The Lanksters

A Visit With Grammie

Grammie was kind enough to keep Olivia this weekend while we traveled to Louisville to see Wicked. She sent me this picture of her, Olivia, and "Coopie" (which is what Olivia calls her cousin Cooper). I thought this picture was too cute not to post.

Updates

At the urging of many, I have finally updated the blog. I actually considered discontinuing it, as I am so swamped these days I cannot seem to keep up, but so many of you have commented to me how you still check it for updates that I didn't have the heart to do so. So tonight I have spent the past 2 hours updating and will try to do a better job keeping it up in the future!

My 30th Birthday Trip to NYC

I can't get enough of New York! Jeremy has been working there since October. Once a month, his employer will fly me to New York to visit with him. So I am taking full advantage. Since I turned 30 this month, I thought this was a perfect opportunity. I flew up for a long weekend. We went shopping in Soho (and this time I made up for my lack of purchases the last trip) and ate dinner at the oldest drinking establishment in New York - the Bridge Cafe. It is located in the Financial District, right under the Brooklyn Bridge. I would highly recommend the diver scallops with the lobster risotto there - magnificent! We also met our friends, Alex and Scott McConnell, who live in New Jersey (temporarily we hope) for dinner at the Russian Tea Room and then went to see Mamma Mia. The Russian Tea Room was a fun experience, but it was definitely one of those places where you get a little food for a lot of money. We enjoyed Mamma Mia, but it didn't hold a candle to Chicago. We were also able to attend a matinee showing of Lion King - what amazing costumes and set. It was worth every penny. We had brunch prior to the show at Alice's Tea Cup - it is a little tea shop decorated with an Alice and Wonderland theme. It would be a perfect place to take any little girl, as all little girls wear fairy wings while there. The french toast was to die for, as well as the Wedding Chai. It snowed the entire time that we were there and it was BITTERLY cold - I wore 4 layers the entire time. The trip was so memorable and has only fueled my addiction to Broadway. A week later, we attended a showing of Wicked in Louisville - I loved Chicago, and adored the Phantom of the Opera (I saw it 10 years ago - gosh I am old), but Wicked was by far the most amazing musical I have ever seen. We hope to go back to NYC in the Spring to see South Pacific and Jersey Boys if Jeremy is still working there! I think this year is shaping up to be the year of the Big Apple!

Winnie the Pooh

Olivia adores Winnie the Pooh. She has a DVD player in the car and she insists on watching the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (the classic movie) as well as the Adventures of Tigger and Pooh (the most recent kid's show) every morning and afternoon to and from daycare. She has several books that Nana and Papaw gave her that we have to read every night. She knows all the characters and points them out. Hearing her say "Eeyore" is hysterical, but her favorite is obviously Pooh, although Rabbit runs a close second. This picture was taken after taking her to her first basketball game - a tournament game between Corbin and Lexington Christian Academy. We took Pooh with us as a security item - she was a little overwhelmed by the spectacle at first, but once we introduced popcorn, she was an instant fan of the event. Afterwards, she was obviously worn out, and for whatever reason, put Pooh on her head, where he road for the entire trip home. She has done this before - when she is worn out, she puts her blanket on her head. I guess she is trying to block out the light. I can't help but laugh at her when she does this - it is so cute.