OUR DAYS IN THE SUN

Well, not a ton has happened since I last wrote. I am just learning to really love it here and feel like I have known all my new friends for years. It is so easy to become comfortable friends with those who are in or have been in the same boat. I have been making a lot of my secret recipe cookies and taking them to those who need a thank you. I gave some to the superintendent of my building tonight to kiss up since I got him in trouble on accident. I mentioned in passing to the building manager that he would be installing my a/c unit and she yelled at him and told him he couldn't do them anymore. He said I only lost him a few hundred dollars every month. I felt really bad but we agreed to keep things between he and I that go on in the building and I think were on the up and up again. You have to be in good with your super in NY. Especially when he lives directly across the hall. I truly love my apartment now that we are settling in. I get sad sometimes just because everyone is missing how cute Averie is every day. Especially Bryce. She holds her babies and says shhhh, and rocks them, tries to feed them her cereal and bottles. She will yell "top it, time out" and throw them in her pack and play. Our door man is an old black man, very sweet, and every time we walk out of the front door Averie yells "Sunny's". That's his name, Sunny. If you listen closely, she is always telling you a story about what we did yesterday, or something she saw, never baby jibber jabber anymore, always substance to what she's saying. She sings loudly in sacrament and tries to share. The funniest is when she raises her hand to hit my face or someone else. She pauses hand mid air and pats lightly on my cheek and say's " Hi Mama.. Hi. Luv ou" She gets tempted to do something wrong and even if she starts to do it, she usually stops in the middle and perks up her lips for a kiss to say sorry. She is SUCH a good girl. She really does have a natural ability to want to be good and CTR. Chaleh is coming out in Oct, and Ma and Pa soon I hope. Every one else is always welcome. We have plenty of sleeping space. There are 14 rooms on campus that are for student guests, the beds are fulls, but I went to check them out the other day and they are really nice and clean. only 3 years old. Only $135 a night. That's a steal for NY. Only 1 block from my house, but they fill up fast so I need some notice. Hope every one is doing well. Oh, Michael Ballum (sp?) was at our church to day ( Satan in temple movie). Apparently he has a 2nd home in our ward. Bryce was pointing to him and saying that he thought it looked like him and I sad NAH! Some one confirmed it after church. Take care all and how about a call here or there...... I mean jeez.... nice to know ya!

I Just wanted to write and tell everyone how wonderful things are going here for us in New York. Not to say we don't have several challenges everyday and that the life style in and of itself isn't a challenge, but all of the wonderful friends we have made and the fun we are having is making up for it all. Bryce is very busy with school to say the least. Anyone who knows him knows he is a early to bed early to rise kind of guy and burning the candle at both ends is kicking his butt. Not drinking coffee like all of his classmates and having a family (which most of them don't yet) makes it extra challenging for him comparatively. Averie sure misses her dad and really looks fore ward to him at least getting her a bottle of milk in the morning. She loves all of the new friends she is making and is definetly born to be a city girl. She is bound and determined to break the hardest of the hard by making them crack a smile or getting them to say hello on the train. She will say hello to a mean looking someone on the train until she is blue in the face or until that person has about 5 people tapping him saying "She's talking to you!"

We are getting settled into the apartment and learning how to deal with a small place, but after visiting many other apartments of families in our ward, I know how truly blessed we are. Our place is practically like a mansion compared to some. Averie and I attend a play group every tuesday with friends in the ward which is currently at one of the many wonderful parks around. (a different one each week.)Once it starts getting colder we will have it at one of the many museums. Wednesday we go downtown to an institute class for the relief society and the women bring their kids and they play in the room while the teacher pretends they aren't there. Its great. Then some of us go out to lunch or shopping afterwards. Thursday is Musikgarten which Averie LOVES. She is a natural born singer and dancer and she is in the older group with the 2-3 year olds and keeps right up with the others. A girl in our ward who has 2 kids and due any minute with her third ( her husband is in his 3rd year of law school) gives the class for a puney $90 for 3 months of classes. Out here regular tuition for musikgarten is $1500 a year. We have some real talent in our ward. My bishop's name is JOE MOE! He and his wife are the other couple (to my family who knows which movie Jimmy, our cousin is in) who play Adam and Eve in the temple movie. (funny side note) Staring tomorrow morning I am going to be meeting my friend Maline at the gym every morning at 6:30. I am scared to see what happens but excited to finally have someone who is willing to do it with me. Her husband is graduated from law school 1 yr. and they are from Chicago. She served her mission the same time and place as Bryce and they remember each other. Small world. I started teaching the CTR 6 class today. I have 2 boys and they both can sing like the dickins, I think they should both try out for the broadway. As you can see our week is filling up and making it easy to not get homesick.

We are doing a babysitting co-op with some friends where we babysit all 3 kids one weekend a month and can go out every other weekend. Last night we started and went to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. We went out to eat at a great BBQ place in time square before the show. We like to go there because you get plenty of food and it is very affordable for Time Square. Mary Poppins was FANTASTIC. I highly recomend it. Tomorrow night they are having mormon family night at the Mets game. The Missionaries are singing the National Anthem and all the surrounding stakes will be going.

Well anyway, I'll wrap this up. We do miss and love everyone and Thank you for all your love, support and help when we were moving. Aside of walking a minimun of 3 miles a day, having a stroller for a car, being a nearly single parent, hardly ever seeing my husband, a being away from all our beloved friends and family, I couldn't ask for a better place to be. I was telling Bryce last night that he needs to be very proud me, after all the struggles we've had getting settled in........ I HAVEN"T CRIED ONCE! Can you believe that. That's what I call a strong woman! HAHAHAHAH! Well I hope every one is well back home in Utah (and a shout out to all you other out of staters). I'll send more pictures soon. Hopefully one day I can talk Bryce into taking a second to set up the web cam for those who want to ICHAT. Again we love and miss you all. Love the Waters