten minutes into the show, he turned and whispered, “This is good, Mom.” Good does not do it justice; it was fantastic! Just fantastic! It will be the highlight of the trip for me.

We then walked through Times Square and ran into the Naked Cowboy and some naked girls. Keagan didn’t bat an eye; he just kept on walking. 

To clear our eyes, we walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was stunning!  

Across the street was the Atlas sculpture. 

And to make my blood boil, we just had to walk to Trump Tower.

Meanwhile, Evan is either loving his time at Fordham and can’t find  the time to text us or he’s hating it and doesn’t want to admit it was all a mistake. Tonight his two word text to me was written in Spanish, and since he uses Spanish only when he’s in a good mood, I’m going to believe he’s having the time of his life.

NYC Day 2

Evan texted us this morning; he received a gift from a foreign exchange student at Fordham learning English. He reports his roommate is “good” and he’s having fun. 

Here he is for opening ceremonies. 

Wes, Keagan, and I spent the morning at The Natural History Museum. 

Then we rented bikes and rode the perimeter of Central Park. You would never know we were in the middle of a huge city! We picnicked on hotdogs from a stand and fruit popsicles. 

My butt is bruised from the bike seat and my legs are jelly. Fat girls should ride more often. Tomorrow should be fun waking up. 

Our evening adventures took us to Angelo’s Pizza, Top of the Rock and Times Square. 

Twelve hours later and none of us can move.

New York City

How in the world is today only 18 hours old? I’ve never done so much in one day. 

My alarm went off at 4:00. At 6:00 all of the trucks were loaded with household goods, extra food, cleaning supplies, and bedding, and after six years, we said goodbye to 1587 Edgewater. We drove to Fort Campbell to store the trucks/goods behind a locked gate and headed straight for the airport.

We drove down 24 with, surprisingly, no incident and made it to the airport just in time. At 1:00 we landed in New York City! We took a taxi to Fordham and got Evan registered for his summer seminar. 

We unpacked his clothes, made his bed, and ran off campus for some great pizza! Gosh I hope this experience is positive for him! 

After good-byes, Wes, Keagan, and I took the train to Grand Central Station, took the subway 47th street, and walked the block to our hotel. I so lucked out with this Priceline deal! Our hotel is just perfect! Keagan took a short nap, Wes studied the subway maps, and I was just so darn happy to not be pulling a fifty pound bag up stairs, down stairs, and across town.

We grabbed sandwiches for dinner and then took the subway to The Empire State Building for views of more tall buildings. 

I will be honest and say I was underwhelmed. We window shopped at Foot Locker (Keagan is with us after all) until the sun set, picked up cakes at the corner bakery, and toasted to a great day one. 

Eight more days of horns, sirens, smells, and unusual people await us. 

Toole Family Weekend

Ketchup dares + Pool time + Prank telephone calls + Wrestling in the hotel + Work outs in the gym = Cousin time

Toole Family Celebration

We celebrated Nana’s 95th birthday today in hot, humid Arkansas. 

Toole great grand children minus two

Toole grandchildren minus two

Toole children

Toole Family

Amy, Nana, and Wes

Happy Fourth!

This is as festive as our Fourth of July got. 

Exactly six years ago we were unpacking and moving into our new house in Tennessee. Apparently my long term memory is fuzzy and I’ve forgotten the anxiety and stress that comes with moving because here we are moving again. While cleaning out the kitchen, I came across this light up flag. I knew Keagan would find the perfect way to celebrate with it. He did not disappoint. 

https://youtu.be/mQkcLHQq3zc

His interpretive dance is spot on.

Between moving, cleaning the house, and cuddling with a scared dog, this is all we could muster this year. We didn’t even watch the neighborhood fireworks because the dog was crying and the mosquitoes were biting.  

Next year I’ll be sure to medicate the dog, and from my mosquito free screened porch, I’ll watch the fireworks show without a care in the world! This year’s sleeping on air mattresses and eating PBJ for lunch will be a distant memory. 

Another Milestone

Highschool. Homecoming. Drivers ed. First car. ACT. They are all teenager milestones, and today we added another to the list. We spent the better half of our afternoon at the bank getting this. To mark the occasion, he took his girlfriend to Sonic and bought her ice cream. 

The summer leadership program suggested we send him with spending money. There was no way I was sending him to NYC with a wad of cash, so a checking account with a debit card was the next best idea. Now that he knows how to pay for his gas with cash 😉, he now gets to learn how to use his own card and his own money. 

Now we cross our fingers he doesn’t lose it or leave home without it.